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"  THE  FARMER  IS  THE  FOUNDER  OF  CIV1LIZATI0N."-WEBSTER. 


A  MONTHLY  NEWSPAPER: 


DEVOTED  TO 


AGRICULTURE  AND  HORTICULTURE,  PRACTICAL  ENTOMOLOGY,  DOMESTIC  ECONOMY 

AND  GENERAL  MISCELLANY. 


EDITD  BY  PROF.  S.  S.  RATHVON. 


VOLUME  XIV.-1882. 


V.  \4 


LA2f CASTER,  PA.  : 

JOHN  A.  HIESTAND,  PUBLISHER. 

1882. 


INDEX  TO  SCIENTIFIC  NAMES. 


Alee  Americanus,    1 

Angdilid^,    2 

Anguilla  bostoniensie,    2 

Agaraeini,    6 

Agaricus  campestris,    6 

Amularia  melleus,    6 

Agaricus  tridens,    6 

Asclepius  cornuti,    89 

AgrotiB  vulgaris,    109 

Annuals,    120 

Articulata,    125 

Aphldiphaga,     132 

Arctomys  monax,    156 

Boletus  luteus,    6 
"        versipella,    6 
"        scaber,     6 
"        granulata,     6 
"        boviuus,    6 

Batrachus  tan,    30 

Butaliscerealis,    98 

Belostoma  americana,     116 

Botrysis  bassiana,     119 

Bivoltius,     120 

Belosoma  tesselatum,     124 

Cervus  virginianus,    1  ' 
"         canadensis,     1 

Coprinus  comatus,    5,  13 

Clytocybe  dealbatus,  6 
"  geotropus,  6 
"  nebularis,  6 
"         odorus,    6 

CoUybia  esculenta,    6 
"        fucipes,    6 
"        longipus,    6 
"        radicatus,    6 

Clitopilus  orcella,    6 
"         soula,    6 

Coprinus  atromentarius,    6 

Cantharillus  cibarius,    8 

Clavaria  cristata,    6 
"        fastigiata,    6 
"        flava,    6 

Clytus  robinea,   18 
"       pictus,    18 

Cicada  septendecim ,   31 

Canthon  Isevis,    116 

Calosoma,   124 


Chrysochus,    124 

Caloptinus  femer  rubrum,    130 

Copris,    132 

COCCINELLID^,    -132 

Ceratocampa  regalis,    133 

Derniocybe  cunameus,    6 

Danais,    89 

Dactylis  glomorata,     109 

Danais  archippis,    130 

Dryocampaimperialis,     156 

Datana  ministra,     161 

Empusamusese,     119 

Etheostomidoe,    124 

Eriphuseuturalis,    124 

Elater,     132 

Erythroecomissima,    156 
"       pulchella,    156 
"       muhienburgia,    156 

Fiber  zibethicus,    1 

Formica  rnfa,     13 

Gyromatia  esculenta,     6 

Galeruca  zanthomaloena,    17 

Gossypium  herbaceum,     31 

Gymnetus  nitida,     116 

Gordius  equatieus,    145 

Hygrophones  ebuineus,    6 

Hydunum  repanda,     0 

Helvilla  caliibrnica,    6 
"        crispa,     6 

Helianthus  globosus,    90 
"  festuosus,    90 

Hemiptera,     110 

Htmenoptera,    131 

homopteba,    161 

ICHNEnMONID^,      131 

Lepiota  excoriatus,    6 
"        illanitus,    6 
"        procerus,    6 
"        rachodes,    6 
Lactarius  deliciosua,    6 
"        insuleuB,    6 
"        piperatus,    6 
"        volemus,    6 
Lycoperdon  giganteum,    6 

LONGICORNIA,      18 

Lumbricus  terrestries,    108 
Lepidoptera,    118,  131 


132 


5,6 


Languria  mogardi,  124 
Locusta  migratoria,    139 
Lencania  unipuncta, 
Mus  decumanus,    1 

"      rattus,    1 
Morchella  esculenta, 

"  conica,    6 

Marasmius  oreades,    6 
Melangaster  variagatus,    6 
Myrmecocystus  hortus  deorum,    7 
Mollusca,    125 
Macrosila  Carolina,    130,  156 

"  5-maculata,    130 

Microgaster  congregata,    131 
Mydas  flata,    132 
Meloe  angusticolis,    156 
Myriapoda,  177 
Necrophorus  marginatus,    146 
Omphalia  oniscus,     6 
Ortliosoma  cylindrica,     124 
Orgya  leucostigma,    133 
Pteromyzonidce,    2 
Pteromyzon  americanus,     3 
Pluurotus  ostreatus,     6 

"        pometis,    0 

"        ulmacium,    6 
Pealiotaarvensis,     6 
"        campestris,    6 
"        cretaceus,     6 
"        pratensis,     6 
"        silvatica,    6 
Photiata  mutabilis,    6 

"         squamosus,    6 
Paxillus  giganteus,    6 
Polyporus  sulphurea,    6 
Pogonomyrmex  occidentalsi,    5 
Passer  domesticus,    17 
Pyrethrum  roseum,    65,  72,  73,  82,  83 

"  cinerarias  foleum,   ibid. 

"  wilimeti,    73 

"  cancaseum,     72 

Phryganea  cinera,    84 

"  semifaciata, 

Prodentia  lineatella,    9 
Pyralis  farinalis,    98 
Poa  pratensis,    109 
"    compressa,    109 


84 


Pembrina,    120 
Panlays  tophyton,    120 
PSOROSPERNI^,     120 
Prionus  laticonis,    134 
Percid^,    124 
Pteromalus  puparum,    131 
Pieris  rapa,    131 
Papilio  asteirias,     132 
Felidusta  punctata,    132 
Percica  la'vis,     145 
Phylloxera  vastata,    147 
Psittacus  festivus,    156 

"  erythacus,    156 

Polydesmus,     178 
Khus  vernix,    2 

"     glabrum,    2 
RusBula  adjusta,    6 

"        alutacea,    6 

"        heterophyla,    6 

"        lepida,    6 
Radlata,    125 
Silex  purpurea,    2 
Solidago,    18,  124 
Spongia,  31 

Strongulus  syngamus,    66 
Sitophilus  granarius,    99 
Serlcaria  mori,    118 
Strongulidse,    146 
Silpha  americana,    146 
Scolopendi-a  beros,  177 
Spirobolus  marginatus,  177 
Trem?lla  mesanterica,    6 
Turdus  fueaceuus,    31 
Trichina  spiralis,    57 
Triton  jeffersoui,    60 
Theridion  trigouum,    69 

"  globosum,    69 

Tetruopes  tomator,    89,  134 
Trevoltius,    120 
Trogus  fulvus,    132 
Tettigonia  vitis,    161 
Volvaria  Combycinus,    6 
Vanadium,    124 
Vanadiate  of  lead,    124 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  FOURTEEN. 


EDITORlAt. 

Our  Fourteenth  Volume,    1 

The  Moo?u-Deer  109  Ycare  Ago,     1 

Killekinio,    2 

The  Value  of  Snow,     2 

Kitchen  Garden  for  January,     2 

Winter  Blooming,     2 

"  Aid  and  Comfort,"    3 

How  Do  Eel6  Breed  ?    3 

Excerpts,    3,  20,  37,  52,  67,  84,  100, 

114,  133,  163,  ISO 
Our  Responsibility,    5 
Edible  Fungi,    5 
The  English  Sparrow,     17 
Ourselves,     18 
February  Snows,    18 
Wood-worm,     18 

Planting  Trees  on  Railway  Embank- 
ments,    18 
The  Largest  Tree  in  the  World,     19 
Shifty,  thrifty  France,    19 
Kitchen  Garden  for  February,     19 
Poultry  Exhibition,    20 
Rules  and  Exceptions,    20 
Writing  for  the  Farmer,    20 
Our  Apology,    33 
"  Our  Winged  Friends,"    33 
Kitchen  Garden  for  March,    33 
Why  not  Write  for  the  Farmer  ?    33 
The  Bane  and  .\ntidoie,    SI 
"  Revised  Fruit  List,"    34 
Ealing  Before  Sleeping,     35 
How  Long  are  We  to  Live  ?    36 
The  Will  and  the  Deed,  37 
Ensilage,    49 
April  Meeting,    49 
Snails  in  Gardens,     50 
Kitchen  Garden  for  April,     50 
Phenomenal    51, 
Eating  Between  Meals,     51 
Pyrethrum,     05 
Gapes  vs.  Entomology,    65 
A  New  History  of  Lancaster  County, 

67 
Lime  in  Soil,    67 
Queries  and  Answers,    69 
The    Proposed    New    Department    of 

Agriculture,     81 
Increase  of  our  Crops,    81 
Potash  in  Plants,    81 
Kitchen  Garden  for  June,    81 
Exports  of  Cheese',     83 
The  Conestoga  Flying  Fish,    82 
Pyrethrum  Koseum,    8_ 
Vennor  Predicts  a  Bad  Summer,     83 
Caddice  Flies,     84 
Eggs,    84 
Our  Crops,    84 
Egg  Culture  in  France,    97 
Gapes  in  Chickens,     97 
Entomological   Notes  -  Directions    for 

Sending  Insects,     87 
Kitchen  Garden  for  July — Quality  and 

Vitality  of  Seeds,    98 
How  to  Kill  Wheat  Moth,    98 
Our  Local  Crops,    9S 
Destroying  Weevil,    99 
EtTects  of  Baking  on  Flour,    99 
Phosphoric  Acid  iu  Plants,    99 
A  Mare's  Nest,     100 
Three  Wonders,    100 
A  Chosen  People,     113 
Green  Corn  Pudding,     113 
Kitchen  Garden  for  August,     113 
Good  Husbandry,    113 
How  lo  Preserve  Stable  Manure,     114 
Gapes  and  Eels,     114 
A  Big  Bug,    116 
Tomato  Horn  Worm,     116 
Goldsmith  Beetle,     116 
The  English  Sparrows,     116 
State  and  County  Fairs  of  1882,     129 
Kitchen  Garden  for  September  (Seed- 
purchasing    a   Matter    of    Confi- 
dence),    129 
Insect  Migrations,     129 
■  The  Wheat  Crop  of  1882,     130 
Tobacco  Worms — Curious  Facts  Con- 
cerning Them,     130 
The  Royal  Horned  Caterpillar,     133 
The  Stanwich  Nectarine,    145 
Luscious  Grapes,    145 
Something  about  "  Hair-Worms  "  and 
Eels,    145 


Kitchen  Garden  for  October,    146 

Necrophore,     146 
Seedling  Peach,     146 
The  History  of  the  Tomato,     161 
"  Leaves,"     161 

Kitchen  Garden  for  November,  161 
Insects  Injurious  to  Forests  and  Shade- 
trees,     101 
A  Plea  for  Trees,     162 
The  Farmer's  Creed,     162 
Volume  Fourteen,     177 
Myriapoda,     177 
The  Tariir  and  Free  Trade,     178 
The  Turkey,     179 
Kitchen  Garden  for  December,     ^9 

CONTRIIJUTIONS. 

Hybridising  Fruits  and  Flowers,    6 

Persimmons,    6 

The  Egg — Its  Contents,  and  Haw  It  Is 
Made,    22 

Fruit  Belts,    23 

Chinese  Fruit  Pear,    23 

Commercial  Fertilizers,     23 

Forestry,    38 

Strawberries,     39 

Practical  Poultry  Notes,     39 

Domestic  Hints,  39 

Practical  Recipes,    39 

Comparative  Value  of  Farms  between 
Now  and  Fifty  Years  Ago,    85 

On  Wheat  Crops,    86 

The  Uses  of  Pruning,     102 

Balance  of  Trade,     102,  164, 183 

Gapes  in  Poultry,     117 

Lime,     117 

Tariffs  and  Their  Effects,    118 

Gapes  in  Poultry,     133 

Shallow  Cultivation,     133 

Not  the  Taritr  Question,    133 

The  Eel— Its  Habit  and  Growth,     133 

The  Value  of  Clover  on  Land,  147 

The  Leaves,    147 

Save  the  Peach-stones.    147 

"  The  Farmer's  Friend,"    181 

A  Sure  Preventive  of  Chicken  Chol- 
era,    182 

The  Balance-of-Trade  Delusion,    183 

ESSAY.S. 
The  Growth  and  Consumption  of  Tim- 
ber Trees  in  America,    40 
"Our  Winged  Friends,"     41 
Seedling  Fruits,    44 
Fruit  and  Vegetables — Their  Culture, 

53 
The  Bright  Side  of  Horticulture,     54 
Horticultural  Fertilizers,    55 
.Some  Practical  Points  in  Peach  Cul- 
ture,   69 
The  Management  of  an  Orchard,     71 
Insects  and  Some  of  Their  Relations 
to  the  Vegetable  Kingdom,     86 

.SELECTIONS. 

Farming  about  the  Rocky  Moun" 
tains,    6 

"Go  to  the  Ant,"     7 

A  Great  Southern  Farmer,    7 

Lime  as  a  Preservative,    8 

On  Square  Acre,    8 

Yards  iu  a  Mile,     8 

Wheat  Crop  of  the  United  States,     8 

A  Plain  and  Easy  Way  of  Curing 
Hams,    8 

The  Part  which  Worms  Play  in  Na- 
ture,   9 

Spare  the  Tree,    10 

Let  the  Frost  Help  You,    10 

Tobacco  Review — The  Old  Year  and 
the  New  One,    11 

Berks  County  Agricultural  Society,  11 

Poultry  Show,     24 

White  Vein — Cause  of  the  Disease  in 
Tobacco  —  The  Early  Cutting 
Theory— Convincing  Experiences, 
26 

Tobacco  Growing— Profits  Realized  by 
someExperts-Early  Buying  in  the 
Field— Result  of  Careful  Hand- 
ling— An  Excellent  Crop — Cost  of 
Growing  Tobacco — Another  Pay- 
ing Crop— Still  Another — In  Con- 
clusion,   26 

American  Silks  Good,    27 


Coal  Tar  and  Alkali   in   Peach    Cul- 
ture,   3.S 
Points  in  Cows,    28 
The  New  Wheat  Region,    55 
How  to  Deodorize  Stables,    56 
Utilizinj;  Rough  Ground,    56 
The  Building  of  Homes,     56 
When  to  Cut  Grass,     57 
Feeding  Poultry  and  Raising  Chicks, 

57 
Vegetable  Condiments,     57 
Trichiuosis,     57 
Testing  Cream,     58 
Application  of  Liquid  Manure,    68 
Early  Price   of  Pennsylvania  Lauds, 

58 
A  Home  Fruit  Canning  Factory,    -59 
History  of  Pyrethrum,     72 
Quince  Culture,    74 
Poultry  Farming,     75 
Poultry  Abundant,  but  Dear,     75 
Notes  on  French  Agriculture,     76 
The  Benevolent  Sunflower,     89 
Our  Timber  Lauds,    90 
Roots  and  How  to  Grow  Them,     91 
Green  Manures,    99 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,    103 
The  Happy  Granger,    103 
Uuderdraining,     104 
Education  for  Farmers,     104 
Success  in  Farming,     104 
The  Department  of  Agriculture,     105 
Fancy  Butter,     106 
All  about  Poultry,     106 
Talks  about  Fruit,    107 
Silk  Culture,     118 
Minerals  at  the  Exposition,     121 
Diversitied  Farming  in  the  South,    121 
The  Mosquito,     122 
A  Grand  Harvest,    134 
Occupation  and  Longevity,     i:54 
The  War  in  Egypt,     135 
The  Climate  in  Different  Parts  of  the 

Union,     135 
Pure  and  Wholesome,     135 
Temperature  and  Rainfall,    136 
Barn  Yard  Manures,     136 
Preserving  Fence  Posts,     136 
Some  Wheat  Statistics,     136 
Importance  of  Having  a  Good  Queen, 
137 

Draining  of  Land,     137 
The    Practical    and   the   Scientilic  in 
Agriculture,     138 

Fighting  the  Phylloxera  in  Europe, 
147 

Protecting  Plants  During  Winter,    148 

Self  Dependence,     148 

The  Preservation  of  Forests  from 
Wanton  Destruction,  and  Tree 
Planting,     148 

Cultivation  of  Peppers,     150 

How  to  Bottle  Wine,     1.50 

Practical  Forestry  Illustrated,     151 

Summer,    152 

How  to  keep  Houses  Healthy,    153 

The  Coming  Fence,    1.52 

The  Trade  in  Nuts,    152 

Work  and  Leisure,    1.53 

Stable  Cleaning,     153 

Worthless  Do^s,     153 

The  Black  Walnut,     l.K 

Trees,  Climate,  and  Soil,     164 

Heavy  .Manuring,  and  How  ?     165 

Artiticial  Incubation,     166 

Indian  Corn  in  Kansas — Its  Value 
and  Importance,     166 

The  Effect  of  a  Good  Silo,     167 

Agricultural  Prosperity  Should  Bene- 
fit the  Farmer,     167 

Tree-Planting  in  Streets  and  Grounds, 
168 

The  Fair  Season,     168 

Italian  Bees  and  How  Italianize  Com- 
mon Black  Bees,     168 

Preventable  Losses  on  the  Farm,    169 

Yield  and  Condition  oi  Crops,     169 

The  Virtues  of  Coffee,    183 

Feeding  Stock  in  Winter,   183 

The  Rational  Method  of  Tree-Pruning, 
184 

Letter  from  the  Mother  of  Bayard 
TaylortoProf.  E.V.Riley,    185 

Soiling  Cattle,    185 


Smoke  House  at  Small  Expense,    186 
The  Sugar  Beet,    186 

OIR  LOCVL  ORGANIZATIONS. 

Lancaster  County  Agricultural  and 
Horticultural  Society,  11,  28,45, 
76,  92,  107,  133,  138,  1.54,  170,  187 

The  State  Grange,    12 

Poultry  Association,  13,  30,  47,  77,  93, 
108,  123,  140,  1.55,  171,187 

Fulton  Farmers'  Club,  .30,  .17,  59,77, 
124,140,  16.5,  171 

Linna-an  Society,  13,  30,  47,  60,  93, 
109,124,1.56,171,188 

State  Board  of  Agriculture,    16,  140 

KNTOMOI.OGICAI-. 

Swarming    Ants    and     Allied     Phe- 
nomena,   60 
Curculio  in  Plum  Culture,    61 
Birds  and  Canker  Worms      61 

AGKHIXTl  KK. 

Look  after  the  Implements,     14 

Do  Your  Own  Repairing,    14 

Ensilage  Solus,    14 

Bad  Seed,    14 

Planting  Tobacco,    31 

Improved  Grasses,    31 

Rotation  of  Crops,    31 

Sowing  the  Seed,    61 

Clover  and  Grass,  61 

Clover,    61 

Ploughing,    61 

Potatoes,    61 

Onions,    61 

French  Farming,    78 

Sand  Farming,     78 

Crop  Prospects,     78 

Fence  Posts,     78 

Rotation  of  Crops,     94 

Manure  Made  under  Cover,    94 

Exports  of  Breadstuffs,    94 

Corn  Culture  in  Gardens,    94 

Green  Crops,     lOS 

Loadinir  Hay,    108 

Manure  under  Cover,     108 

Plaster,     108 

The  Largest  Land  Owner  on  the  Con- 

tinent,     108 
Best  Pasture  Grass,    109 
Pacific  Coast  Wlieat  Items,     109 
Lying  in  Fallows,    125 
A  Short-siirhtcd  View,     125 

Select  Your  Own  Seed  Wheat,     125 

A  Talk  about  Grasses,     125 

Pasture  Grasses,  .  141 

Experiments   with    Green    iManurlne. 
141  *' 

Wheat  Raising,     142 

What  of  the  Future  as  Regards  Grain, 
142 

What  Manure  Loses  by  Healing,     142 

Good  Crops  in  .Vlabama,  142 

Magnesia  for  Wheat,     142 

Wheat  Growing,     150 

An  Excellent  Fertilizer,     1.56 

How  to  Remove  Stumps,     156 

The  Telephone  on  the  Farm,     15(> 

Octagonal  Barns,     1.56 

The  Use  of  the  Roller,     172 

Progressive  Farmers,  173 

Effect  of  Draining,    172 

Fall  Plowing,     172 

Ivory  Wheat  and  .Millo  .Maize,     188 

Economy  on  the  Farm,     188 

Rules  Adopted  by  the  Hay  Trade,    188 

Effects  of  Broom    Corn  on  the  Soil, 
188 

The    Agricultural    Interests    of    the 
Country,    188 

Small  Potatoes,    189 

HORTICULTURE. 

Rosebushes,     14 

Pears,   14 

Nqtes  on  Orchard  and  Garden  Work, 

14 
Making  Butter,     14 
How  to  Make  Tea  and  Coffee,    14 
Butter  Easily  Spoiled,    15 
The  Rhubarb  Plant,    61 
Mulberry  Trees,    61 
An  Excellent  Old  Apple,    63 
An  Experiment  in  Potato  Planting,  82 


IV 


INDEX. 


Apples  for  Medicine,    78 

Greenhouse  and  Window  Plants,    78 

Proat  in  Onions,    78 

Celery  Culture,     78 

How  the  Chinese  Make  Dwarf  Trees, 

78 
An  Abundant  Apple  Crop,    94 
What  Kills  Fruit  Trees,    94 
Early  Turnips,     94 
Summer  Grape  Pruning,     109 
The  Care  and  Pruning  of  Peach  Trees, 

109 
The  Delaware  Peach  Crop,    109 
Strawberry  Beds,     109 
Quince  Culture,    109 
The  Peach  Crop,     125 
Value  of  Fruit,     125 
Shallow  Cultivation  for  Fruits,    125 
The  Vegetable  Garden,    125 
Fig  Culture,     126 
Keeping  Grapes  Fresh,    142 
Beneficial  EtTect  of  Mulching  on  Ber- 

Taking  i'n  Fall  Flowers,    142 

Saves  the  Peachstones,    143 

A  Hint  for  Winter  Gardening,     143 

York  Imperial  Apple,    157 

Keeping  Apples,     157 

Apple  Notes,     157 

Root  Pruning,    157 

The  Cherry  and  Apple,     157 

Pe»r  Raising,    172 

The  Effect  of  Dry  Weather  on  Apples, 

172 
Saving  Cabbage  till  Spring,     173 
The  Fruit  Supply,     173 
Bananas  and  Plaintalns,    173 
Winter  Flowers  in  the  Window,     189 
Preserving  Garden  Flowers,    189 

HOUSEHOLD   BECrPES. 

Light  Gingerbread,    15 

Cocoanut  Cake,     15 

Chocolate  Cake,     15 

Rock  C»ke,    15 

Gingerbread,     15 

English  Buns,     15 

Almond  Cake,    15 

Milk  BiBCuit,    15 

Soft  Gingerbread,     15 

Doughnuts,    15 

Kaiela  Pie,     15 

Corn  Bread,     15 

Coco«nut  Pudding,    15 

Baked  Soup  for  Invalids,     15 

Baked  Indian  Pudding,     15 

Orange  Pie,    31 

New  England  Baked  Indian  Pudding, 

31 
Chicken  Pie,    31 
Prune  Pudding,     31 
A  Nice  Way  of  Cooking  Cold  Meats,  31 
Chocolate  Cake,    31 
Breakfast  Kusks,     31 
Preparing  Carrots,    31 
Barley  Soup,    31 
Cornstarch  Cakes,    31 
French  Tapioca  Pudding,    31 
Sweet  Macaroni,   32 
Oatmeal  Pudding,    32 
Wholesale  Pie  Crust,    32 
Stewed  Apples  and  Rice,    33 
To  Make  a  Cheap  Wash  or  Paint,    63 
Rice,  Milanaise  Style,    62 
Macaroni  and  Ham,    62 
Poor  Man's  Plum  Pudding,     62 
Fig  Puddins:,    63 
Yorkshire  Pudding,   62 
Warm  Slaw,     62 
Cold  Slaw,    62 
Lincoln  Cake,    63 
Pastry,    62 
To  Clean  Marble,    62 
Valuable  Hints,     63 
Cocoanut  Cookies,    62 
To  Renovate  Black  Grenadine,    62 
To  Wash  Silk  Stockings,    62 
Cornstarch  Bake,    63 
Black  Bean  Soup,     62 
To  Clean  Musty  Barrels,    62 
Cottage  Gingerbread,    62 
Household  Weights  and  Measures,    68 
Scotch  Butter  Candy,     62 
Tapioca  Pudding,    78 
Bread  Pudding,    78 
Chili  Sauce,    78 
Clam  Chowder,    78 
Saddle  of  Lamb,    78 
Tomato  Soup,    78 
Oyster  Soup,    78 
Chicken  Salad,    79. 
White  Sauce,    79 
Sugar  Kisses,    79 
Qneen  of  Pudding,    79 
Lemon  Pudding  Sauce,     79 


Bird's  Nest  Pudding,    79 

Orange  Pudding,    79 

Green  Corn  Patties,    79 

Boston  Cream  Ci!ke,    79 

Flake  Pie  Crust,   79 

Superior  Doughnuts,     79 

Cookies,    79 

Custard  Pie,     79 

Graham  Rolls,    79 

Rice  Waffles,    79 

Steamed  Indian  Loaf,     79 

Muflins,     79 

Lemon  Pie,    79 

Pumpkin  Pie,    79 

Graham  Muffins,    79 

Turkey  Soup,    79 

Fish  Sauce,    79 

Cabbage  Salad,    79 

Cottage  Pudding,    79 

Suet  Pudding,    79 

Boiled  Biead  Pudding,     79 

Lowell  Pudding,    79 

Hominv  Muffins,    79 

Potato'Cakes,    79 

Oyster  Fritters,    79 

Corn  Oysters,   79 

Boiled  Leg  of  Lamb,    79 

Tapioca  Pudding,     79 

Snow  Pudding,     79 

Beefsteak  Rolls,  95 

Deviled  Ham,    95 

Yankeee  Plum  Pudding,    95 

French  Beefsteaks,    95 

Squash  Pie,     95 

Delightful  Pudding,    95 

To  Make  Tough  Meat  Tender,    95 

Cabbage  Salad,    95 

Scalloped  Oysters,    96, 

Roast  Shoulder  of  Veal,  _95 

Western  Cookies,     95 

Fairy  Apple,     95 

Deep  Apple  Pie,     110 

Pan  Dowdy,     110 

Fried  Apples,     110 

Apple  Toast,     110 

Apple  and  Bread  Pudding,     110 

Racket  Club  Pudding,     110 

Jelly  Pudding,     110 

Cheese  Crust,     110 

Pumpkin  Pie,    110 

Plain  Mince  Pie,     110 

Welsh  Rare-Bit,     110 

Omelette,     110 

Chicken  and  Green  Peas,    110 

Bean  Soup,    110 

Codfish,     110 

Broiled  Birds,     110 

Sago  and  Wine,     119 

Beef  Juice,     110 

Wine  Jelly,     110 

Toast,     110 

Barley  Water,     110 

Egg  and  Wine,    110 

Milk  Punch,    110 

Cucumber  Mangos,     126 

Peach  Mangos,     126 

Veal  a  la  Mode,     126 

Breast  of  Veal  Baked  with  Tomatoes, 

12(> 
Breast  of  Veal  Braised,     126 
While  Sauce,    1^6 
Boiled  Tongue,     126 
Boiled  Corned  Reel,     136 
Boiled  Ham,    126 
Pork  Chops,  Spanish  Style,     126 
Roast  Pork,     126 
Pork  Tenderloins,     126 
Irish  Stew,     126 
Persillade  of  Mutton,     126 
Fried  Breast  of  Mutton,    126 
Breading    126 
Ragout  of  Cold  Beef  and  Vegetables, 

126 
Roast  Leg  of  Lamb  or  Mutton,    126_ 
Garlic  Cloves,  126 
Fig  Pudding,    143 
To  Whiten  Scorched  Linen,     143 
To  CookJTurnips,     143 
Almond  Cake,    143 
Pan  Dpwdy,     143 
Smothered  Chicken,     143 
Pumpkin  Pie,    143 
Sheep's-head  Soup,    143 
Pickled  Onions,     143 
Lemon  Pudding,     143 
Ready-made  Giue,    143 
Apple  Jelly,     143 
A  Remedy  for  Diptheria,     143 
Hoosehold  Hints,     143 
Dry  Curing  Pork  and  Beet,     143 
Stewed  Cora,     144 
Brown  Sauce,     144 
Boiled  Sweet  Corn,     144 
Stewed  Corn  and  Tomatoes,     144 
Chow-Chow,    157 


Stuffed  Tomatoes,    157 
Pancakes,    157 
Rissole  Soup,     157 
Lamb  Chops,    157 
Potato  Mound,    157 
Ladies' Cabbage,    157 
Damson  Tart,    158 
Potato  Porridge,     158 
Roasted  Sweetbreads,    158 
Boil  and  Blanch  the  Sweetbreads,   188 
Potato  Croquetts,     158 
Rice  Pudding  Cold,     158 
Breakfast  Cakes,    158 
Cream  Nectar,    158 
Potatoes  au  Maitre  d'Hotel,     158 
Stewed  Tomatoes  and  Onion,     158 
Stewed  Pears  wi'h  Rice,     158 
Ox-Cheek  Soup,    158 
Stewed  Calf's  Hearts,     158 
Apple  Souffle  Pudding,     158 
Graham  Bread,     173 
Indian  Cake,     173 
Crullers,     173 
Doughnuts,    173 
Buns,  173 

Roast  Mutton,     173 
Mashed  Potatoes,     173 
Mashed  Turnips,    173 
Baked  Potatoes,    173 
Apple  Pudding,    17S 
Spanish  Cream,  173 
Boiled  Flank  of  Beef,    173 
Meat  Hash,    173 
Veal  Loaf,    173 
Tomato  Sauce,    173 
Steamed  Beef  Steak  Pudding,    173 
Stewed  Lobster,    174 
Boiled  Rice,    174 
Boiled  Cider,    174 
Steamed  Pudding,    174 
Nice  Griddle  Cakes,     174 
Cottage  Pudding,    174 
Griddle  and  Indian  Cakes,    174 
Escalloped  Mutton,     174 
Mocked  Oyster  Soup,    174 
Excellent  Gold  Cake,   174 
Lemon  Cake,  174 
Fried  Chicken,    174 
Plain  Fruit  Cake,    174 
Boiled  Kice  Pudding,    174 
Okra  Soup  Equal  to  Turtle  Soup,    174 
Steamed  Brown  Bread,    174 
Rhubarb  Pies,     174 
Roast   Turkey   Garnished   with    Sau- 
sage,   189 
Mashed  Turnips,    189 
Canned  Corn  Pudding,^  189 
Cranberry  Sauce,    189 
Orange    Snow  and    Snowdrift    Cake, 

,     189 
Oyster  Soup,    189 
Boiled  Chicken,    189 
Browned  Potatoes,    189 
Baked  Sweet  Potatoes,     189 
Scalloped  Squash,     189 
Baked  Custards,    1^9 
Simple  White  Soup,    l!-9 
Stewed  Fillet  of  Veal,     190 
Spinach,     190 
Boiled  Beans,     190 
Mashed  Potatoes,     190 
Queen's  Toast,     190 
Brown  Giblet  Soup,     190 
Minced  Turkey  and  Eggs,     190 
Stewed  Potatoes,     190 
Celery,    190 
A  Plain  Rice  Pudding,     190 

LIVE   STOCK. 

The  Care  of  Cows,    15 

Charcoal  for  Sick  Animals,     15 

Hints  about  Horses,    15 

Hay  for  Swine,    15 

Warts  on  Horses,     15 

The  Horse  Shoe  and  Its  Application, 

15 
Sawdust  for  Bedding,     68 
Salting  Stock,    62 
Floors  for  Horse  Stables,    63 
Charcoal  for  Sick  Animals,    63 
The  Hog  Crop,    63 
Tying  up  Calves,    63 
Man's  Treatment  of  the  Horse,     63 
Advantages  of  Small  Flocks,    63 
"  Loss  of  Cud,"    63 
Training  Heifers  to  Milk,    63 
Bedding  for  Cows,     63 
Inoculiition  of  Animals,    63 
Care  of  Horses'  Legs,     79 
Care  of  Sheep,    79 
Watering  Horses,    79 
Save  and  Care  for  the  Pigs,    79 
How  to  Grow  a  Pig,  79 
A  Nevada  Stock  Raiser,    80] 
Improving  the  Stock  on  the  Farm,    95 


Keep  up  the  Flow  of  Milk,  95 

Care  of  Dairy  Vessels,     95 

Raite  the  Good  Cow's  Heifer  Calf,    95 

Spoiling  a  Young  Horse,    110 

The  Pig  in  Agriculture,    110 

Sheep  Raising  in  Dakota,    111 

Treatment  of  the  Cow,    111 

Advice  of  a  Lancaster  County  Black- 
smith on  How  to  Shoe  Horses, 
126 

Training  Horses,    126 

The  Best  Farm  Horses,    127 

Draught  Horses,     137 

Is  Horseshoing  Useless,    127 

Keep  the  Stable  Clear  of  Flies,    127 

Remedy  for  Side  Hole  in  Cow's  Teat, 
127 

Care  of  Horses,    127 

The  Stock,    l;i7 

Improved  Sheep,    144 

Management  of  Pigs,    144 

A  New  Cattle  Disease,    144 

Raising  a  Colt,    15>! 

Hints  on  Raising  Stock,    158 

Swine  Raising— A  DiflTerent  System 
Desirable,    15S 

More  B'requent  Milking,    158 

Jersey  Cows  and  their  Records,    158 

Facts  about  Horses,    159 

Overloading  Cows'  Stomachs,    159 

Quarantined  Cattle,    159 

Cattle-Raising  in  Montana,    174 

To  Utilize  Jersey  Bulls,    174 

The  Shropshire  Sheep,    174 

Rearing  Sheep  for  Their  Milk,    174 

Making  Good  Park,    175 

The  Coming  Sheep,    175 

Cotton-seed  Meal  for  Live  Stock,    190 

Dry  Food  For  Hogs,    190 

Lincoln  Sheep,    190 

Pasturing  and  Soiling  Hogs,    190 

Growth  of  Colts,    190 

Sheep,    191 

Training  Horns,    191 

Cattle  Range  of  Wyoming,    191 

POULTET. 

Sunflower  Seed  for  Poultry ,    64 
Grain  in  Vegetables,     64 
Poultry  Upon  the  Farm,     64 
Dressing  and  Keeping  Poultry ,64 
Common  Sense  in  the  Poultry  Yard, 

64 
The  Roup  in  Fowls,    64 
Poultry,     64 

A  Writer  in  the  Poultry  Monthlv,     80 
A  House  for  200  Fowls;    80 
Questions  About  Eggs  and  Fowls,    80 
Raising  Sunflowers  for  Hens,     80 
Care  of  Young  Turkeys,     SO 
How  Chickens  are  Born,     80 
A  Cheap  Chicken  Coop,     80 
Hawaiian  Geese,     bO 
One  Variety,    95 
Treatment  of  Young  Ducks,    96 
A  Profitable  Hennery,    78 
Floors  for  Poultry  Houses,    111 
Fowl  Fattening,    111 
Onions  for  Chicken  Cholera,    111 
Cramming  Poultry,    111 
Wild  Chickens,    111 
Good  Hatching, 
Poultry  Gossip,    127 
Feather  and  Egg  Eating,    127 
Geese,    128 

The  Wonders  of  Incubation,    138 
A  Meat  Diet,    128 
Feed  for  Laying  Hens,    128 
Guinea  Hens,    160 
Care  of  Fowls,    160 
Ducks,    160 

Which  is  the  More  Profitable  ?    160 
Fattening  Turkeys,    160 
Farm  and  Workshop  Notes,    160 
Moulting,    175 

How  to  be  Rid  of  Them,    175 
Poultry  Nonsense,    191 
Poultry,    191 

Women  as  Poultry  Raisers,    191 
■To  Fatten  Fowls  or  Chickens  in  Four 

or  Five  Days,    191 
Winter  Rations  for  Hens,    191 
Pekin  Ducks,    192 

APIAKY. 

Some   Information   About  the  Queen 

Bee  ,    159 
Twelve  Facts  for  Beginners,    159 
A  System  for  Wintering   159 
Preparing  for  Winter,    159 

LITERARY. 

Literary  and  Personal,  16,  32,  48,  64, 
80,  111,  128,  144,  160,  176,  192 


ONE  DOLLAR  PER  ANNUM-SINGLE,: COPIES  10. CENTS. 


Dr.  S.  S.  P.ATHV01T,  Editor. 


LANCASTER,  PA.    JANUARY.  1882. 


JOHN  A.  EIESTANI/,  Publisher. 


Eii(cr<^<l  ai  llio    PoNt  tkllieo  at  IjHiicaNlor  as 
SccoikI  <  laNH  Matter. 

CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER. 


EDITORIAL. 
Our  Fourteenth  Volume,  .        -        -        -        - 

The  Moose-Deer  109  Years  Ago,  -        .        -        - 

Killekink,  -        -      '  - 

The  Value  of  Suow,     ------ 

Kitchen  Garden  for  January,    -        -        -        - 

Winter  Blooming, 

"Aid  and  Comfort,"  .        -        -        .        . 

How  Do  Eels  Breed  ?-.---- 

Excerpts,  -------- 

Miscellaneous— Economical— Moral     Economy- 
Domestic  Economy. 
Our  Responsibility,       ------ 

Edible  Fungi,      ------- 

CONTRIBUTIONS. 
Hybridising  Fruits  .and  Flowers,  -        -        - 

Persimmons,      ------- 

SELECTIONS. 
Farming  About  the  Kocky  Mountains, 
"Go  to  the  Ant,"       ------ 

A  Great  Southern  Farmer,  -        -        -        -        - 

Lime  as  a  Preservative,    -        -        -        -        - 

Oue  Square  Acre,         ------ 

Yards  in  a  Mile,        ------ 

WheatCropof  the  United  States, 
A  Plain  and  Easy  Way  of  Curing  Hams, 
The  Part  which  Worms  Play  in  Nature,     - 
Spare  the  Tree,  ------ 

Let  the  Frost  Help  You,      -        -        -        -        - 

Tobacco  Review— The  Old  Year  and  the  New  One 

C'oiisuinplion  in  1881— Stock  on  Hand  on  .lunuliry 

1, 1882 -The  t'rop  of  1881  and   Visiljle  Supply— 

Receipts  in  1.881— Sales  Each  Mimth— Remarks 

Prices — Quotations  January  1,  1881. 

Berks  County  Agricultural  Society, 

OUR  LOCAL  ORGANIZATIONS. 
Lancaster  County  Agricultural  and  Horticultu- 
ral Society,         ------ 

Crop    Rei>ortfl — Election    of    Ofticers — '*C'an    the 
Grain  (irower  Dispen.4e  with  Nitrogenous  Fer- 
tilizers?" 
The  State  Grange,     --'--- 
Wednesday's  Proceedings — The  Proceedings    on 
Thurs<lay. 


Poultry  Association,  .        -        -        - 

Trensurers's    Report— Election  of  Officers- Mis- 
cellaneous Husiness. 

Linnaeaii  Society,      ------ 

Library— Papers  Read— Elections— New  Business, 

AGRICULTURE. 

Look  After  the  Implements,        -        .        .        - 

Do  Your  Own  Repairing,  -        -        -        -        - 

Ensilage  Solus, 

Bad  Seed,-        ------- 

HORTICULTURE. 
Rosebushes,  ..-.--- 

Pears,         -------- 

Xotes  on  Orchard  and  Garden  Work, 


14 
14 
14 

14 

14 
14 
14 


Making  Butter,         -        -        -        '        ' 
How  to  Make  Tea  and  Cotfoe,     - 
Butter  Easily  Spoiled,      -        -        - 

HOUSEHOLD    RECIPES. 
Light  Gingerbread,      -        -        -        - 
Cocoanut  Cake,         -        .        -        -        ■ 


Chocolate  Cake,  -        -        "        - 
Rock  Cake,     '  - 

Gingerbread,         -        .        -        - 
English  Buns,    -        -        -        -        - 
Almond  Cake,       -        -        -        - 

Milk  Biscuit, 

Soft  Gingerbread, 

Doughnuts,        -        .        -        -        - 

Raisiu  Pie,    -        -        -        -        - 

Corn  Bread,       .        -        -        -        - 

Cocoanut  Pudding, 

Baked  Soup  for  Invalids, 

Baked  Indian  Pudding, 

LIVE  STOCK. 

The  Care  of  Cows,  -        -        - 

Charcoal  for  Sick  Animals, 
Hints  About  Horses, 
Hay  for  Swine,     .        -        -        - 
Warts  on  Horses,      .        .        -        - 
The  Horse  Shoe  and  its  Application, 
Literary  and  Personal, 
Board  of  Agriculture, 


14 
14 
15 

15 
15 
15 

15 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 

15 
15 
15 
15 
15 
16 
15 
16 


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Pacific  Express* 

Sunday  Mail 

Johnsto-wn  Express 

Day  Express* 

Harrisburg  Accom. 


1  cave 
Lancaster. 

2:40  a.  m. 

5:00  a.  m. 
11:00  a.  m. 
11:05  p.  m. 
10:20  a.  m. 
11.25  a.  m. 
10:50  a.  m. 

2; 30  p.  m. 

2:35  p.  m. 

5:45  p.  m. 

7:20  p.  m. 

7:30  p.m. 

8:50  p.  m. 
11:30  p.m. 

Lancaster. 
2.55  a.  m. 
5:08  a.  m. 
8:05  a.  m. 
9.10  p.  m. 
:40  p  m. 
2:00  p.  m. 
3:05  p.  m. 
5:35  p.m. 
6:25  p.  m. 


Arrive 

Harrisburg, 

4:05  a.  m; 

7:50  a.  m. 

11:20  a.m. 

Col.  10:40  a.  m. 

12:40  p.  m. 

Ti:55  p.  m. 

12:40  p.  m. 

3:25  p.  m. 

Col.  2:45  p.  m. 

7:40  p.  m. 

Col.  8:20  p.  m. 

8:40  p.  m. 

10:10  p.m. 

12:45  a.  m. 

Philadelphia 

3:00  a.  m. 

7:40  a.  m. 
10:00  a.  m. 
12:0    p.  m, 

3:40  p.m. 

5:00  p.m. 

3:30  p.  m. 

7:20  p.  m. 

9:30  p.  m. 


The  Hanover  Accommodation,  west,  connects  at  Lancaster 
with  Niagara  Express,  west,  at  9:35  a.  m.,  and'will  run 
through  to  Hanover. 

The  Frederick  Accommodation,  west,  connects  at  Lancas- 
ter with  Fast  Line,  west,  at  2:10  p.  m.,  and  runs  to  Frederick. 

The  Pacific  Express,  east,  on  Sunday,  when  flagged,  will 
stop  at  M*'idletown,  Elizabethtown,  Mount  Joy  and  Laudis- 
ville. 

*Tht)  only  trains  which  run  daily. 

tHuns  daily,  except  Monday. 

NORBECK  &  MILEY, 


PRACTICAIi 


Garriage  BuildeFg, 

cox  &  (lO'S  OLB  STA^D. 

Corner  of  Duke  and  Vine  Streets, 

LANCASTER,  PA.. 


THE  LATEST  IMPROVED 

SIDE-BAR  BUGGIES, 

PHyETONS, 

Carriages,  Etc, 


mm 


Prices  to  Suit  the  Times. 

REPAIRING  promptly  attended  to.     All  work 
guaranteed. 

T9-2- 


S.  IB.  OOIXl, 

Manufacturer  of 

C  images,  Buggies,  Phaetons,  etc, 

CHURCH  ST.,  NEAR  DUKE,      LANCASTER,  PA. 

Large  Stock  of  New  and  Secon-hand  Work  on  hand 
▼ery  cheap.  Carriages  Made  to  Order  Work  Warranted 
or  one  year.  [T*-9-ia 


EDW.  J.  ZAHM, 

DEALBB   iN 

AMERICAN  AND  FOREIGN 

WATCHES, 

SOLID  SILVER  &  SILVER  PLATED  WARE, 
CLOCKS. 

JEWELRY! TABLE  CUTLERY. 

Sole  Agent  for  the  Arundel  Tinted 

SPECTACLES. 

Repairing  strictly  attended  to. 

North  Queen-st.  and  Centre  Square,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

7<1-1-I2 


IE.  I».  aBOX7V3VE.A.3Sr, 

,  AT  LOWEST  POSSIBLE  PRICES, 

Fully   guaranteed. 

No.  106  EAST  KING  STREET, 

79-1-12]  OppftKilp   J^t'op'ti'd  Holfl. 


ESTABLISHED  1832. 

1    c^i^tmrn,^^  ^. 


G.  SENER  &,  SONS, 

Manufacturers  and  dealers  in  all  kinds  of  rough  and 
finished 

The  best  Sawed  $iHIN«I.ES  iu  the  country.    Also  Sash, 
Doors,  BUnds,  Moilldings,  &c. 

PATENT  0.  G.  WEATHERBOARDING 

and   PATENT  BLIJIDS,  which  are  far  superior  to  any 
other.     Also  best  I'OAL  constantly  on  hand. 

OFFICE  AND  YARD  : 

Northeast  Corner  of  Prince  and  Walnnt-sts., 

L A  NCA.STKR,  PA. 

79-1-12) 

PRACTICAL  ESSAYS  ON  ENTOMOLOGY, 

Embracing  the  history  aud  habits  of 

NOXIOUS  AND  INNOXIOUS 


INSECTS, 


and  the  best  remedies  for  their  expulsion  or  extermination. 

By  S.  S.  RATHVON,  Ph.  D. 

LANCASTER,  PA. 

This  work  will  be  Highly  Illustrated,  and  will  be  put  in 
press  (as  soon  after  a  sufficient  number  of  subscribers  can 
be  obtained  to  cover  the  cost)  as  the  work  can  possibly  be 
accomplished. 
79-2- 


$77 


a  mouth  and  eipeuaes   guaranteed    to    Agents. 
Outfit  free.  SHAW  &  CO.,  Augusta,  Mains. 


Fruit,  Shade  and  Ornamental  Trees. 

Plant  Trees  raised  in  this  county  and  suited  to  this  climate. 
Write  for  prices  to 

LOUIS  C.  LYTE 

Bird-in-Hand  P.  O.,  Lancaster  co.,  Pa. 

Nursery  at  Smoketown,  six  miles  east  of  Lancaster. 
79-1-12 

WIDMYER  &  RICKSECKER, 

UPHOLSTERERS, 

And  Manufacturers  of 

FURNITURE  pD  CHAIRS, 

WAREROOMS: 

102  East  King  St.,  Cor.  of  Duke  St. 

■LANCASTER,  PA. 

79-1-12] 

Special  Inducements  at  the 

NEW  FURNITURE   STORE 

W.  A.  HEINITSH, 

]Vo.    XS    1-2    DE.    X£.Xn9'C3r     S'X'Xl.EZXSI' 

(over  Bursk's  Grocery  Store),  Laucaster,  Pa. 
A  general  assortment  of  furnifure  of  all  kinds  constantly 
on  hand.     Don't  forget  the  number. 

Nov-ly]  (over  Bursk'8  Grocery  Store.) 

For  Good  and  Cheap  Work  go  to 

F.  VOLI-MER'S 

FURNITURE  WARE  ROOMS, 

No   309  NORTH  QUEEN  ST., 

(Opposite  Northern  Miirkot), 
Also,  all  kinds  of  picture  frames.  nov-ly 

GREAT  BARGAINS. 

A  huge  assortment  of  all  kinds  of  Carpets  are  still  sold  at 
lower  rates  than  ever  at  the 

CARPET  HALL  OF  H.  S.  SHIRK, 

No.  202   West  King  St. 

Call  and  examine  our  stock  and  satisfy  yourself  that  we 
can  show  the  largest  assortment  of  these  Brussels,  three 
plies  and  ingrain  at  all  prices — at  the  lowest  Philadeli>hia 
prices. 

Also  on  hand  a  lai'ge  and  complete  assortment  of  Rag 
Carpet. 

Satisfaction  guaranteed  bath  as  to  price  and  quality. 

You  are  invited  to  call  and  see  my  goods.  No  trouble  in 
showing  them  even  if  you  do  not  want  to  purchase. 

Don't  forget  this  notice.  You  can  save  money  here  if  you 
want  to  buy.   . 

Particular  attention  given  to  customer  v  ork. 

Also  on  hand  a  full  assortment  of  Counterpanes,  Ofl 
Cloths  and  Blankets  of  every  variety.  [nov-iyr, 

PHILIP  SCHUM,  SON  &  CO.. 

38  and  40  West  King  Street. 

We  keep  on  hand  of  our  own  manufacture, 

QUILTS,  COVERLETS, 

COUiVTERPAIfES,  CARPETS, 

Bureau  and  Tidy  Covers.  Ladles'  Furnishing  Goods,  No- 
tions, etc. 

Particular  attention  paid  to  customer  Rag  Carpet,  and 
Kcowering  aud  dyein'e  of  all  kinds. 

PHILIP  SCHUM,  SON  &  CO.. 

Xov-l  y  I/mcaster,  Pa. 


THE  HOLMAN  LIVER  PAD! 

Cures  by  absorption  without  luedicine. 

Now  is  the  time  io  apply  these  remedies.  They  will  do 
for  you  what  uolhing  else  on  earth  can.  Hundreds  of  citi- 
zens of  Lancaster  shj  so.    Get  the  genuine  at 

LANCASTER  OFFICE  AND  SALESROOM, 

22  East  Orange  Street. 

Nov-lyr 

C.  R.  KLINE, 
5/VTT0f^NEY-AT-|jAW, 

OFFICE  :    16  NORTH  DUKE  STREET, 

NoT-ly 


The  Lancaster  Farmer. 


Dr.  3.  3.  RATHVON,  Editor. 


LANCASTER,  PA.,  JANUARY,  1882. 


Vol.  SIV.  No.  1. 


Editorial. 


OUR   FOURTEENTH   VOLUME. 

T/ike  till'  "Ghost  of  Bamiuo,"  liere  we  are 
agiiin,  ill  response  to  many  t'riuiids  who  have 
greeted  us  with  the  sigiiilieaiit  greeting— 
"May  your  shadow  never  grow  less."  Tliis 
would  be  a  dreadful  greeting  to  a  fat  man;  but 
then  dear  reader,  we  are  not  fat — never  have 
been  fat,  and,  without  any  double  meaning 
whatever,  we  never  expect  to  be  fat  at  our  pre- 
sent rate  of  feeding  Csesar  is  said  to  have 
said,  "Let  me  have  men  about  me  that  are 
/a(."  Mark  Antony  was  fat  and  was  popu- 
lar— Cassius  was  lean  and  was  unpopular,  if 
not  hated  by  Caisar.  Now  we  want  to  get 
out  of  the  category  of  leanness,  since  leanness 
works  such  disparagement  to  its  possessor — or 
rather  its  victims;  and,  it  seems  to  us  the 
shortest  and  surest  road  out,  would  be  five 
thousand  nriv  and  true  subscribers  to  our  vol- 
ume for  1882.  Ttvii  /iioiflrffZ  contributors,  one 
?iM)!dr«Z correspondents  and  odc (Z"2e)i  repo rters, 
or  communicators.  We  are  not  very  particu- 
lar where  lliese  subscribers,  correspondents, 
contributors,  &c.,  are  from,  so  that  tliey  are 
not  rei)resentatives  of  districts  in  wliich  a 
"Kilkleer"  could  not  live;  for,  we  don't  care 
to  know  how  jMor  soil  may  be,  and  how  lean 
its  cultivators  may  become  and  yet  have  the 
power  to  breathe;  but,  how  rich  the  one  may 
be,  and  how/a{  the  other.  But  this  is  not  all. 
We  want  to  know  hoiv  they  have  become  rich 
and  fat,  tliat  we  may  be  abU;  to  instruct  otiiers 
to  "go  and  do  likewise."  These  we  consider 
very  moderate  wants,  in  such  a  magniticent 
"kingdom"  as  Lancaster  county,  and  where 
people  are  reputed  to  live  on  "  the  fat  of  the 
land." 

It  would  be  a  most  laudable  ambition  for 
the  farmers  of  Lancaster  county,  just  to  see 
liow/{((  they  can  make  us  and  tlieir  represen- 
tative journal,  witliin  the  year  1882.  It  would 
be  sonielhiiig  to  be  jolly  over  next  Ciiristmas, 
and  enhance  the  pleasures  of  the  occasion. 
Dear  public,  try  it  "for  once." 

We  have  nothing  in  the  form  of  premiums 
or  bribes  to  offer,  but  would  rather  that  every 
one  should  be  bribed  Isy  his  own  feelings  of 
right,  of  justice,  and  of  humanity,  when  he 
contemplates  his  duties  toward  the  institu- 
tions and  enterprises  of  his  county,  his  state, 
or  his  entire  country.  It  may  require  a  greater 
struggle,  a  larger  quantum  of  self-denial  and 
self-compulsion,  to  oliey  the  dictates  of  his  uu- 
standing — 

"  Uiiboii-jjlil  by  eoiuineHt 
Anil  unhribefl  by  yahi," 

l)ul  then,  after  the  deed  is  accomplished,  the 
doer  of  it  will  feel  just  so  much  the  better 
than  he  would  have  felt  had  he  yielded  to  the 
fluttcriwj  inducement  to  do  otherwise. 

We  are  not  so  exceedingly  selfish  as  to  ad- 
monish our  patrons  and  readers  to  patronize 
no  journal  but  ours.  That  is  not  at  all  our 
meaning;  for,  we  would  have  them  patronize 
all  they  can  afford  to,  and  ours  too  -  cspenally 
ours.     "Eat  them  all  yourself,  and  give  me 


some,"  was  the  "small  boy's"  advice  to  his 

"clumi,"  when  other  "small  boys"  were 
l)egging  his  sugar  plums.  So  we  advise,  when 
other  publisliers  are  trying  to  obtain  your 
patronage  through  a  prciniunt,  take  tliem  al] 
if  you  can,  but  don't  forget  to  lake  the 
F.vkmek:  for  it  is  "bone  of  your  bone  and 
flesh  of  your  liesh,"  and  like  you,  "  to  the 
manor-bo  in  "—a  local  anclior,  mooring  you 
to  local  lioiues,  wherever  you  may  l)e. 

There  is  no  lov&  more  ennobling  than  pure 
unsellish  domestic,  or  local  love.  Men  often 
in  the  heyday  or  prime  of  life  indulge  in  the 
glittering  seusntiou  of  foreign  loves,  foreign 
scenes  and  foreign  festivities;  only  to  return 
in  maturer  life,  or  in  life's  decline,  to  the 
loves,  the  homes,  and  tlie  atliliations  of  tlieir 
earlier  days.  It  is  very  much  the  same  in  re- 
gard to  home  literature,  home  pulilications. 
Publications  that  contain  a  record  of  tlu;  local 
doings  and  sentiments  of  tliose  who  repre- 
sented the  local  industries  and  enterprises  of 
a  district  where  we  have,  or  once  had,  our 
local  homes,  possess  a  local  value  far  beyond 
that  of  mere  dollars  and  cents.  And,  if  per- 
chance, we  should  become  possessed  of  an  old 
volume,  or  even  a  single  paper,  that  recorded 
the  events  of  our  early  days,  and  the  names 
and  occupations  of  our  cotemporaries,  we  are 
apt  to  peruse  it  from  "end  to  end"  and  gaze 
upon  it  with  all  the  fond  affection  that  a 
grandparent  does  upon  tlie  tiny  shoes  of  the 
first  born.  And  why  V  Because  they  are 
owrs— part  and  parcel  of  our  local  history, 
local  experience,  and  local  memories,  however 
common-place  and  humble  they  may  appear  to 
others. 

By  the  genorou-i  assistance  'of  local  contri- 
butors and  local  correspondents  we  desire  to 
make  tlie  Lancaster  Farmer  for  1882  a 
local  hand-book  of  Agriculture,  Horticulture, 
Floriculture,  'gardening,  domestic  employ- 
ment, and  scientific  miscellany,  that  will  al- 
ways be  referred  to  with  pleasure  and  witli 
profit,  long  years  after  its  projectors,  its  edi- 
tors and  its  publishers  are  "gathered  to  their 
fiithers." 

At  no  period  in  the  history  of  agriculture, 
is  a  publication  of  its  development  and  pro- 
gress considered  of  more  vital  importance 
than  the  present  period.  Agricultural  and 
Domestic  journals  are  springing  up  almost 
every  where  in  our  broad  land,  and  by  a  refer- 
ence to  our  "Literary  and  Personal"  col- 
umns, it  will  be  perceived  that  our  own  Penn- 
sylvania furnishes  several  new  enterprises  of 
the  kind.  We  sincerely  hope  they  may  all  re- 
alize their  most  sanguine  expectations;  and, 
that  they  may  all  become  "/at,"  and— if  they 
prefer  it— also  "ragged  .and  sassy." 

We  cannot  indulge  in  any  special  prorai.ses 
for  1882.  \Ve  hoi)e  to  be  all  that  you  see  fit 
to  make  us  ;  but,  under  any  circumstances, 
we  think  we  can  with  confidence  point  you  to 
the  past  as  a  guarantee  for  the  future. 

Of  course,  the  opening  year  is  still  one  of 
undeveloped  anticipation,  and  <as  the  tide  of 
time  flows  on,  it  will  become  manifest  who  is 


to  be  carried  successfully  on  its  (low,  and  who 
buried  beneath  its  Ihxid.  But,  whatever 
woes  betide  us,  both  religion  and  philosophy 
admonish  us  to  reconcile  ourselves  to  "the 
things  that  be,"  as  the  best  condition  in 
which  to  learn  the  lessons  which  experience 
teaches. 

In  conclusion,  may  one  and   all  be  blest 
with  a  prosperous  and  Happy  New  Year. 


THE  MOOSE-DEER  lOO  YEARS  AGO. 

"Captain  Harrison,"  stated  to  Judge  Henry 
in  1775,  that  the  moose-deer  reigned  the  mas- 
ter of  the  forest  at  that  period,  about  Fort 
Halifax,  at  the  junction  of  the  Sabasticoog 
and  Kennebec  rivers;  but  that  when  he  first 
settled  there,  about  1745,  the  common  deer 
(Cerviis  viryininnus)  which  now  inhabits  our 
more  southern  climate,  was  the  only  animal 
of  the  deer  kind  found  in  all  those  regions,  to 
their  knowledge,  unless  it  was  the  Elks 
{Cervus  canadensis),  and  those  only  occasion- 
ally. In  a  short  space  of  time  after  his  loca- 
tion in  the  country  the  Moose-deer  {Akt 
americanus)  appeared  in  small  numbers,  but 
increased  annually  afterwards,  and  as  the  one 
species  became  more  numerous,  the  other  di- 
mislied,  so  that  the  common,  or  Virginia 
deer,  at  the  time  of  this  information  (1775), 
according  to  Captain  Harrison,  was  totally 
driven  from  that  quarter. 

This,  in  the  mind  of  the  narrator  seemed  to 
imply  that  animals,  like  human  beings,  wheth- 
er forced  by  necessity,  or  from  choice,  do  emi- 
grate. 

Perhaps  the  most  notable  instance  of  one 
species  of  animal  displacing  another,  is  to  be 
found  in  the  Rat,  immediately  around  us,  but 
that  was  not  a  matter  of  choice,  for  the  in- 
truder and  usurper  was  brought  here,  per- 
haps against  his  will. 

The  Rat  that  now  predominates  Lancaster 
county,  and  perhaps  the  entire  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania, if  not  the  whole  country,  is  the 
"Norway  Rat"  (Jl/us  decumanus)  ■And  he  has 
almost  entirely  displaced  the  "Black  Rat" 
(Jl/i(.s  ra(t((.s)  which  is  our  native  species— in- 
deed we  do  not  remember  to  have  seen  but 
one  (dead  and  partly  decayed)  specimen  in 
all  our  life,  and  that  was  forty  years  ago.  The 
reader  will  please  not  infer  (from  a  similarity 
of  sound  in  name)  that  we  refer  to  the  "Musk- 
Rat"  {Fiber  zibcthicus)  for  that  animal  is  now 
almost  as  common  as  ever  it  was. 

It  may  seem  singular  that  an  animal  appa- 
rently so  slow  and  stupid  as  the  Moose,  should 
have  supplanted  one  so  bright  and  swift  as 
the  Virginia  deer.  It  has  been  said  that  the 
dull,  slow  "Gr.ay  Fox,"  which  was  once  very 
abundant  in  Pennsylvania,  h.as  retired  further 
north  on  account  of  the  invasion  of  the  swift, 
cunning  and  sprightly  "Red  Fox;"  but  the 
cases,  in  regard  to  special  characterics,  are 
here  reversed.  It  occurs  also  that  one  species 
of  plant  will  displace  another.  Permit  "Can- 
ada Thistle"  to  domiciliate  itself  in  the  soil, 
and  soon  nothing  will  be  found  growing  but 
the  thistle. 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[January, 


KILLEKINIC. 
"The  'Red  Willow,'  [Saliz purpureix)  which 
is  a  native  of  the  United  States,  is  spread 
throughout  our  climate.  The  outer  bark  is 
of  a  deep  red  color,  peels  off  in  a  very  thin 
scale,  the  inner  is  scraped  off  with  a  knife, 
and  is  dried  either  in  the  sun  or  over  the  fire. 
The  scent,  when  burning,  is  delightful.  To 
Increase  the  flavor,  the  Indians  pluck  the 
current  year's  branches  of  the '"Upland  Su- 
mac," and  dry  it  in  bunches  over  the  smoke 
of  a  fire.  An  equal  part  of  tbe  Red  willow 
bark  added  to  as  much  of  the  dryed  Su- 
mac forms  the  Killekenic  of  the  Indians.  One 
third  part  of  leaf  tobacco  added  to  the  afore- 
named ingredients,  and  the  mass  rubbed  fine- 
ly together  in  the  palms  of  the  hands,  makes 
that  delicious  fume,  so  fascinating  to  the  red, 
and  also  to  the  white  men.  Great  care,  how- 
ever, must  be  taken,  not  to  use  the  "Swamp 
Sumac"  (Elms  vernix)  instead  of  the  Upland 
(Rhus  glahrum)  as  the  former  is  most  poison- 
ous, and  resembles  the  latter  in  the  bark  and 
leaf  so  much  that  an  inexperienced  eye  might 
be  deceived.  The  difference  may  be  distinct- 
ly marked  by  observing  that  the  bunch  of 
berries  of  the  Upland  Sumac,  is  a  cone  closely 
attached  to  each  other,  and  when  ripe  of  a 
reddish  color.  The  berries  of  the  Swamp  Su- 
mac hang  lossly  pendent  from  a  lengthy  foot- 
stalk, and  when  ripe  are  a  greenish  grey.  On 
the  authority  of  Natanis  and  "Corn  Planter," 
distinguished  Indian  chiefs,  it  is  stated,  that 
the  person  who  should  sraoke  the  Swamp  Su- 
mac would  forfeit  his  eyesight.  The  Vanilla 
of  South  America  has  been  applied  by  the 
Spanish  manfactnrers  of  tobacco  in  various 
ways;  it  is  strange  that  we  have  never  assayed 
Killekenic. ' ' 

The  above,  from  Judge  Henry's  "Cam- 
paign against  Quebec  "  in  1775,  we  repro- 
duced, merely  to  admonish  the  lovers  of  the 
weed  of  a  resource,  should  the  tobacco  crop 
at  any  time  totally  fail,  or  be  so  "cornered" 
that  poor  people  could  not  afford  to  use  it. 
Surely  the  white  man  ought  to  be  as  good  a 
botanist  as  the  Indian,  and  not  make  the  mis- 
take of  getting  the  Swamp  instead  of  the  Up- 
land Sumac. 

We  hazard  the  suggestion  that  the  above 
compound  might  be  superior  to  much  of  the 
"stuff"  now  sold  as  smoking  tobacco;  although 
so  far  as  concerns  ourselves  personally,  we  pre- 
fer the  pure,  simple  tobacco  to  any  compound, 
whatever  it  may  be  scented  with.  To  us, 
any  outside  ingredient  added  to  tobacco  to 
give  it  quality,  indicates  that  it  is  not  good 
tobacco. 


THE  VALUE  OF    SNOW. 

If  snow  possesses  no  properties  that  are 
valuable  to  the  soil  as  a  fertilizer,  such  an 
opinion  has  at  least  long  existed  ainonoj  men 
of  intelligence.  We  have  just  finished  read- 
ing "an  interesting  account  of  the  hardships 
and  sufferings  of  a  Band  of  Heroes  who  tra- 
versed the  wilderness  in  the  Campaign  agains'. 
Quebec  in  177.5,"  written  by  Judge  John  Joseph 
Henry,  of  Lancaster,  and  published  by  William 
Greer,  in  1812.  In  speaking  of  the  immense  and 
long  continued  snows  of  Canada,  where  he 
was  held  a  prisoner  for  over  seven  months  in 
1776,  the  writer  remarks  as  follows  : 

"An  observation  may  be  made  iu  this  place 


with  propriety,  that  is,  that  in  the  climates  of 
all  high  southern  or  northern  regions,  the  soil 
is  very  rich  and  prolific.  The  beneficial  ope- 
ration of  nature'is,  iu  all  likelihood  attribut- 
able to  the  nitrous  qualities  which  the  snow 
deposits.  Of  the  fact,  that  nitre  is  the  prin- 
cipal ingredient  which  causes  fertility  in  the 
earth,  no  man  of  observation,  can  at  this  day, 
reasonably  doubt.  The  earth  is  replete  of  it. 
Wherever  earth  and  shade  unite,  it  is  engen- 
dered and  btcomes  apparent.  This  idea  is 
proved  by  the  circumstance,  that  nitre  may 
be  procured  from  caves,  the  earth  of  cellars, 
outhouses,  and  even  from  common  earth,  if 
kept  under  cover.  During  the  Revolution, 
when  powder  was  so  necessary,  we  everywhere 
experienced  the  good  effects  of  this  mineral- 
ogical  discovery;  it  gives  me  pleasure  to  say, 
that  it  is  most  fairly  ascribable  to  our  Ger- 
man ancestors.  The  snows  which  usually  fall 
in  Canada  about  the  middle  of  November,  and 
generally  cover  the  ground  until  the  end  of 
April,  in  my  opinion,  fill  the  soil  with  those 
negative  salts,  which  forward  the  growth  of 
plants.  This  idea  was  evinced  to  my  vague 
and  inconsiderate  mind,  from  observations 
then  made,  and  which  were  more  firmly  es- 
tablislied  by  assurances  from  Captain  Prentis, 
that  muck  or  manure  which  we  employ  in 
southern  climates  is  there  (in  Canada)  never 
used.  In  that  country,  the  moment  the  ground 
is  freed  from  snow, the  grass  and  every  species 
of  plant,  springs  forward  in  the  most  luxuri- 
ant manner." 

These  observations  were  made  over  a  hun- 
dred years  ago,  and  although  Canada  may 
have,  in  the  mean  time,  learned  to  recuperate 
her  soil  by  "muck  or  manure,"  it  does  not 
obliterate  the  fact  that  a  good  bed  of  snow 
during  a  long,  cold  winter,  is  of  immense  ben- 
efit to  the  soil  and  winter  crops. 


KITCHEN  GARDEN   FOR  JANUARY. 

In  the  Middle  States,  January  is  unfavora- 
ble to  out-door  labor;  in  the  garden  especially, 
little  can  be  usually  done.  The  forcing-beds 
and  green-houses  will  of  course,  require  par- 
ticular attention,  and  the  active  man  may  find 
something  to  do  in  preparing  for  a  more  con- 
genial season. 

Poles  and  rods  for  beans  and  peas  may  be 
made  ready  to  be  used  when  needed;  and 
compost  heaps  formed.  Compost  is  beyond 
all  comparison  the  very  best  form  in  w  iich  to 
apply  fertilizers  to  most  vegetable  crojjs,  and 
ample  supplies  may  be  readily  made  by  prop- 
er attention,  as  the  materials  present  them- 
selves from  time  to  time  during  the  year. 

Fruit  trees  may.  be  pruned;  hedges  clipped 
— those  formed  of  evergreens  not  till  after 
frost  has  disappeared — asparagus-beds  to])- 
dressed,  preparatory  to  being  dug  when  frost 
has  ceased.  When  new  ones  are  to  be  made, 
plant  the  colossal.  Hot-beds  for  early  forcing 
may  be  made,  and  other  'jobs  will  present 
themselves  in  anticipation  of  spring.  Where 
there  exists  tbe  will  to  work,  the  opportunity 
for  the  useful  disposition  of  time  is  ever  pres- 
ent.— Landreth  liu.  Beg. 

These  suggestions  are  applicable  to  any 
kind  of  garden,  whether  a  kitchen  garden, 
flower  garden,  or  large  market  garden;  and 
yet  there  are  many  gardens  that  receive  no  at- 
tention whatever  until  the  planting  time  is 


immediately  at  hand;  in  the  mean  time  they 
are  the  common  depositories  of  boxes,  weeds, 
old  cans,  broken  crockery,  coal  ashes,  oyster- 
shells,  sticks  and  stones,  and  any  and  every 
kind  of  rubbish  that  people  wish  to  expel 
from  their  sheds,  yards  and  houses;  unless 
they  may  choose  to  erect  a  pyramid  of  such 
trash  convenient  to  their  kitchen  doors. 
Doubtless  some  will  allege  that  all  this  rub- 
bish contains  fertilizing  substances  that  will 
lie  imparted  to  the  soil  during  the  winter,  and 
hence  they  take  that  slovenly  way  of  recupe- 
rating their  gardens.  Even  admitting  that, 
to  some  extent,  such  is  the  case,  it  must  be 
evident  that  such  fertilization  must  be  very 
irregularly  distributed,  and  may  not  be  sup- 
plied where  it  is  most  needed.  The  January 
work  on  either  a  farm  or  a  garden  will  de- 
pend a  great  deal  on  the  kind  of  weather  we 
have.  If  there  is  three  feet  of  snow  on  the 
ground  during  the  entire  month,  much  of  the 
work  of  order  must  be  deferred  to  a  more 
"convenient  season." 

WINTER  BLOOMING. 

Up  to  the  incoming  of  the  new  year  the  season 
has  been  a  remarkably  mild  one,  although 
not  by  any  means  a  unique  one..  Apples,  pears, 
peaches  and  cherries  have  bloomed,  and  in 
some  instances  have  borne  fruit,  in  the  months 
of  October,  November  and  December.  Dan- 
delions and  other  dowering  plants  have  also 
bloomed  in  the  open  air.  Snakes  and  other 
reptiles  have  gone  abroad,  ants  have  swarmed 
and  large  fungi  have  sprung  up  as  late  as  the 
third  of  November.  This  illustrates  that  the 
whole  living  world  is  always  ready  for  vital 
action,  as  soon  as  heat,  light  and  air  super- 
vene, no  matter  what  period  in  the  year  it 
may  be.  The  old  theory  tliat  the  sap  descends 
to  the  roots  of  all  perennial  vegetation,  and 
the  vital  functions  are  entirely  suspended, 
and  the  plant  world  indulges  in  a  long  winter 
.sleep,  has  no  existence  in  fact,  as  a  universal 
condition.  It  seems  as  if  all  nature  was  al- 
ways in  a  state  of  watchfulness  for  the  oppor- 
tunities engendered  by  heat,  light  and  air. 
We  have  seen  caterpillars  revive  in  January 
and  feeding  as  voraciously  as  they  do  in  July 
and  August,  when  food  was  obtainable,  and 
perhaps  within  three  days  thereafter  they 
have  retired  and  relapsed  into  their  winter 
hibernations.  Trees  seem  to  be  always  full 
of  .sap,  which  is  ready  to  swell  or  break  forth 
from  their  leaf  and  flower  buds,  whenever  the 
atmospheric  condition  is  favorable  to  their 
inflorescence  and  fructification,  either  in  late 
autumn,  midwintc^r  or  early  spring.  Never- 
theless the  intervention  of  winter  in  our 
climate  is  necessary  to  that  repose  and  re- 
cuperation which  plants  require,  to  enable 
them  to  bear  a  prolific  and  perfect  crop  of 
flowers  or  fruit.  Even  if  summer  was  pro- 
longed during  the  whole  year,  it  is  doubtful 
whether  a  second  crop  would  pay  for  gather- 
ing or  possess  the  requisite  qiiality  when 
gathered.  Second  blooming,  and  second  crops 
are  usually  abnormal  and  abortive.  Vegeta- 
tion attempts  something  by  such  phenomena 
that  it  caiuiot  successfully  carry  out  in 
practical  results.  Rest  and  recreation  is 
something  that  is  needed.  The  winter 
bloomer  may  not  be  worth  much  next 
summer. 


1882 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


'  AID   AND   COMFORT." 

A  (lisiiiignished  editorial  contemporary,  in 
reviewing  lli(^  present  stutus  and  tlie  past  pro- 
grehs  of  his  journal,  very  sjijniliitantly  remarks: 
"Thai  our  labors  have  been  duly  appreciated 
is  shown  by  tlie  assistance  we  have  had  from 
the  able  and  progressive  men  and  women  who 
have  contributeil  their  l)est  thoui;lits  to  its 
pa^'cs,  and  liy  their  kindly  and  zealous  efforts 
continuously  put  forth  for  the  exteusion  of  its 
circulation." 

Any  publication  that   is  fortunate  enough 
to  realize  the  foregoing  text,  cnmes  within  tlie 
possibility   of    ultimate  success  ;    for,    single 
handed    and    alone,    either  a  publisher  or  an 
editor,  "can  do  nothing. "     ^'Vaiitty,    i.s    the 
spice  of  life,"  which  adds  interest  tea  journal, 
especially  when  that  variety  consists  of  the 
"best  tlioughts"  of    zealous   and  intelligent 
men  and  women  contributors.     The  Lancas- 
ter Faiimeii  has  been  long  enough  before  the 
public  to  entitle  it   to  the  inediumHhip  of  the 
best  thoughts  of  the  agriculturists  of  Lancas- 
ter county,  and  that  it  is,  not  so  is  one  of  the 
things  that  is  incomprehensible   to  those  who 
reside  beyond    its  borders.     With    perhaps   a 
single  exception,   the  Lan'casteu   Faiimek 
has  lived  longer  than  any    other  agricultural 
paper  ever  published  in  Peuusylvania.   There 
is  not  a  more  convenient,  a  safer,  or  a  more 
permanent  recorder  of  the  best  thoughts  of  the 
people  of  the  county  and  the  State,  than  is  to 
be  found  betwetn  the  covers  of  the  Fakmek  ; 
and  the  citizens  of  the  county  had  "better  be- 
lieve it."    There    is    as    much   agricultural, 
mechanical,  professional  and  scientific  thought 
— and  as  much  of  the   substances  upon  which 
thought  exercises  itself— iu  Lancaster  county, 
as  in  any  other  county  in  the  State,  and  our 
local  journal  is  the  book  in  which  they  should 
be  recorded  and  transmitted  to  posterity.  The 
text  we  quote  above,  is  the   language  of  an 
octogenerian,  who   has    occupied    the    chair 
editorial  for  more  than  half  a  century,  and  he 
virtually  acknowledges  that  his  success  is  due 
to  the  assistance  which  he  has  received   from 
contributors  and  canvassers  of  both  sexes.    It 
is  the  same  with  every  i)eriodical    publication 
in  the  land.     The  greatest   flow  of  tliought 
must  come  from  other  sources  than  the  minds 
of  their  editors  only,   or  they  will  lack  that 
flavor  which  renders  thcra  agreeable  to  the 
public. 


HOW  DO   EELS   BREED.' 

In  the  Neil)  Era  of  December  10,  I  saw  a 
communication,  signed  by  Mr.  William  Neal, 
of  Port  Deposit,  in  reference  to  the  ef?-ft?Tf(ifm/ 
question,  and  as  we  can  develoji  facts  oft- 
times  by  agitating  such  subjects  on  which  we 
are  not  thoroughly  familiar,  1  would  respect- 
fully ask  to  be  admitted  to  your  columns  on 
this  subject.  His  theory  accords  perfectly 
with  mine,  that  eels  breed  like  other  fish,  but 
I  cannot  believe  the  lamprey  to  be  the  female 
eel — that  is,  the  eel  which  is  caught  so  exten- 
sively in  the  Susquehanna.  I  have  spent  my 
early  boyhood  on  the  banks  of  the  Susque- 
hanna, and  have  played  at  its  water's  edge 
many  a  summer's  day,  gathering  shells  of 
the  fre.sh  water  mollusca  and  watching  the 
tiny  fishes  disport  themselves  in  its  limpid 
waters. 

One  morning  some  time  in  Jlay,  I  cannot, 
xmfortunately,  fix  the  date,  I  noticed  a  black 
line  along  the  shore,  which  proved  to  be  a 
host  of  small  eels  migrating  up  the  river.  A 
few  years  after  that  I  noticed  them  again,  but 
they  did  not  continue  so  long  a.«  the  first  time, 


when  they  occupied  a  full  day  and  night  in 
passing,  some  straggling  along  the  next  day 
at  eight  o'clock.  This,  then,  proves  to  me 
that  I  hey  migrate,  and  do  not  breed  in  the 
upiKT  waters  of  the  river. 

Now,  then,  an  experiment  which  was  made 
in  my  presence  by  my  mother  proved  to  me 
that  they  have  ('!/;/s  /  We  took  of  that  sub- 
stance which  an  eel  contains,  and  is  usually 
called  fat  by  fishermen,  and  frietl  it,  and  it 
yielded  no  oil  as  the  fat  of  other  fishes  does, 
which  proved  to  my  mind  that  it  is  Ihcornriuin 
and  not  fat,  but  the  eggs  are  so  small  that 
they  are  not  recognized  by  the  naked  eye. 

From  the  above,  I  infer  that  the  eels  breed 
in  the  deep  waters  of  the  b.ay  in  the  mud,  and 
in  the  spring  ascend  the  river  to  grow,  and  in 
the  fall  they  descend  again  to  deposit  their 
eggs  in  the  mud  of  the  bay.  It  seems  to  me 
that  nature  itself  proves  that  the  lamprey  is 
not  tlie  female,  as  but  very  few  were  caught, 
possibly  no  more  than  three,  during  the  six- 
teen years  I  si>ent  at  the  river,  while  as  many 
as  50U  eels  were  caught  by  us  in  one  night  in 
pots  in  the  Turkey  Hill  falls,  which,  accord- 
ing to  Mr.  Neal's  theory,  would  have  been  all 
males  !  In  all  other  forms  of  life  the  sexes  are 
nearly  equal  in  the  numbers  of  the  males  and 
females,  but  in  the  eels  the  disparity  would 
be  too  great.  I  would  refer  Mr.  Neal  to  an 
able  article , by  Dr.  Rathvon  in  the  Deceml)er 
number  of  the  Lnncnslcr  Fanner,  in  which 
the  eel  question  is  thoroughly  ventilated. — JS. 
K.  Hershei/,  CresweU,  Dec.  li),  1881. 

In  the  New  Era  of  December  21,   1881,   I 
noticed  a  very   sensible   article  from   E.  K. 
Hershey  on  the  subject  of  eels,   their  migra- 
tions and  breeding  habits,  etc.,    in   which  he 
alludes  to  a  communication   from   Mr.    Wil- 
liam Neal,  of  Port  Deposit,  which,  it  appears, 
was  published  in  the  New   Era  of  December 
10.     Somehow  that    communication    entirely 
escaped  my  observation,  nor  could  I  And  it  in 
that  issue,  although  I  looked  for  it    after    my 
attention  was  called  to  it    by   Mr.   Hershey 's 
article.     It  a|)pears  to  me  that  nothing  could 
possibly  be  more  absurd  than  that  the  lamprey 
is  the  female  of  the  common    eel,    and    that 
through  her  the    race    is    perpetuated.     The 
lamprey  is  far  removed  from   the    common 
eel.     Between  the  AnguilUlcr.,  or   eel   family, 
and  the  Petromyzonidce,  or  lamprey    family, 
there  is  a  very  wide  difference  both   iu  struc- 
ture and  haViit.     The  pipe  fish,  the  sea  horse, 
the  putTers,  tne  sun  fishes,   the   trunk    fishes, 
tlie  sturgeons,  the  dog  fish,    the    sharks,    the 
threshers,  the  hammer-heads,  the   saw-lishes, 
the  I'ays  and  the  torpedoes,  are  all  families  and 
genera  intermediate  between  the  eels  and  the 
lampreys.     The  common   eel  of  the  United 
States  is  the  Ant^idlla  hostoniensis,  and  has  the 
dorsal  and  anal  fins  continuous  around  the  end 
of  the  tail,  forming  by  their  union  a  pointed 
caudal  extremity.      They  have  also  very  con- 
spicuously a  paii;  of  pectoral  fins,  which  are 
entirely  absent  in  the  lamprey.     Although  the 
latter  has  an  irregular  dorsal  fin,  it  is  desti- 
tute of  the  anal  fin,  and  the  caudal  termina- 
tion is  not  iiointed  but  broad.     The  common 
lamprey  is  the  Pctromyzon  Americanus.     This 
species  has  a  maxillary  ring  armed  with  strong 
teeth,  and   they  attach   them.selves   to  other 
fishes.     Many  years  ago  I  saw  one  nearly  two 
feet  long  attached    to  a    large    sucker    that 
had  been  caught  in   a  shad  seine  in  the  Sus- 
quehanna.    I  have  also  known  hundreds  of 
the  smaller  ones  to  be  dug  out  of  the  mud  flats 
of  the  Susquehanna,   ojiposite  Marietta,  and 
used  as  bait.     The  female  lamprey  is  no  more 
the  mother  of  the  common  eel  than  she  is  the 
mother  of  the  blacksnake,   or  the  boa  con- 


strictor, and  it  is  a  matter  of  surprise  that  any 
one  living  near  the  bays  and  rivers  of  our 
country  should  for  a  single  moment  entertain 
such  a  fallacy.  The  (luestiou  of  eel  breeding 
must  be  decided  without  the  aid  of  the 
lamprey. 


EXCERPTS. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

The  gi'eat  gray  slug  has  a  supply  of 
28,000  teeth. 

There  are  forty-six  species  of  the  English 
cuckoo. 

DusTEiis  were  at  first  made  of  the  tails  of 
oxen  or  foxes. 

The  earliest  mention  of  parks  is  among  the 
Persians. 

The  leech  has  eight  or  ten  eyes  set  in  its 
back  near  the  head. 

Gauze  is  said  to  receive  its  name  from  Gaza, 
in  Palestine,  where  it  was  first  made. 

The  part  of  the  hnman  body  which  shows 
the  greatest  variety  of  color  is  the  iris  of  the 
eye. 

The  moon  was  pronounced  by  Anaxago- 
ras,  500  B.  C,  to  be  an  earth  having  moun- 
tains and  valleys. 

King  Alfred  used  to  measure  time  by  a 
device  of  twelve  candles,  graduated  so  as  to 
burn  two  hours  each. 

The  cochineal  insect  is  very  small,  a  pound 
of  cochineal  being  calculated  to  contain  not 
less  than  70,000  in  a  dried  state. 

A  PECULIAR  violet  odor  is  emitted  from 
the  males  ot  some  species  of  Brazilian  butter- 
flies, the  female  being  not  at  all  fragrant. 

To  neutralize  the  sting  of  gnats  and  mos- 
quitos,  English  sportsmen  rub  the  part  affect- 
ed with  cerumen,  or  the  wax  of  the  ear. 

The  fashion  in  men's  hats  changes  far 
more  often  in  England,  France,  and  America 
than  in  other  countries.  The  sombrero  worn 
in  Don  Quixote's  time  is  in  fashion  in  Spain 
to-day. 

Within  the  past  sixty  years  the  value  of 
gold  has  fluctuated  from  15i  to  15|  times 
thatof  silver,  aver  aging  about  loi  time  and 
never  falling  so  low  as  that  of  fifteen  times 
such  value. 

Among  the  early  Romans  a  kind  of  festi, 
or  annals,  was  kept  by  driving  nails  into  the 
wall  of  the  Temple  of  Minerva;  and  in  pub- 
lic calamities,  in  time  of  pestilence,  etc.,  a 
nail  was  fastened  in  the  Temple  of  Jupiter. 

Christian  names  are  so  called  by  having 
been  given  to  converts  in  baptism  as  substi- 
tutes for  their  former  pagan  appellations, 
many  of  which  were  borrowed  from  the 
names  of  their  gods,  and  were  therefore  re- 
jected as  profane. 

The  institution  of  the  "Order  of  the 
Bath"  originated  in  the  custom  of  the  Franks, 
who,  when  they  conferred  knighthood,  bathed 
before  they  performed  the  ceremony,  and 
from  this  habit  came  the  title  Knight  of  the 
Bath. 

A  well-fed  frog  is  more  susceptible  to  poison 
than  one  which  has  been  fasted  for  weeks. 

Corals  often  permanently  change  color, 
when  subjected  to  different  conditions  of 
living. 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[January, 


The  Japanese  bronze  brass  by  boilinc;  it  i  n 
a  solution  of  sulphate  of  copper,  alum  aud 
verdigris. 

A  concentrated  beam  of  electric  lisht  car- 
ried seven  miles  has  furnished  sufficient  light 
to  read  by. 

The  solar  atmosphere  contains  sodium 
iron,  calcium,  magnesium,  nickel,  barium, 
copper  and  zinc. 

AccoiiDiNG  to  Ehreuberg  a  cubic  inch  of 
water  may  contain  more  than  800,000,000,000 
of  animalculoe. 

Pl-VTINUJi  when  alloyed  with  silver  be- 
comes soluble  in  nitric  acid,  which,  does  not 
affect  it  while  unalloyed. 

Pig  iron  contains  from  ninety-five  to 
ninety-seven  parts  of  pure  iron,  and  three  to 
five  of  carbon,  with  small  quantities  of  sul- 
phur, phosphorus  and  silicon. 

Hay,  like  most  vegetable  products,  con- 
tains much  material  which  is  soluble  in  water. 
On  this  material  its  nutritive  value  depends, 
and  its  removal  by  dampness  seriously  in- 
jures the  crop. 

The  floods  and  droughts  of  the  present 
time  will  probably  lead  farmers  and  others  to 
a  careful  reconsideration  of  the  question  re- 
garding the  proportion  which  wooded  ought 
to  bear  to  cleared  land. 

Last  year  the  German  wire  mills  supplied 
England  with  30,000  tons  of  wire,  and  Ru.ssia 
with  40,000  tons.  France  received  from  Ger- 
many from  12,000  to  1.5,000  tons  of  steel  wire 
for  sofa  springs,  and  America  not  less  than 
30,000  from  the  same  source. 

From  surveys  taken  in  the  province  of  Ufa, 
Russia,  it  appears  that  the  former  forest  area 
of  17,.577,000  acres  has  now  been  diminished 
by  more  than  3,500,000  acres,  and  yet  the 
population  is  only  three  to  the  square  mile. 

Edward  Richardson,  of  Mississippi,  is 
the  largest  cotton  raiser  in  the  world,  the 
Khedive  of  Egypt  coming  second.  '  Mr.  Rich- 
ardson owns  some  52,000  acres  of  cotton  land, 
from  which  he  raised  last  year  more  than  12,- 
000  bales.  He  gins,  spins,  and  weaves  it,  and 
has  oil  mills  as  well.  Mr.  Richardson  has 
amassed  a  fortune  variously  estimated  at  from 
$15,000,000  to  120,000,000. 

There  are  700,000  Masons  in  the  United 
States. 

The  length  of  the  East  river  suspension 
bridge  is  5,993  feet. 

The  quantity  of  soda  imported  into  the 
United  States  from  England  in  1817  was 
8,000  tons. 

In  an  edition  of  Ptolemy's  geography,  1510, 
a  double-tailed  mermaid  figures  in  one  of  the 
plates. 

There  are  seventy-two  national  cemeteries 
for  the  burial  of  the  Union  and  Confederate 
dead. 

A5IONG  the  natives  of  India  white  quartz, 
boiled  in  milk,  is  used  as  a  remedy  for  sick 
children. 

A  wire  400  feet  long  can  be  made  from  one 
grain  of  silver.  Such  a  wire  is  finer  than 
human  hair. 

The  ancient  Chinese  used  liydropathy  as  a 
cure  for  certain  diseases,  among  others 
chronic  rheumatism. 


Steel  needles  were  invented  by  the  Spanish 
Moors,  before  which  thorns  or  fish  bones, 
with  a  hole  pierced  for  an  eye,  were  used. 
The  first  needles  made  in  London  were  made 
in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  by  a  Moor. 

The  first  book  published  in  the  North 
American  colonies  was,  it  is  supposed,  an 
"Almanac  calculated  for  New  England,  by 
Mr.  William  Pierce,"  which  appeared  in 
Cambridge  in  1639.  It  was  printed  by 
Stephen  Daye,  but  not  a  copy  of  it  now  exists. 

Those  of  us  who  in  winter  comjilain  that 
the  sun  has  not  power  of  warmth  should  bear 
in  mind  Professor  Young's  recent  remark, 
that  if  we  could  build  up  a  solid  column  of 
ice  from  the  earth  to  the  sun,  two  miles  and 
a  quarter  in  diameter,  spainiing  the  incon- 
ceivable abyss  of  93,000,000  miles,  and  if  then 
the  sun  should  concentrate  its  power  upon  it, 
it  would  dissolve  and  melt,  not  in  an  hour 
nor  in  a  minute,  but  in  a  single  second  ;  one 
swing  of  the  pendulum  and  it  would  be  water 
seven  more  and  it  would  be  dissipated  in 
vapor. 

economical. 

A  teaspoonful  of  saltpeter  to  a  pail  of 
water  -will  kill  worms  in  the  roots  of  squashes. 

Pigs  are  able  to  consume  far  more  food  in 
proportion  to  their  weight  than  either  sheep 
or  oxen. 

Sheep  provided  with  cotton-seed  meal  as 
an  auxiliary  feed  are  the  best  restorers  of 
worn-out  pastures. 

Combs  aud  wattles  of  fowls  may  be  pre- 
vented from  freezing  by  oiling  them  so  as  to 
prevent  their  getting  wet. 

Sweet  apples  are  an  excellent  feed  for 
cows,  if  supplied  in  moderate  quantities  and 
under  favorable  circumstances. 

Green  manuring,  or  the  plowing  in  of 
green  crops,  is  esi>ecially  adapted  for  light 
sandy  soils,  wliich  need  humus  to  increase 
their  retentive  power. 

At  some  timej  during  the  fall  or  winter 
give  the  thin  spots  in  meadows  and  pastures 
an  even  coat  of  manure.  Harrow  hi  spring 
and  sow  grass  seed. 

A  farm  can  be  stocked  with  sheep  cheaper 
than  with  any  other  animals.  Sheep  will 
come  nearer  to  utilizing  everything  which 
grows  on  the  farm. 

Joseph  Hap^ris  says  that  we  can  make  our 
lands  poor  by  growing  clover  and  selling  it,  or 
we  can  make  them  rich  by  growing  clover 
and  feeding  it  out  on  the  farm. 

Add  a  little  glycerine  to  the  grease  applied 
to  harness,  and  it.will  be  keiit  in  a  soft  aud 
pliable  state,  in  spite  of  the  amnioniacal  ex- 
halations of  the  stable,  which  tend  to  make 
it  brittle. 

All  noxious  weeds,  such  as  dock,  skunk 
cabbage  and  others  may  be  killed  by  pouring 
a  small  quantity  of  kerosene  oil  over  the 
young  plants.  They  may  also  be  cut  off  with 
a  hoe  several  inches  below  the  surface  and 
salt  dropped  on  the  cut-off  root. 

Some  people  think  that  grapevines  will 
grow  an3'where  because  in  their  boj'hood 
they  found  strong,  luxuriant  wild  vines  grow- 
ing in  damp  places.  Do  not  make  a  mistake. 
Vines  on  low  lands  suffer  much  by  the  winter. 
Hillsides  and  lean  soils  are  good  for  grapes 


for  hard  winters.     For  manure   that   of   the 
cowyard  is  good. 

Grease,  says  a  writer  in  the  Rural  New 
Yorker,  is  fatal  to  all  insect  life.  Insects 
breathe  by  means  of  small  pores  on  their 
sides.  Grease  or  oil  that  comes  in  contact 
with  the  insects  closes  the  pores  and  stops  the 
Ijreathing.  Mercurial  ointment  kills  as  much 
by  the  lard  in  it  as  by  the  mercury— that  is, 
so  far  as  the  vermin  are  concerned,  but  not 
as  to  the  animals  that  lick  it  off'  from  their 
bodies,  so  that  almost  any  oily  or  greasy  ap- 
plication will  be  destructive  to  insect  vermin 
that  infest  animals  if  it  is  applied  where  it 
will  do  the  most  good. 

The  importation  of  opium  by  this  country 
which  in  181)1  was  109,.53i5  pounds,  in  1871 
had  grown  to  315,121,  and  in  1880  amounted 
to  533,451  pounds.  These  figures  indicate  an 
immense  increase  in  opium  eating.  In  1876 
it  was  estimated  that  the  number  of  people 
having  the  habit  was  225,000,  and  now  it  is 
thought  to  be  fully  500,000.  Some  persons 
become  so  accustomed  to  the  drug  as  to  take 
immense  doses.  A  Missouri  farmer  took  forty 
grains  of  morphia  at  once  without  apparent 
injury,  and  there  are  several  cases  reported  in 
which  sixty  grains  a  day  were  taken  regularly. 

A  statistician  has  been  figuring  upon  the 
annual  consumption  by  American  manufac- 
turers of  the  precious  metals,  which  he  esti- 
mates as  $13,000,000  gold  and  $3,000,000 
silver.  Two-tliirds  of  the  latter  is  used  in 
making  plate.  Of  the  gold,  the  greater  part 
goes  for  rings  and  watch  cases.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  there  are  about  250,000  wedding 
rings  given  in  this  country  every  year,  aver- 
aging $2  each  in  cost.  There  are  100,000 
more  rings  given  as  gages  (Vamour  and  a  still 
larger  number  bestowed  in  holiday  presents. 

MORAL   ECONOMY. 

People's  intentions  can  only  be  decided 
by  their  conduct. 

Strive  for  the  best,  and  provide  against 
the  worst. 

Be  graceful  if  you  can  ;  but  if  you  can't  be 
graceful,  be  true. 

He  who  throws  out  suspicion  should  at 
once  be  suspected  himself. 

An  effort  made  for  the  liappiness  of  others 
lifts  us  above  ourselves. 

There  is  always  room  for  a  man  of  force, 
and  he  makes  room  for  many. 

Time  once  passed  never  returns;  the  mo- 
ment which  is  lost  is  lost  forever. 

Pride  breakfasted  with  Plenty,  dined  with 
Poverty  and  supped  with  Infamy. 

There  is  a  past  which  is  gone  forever.  But 
there  is  a  future  which  is  still  our  own. 

There  are  few  occasions  when  ceremony 
may  not  be  dispensed  with  ;  kindness   never. 

A  father's  blessing  builds  houses  for  his 
cluldren,  but  a  mother's  curse  tears  them 
down. 

Reading,  study,  thinking,  observation  and 
sensible  conversation  makes  the   mind  grow. 

Argument  in  company  is  generally  the 
worst  sort  of  conversation,  and  in  books  the 
worst  of  reading. 

The  discovery  of  what  is  true  and  the 
practice  of  what  is  good  are  the  two  most  im- 
portant objects  of  life. 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


We  can't  lie  too  nuidi  on  our  giuml  against 
reactions,  lest  \vc  rush  from  ono  fault  into 
another  contrary  fault. 

Nothing  so  adorns  the  faco  as  chct^^'fiil- 
ness.  When  the  heart  is  in  llower,  its  bloom 
and  beauty  pass  to  the  features. 

A  wise  man  in  the  company  of  those  who 
are  ignorant  has  beiui  compared  by  the  sages 
to  a  beautiful  girl  m  the  company  ofhlind 
men. 

A  person  that  would  seciu'e  to  himself  great 
deference  will,  perhaps,  gain  his  point  by 
silence  as  effectually  as  by  anything  he  can 
say. 

No  school  is  more  necessary  to  childr  n 
than  patience,  because  either  the  will  must 
bo  broken  in  childhood,  or  the  heart  in  old 
age. 

DOJIESTIC  ECONOMY. 

Add  all  refuse  matter  to  the  compost 
heap. 

English  farmers  use  bone  dust  on  pastures, 
but  prefer  superphosphates  for  sown  crops. 

The  addition  of  charcoal  in  the  soil  dce]i- 
ens  the  tint  of  dahlias,  hyacinths  and  petunias. 

Scions,  it  is  claimed,  carry  with  them  the 
tearing  year  of  the  tree  from  which  they  were 
taken. 

Shelter  and  warmth,  with  regularity  in 
feeding,  are  essential  to  success  in  the  man- 
agement of  cattle. 

Clear  the  ground  now  on  which  you  ex- 
pect to  put  small  fruit  plants  next  year.  Do 
it  thoroughly,  too. 

All  that  you  wish  to  know  of  any  new 
breeds  of  fowls  will  not  be  learned  from  those 
who  are  anxious  to  sell  them. 

Scrub  sheep  are  dear  even  for  no  price  at 
all.  On  a  good  farm  they  are  as  bad  as  rusly 
nails  on  a  new  house. 

Feed  windbroken  horses  frequently  and 
little  at  a  time.  Grind  the  food.  Give  plenty 
of  salt  and  little  water  at  a  time. 

Teach  your  children  not  to  aimoy  or  mal- 
treat the  toad.  Try  rather  to  coax  him  to 
your  garden.      He  will  destroy  many  insects. 

A  LITTLE  grease  or  kerosene  on  the  legs  of 
fowls  will  remove  scabs  in  a  short  time.  Two 
applications  are  sometimes  needed. 

As  A  partial  antidote  for  drought,  keep  the 
land  rich,  plow  deeply,  and  cultivate  as  often 
as  possible.    Cultivation  always  tells. 

On  many  farms  there  are  some  old  cattle 
and  old  sheep  tiiat  can  only  be  kept  at  a  loss. 
It  is  economy  to  fatten  them  for  the  butcher. 

Those  who  have  been  feeding  the  surplus 
fruit  to  hogs  say  that  their  stock  are  in  excel- 
lent and  healthy  condition.  Fruit  makes  fine 
sweet  pork. 

Where  the  ground  is  infested  with  white 
grubs  it  would  be  advisable  to  mix  salt  spar- 
ingly with  the  soil  before  setting  out  straw- 
berry plants. 

An  offensive  odor  from  decaying  vegetables 
will  be  absorbed  by  milk.  A  pair  of  old  slvoes 
or  a  pair  of  barnyard  overalls  in  a  cellar  where 
there  is  milk  are  likely  to  contaminate  it. 

Put  your  stock  in  a  good  condition  to  stand 
the  winter  by  giving  a  little  fodder  of  some 
kind  early  in  the  morning.  A  slight  breakfast 


of  cornstalks  or  some  other  food  will  be  great- 
ly relished  while  (he  air  is  cold  and  the  grass 
frozen.  Colts,  calves  and  lambs  need  particu- 
lar attention  at  this  season. 

A  Connecticut  farmer  says  that  the  butt 
ends  of  potatoes  and  the  kernels  of  corn  fi'om 
the  butt  ends  of  the  ears,  each  produced 
crops  that  were  materially  belter  than  where 
the  opposite  course  was  pursued.  In  the  case 
of  potatoes  the  stalks  from  the  butt  end  were 
much  the  larger  and  more  forward  at  the  first 
hoeing.  The  increase  in  corn  was  .some  twenty 
per  cent,  in  faTor  of  the  butt  end  kernels. 

TiiE  most  profitable  way  to  raise  beef  cattle 
is  to  keep  them  constantly  in  a  thrifty  and  im- 
proving condition.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
keei)  very  young  stock  rolling  in  fat,  but  there 
should  always  be  an  abundance  of  nutritious 
food  to  help  nature  in  its  development.  To 
allow  stock  to  run  down  in  llesh  and  become 
ill  Conditioned,  simply  lieeanse  it  is  not  de- 
signed for  market  for  some  time,  is  the  height 
of  folly. 


OUR   RESPONSIBILITY. 

We  are  not  at  all  responsible  for  the  non- 
appearance of  paiicrs  read  before  the  Agri- 
cultural and  Horticultural  Society,  in  the 
cDlumns  of  the  liAxcASTEU  Farmer,  imless 
immediately  directed  to  us.  Under  present 
circumstances,  it  is  almost  impossible  for  us 
to  attend  a  meeting,  and  very  unfortunately 
for  us  we  cannot  hear  what  is  said  and  done 
when  we  do  attend,  but  we  nevertheless  feel, 
and  ever  have  felt,  a  deep  interest  in  its  wel- 
fare ;  hence,  we  never  have  said  or  done  any- 
thing, or  intended  to  do  anything  prejudicial 
to  its  standing  and  its  usefulness  in  the  com- 
munity. The  publisher  of  the  Farmer  sends 
his  reporter  to  the  meethigs  of  thesociety,  to 
report  its  proceedings  for  his  daily  and  weekly 
papers,  and  when  that  part  of  the  Farmer 
(which  we  do  not  profess  to  control)  is  made 
up,  his  foreman  very  naturally  selects  tlie  pro- 
ceedings found  in  the  paper  issued  from  the 
same  oflice.  These  are  details  that  do  not 
belong  to  our  specialty  as  editor.  If  any 
member  of  the  society  discovers  that  the 
papers  he  has  read  before  it  are  omitted, 
neglected,  or  suppressed,  he  must  hold  the 
publisher,  or  rcjiortcr,  or  both,  responsible, 
and  not  the  editor,  for  wo  can  under  no  cir- 
cumstances be  held  accountable  for  that 
which  has  never  come  into  our  po.ssession. 
Any  intelligent  person  who  reads  the  pros- 
pectus of  the  Farmer  will  find  that  all  com- 
munications, contributions  and  essays  should 
be  sent  to  the  editor,  and  all  subscriptions, 
advertisements  and  business  matters  to  the 
publisher,  in  order  to  insure  attention. 

The  charge  against  us  in  the  i>roceedings  of 
the  last  meeting,  under  the  caption  of  '"In- 
sects," (which,  by  the  way,  is  like  the  play 
of  Hamlet,  with  the  part  of  Hamlet  left  out) 
is  a  disingenuous  one,  and  entirely  foreign  to 
the  character  we  thought  we  had  been  en- 
deavoring to  cultivate  ;  and  the  author  of  the 
charge  is  consciously  or  unconsciously  exer- 
cising himself  unnecessarily  on  our  account. 
So  far  as  the  matter  relates  to  ourself  indi- 
vidually, we  attach  little  or  no  importance  to 
it ;  but  the  attribution  to  us  of  motives  which 
we  never  for  a  single  moment  entertained, 
and  the  feeble  attempt  to  create  the    impres- 


sion that  we  have  been  acting  prejudicially  to 
the  interests,  the  edification,  and  the  dignity 
of  the  society,  imposes  upon  us  the  necessity 
of  making  this  exi>lanation — especially  as  the 
association  is  one  of  those  with  which  we  have 
been  identified  from  its  very  origin, and  which 
we  have  always  esteemed. 


EDIBLE   FUNGI. 


Tlic  Ijoiik  on  the  Fuiuji  of  the  United  States 
has  not  yet  been  written,  it  seems — at  least, 
it  has  not  yet  been  published — and  especially 
the  bonk  on  the  edible  funyi.  Such  a  book  is 
needed,  but  po.ssibly  the  enterprise  of  publish- 
ing it  "would  not  pay."  On  the  night  of  the 
3d  of  November,  1881,  a  fungus  sprung  up  in 
our  garden  nearly  twelve  inches  in  height, 
belonging  to  the  order  Agaraclm,  which 
diflered  from  any  we  had  Ijefore  noticed.  The 
pilnts,  or  hood,  was  tall  bell-shaped — nearly  a 
cone — flaring  a  little  at  the  bottom,  which 
was  surrounded  with  a  broad  fringe,  and  was 
nearly  six  inches  in  height.  The  gills,  inside, 
were  of  a  puriilish  rown  in  color,  and  rather 
finer  than  the  common  species.  The  stock  or 
stem  was  over  ten  inches  high  and  tapered  to 
the  top,  and  the  pileus  was  so  delicately 
poised  on  its  upper  point,  that  the  least  draft 
of  air  caused  an  active  oscillation.  The  color, 
externally,  was  a  tarnished  white,  and  the 
surface  of  the  pileus  was  covered  with  fiae 
fibers,  gathered  in  tufts,  giving  it  the  appear- 
ance of  disordered  plush.  The  diameter  at 
open  mouth  of  the  pileus  was  .3]  inches. 
After  we  first  discovered  it,  it  did  not  increase 
any  in  size,  and  we  let  it  remain  three  days 
before  we  took  it  up,  and  then  only  to  pre- 
vent it  from  freezing,  as  the  weatherhad  sud- 
denlv  changed  to  cold.  AVe  referred  a  draw- 
ing of  it  to  Professor  Farlow,  of  Cambridge, 
Mass.,  and  he  kindly  determined  it  for  us  as 
Coprinus  comatus,  and  further  informed  us 
that  it  was  excellent  when  cooked.  And 
there  is  just  the  "rub,"  for  doubtless  we  have 
many  edible  fungi  in  our  country,  if  we  only 
could  tell  "tother  from  which." 

Many  long  years  ago,  when  large  districts 
in  our  county  (that  are  now  cultivated 
meadows  and  fields)  were  woodlands,  we  were 
familiar  with  a  white  .species  of  fungus,  which 
was  commonly  called  "pipe-stems,"  because 
they  grew  in  clusters,  or  bunches,  from  six 
to  a  dozen  grouped  together,  and  bent  at  top 
like  a  common  white  clay  pipe.  These  were 
gathered  by  a  few  knowing  families,  cooked, 
and  much  relished.  But  the  people  generally 
did  not  trust  them,  although  the  common 
"Mushroom"  {A(jaricm  eanqjestris)  and  the 
"Morell"  or  "Mauricle"  {Morchella  esculanti) 
were  in  very  common  use. 

We  have  now  before  us  a  catalogue  of  the 
"Pacific  Coast  Fungi,"  giving  a  list  of  the 
si)ecies  systematically  arranged,  their  locali- 
ties, their  authorities,  and  the  simple  fact  of 
the  edible  species,  together  with  their  techni- 
cal names,  without  any  descriptions  whatever. 
This  catalogue  is  published  under  the  auspices 
of  the  California  Academy  of  Sciences,  and 
is,  perhaps,  the  first  attempt  of  the  kind  in 
this  country. 

The  catalogue  includes  759  species,  only  61 
of  which  are  edible;  but  even  this  is  an  im- 
mense number,  compared  with  the  popular 
knowledge  on  the  subject.     It  is  not  claimed 


THE  LANCASTER   FARMER. 


[January, 


however,  tbat  this  contains  all  that  are  indi- 
genous to  the  Pacific  Coast,  as  there  are  as 
many  more  which  have  not  yet  been  "worliecl 
up."  "We  append  a  list  of  the  edible  species, 
and  suggest  that  a  descriptive  work  on  these, 
accurately  illustrated,  is  wliat  is  wanting  on 
the  subject  at  the  present  time. 
Lepiota  excoriatws,  Paxillus  (jiganteus, 

"       illanitus,  ITygrophoiies  ebuineus, 

"      procerus,  Lactarius  dcUciosns, 

"       rachodes,  "         insnleax, 

Armillaria  melleus,  "         2  piperahis, 

CUtocybedealhatus,  "         volenms, 

"        geotropm.  Rnssula  adjusta, 

"        }iebu!aris,  "        alutacea, 

"        odorua,  "        heterophyla, 

Collybia  esculentus,  "        lepida, 

"        fucipes,  Cantharillns  cibarius, 

"        longipnx,  Marasmiux  oreades, 

"        radicatus,  Polyim-as  snlphnrea, 

OmphaUa  oniscus,  Hydunum  repandum, 

Plurotus  ostreatus,  Clavaria  crUtata, 

"         pometis  "        fastigiata, 

"        ubiKicinm,  "        flora, 

VohaTia  leomlycinui:,  Tremella  meianterica, 

CUtopihis  orcella,  Mdangaster  variagatus, 

"  sotda,  '5  LycoperdoK  gipanteum, 

Photiata  mntabilis,  4  Morehella  esmhnta, 

"        sqamosus,  "  conica, 

*Psamoia  arvensu,  Oyrometia  esculenta, 

"        campcstris,  JTelvella  ealifornica, 

"        eretaceus,  "       crUpa, 

"        pratensis,  5  Boletus  luteus, 

"        sUvatica,  "        versipelles, 

Caprinus  atramentarius,  "        scaber, 

"        \comatus,  "         granulates, 

Dermocybe  cinnamomeus,  "        bovinus. 

Of  course,  it  is  presumed  that  the  edible 
species  must  generally  attain  such  a  size  as 
to  make  their  possession  an  object ;  but  many 
of  those  of  the  general  list  must  be  very  small, 
or  found  in  the  form  of  moulds,  smuts,  rusts, 
etc.,  but  even  the  smaller  species,  micro- 
scopically considered,  are  very  pretty  and  in- 
teresting objects  ;  and,  as  the  cause,  or  the 
result,  of  animal  and  vegetable  disease,  they 
occupy  a  prominent  position  in  their  relations 
to  the  interests  of  the  human  family.  As  the 
population  of  a  country  increases,  and  ad- 
vances in  taste  and  culture,  its  culinary 
preparations  will  be  correspondingly  developed 
as  a  domestic  necessity,  and  many  of  the  pro- 
ducts of  nature  will  liecome  objects  of  culti- 
vation that  had  been  hitherto  considered  use- 
less. The  cultivation  of  31ushrooms,  Morells, 
Trufflts,  and  other  species  of  fumji,  has  long 
been  a  source  of  considerable  revenue  to 
European  nations,  and  may  become  so  in 
America. 

»In  an  addenda  to  the  list  -ne  finti  the  single  species  of 
Agaricus  tridens,  and  that  is  a  new  one.  What  has 
usually  been  included  in  tliis  genus  (the  various  Mush- 
rooms) will  be  found  in  the  gcnns  Psalliola. 

1.  This  is  the  species  to  whicli  we  refer  in  the  above 
description,  and  we  may  mention  here  that  it  was  tlie 
only  individual  we  have  ever  noticed  on  our  premises, 
or  elsewhere.  Of  course,  had  we  been  looking  forll,  we 
probably  might  have  found  it  long  ago.  ^ 

2.  Can  this  be  the  species  to  wliich  we  have  referred 
as  the  "pipe  stem  ?"  We  have  not  seen  one  for  at  least 
five  and  forty  years. 

3.  This  species  has  been  frequently  found  in  the 
county  of  Lancaster.  A  specimen  is  now  m  the  Museum 
of  the  Linnajan  Society  that  mensures  flftcen  inches  in 
diameter,  and  developed  in  one  night  in  the  eity  of  Lan- 
caster.   They  commonly  take  the  name  of  "puft'  balls." 

4.  This  is  the  popular  "Mauriele"  of  Lancaster  county . 
and  is  more  or  less  abundant  in  many  localiiies  every 
summer,  being  frequently  to  be  found  in  our  markets. 

5.  Species  of  this  genus  are  abundant  in  Lancaster 
county,  but  we  are  not  aware  that  any  of  them  are  edi- 
ble. They  are  usually  found  on  trees,  logs,  stumps,  etc., 
and  some  of  them  are  very  pretty. 


Contributions. 


For  The  Lanc.\ster  Farmer. 
HYBRIDISING  FRUITS  AND  FLOWERS. 

December  28,  1881. 

3Ir.  Editor— Dear  Sir  :  If  I  were  a  young 
man,  as  you  know  I  am  not— I  would  go 
strongly  into  this  interesting  operation.  What 
a  number  of  new  and  superior  grapes,  pears, 
peaches  and  flow,  rs  have  been  already  produced 
by  this  truly  interesting  process  !  But  great 
improvements  are  yet  to  be  made.  I  well  re- 
member Van  Mon's  experiment  in  producing 
many  new  pears,  yet  he  only  made  progress 
by  raising  seedlings,  and  grafting  the  seed- 
lings on  older  trees,  thus  causing  them  to 
bear  in  advance  of  the  seadlings— then  again 
planting  the  seeds  of  these  and  going  tin  ongh 
the  same  operation,  until  the  sixth  and 
seventh  generation,  each  generation  an  im- 
provement on  the  original— thus  producing 
many  superior  pears.  But  we  do  not  know 
tbat  Van  Mons  practiced  crossing  his  fruits, 
and  so  far  as  we  know,  Mr.  Rogers,  of  Salem, 
Mass.,  was  the  first  who  practically  proved 
that  the  grape  could  by  thus  crossing 
the  grape,  during  its  flowering,  transferr- 
the  pollen  from  one  flower  to  anotlier— 
and  in  this  way  he  has  originated  over  fifty 
new  varieties  1  Yet  many  good  botanists,  at 
the  time,  denied  that  the  Rogers  grapes  were 
crosses.  But  though  they  were  all  seedlings 
of  a  Fox  grape  and  crossed  with  a  pollen 
from  the  exotic,  or  vinefera  species— these 
grapes  all  lost  their  foxiness,  and  are  now 
among  our  best  grapes— vigorous,  healthy, 
hardy  aud  great  bearers  of  delicious  grapes, 
half  native  and  half  foreign. 

Since  Mr.  Rogers  successful  experiments, 
many  others  have  tried  the  same,  with  more 
or  less  success.  Notably  Mr. Campbell  of  Ohio, 
Mr.  Ricketts  of  Newburgh,  New  York  and 
Dr.  Wylie,  of  Chester,  South  Carolina. 

There  is  yet  plenty  of  room  aud  time  for 
our  young  horticulturists  to  "go  and  do  like- 
wise !"  All  fruits  and  flowers  may  be  changed 
in  this  way,  and  if  carefully  performed,  the 
seedlings  will  be  different  and  some  very 
superior  varieties  may  be  thus  produced. 

As  stated  above,  if  I  yet  had  the  hope  of 
living  many  years  (which  of  course  I  have 
not)  what  an  interest  and  pleasure  it  would 
be,  to  thus  spend  my  leisure  time  producing 
new  fruits,  vegetables  and  flowers.  J.  B.  G. 


For  The  Lancaster  Farmhr. 
PERSIMMONS. 

December  29lh,  1881. 

Editor  of  the  Farmer— Bear  Sir :  In  the  De- 
cember No.  of  the  Farmer,  page  184,  L.  S. 
R.  speaks  highly  of  our  native  Persimmons 
and  says  "he  has  some  very  superior  varie- 
ties," which  is  interesting  to  lovers  of  that 
fruit.  I  fully  agree  with  him,  so  far  as  our 
natives  are  concerned.  But  when  he  says  "it 
is  useless  to  waste  our  time,  trying  the  Japa- 
nese varieties,  it  reminds  me  of  the  story  of 
the  "Fox  and  the  grapes."  Poor  Reynard 
saw  some  very  fine  grapes  on  a  high  tree,  and 
as  he  could  not  get  them,  he  passed  along, 
saying  "they  were  only  sour  (/j'cyjcs, "  so  he 
did  not  want  them. 

1  am  fully  of  the  opinion,  that  if  L.  S.  R. 
would  once  get  a  taste  of  these  Japan  varie- 


ties, he  would  change  his  opinion.  'Tis  true, 
they  are  not  in  the  northwest  what  they  call 
iron  dads,  but  even  our  natives  are  frequent- 
ly injured  by  severe  cold  winters.  My  own 
trees,  some  half  a  dozen — ajjparently  not  in- 
jured by  the  last  severe  winter,  yet  they,  the 
trees,  must  have  suffered  some,  as  none  of  ray 
trees  bore  any  fruit  this  last  season.  The 
same  happened  with  all  my  Chinese  and  hy- 
brid pears — as  none  of  the  trees  had  a  single 
fruit— while  last  year,  two  trees  had  over  a 
bushel;  yet  these  Chinese  varieties  are  re- 
markable for  bearing  large  crops  every  year; 
the  trees  appear  all  right,  but  the  flowerbuds 
must  have  sufiered.  I  have  had  the  "Shalea," 
or  Cliinese  sand  pear  near  fifty  years,  oft"  and 
on.  Somtimes  the  trees  were  killed  by  severe 
winters,  but  I  always  got  grafts  again  from 
friends  to  whom  I  had  given  grafts.  These  va- 
rieties of  pears  always  produce  heavy  crops  of 
large  and  showey  pears,  as  do  also  the  Kiefer 
hybrid, and  several  others  no  doubt  would  also 
be  crossed  by  bees  and  insects.  No  blight  on 
these  pears. 

But  the  Japan  persimmons  are  very  diffe- 
rent from  our  natives;  even  before  fully  ripe, 
they  have  none  of  that  astringency  so  peculiar 
to  our  natives.  The  fruit  is  larger  and  I  be 
lieve  they  will  in  time  be  acclimated  in  om- 
middle  States.  A  friend  tells  me  he  had  seve- 
ral varieties,  and  the  trees  froze  down  to  the 
•now  line,  but  all  sprouted  up  again  and  a 
graft  on  top  of  a  native  was  not  injured. 

By  planting  the  trees  on  high  ground,  they 
might  live;  but  as  many  people  grow  orange 
and  lemon  trees  in  tubs,  or  boxes,  these  Ja- 
pan persimmon  trees  can  easily  be  grown  in 
the  same  way.  J.  B.  G. 

Selections. 

FARMING  ABOUT  THE  ROCKY  MOUN- 
TAIN.S. 

Those  of  us  who  have  become  habituated  to 
green  fields  and  shady  woods — who  have  been 
helped  by  the  rainfall  and  have  done  little  of 
our  own  to  water  the  crops — could  not  easily 
bring  ourselves  to  think  much  of  those  dry 
regions  where  little  but  cactus  and  other  suc- 
culent plants  grow  naturally  ;  where  all  is 
gray  and  cheerless,  and  artificial  watering 
alone  produces  all  a  human  being  is  to  eat. 
Yet  these  apparently  inhospitable  places  are 
paradises  for  some  people,  and  in  many  re- 
spects have  advantages  which  we  do  not  en- 
joy. 

In  the  ages  of  the  past  we  look  to  Egypt  as 
the  pioneer  in  work  of  civilization  ;  and  yet 
her  vast  agriculture  was  solely  artificial. 
There  was  little  rain,  and  the  mighty  Nile 
river,  as  the  poet  says,  had  to  bleed  through 
a  thousand  pores  in  order  to  make  the  grain 
and  the  grass  to  grow.  Dependent  solely  on 
their  own  resources,  they  always  had  bread 
to  eat ;  w-hile  the  countries  supposed  to  be 
more  favored  of  Nature  often  left  their  people  • 
to  starve.  Joseph's  brethren  heard  the  good 
news  that  there  was  corn  in  Egypt,  when 
famine  stalked  all  over  their  own  fair  laud. 

There  is  no  danger  in  these  days  of  rail- 
roads and  electric  telegraphs  that  the  stories 
of  ancient  famines  will  ever  be  repeated,  as 
"  history  repeats  itself  "  in  our  lands.  The 
day  after  the  Mississippi  overflows,  Massaphu- 


1S82.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


setts  shijiK  tdoil  fur  tin.'  iiniiHlMled  oues  ;  and 
if  the  griisslioppsrs  eat  up  the  crops  of  Xe- 
Nebiaska,  the  loss  is  made  within  a  few  days 
by  the  sympathies  rS  Eastern  bretliren.  But 
if  e\er  a  geiKial  Eastern  destruction  of  crops 
should  occur,  wlio  Icnows  liul  tliese  despised 
arid  western  |)lains  would  not  l)c  fully  able  to 
come  to  our  rescue  V 

People  often  suppose  that  where  crops  are 
raised  by  irri{;ation,  the  land  under  culture 
must  necessarily  be  limited  ;  but  this  is  not 
the  case.  At  the  very  ba.se  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  most  of  Ow  farmers  work  forty 
acre  lots  ;  many  one  hundred  and  lifty  ;  while 
some  are  reported  as  having  over  three  hun- 
dred acres  in  wheat.  Of  course  this  is  noth- 
ing in  comparison  with  what  many  Western 
people  have  in  the  more  nature-favored  n- 
gions  ;  but  it  is  very  large  for  artificial  work, 
and  quite  large  enough. 

As  we  have  said,  the  natural  charms  of 
nature-watered  lands  will  ever  have  the 
greatest  charms  for  the  average  man  ;  but  it 
is  a  matter  of  great  interest  to  watch  what 
other  places  can  do  and  are  doing,  and  this 
Colorado  illustration  gives  a  new  one  of  a 
a  point  we  now  and  then  make,  that,  what- 
ever may  be  local  ills,  every  part  of  the  worlil 
has  its  own  advantaues. 


'GO  TO  THE  ANT. 


Rev.  Dr.  H.  C.  MoCook,  a  Presbyterian 
minister  of  Philadeliihia  who  was  entertained 
by  Dr.  J.  A.  Ehlcr  during  the  meeting  of  syn- 
od in  Lancaster,  has  for  years  made  clus^ 
study  of  the  ant  a  specialty.  It  has  been 
known  a  long  while  that  an  ant  exists  in  New 
Mexico  which  secretes  honey  after  some  fash- 
ion. Travelers  have  told  of  Indian  feasts  in 
which  the  ant  was  served  up  "in  her  own 
honey"  as  a  species  of  animated  honey-cell. 
But  there  was  need  of  a  careful  examination 
of  the  habits  of  these  ants  on  the  part  of 
same  one  wlio  had  the  scientific  spirit  and 
some  training  in  the  observation  of  insect  life. 
Dr.  McCook  undertook  the  long  journey  from 
Philadelphia  to  New  Mexico  for  tlie  sole  jiur- 
po.se  of  playing  Paul  Pry  on  the  interiors  of 
the  honey-ants — the  interiors  in  two  senses, 
for  his  purpose  was  not  alone  accomplished  by 
observing  them  at  work  in  their  underground 
burrows,  or  rather  in  the  singular  galleries 
which  they  drive  through  soft  sandstone  rock; 
it  was  also  necessary  to  examine  their  anato- 
my and  lind  ont  how  and  by  v.'hat  organs  they 
secrete  the  limpid  honey.  All  of  which  Dr. 
McCook  has  done,  and  curious  enough  are  the 
habits  of  thes^■  little  favorites  of  iEsop.  The 
sluggard  would  hardly  profit  were  he  enjoined 
to  go  to  the  honey-ant  of  the  garden  of  the 
Gods  {Mi/rmecocystufs  horticsdeorum).  Could 
he  see  the  galleries  made  specially  for  those 
ants  winch  secrete  the  honey,  and  note  the 
care  taken  of  them  by  the  worker  ants,  and 
witness  the  absolute  quiet  in  which  these 
honey  makers  loaf  away  the  entire  day  and 
night,  the  moral  would  not  be  what  it  was  in- 
tended. He  would  regard  with  envy  the 
swollen  crop  of  the  honey-maker,  the  assidu- 
ity of  its  servants  and  attendants  both  to  keep 
it  neat  and  to  feed  it  with  fresh  honey  from 
the  neigliboring  oaks,  and  the  laziness  with 
which,  when  it  does  move  at  all  it  pushes 
itself  or  is  dragged  by  the  busy  workers  from 


one  gallery  to  anotli<>r.  And  even  the  slender 
worker  might  not  seem  to  the  sluggard  so  bad 
an  ant,  for  none  goes  out  by  daylight,  and  it 
is  only  when  the  sun  sets  that  these  peculiar 
creatures,  turning  night  into  day,  sally  out 
for  food.  Hereafter  the  re\^sed  reading  will 
be:  "Go  to  the  ant,  thou  sluggard,  but  not  to 
the  Mi/rmecociiatus  Iwrlusdcorum/'' 

Ants  have  been  astonishing  us  now  for  a 
a  century,  and  yet  there  seems  no  end  to  the 
variety  of  their  tricks  and  performances.  Till 
found  ill  the  Garden  of  the  (fods,  it  was  not 
supposed  tliat  the  honey  ants  existed  further 
north  than  New  Mexico.  They  have  been  found 
at  Brownsville,  Santa  Fe.  Matamoras  and  the 
City  of  Mexico.  Dr.  McCook  found  their 
nests  on  the  tops  of  dry  ridges  in  the  pictur- 
esiiue  section  on  the  Eau  ipii  Bouille,  Colora- 
do, called  the  Garden  of  the  Gods.  He  fol- 
lowed them  at  night,  lantern  in  hand,  for 
several  evenings  in  succession  before  discov- 
ering what  they  fed  on.  The  long  train  of 
workers  was  easily  traced  to  thickets  of  scrub 
oaks.  Finally,  on  the  third  night,  they  were 
seen  on  the  oak  twigs  running  from  one  oak 
gall  to  another  and  sucking  a  juice  secreted 
by  the  gall.  Each  active  gall  had  the  larva  of 
the  gall  fiy  within;  the  ants  passed  by  those 
from  which  the  in  iture  insect  had  escaped. 
Nests  were  then  laid  bare  with  pick  and 
shovel  and  the  workers  caught  in  the  act  of 
feeding  the  honey  bearers.  These  apparently 
were  of  the  same  breed,  even  the  same  cast, 
as  the  workers,  and  only  different  in  the  mon- 
strous swelling  of  an  anterior  stomach,  which 
Dr.  McCook  calls  a  crop.  Like  a  crop,  this 
part  does  not  digest  the  honey,  it  merely  dis- 
tills and  purifies  it;  and  worker  ants  when 
hungry  will  go  up  to  a  honey  ant  and  ask  for 
honey  from  its  crop,  just  as  a  young  pigeon  is 
fed  from  the  cro]i  of  its  mother.  Among  the 
many  plates  in  this  volume,  which  show  the 
habits  and  dwellings  of  the  ants  so  clearly 
that  the  story  hardly  needs  the  aid  of  text, 
we  see  workers  feeding  the  honey  bearers 
with  the  contents  of  their  own  little  crops  on 
returning  fr')m  a  midnight  foray,  and  others 
taking  toll  both  from  the  raiders  and  from  the 
distended  hoaey-beareis.  These  latter  arc 
seen  hanging  from  the  rough  ceilings  of  the 
larger  galleries  in  a  half-torpid  state,  for  all 
the  world  like  single  Delaware  grapes.  Dr. 
McCook  describes  them  as  very  light  of  color, 
shining  and  transparent.  The  honey  is  sin- 
gularly pure  and  liquid.  la  summer  it  has  a 
-slight  tartness  that  is  very  refreshing,  but  in 
winter  even  this  is  not  tasted.  The  Indians 
serve  them  up  as  a  delicacy  exactly  like  very 
tender  fruit.  The  Mexicans  are  .said  to  press 
the  honey  bearers  exactly  as  if  they  were 
grapes,  and  even  to  make  a  sort  of  wine  or 
liquor  from  them.  Dr.  McCook  dissents  from 
another  observer  who  recommends  that  atten- 
tion should  be  given  to  the  ants  as  honey- 
producers  for  the  market.  Ho  is  of  the  opin- 
ion that  the  number  of  honey-bearers  is  too 
small  in  each  community.  A  large  colony 
would  not  have  more  than  000,  which  would 
yield  not  more  than  half  a  pound.  But  it  is 
likely  that  any  one  who  should  experiment 
with  them  would  devise  means  of  doubling 
the  number  of  lioney-raakers.  Dr.  McCook's 
other  argument  is  stronger,  namely,  that  the 
destruction  of  insect  life  involved  in  obtain- 
ing the  honey  will  be  likely  to  prejudice  peo- 


ple against  it.  He  might  have  also  remem- 
bered to  mention  the  natural  disgust  which 
most  people  have  towards  insects  like  the  ant, 
which  are  never  associated  in  their  minds 
with  food  otherwise  than  as  corrupters  and 
pilferer.s.  To  many  people  the  smell  of  ants 
is  intensely  hateful. 

It  would  take  too  much  space  to  follow  Dr. 
McCook  in  his  discoveries  of  the  intimate  life 
of  these  ants;  their  care  for  each  other  and 
their  occasional  utter  indifference;  their  sloth 
and  activity;  their  ferocity  and  apparent  good 
temper  under  provocation.  On  the  whole, 
the  report  is  extremely  in  their  favor.  They 
are  hard-w(U-king,  stubborn,  long-suffering 
when  other  ants  run  their  mines  among  their 
galleries,  and  so  prudent  in  laying  up  stores 
of  food  for  a  bad  day  that  they  actually  store 
it  in  living  kegs,  which  move,  indeed,  with 
dilliculty,  but  still  can  drag  themselves  out  of 
the  way  of  immediate  danger.  Notwith- 
standing all  the  doctor  has  done,  there  is  yet 
more  to  study.  Which  of  the  workers  are 
they  that  begin  to  get  swelled  crops  and  finally 
take  to  the  honey  room?  What  do  the  honey 
bearers  look  like  after  several  months  during 
which  the  colony  has  not  stirred  abroad?  Do 
they  find  other  honey  food  beside  the  galls  on 
the  oak?  Do  the  Southern  colonies  secrete 
more  honey  or  less?  How  much  of  the  honey 
habit  is  voluntary  in  the  individual?  How 
much  cliance?  There  is  no  end  to  the  [iroblems 
before  the  students  of  this  singular  little  crea- 
ture. The  second  part  of  the  book  relates  to 
another  Western  ant,  Pcxjonomiirmcx  occidcn- 
talis,  whose  fortresses  and  cleared  spaces  on 
the  prairies  iniirht  have  fiu'med  the  models  on 
which  some  of  the  earthworks  of  the  mound- 
builders  of  the  Mississippi  valley  were  arrang- 
ed. Every  night  these  ants  close  their  gates 
with  large  pebbles,  thus  reversing  the  habit  of 
the  31iirme(-0cystiis.  They  are  continually 
attacked  by  a  very  minute  ant  called  the 
Erratic,  which  fastens  on  like  bull-terriers  to 
an  ox,  and  are  greatly  dreaded  by  the  large 
ant.  Ants  of  other  species  run  their  burrows 
into  those  of  the  Occidcntalis,  "jumping  their 
claims,"  but  the  latter  do  not  mind.  Even 
the  eggs  and  larviE  of  two  kinds  have  been 
found  in  one  gallery.  Dr.  McCook  has  issued 
a  prospectus  for  a  large  work  on  American 
spiders,  to  be  printed  if  sufflcieiit  subscribers 
send  in  their  names. 

A   GREAT  SOUTHERN   FARMER. 

Brains  will  find  or  make  a  pathway  to  suc- 
cess under  any  conditions,  and  brains  have 
been  the  wealth-creating  factor  in  the  case  of 
the  large  planters.  It  is  by  business  shrewd-  . 
ness  and  the  economy  of  wholesale  dealings 
that  E.  F.  Bailey,  of  Jefferson  county,  Fla., 
succeeds  in  making  money,  though  he  has 
never  improved  upon  the  old  methods  of  ciil- 
tiv.ating  his  0,000  acres  ;  it  is  by  brains  that 
the  managers  of  the  Capeheart  plantations  on 
Albemarle  sound  are  able  to  add  constantly  to 
the  number  of  their  acres,  the  land  added  last 
year  being  valued  at  S.52,O0O,-  and  it  is  by 
brains,  and  not  by  the  mere  vastness  of  his 
farming  operations,  that  Edward  Richardson, 
of  Mississippi,  the  greatest  cotton-raiser  in 
the  world,  has  amassed  his  immense  fortune, 
now  estimated  at  from  Sl.-),000,000  to  §20,.- 
000,000.  The  means  by  which  Mr.  Richard- 
son has  achieved    phenomenal    success    as  a 


8 


THE  LANCASTER.  FARMER. 


[January, 


planter  are  worthy  of  a  moment's  study  for 
the  lessons  they  convey.  His  business  is  a 
comprehensive  one,  including  everything  re- 
lating to  cotton.  He  not  only  raises  cotton, 
but  gins,  spins  and  weaves  it,  is  a  large  dealer 
and  has  oil  mills  as  well.  He  was  clear- 
sighted enough  to  perceive  that  there  is  a 
special  profit  in  each  process  and  operation 
through  which  cotton  passes  from  the  field  to 
the  consumer  of  cotton  goods,  and  he  had  the 
capital  and  ability  to  organize  a  business 
which  makes  all  these  profits  his  own.  He 
owns  some  32,000  acres  of  land,  and  last  year 
raised  over  12,000  bales  of  cotton— a  greater 
number  than  the  Khedive  of  Egyi)t,  who  is 
the  next  largest  cotton  raiser  in  the  world, 
Mr.  Richardson  is  not  a  "high"  farmer,  a 
bale  to  three  acres  being  the  average  produc- 
tion of  his  land,  which  is  largely  tilled  by 
tenants  on  the  share  system.  The  36,000 
pounds  of  seed  cotton  which  he  annually  gets 
from  his  land  are  ginned  by  his  own  gins — 
which  do  public  ginning  also — and  pressed, 
baled  and  compressed,  so  much  as  is  shipped 
as  raw  material,  on  his  own  plantation.  The 
seed,  which  is  ordinarily  worth  $0  a  ton,  and 
is  to  a  great  extent  wasted  by  other  planters, 
is  ground  and  pressed  for  the  oil.  The  hulls 
are  used  for  fuel  in  this  process,  and  the 
ashes  sold  and  used  for  fertilizers.  From  a 
ton  of  seed  he  obtains  3.5  gallons  of  oil  worth 
35  cents  a  gallon— 112.25.  The  cake  remain- 
ing after  the  oil  is  pressed  out  is  worth  rather 
more  for  fuel  than  the  seed  itself,  selling 
readily  for  home  use  or  shipment  to  England 
at  .f  6  to  S7  a  ton.  Each  ton  of  cotton-seed, 
therefore,  nets  rather  more  than  $20 — the 
bulk  used  as  fuel  being  taken  into  account. 
Mr.  Eichardson's  mill  at  Coiinth  receives  and 
manufacture^  a  large  part  of  his  crop,  and  an- 
other profit  is  added  on  the  sales  of  yarns  and 
sheetings,  drillings,  cottonades,  etc.,  a  profit 
wliich  is  considerably  enhanced  by  the  elimi- 
nation of  shipping  charges,  insurance,  broker's 
commission,  and  other  tolls  levied  on  cotton 
shipped  to  distant  mWls.— Letter  to  New  York 
Times. 


LIME   AS  A   PRESERVATIVE. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  record  the  many 
evidences  of  the  value  of  lime  in  arresting  de- 
cay. As  long  as  17(59  a  Mr.  Jackson,  a 
chemist,  obtained  perraissirn  to  prepaj'e  tim- 
ber for  the  ship  yards,  by  immersing  it  in  a 
solution  of  salt  water,  lime,  muriate  of  soda, 
etc.;  another  practical  experimentalist  sug- 
gested slaked  lime,  thinned  with  a  solution 
of  glue,  for  mopping  the  timbers  of  a  ship. 
The  preservation  of  timber  has  been  attempt- 
ed by  surrounding  it  with  pounded  lime; 
several  attempts  have  been  made  to  preserve 
timber  by  the  use  of  lime.  Mr.  Britten,  in 
his  work  on  "Dry  Hot,"  mentions  a  number 
of  cases  where  lime  has  been  of  servicS.  He 
says,  "quick-lime  with  damp  has  been  found 
to  accelerate  putrefaction  in  consequence  of 
its  extracting  carbon  ;  but  when  dry  and  in 
such  large  quantities  as  to  absorb  all  moisture 
from  the  wood,  the  woof?  is  preserved  and  the 
sap  hardened."  "Vessels  long  in  the  lime 
trade  have  afforded  proof  of  this  fact,  also 
examples  in  plastering  latlis  which  are  gene- 
rally found  sound  where  they  have  been  found 
dry."  The  joists  and  sleepers  of  the  base- 
ment floors  are  rendered  less  subject  to  decay 


by  a  coating  of  limewhite  ;  and  this  might  be 
renewed  at  intervals.  The  same  writer  adds, 
"it  does  not  appear  practicable  to  use  lime- 
water  to  any  extent  for  preserving  timber, 
because  water  holds  iu  solution  only  about 
1-500  part  of  lime,  which  quantity  .would  be 
too  inconsiderable  ;  it,  however,  renders 
timber  more  durable,  but  at  the  same  time 
very  hard  and  diflicult  to  be  worked."  Tliese 
facts  are  instructive  ;  they  show,  at  least,  that 
lime  in  a  sufficient  quantity  kept  dry  is  a 
valuable  preservative  agent,  and  some  practi- 
cal chemist  might  earn  a  deserved  repute  if 
he  could  prepare  a  lime  solution  that  would 
be  capable  of  rendering  so  substantial  a  ser- 
vice to  all  builders.  Such  a  solution  would 
be  at  least  suflSciently  remunerative  to  make 
it  worth  while  to  try  a  few  exi)eriments  in 
this  direction.  It  is  stated  on  good  aulliority 
that  the  white  ant  in  India  costs  the  govern- 
ment £100,000  a  year  for  repairing  woodwork 
bridges,  etc.,  caused  by  its  depredations. 
Concrete  basements  have  been  found  to  resist 
the  encroachments  of  the  ant.  Dr.  Darwin 
proposed  a  process  of  timber  preservation 
some  yars  ago,  in  which  an  absorption  of 
limewater  was  effected,  and  after  that  had 
dried,^a  weak  solution  of  sulphuric  acid,  so  as 
form  sulphate  of  lime  in  the  pores  of  the  wood. 
The  growth  of  dry-rot  or  fungus  on  timber  has 
been  prevented  by  limewater,  and  many  in- 
stances have  been  mentioned  of  its  value. 
The  cleansing  and  sanitary  virtues  of  lime  are 
more  generally  known.  The  painter  uses 
limewater  to  kill  the  grease  upon  his  work  in- 
stead of  turpentine  ;  and  soot  stains  on  the 
outside  of  flues  have  been  removed  by  the 
agency  of  thick  warm  limewash.  The  value 
of  limewhite  as  a  wash  for  walls,  as  a  .purifier 
of  the  air  in  sheds,  stables,  and  other  build- 
ings is  unquestionable,  though  all  limewashed 
roof-timers  have  rather  a  rough  and  penurious 
look.  As  a  preservative  coating  to  the  joists 
of  floors  and  other  timbers  not  exposed  to 
damp,  it  seems  worthy  of  a  more  extended 
trial. 

ONE  SQUARE  ACRE. 
The  number  of  square  feet  in  an  acre  is 
43.560.  la  order  to  have  this  area  the  piece 
of  land  must  be  of  such  a  length  and  breadth 
that  the  two  multiplied  together  will  produce 
the  above  number.  Tlius  an  acre  of  land 
might  be  43, .560  feet  long  by  one  foot  broad  ; 
21,780  feet  long  by  two  feet  broad  ;  12,250  feet 
long  by  three  broad  and  so  on.  If  the  acre  of 
land  is  to  be  exactly  square,  each  side  must 
be  as  nearly  as  possible  280  feet  1-2  inches. 
The  nearest  you  can  come  to  an  exactly 
square  acre  with  an  even  number  of  feet  on 
the  sides  is  to  make  it  220  feet  long  by  ISO 
broad. 


YARDS   IN   A  MILE. 

Mile  in  England  or  America,   1,760  yards. 
Mile  in  Russia.  1,100  yards. 
Mile  in  Italy,  2,497  yards. 
Mile  in  Scotland  and  Ireland,  2,200  yards. 
Mile  in  Poland,  4,100  yards. 
Mile  iu  Spain,  5,028  yards. 
Mile  in  Germany,  5,866  yards. 
Mile  in  Sweden  and  Denmark,  7,233  yards. 
Mile  in  Hungary,  8,800  yards. 
A  league  in  England  and  America,  5,280 
yards. 


WHEAT     CROP     OF     THE     UNITED 
STATES. 

The  following  is  the  estimated  wheat  crop 
of  the  United  States  for  1881,  according  to 
the  figures  furnished  by  the  department  of 
agriculture  at  Wasliington.  The  figures  for 
1879  are  from  the  census  returns  : 

1S79.  1881. 

Bushels.  Bushels. 

Maine 666,201  524,800 

New  Hampshire 168,720  16.5^0  0 

Veniiout 34J,4I6  .399!ooO 

Massiiehu.setts '.5,7i)3  

Rliodc  Island 240  

Connecticut ;jS,.58o  .36  000 

New  Yorli 11 ,21(8,097  13,26  '',000 

New  .levsey  ',901,952  2.448^600 

Pennsylvania 19,512,034  19,839,000 

Delaware 1,181,776  927,000 

Maryland 8,3.54,792  0,612,6.0 

Virginia 7,S:J7,02l  7,1.36,000 

Nortli  Carolina 3,428.194  4,442,100 

South  Carolina 957,074  l,0%i800 

Georgia 3,t39,.514  2,487,400 

Florida 421  

Alabama 1.5.36.8.32  1,111,800 

Mississippi   217,620  20.5,200 

Louisiana 4.9-53  

Texas 2,.577,923  3.287,500 

Arkansas 1, 265,612  993,400 

Tennessee 7,299,034  6,752,0  0 

AVest  Virginia 3,030,680  4,2  IJ,0OO 

Kentucky 11,369,067  «,.s39,tX)0 

Ohio 46,010,412  39,177,000 

Michigan 34,632,231  24,765,000 

Indiana .  47,1.54,5  0  29,' 30,000 

Illinois 51,174,818  28,.543,000 

Wisconsin    24,930.448  16,15O,.50O 

Minnesota  34,709,2.38  3  .19  ,000 

Iowa 3  .  02,738  4.871 ,300 

Missouri 24,892,728  23,847.600 

Kansas '7.311,038  19,448.800 

Nebra.ska 3,816,7.31  11,625,000 

California 28.9,52,.378  28,367,800 

Oregon 7,477,294  13.889,(X10 

Nevada 09,.13S  

Color.ado  423,:356  l,.309,0fl0 

The  Territories 7,79»,.590  14,508,000 

Total  United  States. , 458,105,747  381,479,200 


A   PLAIN   AND   EASY   WAY  OF  CURING 
HAMS. 

The  principle  thing  in  curing  hams  is  to  get 
them  just  salt  enough  to  keep  them  and  not 
so  salt  as  to  injure  the  flavor  and  cause  them 
to  become  hard.  Haras  should  be  neatly 
trimmed  and  cut  rounding,  to  imitate  as 
closely  as  may  be  the  hams  of  commerce. 
Trim  closely,  so  there  sliall  be  no  masses  of 
fat  left  at  the  lowest  extremity  of  the  hams. 
The  shoulders  may  be  cut  in  shape  convenient 
for  packing,  and  they  should  be  salted  in 
separate  packages  from  tlie  hams. 

Hams  are  cured  by  both  dry  salting  and 
brine.  When  dry  salting  is  employed  the  hams 
are  rubbed  often  with  salt  anti  sugar.  Be- 
tween each  rubbing  they  are  bunched  up  on 
platforms  or  tables,  the  surface  of  which  is 
spread  with  a  layer  of  salt,  and  each  ham  is 
also  covered  with  salt.  When  taken  up  to 
rub,  which  is  usually  done  i\\e  or  six  times,  a 
shallow  box  is  at  hand  in  which  to  do  the 
work. 

When  brine  is  used,  prepare  a  pickle  strong 
enough  to  float  an  egg  and  stir  into  it  a  suffi- 
cient amount  of  sugar  and  molasses  to  give  it 
a  sweetened  taste.  Some  add  a  little  salt- 
peter to  color  the  meat.  In  moderate  quan- 
tity it  is  commonly  accepted  as  beneficial. 
Covbr  the  hams  with  the  pickel  and  place  the 
packages  where  the  temperature  is  uniform 
and  above  freezing.  For  hams  of  twelve 
pounds,  four  weeks  will  be  sufficient ;  larger 
hams  must  remain  in  the  brine  a  longer  time. 
In  general,  three  to  seven  weeks  embraces  the 
extreme  of  time  required  for  domestic  curing 
of  hams,  varying  as  to  the  size  of  the  hams, 
temperature  and  time  when  they  will  be  re- 
quired for  use.  When  it  is  designed  to  pre- 
serve hams  through  the  summer  they  must 
not  be  removed  from  the  pickle  too  soon. 

Shoulders  require  much  the  same  treatment 


1882.J 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


as  flo  hams,  and  bolh  should  be  carefully 
smoked.  The  ini'servative  priiiciitle  of  sm  .ke 
is  known  as  oreosoto.  iSinokc  made  by  burn- 
ing corn-cobs  is  liighly  esteemed,  but  those 
eniraged  in  curing  meats  on  a  large  scale 
prefer  the  smoke  obtained  from  dry  hickory 
that  has  been  stripped  of  its  bark.  The 
smoking  process  must  not  be  too  much  hur- 
ried or  the  creosote  will  not  have  time  to 
penetrate  the  entire  substance  of  the  meat. 
Ten  days'  smoking  is  usually  sullicient,  unless 
the  pieces  are  very  large  and  tliick. 

A  process  in  liam-curing  practiced  by  some 
of  the  h'ading  packini,'-houses  consists  in 
creating  the  smoke  in  au  oven  outside  of  the 
smoke-house  and  passed  through  underground 
pipes  into  it.  The  smoke,  rising  from  the 
tloor  to  the  top  of  the  house,  encounters  two 
opposite  currents  of  air  drawn  from  the  out- 
side. These  currents  cause  the  smoke  to  form 
into  a  rapidly  revolving  horizontal  column 
which  passes  among  the  hams.  The  smoke 
is  not  warm,  and  there  is  no  heat  to  melt  the 
hams  or  hot  air  to  blacken  them.  The  hams 
under  this  process  are  smoked  in  very  much 
h'ss  lime  than  by  the  old  method. 

While  canvassing  hams  has  nothing  to  do 
with  their  flavor,  it  is  a  protection  from  in- 
sects, and  will  pay  the  farmer  for  the  extra 
hibor.  It  should  be  done  before  warm 
weather.  Wrap  each  ham  in  coarse  brown 
paper  and  then  sew  it  up  in  cotton  cloth  cut  to 
suit  the  size,  following  the  shape  of  the  ham. 
"When  covered  as  described,  dip  them  in  a 
wash  made  of  lime-water  and  colored  with 
yellow  ochre.  Hang  up  in  a  cool  place  to  dry. 
The  wash  closes  the  interstices  of  the  muslin, 
and  the  whole  forms  a  perfect  protection 
against  insects.  The  room  in  which  any  kind 
of  cured  meat  is  stored  should  be  dry  and 
cool,  and  the  darker  the  better. 

THE    PART  WHICH  WORMS   PLAV    IN 
NATURE. 

The  latest  fruit  of  Charles  Darwin's  labors 
in  the  field  of  physical  research  is  presented 
in  a  volume  treating  of  The  Formation  of  Veij- 
elttblc  Mould  TIaowjh  the  Action  of  Worms. 
The  term  vegetable  mould  is  commonly  ap- 
plied to  that  superficial  layer  of  soil,  generally 
of  a  blackish  color  and  a  few  inches  in  thick- 
ness, which  covers  the  whole  surface  of  the 
land  in  every  moderately  humid  country. 
The  uniform  fineness  of  the  particles  of 
whii'h  it  is  composed  is  one  of  its  chief  char- 
acleristic  features,  and  this  may  be  well  ob- 
served in  any  recently  ploughed  field,  wliere  the 
top  layer  is  exposed  on  the  sides  of  a  furrow. 
It  is  the  object  of  this  book  to  show  that  the 
fine  earth  composing  this  superlicial  layer  has 
been  brought  up  to  tlu'  surface  by  worms  in 
the  form  of  castings  or  e.\erement.  We  are 
thus  led  to  conclude  that  all  the  so-called  veg- 
table  mould  which  is  strewn  over  the  smface 
of  the  ground  has  i)assed  many  times  through 
the  intestinal  canals  of  worms,  and  hence  the 
the  term  "animal  mould"  would  be  in  some 
respects  more  appropriate  than  the  term  in 
common  use. 

Some  of  the  conclusions  reached  in  this 
volume  were  suggested  in  a  paper  published 
by  Mr.  Darwin  many  years  ago,  Jjut  many 
scientists  rejected  his  conclusions  with  respect 
to  the  part  played  by  worms  in  the  formation 
of  the  mould,  on  account  of  their  assumed  in- 


capacity to  do  so  much  work.     This  seems  to 
have   been  an  instance  of  that  inability  to 
sum  up  the  effects  of  a   continually  recurrent 
cause  which  has  often  retarded  the  progress  of 
science.    In  order  to  meet  the  objection  raised, 
Mr.  Darwin  resolved   to  make  more  observa- 
tions of  the  same  kind   as  those  previously 
published,    and    to    attack   the   problem    on 
another    side   l)y   weighing    all   the  castings 
thrown  up  within  a  given   time  in  a  meas- 
ured   space,     as    well    as    by   ascertaining 
the    rate  at   which  objects  left  on   the  sur- 
face are  buried  by   worms.     It    appears   that 
near  Macr  Hall,  in   Staffordshire,   (piick  lime 
bad  been  spread,  about  the  year  1827,  thickly 
over  a  field  of  good  pasture  land    which   bad 
not  since  been  ploughed.     Some  square  holes 
were  dug  in  this  field  in  the   begiiming  of  Oc- 
tober, tS37,  and  the  sections   showed  a  layer 
of  turf  fin-med  by   the    matted    roots    of  the 
grasses,  half  an  inch    in    thickness,  beneath 
which,  at  a  depth  of  three    inches    from   the 
.surface  (the  2^  inches  intervening  being  vege- 
table mould),  a  layer  of  the  lime  in  powder  or 
in  small  lumps  could  be  distinctly    seen    run- 
ning  all  round  the  vertical  *ides  of  the  holes. 
Coal  cinders  had  been  spread   over  a  part  of 
this  same  field  in  the  year  1834,  and  when  the 
holes  mentioned  were  dug— that  is,    after    an 
interval  of  three  years— the  cinders  formed  a 
line  of  l)Uick  spots  round  the  holes  at  a  depth 
of  one  inch  beneath  the    surface,  parallel   to 
and  above  the  white  layer  of  lime,     Over  an- 
other part  of  this  field  cinders  had  been  strewn 
only  about  half  a  year  before,  and  these  either 
lay  on  the  surface  or  were  entangled    among 
the  roots  of  the  grasses.     Here   Mr.  Darwin 
saw  the  commencement  of  the    burying    pro- 
cess, for  worm  castings  bad  been    heaped    on 
several  of  the  smaller'  fragments.     After  an 
interval  of  43  years  this  field  was  re-examined 
and  now  the  two  layers  of    lime  and   cinders 
were  found  almost  everywhere  at    a    greater 
depth  than  before  by  nearly  one  inch.     It  fol- 
lows that  mould  to  an    average    thickness  of 
one-fifth  of  an  inch  had  beenannually  brought 
up  by  the  worms  and  spread  over  the  surface 
of  the  field.     Mr.  Darwin  cites  a    number    of 
instances  in  which  lu^  was    able    to  compute 
the  rate  of  mould  formation  by  worms,  which 
of  course,  must    vary  according  to  the  nature 
of  the  subsoils.     The  rate,  for  example,  must 
become  very  much  slower  after  a  bed  of  mould 
several  inches  in  thickness    has  been  formed  ; 
for  the  worms  then  live  chicfiy  near  the  surface 
and  burrow  down  to  a  greater  depth  so  as    to 
bring  up  fresh  earth  from   below  only  during 
the  winter,  when  the  weather  is  very  cold,  or 
during  midsunnner,    when  the    earth  is  very 
dry.      Of     course,       too,      relatively      few 
worms    would    be    found    in   stony   ground, 
and    their     production      of      mould     would 
be      comparatively       slow.       The        effect, 
however,       of      their      action,      even      in 
such  cases,  is  astonishing  when  extended  pe- 
riods of  tin\e  are  considered,  as  the  following 
example  shows.     We  are  told  that  a  field  near 
Mr.  Darwin's  liouse  was  last  ploughed  in  1841, 
then  harrowed,  and   left  to  become  i)a,sture 
land.     For  several  years  it  was  clothed  with 
an  extremely  scant  vegetation,  and   was  so 
thickly  covered   witli  small   and   large  dints 
(some  of  them  half  as  large  as  a  child's  head,) 
that  it  came  to  be  known  as  "the  stony  field." 
Mr.  Darwin  says  he  can  remember  doubting 


whether  ho  should   live   to    see   these  larger 
flints  covered  with  vegetable  mould  and  turf. 
But    the   smaller   stones   disappeared    before 
many  years  bad  elapsed,  as  did  every  one  of 
the  larger  ones  after  time  ;  so  that  after  thirty 
years  a  horse  could  gallop  over    the   compact 
turf  from  one  end  of  the  field  to  the  ether  and 
not  strike  a  single  stone  with  his  shoes.     This 
was  certaiidy  the  work  of  worms,  for  though 
castings  were  not  frequent  for  several  years, 
yet  some  were  thrown  up  month  after  month, 
and  these  gradually  increased   in   numbers  as 
the    pasture    improved.     Still    more  striking 
was  the  burying  of  a  path   paved    with    flag- 
stones, whieh  in  1843  ranacro.ss  Mr.  Darwin's 
farm.     The  worms  threw   up   many  castings 
in   the  interstices  of  these    stones,  and    al- 
though during  several    years  the  path    was 
weeded  and  swept,  yet  ultimately  the   weeds 
and  worms  prevailed,  the  path  became  covered 
up,  and  after  several  years  no  trace  of  it  was 
left.     On    removing  in  1877  the   thin    over- 
laying layer  of  turf,  the  small  flagstones,  all  in 
their  proper  places,  were  found  covered  by  an 
inch   of   fine    mould.     It   will  surprise  most 
readers  to   learn  how  large   an    amount    of 
mould  may  be  formed  by  worms  on    the    sur- 
face of  a  field  in  a  single  year.     Mr.   Darwin 
calculates  that  the  castings  ejected  annually 
by  each  earthworm  weigh,    on  an  average, 
more  than  twenty  ounces.     It  has  been  esti- 
mated by  other  observers  that  53,707   worms 
exist  in  an  acre  of  land  ;   but  this  estimate  is 
based  on  the  number  found  in  gardens.     As- 
suming that  only  half  the  number  named,  or 
about    27,U0()    worms    to  the  acre,    live   on 
pasture  land,  and  that  each    worm   annually 
ejects  twenty  ounces,  we  should  have   fifteen 
tons  as  the  weight  of   the  castings    annually 
thrown  up  on  an  acre  of  land,  and  helping  to 
form  the  layer  of  vegetable  mould. 
Arehseologists  are  probably  not  aware  how 
I  much  they  owe  to  worms  for  the  preservation 
of  many  ancient  objects  ;  coins,  gold    orna- 
ments, stone  implements,  etc.,    if  dropped  on 
the  surface  of  the  ground    will  infallibly    be 
buried  by   the  castings   of  worms  in  a    few 
years,  and  will  thus  be  safely  preserved.     For 
instance,  some  years  ago  a  grass    field  not  far 
from  Shrewsbury  was  ploughed  up,  and  a  sur- 
prising number  of  iron    arrow    heads    were 
found  at  the  bottom  of    the    fiUTOws,   which 
no  doubt  had  been  left  strewn  on  the    battle- 
field   of  Shrewsbury  in    the    year   J403.     In 
Abiugcr,  Surrey,  on  a  trench    being  dug  in 
1870,  the  concrete  floor  of  the  atrium    or  re- 
ception room  belonging  to  a  Roman  villa  was 
disclosed  at  a  depth  of  two  or  two    and    one- 
half  feet.     At  first  sight  it  appeared    impossi- 
ble that  the    vegetable  mound  covering  the 
pavement  couid   have  been    brought    ui)  by 
worms,   but  upon  close  inspection  the    con- 
crete was  found  decayed  and  completely  per- 
meated with  worm  burrows.      Through  these 
channels  in  the  softened    mortar  the    worms 
have  been  throwing  up    their    castings  from 
the  ground  beneath,  and  heaping  on  the  con- 
crete pavement  a  layer  of  fine    earth,   during 
many  centiu'ies  and  perhaps  for   a    thousand 
years.     The    coins    discovered  in  this  place 
dated  from  133  to  37.)  A.  D.     The  pavement 
of  Beaulieu  Abbey  in  Hampshire  now  lies  at 
a  depth  of  from  0]  to  11^  inches  beneath  the 
surrounding  turf-covered  surface.     A  part  of 
this  pavement  has  been    uncovered,    but   re- 


10 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[Jannary, 


quires  continual  sweeping  to  remove  the 
worm  castings,  which  otherwise  would  soon 
rebury  it.  A  large  number  of  analogous  ex- 
cavations described  in  this  volume  demon- 
strates liow  considerable  a  part  worms  have 
played  in  the  concealment  of  Roman  and 
other  old  buildings  in  England,  although  no 
doubt,  the  washing  down  of  soil  from  neigh- 
boring higher  lands  and  the  deposition  of  dust 
have  largely  co-operated  in  the  work  of  burial. 
It  is  plain  enough,  from  the  data  collejted 
in  this  book,  that  worms  have  played  a  more 
important  part  in  the  history  of  the  world 
than  most  persons  would  imagine.  Few  of 
us,  indeed,  when  we  behold  a  wide,  turf- 
colored  expanse,  are  aware  that  its  smooth- 
ness,on  which  so  much  of  its  beauty  depends, 
is  mainly  due  to  all  the  inequalities  having 
been  slowly  leveled  by  worms.  It  is  a  mar- 
velous reflection  that  the  whole  of  the  super- 
ficial mould  over  any  such  expanse  has  passed 
and  will  again  pass  every  few  years,  through 
the  bodies  of  worms.  The  creatures  which 
exercise  so  important  a  function  iu  the  phy- 
sical economy  are  poorly  provided  with  sense 
organs,  for  they  cannot  be  said  to  see,  al- 
though they  can  just  distinguish  between 
light  and  darkness  ;  they  are  completely  deaf, 
and  have  only  a  feeble  power  of  smell ;  the 
sense  of  touch  alone  is  well  developed.  It 
may  well  be  questioned  whether  there  are 
many  other  animals  which  have  played  a  more 
considerable  part  in  the  history  of  the  earth 
than  have  these  lowly  organized  beings.  Some 
other  animals,  however,  still  more  lowly  or- 
ganized— namely,  corals,  have  done  even 
more  conspicuous  work  by  constructing  in- 
numerable reefs  and  islands  in  the  great 
ocean,  but  these  are  almost  wholly  confined 
to  the  tropical  zones. 


SPARE  THE  TREE. 

No  subject  is  of  graver  import  to  the  future 
of  this  continent  than  the  protection  and  pre- 
servation of  its  forests.  Sir  Samuel  Baker, 
who  recently  returned  from  a  hunting  expedi- 
tion in  the  Big  Horn  country  of  Wyoming, 
said  that  the  extensive  and  wanton  burning 
of  the  Rocky  mounlaiu  woodlands  was  an 
evil  of  such  magnitude  that  he  was  astonished 
to  find  hundreds  of  square  miles  iu  a  blaze, 
carrying  on  the  march  of  devastation  until 
quenched  by  a  heavy  rain-fall  or  prrested  by 
the  high  mountain  tops  above  the  timber-line. 
The  reckless  miners  and  thoughtless  hunters, 
traders  and  travelers,  who  are  responsible  for 
this  prodigious  waste,  bid  fair  to  convert  fer- 
tile valleys  and  copious  river  sources  into  arid 
deserts  and  dried-up  gulches. 

It  is  a  well-known  law  that  forest  destruc- 
tion of  a  wholesale  character  diminishes  rain- 
fall, and  eventually  banishes  it  altogether. 
Hence  the  anxiety  of  the  more  enlightened 
governments  to  save  their  native  and  primfeval 
timber  intact,  knowing  that  its  reproduction 
and  preservation  are  the  life's  blood  of  the 
country  itself.  What  will  be  the  ultimate  re- 
sult, judging  from  evidences  of  the  East  V 
Our  rich  Western  regions  will  become  gradu- 
ally parched  ;  brooks  and  streams  will  die  out 
forever  ;  important  feeders  of  a  great  river 
system  will  become  extinct,  lowering  the 
level  perhaps  of  such  a  channel  as  the  Mis- 
sissippi river,  and  one  word  will  be  written 
across  the  face  of  the  country — desolation. 


That  this  is  no  exaggeration  may  be  under- 
stood from  the  fact  that  it  was  recently  re- 
ported at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Geo- 
graphical society  of  Vienna  by  Councilor 
Wex,  that  tlie  Volga  is  decreasing  in  volume, 
owing  to  the  destruction  of  wood  in  its  valley, 
so  as  to  materially  affect  the  level  of  the  Cas- 
pian Sea  and  the  Sea  of  Aral.  It  is  apparent 
therefore,  that  the  most  vital  question  in  con- 
nection with  that  wonderful  domain  beyond 
tiie  Rocky  mountains  is  the  preservation  of  its 
forests.  As  long  as  it  is  possible  for  one  ad- 
venturer to  build  his  camp  fire  in  the  wood 
and  leave  it  to  the  mercy  of  the  wind^,  thus 
laying  waste  what  would  be  a  respectable 
county  ill  our  commonwealth,  this  destruc- 
tion and  consequent  physical  disorder  will  go 
on.  Appropriate  legislation  sternly  executed 
is  only  a  partial  remedy.  The  science  of 
forestry,  as  studied  and  applied  in  the  older 
countries  of  Europe,  must  be  introduced  and 
cultivated  here. 

In  nearly  all  of  the  countries  of  the  Old 
World  forestry,  in  connection  with  climat- 
ology, geology  and  kindred  branches,  is 
taught  ill  nearly  all  the  universities,  and  the 
several  governments  take  an  especial  interest 
in  expert  graduates  in  this  branch.  Particu- 
larly is  this  true,  curiosly  enough,  in  coun- 
tries where  is  the  largest  proportion  of  wood- 
land, as  in  Russia,  Sweden,  Germany  and 
Austria.  The  lowest  occurs  in  Great  Britain, 
Denmark,  Spain  and  Holland.  Over  forty- 
two  per  cent,  of  the  acreage  of  Russia  is 
forest,  while  Britain  has  but  a  little  over 
three  per  cent.  In  Germany  more  attention 
is  given  to  arboriculture  than  in  any  other 
western  power. 

America,  of  all  quarters  of  the  world,  is  the 
most  thickly  wooded  with  the  primeval  forest, 
and  was  of  vast  extent  and  contained  a  great 
variety  of  species,  covering,  with  insignifi- 
cant exceptions,  all  that  portion  of  our  conti- 
nent which  was  occupied  by  the  colonists  ; 
but  now  it  is  d'lubtful,  according  to  the  very 
best  authorities,  if  any  State  of  the  Union, 
save  Oregon,  has  more  woodland  than  it 
ought  permanently  to  preserve.  Our  Eastern 
and  Middle  States  were  at  one  time  dense 
forests,  while  now  Pennsj'lvania  alone  has 
presprved  her  timber.  The  other  States  are 
compelled  to  send  to  Canada  and  the  West  to 
supply  their  market.  Our  government,  how- 
ever, began  early  to  perceive  the  danger  of 
indiscriminate  forest  felling. 

In  1817,  and  again  in  1831,  statutes  were 
passed  to  restrict  spohation.  Yet  it  may  be 
judged  thai  the  woodland  is  largely  suffering 
when  we  remember  that  there  are  over  .30,000 
saw  mills  in  the  United  States,  nearly  all 
doing  a  flourishing  business.  In  some  States 
special  legislation  provides  for  adequate  pro- 
tection, and  in  California,  a  State  forester  has 
been  appointed.  The  devastation  in  that 
State  has  been  enormous,  and  in  Texas  also, 
where  the  supply  of  trees  is  totally  inadequate 
and  where  destructive  tornadoes  prevail,  to- 
gether with  extensive  fires. 

In  view  of  ihe  facts  stated,  it  is  plain  that 
intelligent  and  prompt  action  should  be  taken 
by  Congress  to  prevent  further  spoliation. 
The  absolute  necessity  is  apparent  in  the  not 
encouraging  fact  that  already  over  two-fifths 
of  the  entire  area  of  the  United  States  is  so 
arid  that  even  artificial  irrigation  cannot  now 


redeem  it ;  indeed,  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
owing  to  the  forest  fires  largely,  one-sixth  of 
the  entire  territory  alone  is  susceptible  to  cul- 
tivation. In  Colorado,  New  Mexico,  Ari- 
zona, Nevada,  Utah,  Wyoming,  Idaho  and 
Montana,  not  one-fifth  of  the  area  can  ever 
be  i-endered  available,  and  it  is  doubtful  with- 
out expedients  now  unknown,  if  any  of  these 
territories  will  support  more  than  .300,000 
people  at  a  time  ;  and  in  Wyoming  not  over 
5,000  square  miles  in  the  100,000  square  miles 
of  area  can  be  termed  arable  land. 

The  question  then  arises  :  What  is  the  best 
method  of  achieving  practical  results  for  the 
preservation  of  whatever  physical  advantages 
we  possess  in  our  national  domain,  and  no  in- 
quiry of  greater  magnitude  can  be  addressed 
to  the  Forty-seventh  Congress. — New  York 
Sun. 


LET  THE  FROST  HELP  YOU. 

Few  fully  appreciate  how  much  a  freezing  of 
the  ground  does  to  set  at  liberty  the  plant- 
food  looked  up  in  almost  all  soils.  Water,  in 
freezing,  expends  about  one-eighth  of  its  bulk, 
and  with  tremendous  force.  Water,  if  con- 
fined in  the  strongest  rock  and  frozen,  will 
burst  it  assunder.  The  smallest  particles  of 
soil,  which  are  in  fact  only  minute  bits  of 
rock,  as  the  microscope  will  show,  if  frozen 
while  moist  are  broken  still  finer.  This  will 
go  on  all  winter  in  every  part  of  the  field  or 
garden  reached  by  the  frost;  and  as  most  soils 
contain  more  or  less  elements  that  all  grow- 
ing plants  are  crops  need,  a  good  freezing  is 
equivalent  to  adding  manure  or  fertilizers. 
Hence  it  is  desirable  to  expose  as  much  of  the 
soil  as  possible  to  frost  action,  and  the  deeper 
the  better,  for  the  lower  soil  has  been  less 
drawn  ui)on  and  is  richer  in  plant  food.  Turn 
up  the  soil  this  month  wherever  practicable. 
If  thrown  into  ridges  and  hollows,  in  field 
and  garden,  the  frost  will  penetrate  so  much 
deeper.  Further,  plowing  or  spading  the  soil 
now  exposes  insects  and  weed  roots  to  killing 
by  freezing.  Still  further,  soils  thrown  up 
.loosely  will  dry  out  earlier  in  spring,  and  ad- 
mit earlier  working,  which  is  often  a  great 
gain  when  a  day  or  two  may  decide  in  favor 
of  a  successful  crop.— American  Agriculturist. 


The  great  wheat  exporters  of  Russia  are 
becoming  alarmed  at  the  tremendous  compe- 
tition they  have  to  encounter.  Hungary  and 
the  Danubian  principalities  were  the  first  to 
appear  in  the  Western  markets,  but  the  con- 
struction of  a  railway  to  Odessa  restored  the 
the  equilibrium.  Then  the  American  compe- 
tition uommenced,  and  has  ruined  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  wheat-producing  districts  of  the 
Muscovite  empire.  Wheat  is  abundant  in  the 
interior— more  so  than  for  many  years  past- 
hut  there  is  scarcely  any  communication  with 
the  seaboard.  The  great  military  railways 
run  right  through  the  country,  but  there  are 
few  feeding  lines.  The  roads  and  canals  and 
the  core  of  the  wheat  in  transport  are  in  as 
primitive  state  as  when  Russia  had  no  com- 
petitor in  the  field.  If  a  prompt  move  is  not 
made  by  the  government— which  is  scarcely  to 
be  expected  at  present— Russian  wheat  will 
soon  be  driven  out  of  the  Western  markets  by 
United  States  enterprise  and  the  new  field 
opening  up  in  India. 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


11 

maniifactnrliis;  rfiqiiirement,  tliere  is  good  reason  for 
aiillclpalinf;  a  large  trade. 

Prices. 
Prices  continued  steady  tlirouchout  1881.  Except 
the  slisflit  advance  effected  on  some  grades  In  Aunfust 
wlien  only  a  lialf  crop  was  anileipatcd,  no  clinnire  Is 
pcrceplilile  in  the  year's  tables  of  quotations.  The 
market  commenced  and  closed  strony.  Ohio  ship- 
piiifl  sorts  are  a  trille  lower  than  they  were,  but  all 
other  kinds  rule  at  the  lone  prevalllnij  rates. 

Quotations  January  i,  i88i. 
New  England — Crop  1880,  wrappers  : 

Common 1.1^17 

Medium 18r'ii'^0 

Fine 2.5(r.i8.5 

Selections 40(<i|.50 

Seconds I10i,\2li 

Havana  seed  -        -  -        -      30  to  25 

Eennsylvania— Crop  ISSO,  assorted  lots  : 

Low lOCMa 

Fair 1^(1,15 

Fine 18@50 

Wrappers 18  to  .50 

Fillers lito  7 

New  York— Crop  1880,  assorted  lots  : 

Common 8  to  10 

Medium 12  to  14 

(iood  15  to  18 

Ohio- 
Crop  18):0,  assorted  lots      -        -        -      6^(Sjl3>i 

Wrappers 11   to  20 

Wisconsin — 
Crop  18S0,  assorted  lots       -        -        -      6!.|;@10 

Wrappers 12  to  20 

Havana  seed 12>i@lB 

Berks  County  Agriculture  Society. 
At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Berks  County 
Agricultural  Society,  held  at  Reading  on  Saturday 
afternoon  in  the  Courthouse,  the  old  ollicers  were 
re-elected,  to  wit  :  President,  Jacob  (i.  Zerr;  Treas- 
urer, William  S.  liitter;  Secretary,  Cyrus  T.  Fox. 
The  society,  for  the  first  time  in  lifteen  years,  is  out 
of  debt,  and  with  a  balance  of  ?1,5U()  in  its  treasury. 
A  resolution  was  adopted  authorizing  an  agreement 
with  the  Park  Commissioners  to  open  the  fairground 
for  the  purpose  of  a  public  park,  provided  the  con- 
sent of  the  County  Commissioners  be  obtained,  and 
that  the  city  councils  appropriate  the  moneys  neces- 
sary to  the  impr  vement  of  the  premises. 

Our  Local  Organizations. 

LANCASTER  COUNTY  AGRICULTURAL 
AND  HORTICULTURAL  SOCIETY. 

The  regular  monthly  meeting  of  the  Lancaster 
county  Agricultural  Society  convened  iu  this  city, 
Monday  afternoon,  .January  2.  The  following  named 
persons  were  present:  M.  D.  ier.dig,  Creswcll ; 
Daniel  Smeych,  city;  H.  M.  Engle,  Marietta;  Dr.  C. 
A.  Greene,  city;  Casper  Hiller,  Conestoga;  Henry 
Kurtz,  Mount  Joy;  W.  W.  Griest,  city;  Hebron  Herr, 
West  Lampeter;  Enos.  Weaver,  Strasburg;  F.  R. 
DitTenderfl'er,  city;  Calvin  Cooper,  Bird-In-Hand; 
Johnson  Miller,  Lilitz;  William  H.  Broslus,  Liberty 
square,  John  H.  Landis,  Millersville;  J.  H.  Ilershey, 
Salunga;  S.  A.  Hershey,  Salunga;  S.  P.  Eby,  city; 
C.  L.  Hunsecker,  Manheim  township;  Wash  L. 
Hershey,  Cliiekies;  E.  H.  Hoover,  .Manheim  town- 
ship, J.  .M.  Johnston,  city. 

President  J.  F.  WItmer  being  absent.  Vice  Presl. 
dent  Henry  M.  Engle  swung  the  gavel. 

Enos  11.  Weaver  of  Strasburg,  and  Hebron  Herr, 
of  west  Lampeter,  were  elected  members  of  the  so- 
ciety. 

Crop  Reports. 

Calvin  Cooper  reported  the  grain  fields  In  flue  con- 
dition; abundant  rain  has  fallen  and  everything 
promises  well. 

Henry  Kurtz,  of  Mount  Joy,  never  saw  better 
wheat  and  seldom  saw  the  grain  a<  promising  as  at 
present;  espeoially  is  this  the  case  with  wheat  sown 
on  tobacco  land;  from  which  fact  Mr.  Kurtz  conclu- 
ded that  tobacco  does  not  injure  the  land.  There  le 
considerable  short  leaf  about  his  neighborhood  and 
much  of  the  tobacco  does  not  color  much . 


TOBACCO  REVIEW— THE  OLD  YEAR 
AND  THE  NEW  ONE. 

We  take  the  following  excellent  review  of  the  seed 
leaf  trade  during  the  past  year  from  the  Tobacco 
Leaf.  It  goes  over  the  ground  very  fairly,  as  we 
think,  and  will  be  found  to  be  of  unu.«ual  Interest  to 
all  persons  interested  either  iu  growing  or  manufac- 
turing seed  leaf  tobaccos  : 

The  year  1S81  opened  with  an  estimated  stock  of 
seed  leaf  of  327,000  cases,  consisting  of  .02,000  cases 
of  old  of  all  kinds  and  275,000  cases  of  the  growth 
of  18S0.  The  product  of  1S80  was  estimated  as  fol- 
lows :  New  England,  40,000  cases,  Pennsylvania, 
110,000;  New  York,  20,000;  Ohio  and  Indiana,  .50,- 
000;  Wisconsin  and  other  Western  States,  .55,000. 
Total,  275,000. 

The  sales  In  the  Now  York  market  during  the 
year  were  l.'iOjOOG  cases,  of  which  13,228  were  for 
export. 

Consumption  in  i88i. 

According  to  the  returns  to  the  office  of  Internal 
Revenue  at  Washington,  there  were  consumed  in 
the  making  of  2,(;42,.528,130  cigars  in  the  fiscal  year 
ending  June  30,1881,  59,012,iir)9,  pounds  of  leaf  to- 
bacco, which,  at  3.50  pounds  per  case,  are  equal  to 
lti8,008  cases.  This  allows  22U'  pounds  of  leaf  to  a 
thousand  cigars.  The  case  is  here  reckoned  at  350 
instead  of  400  pounds,  both  because  the  various 
packings  may  average  that,  and  because  the  revenue 
calculations  are  based  upon  net  weight. 

From  the  agregate  ol  eases  must  be  deducted  Ha- 
vana, Sumatra,  and  other  varieties  of  leaf  used  in 
making  cigars.  Substitutes  for  Havana  are  latterly 
used  with  freedom  by  manufacturers,  and  we  sub- 
tract for  surrogates  of  all  kinds  the  equivalent  of 
one-ninth;  in  other  words,  18,734  cases,  or  about 
65,000  bales,  leaving  about  1.50,000  cases  of  seed 
leaf  converted  into  cigars;  in  precise  figures,  149,974 
cases. 

The  fiscal  year  equally  divides  the  calendar  year, 
and  it  will  be  a  modest  assumption  to  say  that,  if 
75,000  of  150,000  case,  were  used  in  the  first  half  of 
1881,  the  last  half,  just  ended,  certainly  appropri- 
ated as  manjfcmore.  It  is  well  known  that  the  man- 
ufacturing trade  was  more  active  in  the  latter  than 
In  the  former  period.  Besides  the  i^^uirements  for 
cigars,  not  less  than  25,000  cases  of  seed  leaf  were 
embraced  in  the  production  of  cigarets  and  smoking 
tobacco  iu  the  past  year. 

Stock  on  Hand  on  January  i,  1882. 

From  New  York  there  were  exported  in  1881 
36,.594  eases,  and  from  Baltimore  3,9.58— total,  40,- 
552  eases.  Tabulating  the  disappearances,  the  ex- 
hibit is  as  follows  : 

Home  consumption        ...        175,000  cases 
Export 40, .552      " 


Total 215,553      " 

Accepting  the  estimate  at  the  beginning  of  the 
year,  namely,  3-7,000  cases,  the  above  total  indi- 
cates a  remainder  of  old  stock  on  the  1st  of  January, 
1882,  amounting  to  111,  478  cases — not  an  inconveni- 
ent quantity,  though  large.  Pennsylvania,  it  will  be 
noticed  is  credil>ed  with  a  crop  of  110,000  cases  in 
1880,  and  there  are  tradesmen  who  assert  that  seve- 
ral thousand  cases  might  properly  betaken  from  that 
figure.    Those  so  Inclined  may  do  so. 

The  Crop  of  18S1  and  Visible  Supply. 

Among  experienced  packers  and  samplers  opinion 
dlfl'ers  widely  respecting  the  quantity  of  seed  leaf 
harvested  in  1^81.  Maximum  estimates  place  it  at 
260,000  cases;  minimum  at  220,000,  the  majority 
agreeing  on  the  latter,  which  sums  up  as  annexed  ; 
New  England,  -  -  -  .  40,000  cases. 
Pennsylvania,  -        .        .        .  73,000      " 

New  York, 25.000      " 

Ohio, -  30,000      " 

Wisconsin  and  other  Western  States,  50,000     ' ' 


Total, 220,000      " 

Low  as  this  total  may  seem:  it  is  probably  not 
greatly  at  variance  with  the  actual  fact.  Assuming 
that  It  is  an  approximate,  the  visible  supply  appears 
to  be  as  follows  : 


Old  slock. 
New  stock. 


111,478  cases. 
220,000      " 


Total  old  and  new,       -        -        331,478 

Receipts  in   1881. 

Of  seed  leaf  tobacco  there  were  received  In    New 
York  In 
ISSl,        ..-..-  99,891  cases. 
1S80, 79,792      " 

Sales  Each  Month. 

Cases. 
January,         ------        7,K00 

February,  .-.---  10,000 

March,  ------       '  9,.501 

April, 
May, 
June, 
July, 


6,9.50 

7,923 

17,1.36 

10,479 


August, 
September, 
October, 
November, 
December,  - 


11,400 

23,100 

17,000 

5,482 

4, .5.50 


Total,         ---,--       130,990 
'    The  total  sales  of  seed  leaf  in  this  market  iu  18S0 
were  92,4.57   cases,  showing   an   increase   In  1881  of 
38,.539  cases. 

Cases. 

Comparative  exhibit  of  the  export  of  seed 

leaf  and   cuttings   in    New   York  since 

January,  1S81,-        -        -        -        -  36,594 

Same  time  in  1880,  -        .        -        .        -        31,837 

Same  time  In  1^79,       .        -        -        .  23,3S3 

Remarks. 

The  year  has  closed  with  the  largest  volume  of 
sales  on  record.  The  highest  previous  figure  was 
reached  in  178,  when  124,  .502  eases  were  sold.  There 
is  reason  to  believe  that  dealers  in  this  staple  have, 
as  a  rule,  enjoyed  a  prosperous  trade,  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  and  expected  that  they  will  have  similar  good 
fortune  in  the  year  now  entered  upon.  Apparently 
this  year  commences  with  a  little  larger  stock  than 
last  year  did,  but  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  crop 
estimates  are  not  based  upon  positive  data,  and  the 
figures  set  down  for  the  several  producing  sections 
mentioned  above  may  be  too  high  in  some  instances, 
as  well  as  too  low.  Possibly  Pennsylvania  is  credit- 
ed with  15,000  cases  too  much.  When  the  writer 
saw  the  18S1  crop  in  the  field  in  the  latter  part  of 
August,  he  would  have  been  reluctant  to  believe 
that  it  would  yield  60,000  cases,  the  drouth  seeming 
to  have  dwarfed  beyond  salvation  much  of  that 
which  was  then  standing.  Succeeding  rains  and  a 
late  growing  season  helped  to  improve  the  situation 
very  materially.  This  fact,  and  the  clrcnnntanee 
that  a  larger  acreage  than  ever  before  was  planted, 
incline  many  to  the  belief  that  the  product  of  the 
3tate  will  not  be  far  from  75,000  cases.  Some  esti- 
mate it  at  1 0,000. 

The  above  estimates  forthe  other  States  are  certain- 
ly not  in  excess.  If  the  writer  were  to  express  his  own 
opinion,  he  would  credit  New  England  with  45,000 
rather  than  40,000  cases.  For  when  he  saw  the  New 
England  crop,  which,  also,  was  late  in  August,  it 
had  the  promise  of  undimished  fullness  and  excel- 
lence. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  refer  here  to  the  eharactcristi?s 
of  the  new  crop  as  a  whole.  Some  of  it  will  he  good 
and  some  indifferent,  as  is  always  the  case.  By  and 
bye  it  will  come  forward  for  sale,  when  its  merits 
and  demerits  will  be  made  manifest.  The  growing 
season  began  and  ended  well,  but  its  perfection  was 
marred  by  the  want  of  rain  when  rain  was  most 
needed.  It  need  surprise  no  one,  consequently,  if 
some  of  the  crop  shall  hereafter  be  found  defective. 
Good  tobacco  is  grown  only  iu  good  conditions,  and 
these  were  wanting  in  the  hot  and  dry  month  of  Au- 
gust in  most  of  our  tobacco  growing  regions. 

The  premature  buying  and  high  prices  paid  for 
some  of  1881  crop  in  the  field  are  likely  to  be  ob- 
stacles in  the  way  of  a  completely  satisfactory  trade 
in  1(>83.  They  are  surely  going  to  impede  the  ex- 
port trade,  which  is  to  be  regretted  for  commercial 
reasons.  This  year  it  is  to  be  hoped  there  will  be 
less  haste  than  there  was  last  year.  Yet,  when  early 
and  extravagant  buying  commenced,  the  situation 
seemed  to  justify    the  movement.    With  the    vast 


12 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[January, 


John  n.  Landis,  of  Xlillersville,  saw  daudelions  in 
bloom  in  Bucks  county,  last  week,  and  saw  good 
wheat  on  his  own  native  Manor.  Half  the  tobacco 
is  stripped. 

Martin  D.  Kendig  remarked  that  a  neighbo'-  seed- 
ed rye  in  the  latter  part  of  November,  and  it  came 
up  well. 

In  Donegal  wheat  is  good,  said  H.  M.  Engle,  but 
much  freezing  and  thawing  during  December  may 
have  endangered  it  more  or  less;  and  as  young  clover 
is  pastured  closely  Mr.  Engle  feared  the  effects  in 
spring.  Rain  fall  for  December  was  5  6-16  inches; 
for  the  year  38?^  inches. 

Election  of  Officers. 

On  motion  ofj  Johnson  Miller,'  the  regular  busi- 
ness was  now  suspended  and  the  society  proceeded 
to  nominate  and  elect  officers  for  the  ensuing  year. 

For  president,  Joseph  F.  Witmtr,  of  Paradise  was 
renominated. 

For  vice  presidents,  Henr}'  M.  Ensle,  of  Marietta, 
and  .Jacob  B.Garber,of  Columbia,  were  renominated. 

For  recording  secretary,  M.  D.  Kendig,  John  H. 
Landis,  Johnson  Miller  and  Calvin  Cooper  positively 
and  peremptorily  declined  nomination,  and  finally 
the  honor  was  cast  upon  John  C.  Liuville,  of  the 
Gap,  who  was  absent. 

For  corresponding  Secretary,  Calvin  Cooper  of 
Bird-in-Hand,  was  nominated. 

For  treasurer,  M.  D.  Kendig,  of  Creswcll,  was  re- 
nominated. 

There  being  no  more  than  the  constitutional  num- 
ber placed  in  nomination  for  the  above  offices  the 
nominees  were  declared  elected; 

For  managers  the  following  were  nominated  and 
the  figures  attached  indicate  the  number  of  votes 
each  received:  Wm.  H.  Brosius,  11;  John  H.  Landis, 
8;  Casper  Hiller,  7;  Calvin  Cooper,  6;  Enos  H. 
Weaver,  G;  Hebron  Herr,  5:  Daniel  Smeycli,  4; 
Johnson  Miller,  4;  E.  S.  Hoover;  4.  The  first  five 
named  were  declared  the  duly  elected  managers. 

Casper  Hiller,  of  Conestoga,  read  an  essay  en- 
titled 

•  'Can  the  Grain  Grower  Dispense  with   Nitro- 
genous   Fertilizers  ?" 

In  order  to  have  a  proper  understanding  of  the 
subject  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  give  the  analj-sis  and 
cost  of  several  of  the  principal  manures  in  the  mar- 
ket. 

A  ton  of  well  prepared  bone  contains  about  400 
pounds  of  phosphoric  acid,  valued  at  .S30,  and  about 
80  pounds  of  nitrogen,  valued  at  -S15. 

A  ton  of  acidulated  South  Carolina  rock  contains 
about  .340  pounds  of  phosphoric  acid,  which  can  be 
bought  foi  82.5. 

A  ton  of  nitrate  of  soda  costs  about  §80  and  con- 
tains alwut  20  per  cent,  of  nitrogen. 

These  figures  show  th..t  nitrogen  adds  one-third 
to  the  price  in  the  bone  manure,  and  in  tlie  nitrate  of 
Boda  the  nitrogen  makes  up  the  whole  cost,  showing 
that  nitrogen  is  an  expensive  ingredient,  and  for  that 
reason  the  question  put  to  me  is  worthy  of  conside- 
ration. 

My  experiments  have  been  on  too  limited  a  scale 
to  be  of  much  value,  hut  as  far  as  they  went  (on 
corn  only)  the  indieatiohs  are  that  nitrogenous  fer- 
tilizers are  non-paying  on  my  soil. 

In  my  experiments,  I  have  used  phosphate  rock: 
raw  hone,  dissolved  bone,  and  a  nitrogenous  flesh 
fertilizer,  and  have  come  to  theconclusion  that  phos- 
phoric acid  is  the  paying  ingredient  in  tho.se  .  ma- 
nures. 

Extensive  experiments  have  been  made  at  the 
Eastern  Experimental  farm,  that  prove  that  nitro- 
genous fertilizers  are  not  profitable  on  that  farm. 

The  application  of  nitrate  of  soda  and  sulphate  of 
ammonia  did  on  no  occasion  yield  sufficient  increase 
of  grain  to  pay  for  the  fertilizers,  while  phosphate 
rock,  a  purely  non-nitrogenous  fertilizer,  gaveTOore 
increase  of  grain  than  stable  manure,  or  ground 
bone,  or  bone  sui^erphospiiate. 

[See  report  of  John  L.  Carter,  to  State  Board  of 
Agriculture  for  1877  and  1S78]. 

Chemical  analysis  shows  that  nitrogen  is  an  im- 
portant element  in  all  our  grain  crops,  but  these  ex- 
periments would  show  that  there  is  a  bountiful  sup- 
ply of  it  in  our  soil,  or  that  the  atmosphere  furnishes 
all  that  is  needed  to  perfect  the  crop.  There  are 
good  authorities  who  contend  that  the  later  is  the 
case. 

From  the  foregoing  you  can  perceive  that  my  an- 
swer is,  the  grain  grower  can  dispense  with  nitroge- 
nous fertilizers. 

The  Board  of  Managers  made  the  following  ap- 
pointments for  the  ensuing  year  : 


Entomologist  and  Botanist— S.  S.  Rathvon. 
he    mist — Jno.  C.  Linville. 
Mineralogist — 15.  K.  Hershey. 
Librarian — S.  P.  Eby. 

The  following  questions  were  continued   until  next 

>■  J  the   referees   being    absent; 

"Can  dairy  cows   be   kept  in  good   condition   by  the 

soiling  process,  and  is  tlie  butter  as  good  ?"  J.  Frank 

Landis. 

"  What  is  the  best  time  to  plow  land  for  spring 
crops?"  John  C.  Linville. 

"Ought  rank  growing  wheat  to  be' pastured  ?" 
Ja 

John  H.  Landis  offered  the  following  resolution: 
"Resolved,  that  the  thanks  of  this  society  be  ex- 
tended to  Jos.  F.  Witmer  for  the  fair  and  impartial 
manner  in  which  he,  has  presided  over  our  delibera- 
tions."   Unanimously  adopted. 

Henry  M.  Engle  called  theattention  of  the  society 
to  the  fact  that  the  State  Fruit  Growers'  Association 
would  meet  in  Harisburg  on  the  third  Wednesday  in 
January,  and  on  motion  of  Mr.  Cooper  a  committee 
of  three  was  appointed  to  represent  the  Lancaster 
society  at  the  fruit  growers'  meeting.  That  com- 
mittee consists  of  Calvin  Cooper,  M.  D.  Kendig  and 
Wm.  H.  Brosius. 

Messrs.  F.  R.  Diffenderffer  and  C.  L.  Hunsecker 
were  appointed  to  audit  the  treasurer's  account, 
which  they  did,  and  reported  it  correct,  and  a  bal- 
ance of  879. .31  in  the  hands  of  treasurer  Kendig. 

On  motion  of  Calvin  Cooper  the  bounty  due  from 
the  county  to  the  society  for  the  years  1880  and  1881 
was  ordered  to  be  ascertained  and  the  bill  presented 
to  the  commissioners. 

Or.  C.  A  Greene  read  an  essay  on  insects,  and  said, 
Some  weeks  ago  my  attention  was  ^called  to  'the 
fact  that  Mr.  Rathvon  has  left  out  for  some  months 
my  name  from  the  various  accounts  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  our  society,  both  from  the  Lancaster 
Farmer  and  the  daily  Examiner,  and  I  have  been 
unable  to  answer'tbe  inquiries  of  my  friends,  why  it 
was  done?  Whether  my  various  questions  asked  of 
our  tailor  friend  had  become  a  nut  so  hard  to  crack 
that  he  has  become  rancorous,  or  ^whether  from 
jealousy,  I  know  not.  I  do  know  that  it  is  rather  an 
insult  to  our  organization,  and  although  personally 
I  care  nothing  for  it  and  presume  it  will  not  shorten 
my  life  one  day, yet  as  directed  against  the  society,! 
bring  it  to  your  notice. 

[The  subject  matter  of  the  essay  gets  as  close  to 
the  point  as  the  doctor's  communications  generally 
do,  but  it  also  contains  a  few  inaccuracies  which  we 
desire  to  correct.  In  the  first  place  he  acccuses  Dr. 
Rathvon  of  intentionally  omitting  his  (Dr.  Greene's) 
name  from  the  reports.  The  Farmer  takes  its  re- 
ports from  the  ExamUier,  and  whatever  blame  is 
attached  to  the  omission  of  Dr. 'Greene's  valuable 
essays  from  the  reports,  must  therefore  be  borne  by 
this  journal.  We  tried  to  give  a  faithful  report  of 
the  proceedings,  and  only  dstermined  to  exclude 
Dr.  Greene's  name  after  he  had  taken  us  to  task  for 
maliciously  misrepresenting  him  by  publishing  a 
stricture  upon  the  tobacco  buyers  in  this  city,  which 
was  delivered  from  his  own  lips'at  a  meeting  of  the 
society.  When  the  doctor  found  that  his  words  had 
got  him  into  hot  water,  he  attempted  to  throw  the 
blame  from  his  shoulders  upon  ours,  and  we  then 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  we  would  in  the  future 
give  him  no  cause  to  complain.  Had  the  doctor  not 
blamed  the  wrong  person  for  what  he  deems  an 
"insult  to  our  organization,"  this  reply  to  his  essay 
on  "insects"  would  not  have  been  written. — Report- 
er Dail  yExfuess.J 

A  discussion  here  ensued  as  to  the  best  means  of 
gaining  a  better  attendance  of  members  and  increas- 
ing the  Interest  in  the  society's  proceedings.  Calvin 
Cooper  moved  that  each  member  bring  his  wife  to 
the  February  meeting,  and  if  he  chances  not  to  be 
mated,  let  him  bring  some  ottier  congenial  com- 
panion. The  motion  was  not  pressed  to  a  vote,  but 
it  was  favorably  regarded  by  the  members  present. 
Mr.  Engle  suggested  competitive  essays  as  one 
means  by  which  to  awaken  some  activity. 
C.  L.  Hunsecker  thought  the  strictures  of  some  of 


the  reporters  on  the  political  discussion  at  the  last 
meeting  both  severe  and  unkind.  He  had  yet  to 
learn  that  farmers  are  not  allowed  to  express  their 
opinions  in^any  place.  He  thought  Dr.  Greene's  es- 
says could  well  be  dispensed  with,  and  was  favor- 
able to  Mr.  Engle's  suggestion  in  regard  to  competi- 
tive essays. 

Calvin  Cooper  suggested  that  the  chair  appoint  an 
essayist  at  every  meeting  and  accept  no  excutes 
whatever. 

Ephraim  S.  Hoover  thought  that  none  but  agri- 
cultural and  horticultural  subjects  should  be  Intro- 
duced for  discussion— no  polities  ;  he  also  thought  if 
an  essayist  was  appointed,  the  appointee  would  feel 
it  more  of  a  duty  to  respond. 

Mr.  Hunsecker  then  moved  that  the  chair  be  em- 
powered to  appoint  an  essayist  at  each  meeting,  the 
appointee  to  chose  his  own  suqject ;  provided,  how- 
evor,  it  is  germain  to  agriculture  and  horticulture, 
not  politics,  for  then  the  "reporters  would  catch  us 
by  the  ear." 

Calvin  Cooper  moved  to  amend  by  imposing  a  fine 
of  fifty  cents  for  failure  to  perform  the  duty  as- 
signed, and  Ephraim  Hoover,  by  proposed  amend- 
ment, increased  this  sum  to  ?1.00.  Both  of  these 
amendments  were  voted  down,  and  the  main  ques- 
tion was  passed. 

C.  L.  Hunsecker  was  appointed  essayist  for  the 
February  meeting. 


THE   STATE  GRANGE. 

The  ninth  annual  session  of  the  State  Grange  of 
Pennsylvtnia  was  lield  in  the  parlor  of  the  Park 
Hotel,  in  the  city  of  Williamsport,  Pa.,  during  the 
week  beginning  at  1:30  o'clock  p.  m.,  on  Tuesday, 
December  15th,  1881.  About  four  hundred  Patrons 
were  in  attendance  during  the  session,  representing 
one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  Granges,  located  in 
fifty  counties  of  the  State. 

On  Tuesday  evening  an  address  of  welcome,  was 
delivered  by  Hon.  C.  D.  Eldred  of  Grange  No.  71, 
Lycoming  county,  which  was  responded  to  on  the 
part  of  the  State  Grange  by  W.  T.  Everson,  of  Erie 
county.  The  annual  address  of  St^e  Master  L. 
Rhone  was  delivered  the  same  evening. 

Wednesday's   Proceedings. 

On  Wednesday  morning  the  various  committees 
were  announced  by  the  Master,  and  reports  were 
heard  from  the  different  officers,  the  latter  showing 
the  order  in  the  State  to  be  increasing  in  member- 
ship and  improving  in  efficiency  of  grange  work. 

W.  A.  Armstrong,  Master  of  New  York  State 
Grange,  addressed  the  afternoon  meeting.  Also 
Dr.  Calder,  of  Dauphin  county,  State  lecturer. 

A  public  meeting  was  held  in  the  Court  House  on 
Wednesday  evening,  with  Hon.  Wm  J.  Wood,  of 
Lycoming  county,  as  chairman.  Worthy  Master 
Rhone,  the  first  speaker,  referred  to  the  importance 
of  protecting  the  agricultural  interests,  showing  that 
all  other  business  is  greatly  dependent  upon  the 
prosperity  of  the  farmers,  and  stated  briefly  the  ob- 
jects of  the  organization  there  represented. 

Governor  Hoyt  said,  being  in  Williamsport  acci- 
dentally, he  had  submitted  to  the  hospitality  and 
persistence  of  the  Grangers.  He  did  not  propose  to 
discuss  the  technicology  of  the  farmer's  occupation. 
He  hoped  to  see  the  Pcnnsyivania  farmer  put  on  an 
equal  footing  with  the  Western  farmer.  Improved 
methods  here  would  soon  make  Pennsylvania  soil 
as  productive  as  the  thin  exhausted  .soil  of  the  ~West. 

lie  congratulated  those  present  for  the  manifest 
indication  of  a  revival  of  the  farming  interest,  (re- 
ferring to  the  large  audience  of  farmers  before  him.) 
Dr.  Calder  spoke  of  the  isolated  condition  of  farm 
life  in  America  and  contrasted  it  with  the  East, 
where  the  farmers  live  in  villages,  thus  affording 
better  opportunities  for  social  intercourse  and  mental 
improvement.  He  claimed  that  the  Patrons  of  Hus- 
bandry had  done  much  toward  making  up  this  de- 
ficiency here.  He  referred  to  the  great  want  of  in- 
formation amongst  farmers,  citing  numerous  in- 
stances where  this  want  was  most  noticeable. 
He  believed  there  was  no  better  way  of  inducing 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


13 


the  acquisition  of  knowledge  and  of  retainlnj;  it 
than  in  impartiufr  it  to  our  associates,  and  that 
grange  meetings  affordeil  an  excellent  opportunity  for 
doing  this. 

Anna  Ilolstcin,  of  Montgomery  county,  read  an 
essay  on  "Wotnan's  Work  in  tlie  (i range." 

Past  State  Master  V.  E.  Piolell  discussed  the  rela- 
tions of  the  Grange  to  ccrporations.  He  said  the 
Grange  grew  out  of  a  necessity  for  some  association 
by  wliich  the  interests  of  the  agricultural  class  might 
be  preserved.  Twenty-live  out  of  tlie  fifty  millions 
of  people  In  our  county  are  directly  interested  iu 
agriculture,  yet  we  have  almost  no  voice  in  legisla- 
tive bodies,  where  corporations  are  regulated.  He 
thought  the  corporations  had  too  much  power.  They 
must  be  regulated  liy  law  more  efl'ectually.  Trans- 
portation com  panics  sliould  only  be  allowed  to  charge 
what  would  be  a  fair  compensation,  and  not  "what 
the  traftic  will  bear."  Effective  laws  have  been  es- 
tablished in  Illinois  and  even  iu  Georgia,  where  the 
railroad  companies  are  reciuircd  to  post  up  their 
rates  of  freight  and  fare  in  their  station  houses.  He 
wished  it  understood  that  the  patrons  made  no  war 
on  associated  capital,  but  demanded  their  rates 
without  unjust  discrimination. 

The  courthouse  was  crowded  with  citizens  of  Wil- 
llamsport  and  farmer  from  the  vicinity. 

The  Proceedings  on  Thursday. 

On  Thursday  the  Secretary  made  his  report 
ehowingover  .351)  active  Granges  Iu  the  State  and 
about  12,1)00  members. 

The  I'ark  Hotel  has  ample  accommodations  for 
entertaining  the  entire  State  Grange,  as  well  as  af- 
fording a  suit.ible  place  for  meeting,  and  nearly  all 
the  members  availed  themselves  of  its  hospitality. 

The  citizens  of  Williamsport  have  shown  a  lively 
interest  in  making  our  sojouru  here  as  pleasant  as 
possible,  and  through  their  iustrumentality  and  the 
kindness  of  Superinteudont  Neilsou,  of  the  Elmira 
Division  of  the  Northern  Central  Railway,  a  free  ex- 
cursion was  tendered  members  to  the  dairy  farm  of 
Judge  Smith,  several  miles  south  of  the  city,  where 
the  Cooly  system  of  setting  milk  is  being  tested  in 
connection  with  the  soiling  method  of  keeping  cows. 

The  representatives  in  attendance  from  Lancaster 
county  are  John  H.  Epiar,  of  Conoy  Grange,  No. 
•97,  and  W.  P.  Bolton  and  wife,  of  Fulton  Orange, 
No.  66.  The  State  Grange  adjourned  at  noon  on 
Friday. 


I  as  follows  :  President,  George  A.  Gcyer;  Vice  Presi- 
dents, M.  L.  Grider,  Charles  Lippold;  Recording 
Secretary,  J.  B.  Ijichty;  Corresponding  Secretary, 
Josej)!!  R.  Trlssler:  Treasurer,  T.  Frank  I'^vans; 
Executive  Committee,  Dr.  E.  H.  Wilmer,  John  A. 
Schum,  J.  B.  Long,  Wni.  A.  Sclioenberger,  J.  A. 
Stober. 

Miscellaneous  Bus'ness. 

Charles  E.  Long  offered  a  resolution  that  exhibi- 
tors from  a  distance  ''rawing  |ircmiums  be  paid 
first.     Carried. 

A  resolution  was  offered  instructing  tlie  Secretary 
to  notify  members  who  have  not  paid  their  annual 
dues  to  do  so  by  March  first.     Carried. 

The  new  president,  George  A.  Geyer,  assumed  the 
duties  of  Ills  i)Osition. 

On  motion,  the  old  Executive  Committee  were  in- 
structed to  hold  over  until  after  the  exhibition. 

The  Secretary  stated  that  ^.50 entries  have  already 
been  made,  an<l  a  good  many  more  are  expected. 
The  Lancaster  county  exhibitors  have  not  come  out 
so  strongly.  Tliere  will  be  200  entries  of  pigeons. 
The  variety  of  birds  is  much  larger  than  last  year. 
Rhode  Island,  Maryland,  New  Jersey,  New  York, 
Canada,  Ohio  and  Delaware,  will  be  represented. 
One  exhibitor  has  made  :!5  entries.  On  the  whole, 
the  prospects  for  a  successful  exhibition  are  very 
good . 

On  motion,  the  meeting  adjourned. 


THE  POULTRY  SOCIETY. 

The  regular  niontlily  meeting  of  the  Lancaster 
County  Poultry  Association,  not  having  been  held 
on  the  first  Monday  of  the  month,  as  is  customary, 
was  held  Monday  mornijig,  January  9,  1781. 

The  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  President 
Tshudy. 

The  following  members  were  present  :  H.  H. 
Tshudy,  Lititz;  J.  B.  Lichty,  city;  George  A.  Geyer, 
Silver  Spring;  T.  Frank  Evans,  Lititz;  F.  R.  Diffen- 
derfer,  Charles  Lippold,  Charles  E.  Long,  city;  J.  A. 
Stober,  Sehoeneck;  John  A.  Schum,  W.  A.  Schoen- 
berger,  city;  M.  L.  Grider,  Mount  Joy;  J.  B.  Long, 
city;  T.  D.  Martin,  Lititz;  Dr.  E.  H.  Witmer,  Neffs- 
Tille;  J.  A.  Garman.  Leacock. 

The  minutes  of  the  last  meeting  were  read  and  ap- 
proved. 

J.  B.  Lichty  gave  notice  that  he  would  offer  an 
amendment  to  the  Constitution  providing  for  the  an- 
nual election  of  the  oflieers  of  the    society    in    Feb- 
ruary of  each  year,  instead  of  in  January  as  now. 
Treasurer's  Report. 

T.  Frank  Evans  read  his  annual  report,  by  which 
it  was  shown  there  is  at  present  in  his  hands  the 
sum  of  .3:0.23. 

The  President  appointed  Messrs.  Stober  and  Lone 
to  audit  the  Treasurer's  accounts.     This   was    done 
and  they  were  found  to  be  correct.    This  report  was 
received  and  the  committee  discharged. 
Election  of  Officers. 

H.  H.  Tshudy  withdrew  from  the  candidacy  for 
President.    An  election  being  had,  the   result  stood 


THE  LINNiEAN  SOCIETY. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  society  was  held  at  the 
residence  of  Mr.  Chas  A.  Heinitsh,  East  King  Street, 
on  Thursday  evening,  December  20,  1881,  and  was 
well  attended.  The  president.  Prof.  Stahr  and  the 
secretary.  Dr.  M.  L.  Davis,  in  their  cliairs. 

As  the  proceedings  of  the  Society  are  generally 
published  in  three  diflereut  newspapers,  they  are 
usually  not  read,  unless  to  correct  errors.  After  the 
customary  opening  and  collection  of  dues,  the  fol- 
lowing addilions  and  donations  were  made. 

Library. 

International  Scientists'  Directory  for  1881-3,  434 
pages,  demi  octavo. 

Anmial  Report  of  Ooinmisxioncr  of  Patents,  for 
18S0,  4.'!0  pages  quarto. 

Alphahelical  list  of  Patentees  and  Tniientors,  Janu- 
ary to  June,  1881,  2.5s  pages  quarto. 

Proceedings  of  Acadeniij  of  Statural  Sciences,  for 
June  and  July,  1881. 

Catalorjne  of  the  Fungi  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  46 
pages,  raed.  octavo,  from  Califoruia  Academy  of 
Natural  Science. 

Nos.  21,  2-.',  2'i  and  24,  Official  Gazette  of  United 
Stales  Patent  Office. 

Lancaster  Farmer,  for  December,  1881. 

Four  Book  Catalogues  and  sundry  Circulars. 

One  Envelope,  containing  19  Historical  and  Bio- 
graphical Scraps. 

No  additions  or  donations  were  made  to  Muscictn. 

The  Curators  reported  '2,.500  plants  added  to  the 
Uerharium  of  the  Society  during  the  year  1881;  also, 
1,000  specimens  of  minerals;  100  Indian  relics;  .50 
Historical  specimens;  150  Entomological;  .300  in  Pa- 
leontology, and  101  in  Mammology,  Ornithology, 
Ichtheology,  Keptilia  and  miscellaneous. 

Total  over  4,100  added  to  the  museum. 

The  Kibrarian  reported  160  books,  pamphlets  and 
serials  to  the  Library  during  1881,  besides  a  large 
number  of  catalogues  and  circulars;  also,  .'>7  envel- 
opes containing  500  Historical  and  Biographical 
Scraps.  10  original  papers  were  read  during  the 
year.  Since  the  organization  of  the  society,  566 
original  papers  were  read  before  it,  only  '.JO  of  which 
were  published. 

The  Treasurer  reported  the  receipts,  including  the 
balance  on  hand  last  January,  for  the  year  $41.90, 
and  the  expenditures  $.!'?. 14  leaving  a  balance  in 
the  Treasury  of  $18.75.  The  whole  amount  of  cash 
received  by  the  society  during 20  years  was  $1268.86, 
and  the  expenditures  the  same,  less  the  balance  now 
in  the  Treasury. 


Papers  Read. 

Prof.  .Stahr  read  an  interesting  paper  on  the 
swarming  of  the  "Brown  Ant,"  (Formica  liufa) 
early  in  the  month  of  November  last.  This  was 
some  weeks  later  than  the  usual  period  of  swarm- 
ing, but  then  past  season  has  been  rather  extraordi- 
nary for  Its  mildness — causing  many  trees  to  re-blos- 
som, and  in  some  Intanccs  to  bear  a  second  crop  of 
fruit.  As  there  was  no  weather  during  which  ants 
could  not  have  swarmed  at  their  usual  period 
(August  and  September),  the  question  might  well 
arise,  "Did  the  same  colony  swarm  a  second  time, 
as  the  apples,  pears,  cherries,  &e.,   blooms. 

Prof,  lluthi'on  read  an  illustrated  paper  on  a  spe- 
cies of  fungus  {Coprinas  Comatns)  which  sprung  up 
in  hie  garden  on  the  night  of  November  :id,  1881. 
This  was  another  illustration  of  a  relarded  warm 
season,  and  the  effect  of  such  weather,  among  the 
subjects  of  the  animal  and  vegetable  worlds.  The 
fungus  alluded  to  was  one  of  the  edible  species,  and 
was  fully  ten  inches  in  height. 

Dr.  jV.  L.  Danis,  the  chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  the  state  of  the  Society,"  appointed  at  the  last 
meeting,  read  an  Interesting  paper,  full  of  good 
practical  suggestions  relating  to  the  welfare,  the 
progress,  and  a  greater  enicicncy  of  the  Society,  and 
the  manner  in  which  this  could  most  probably  be 
effected . 

The  secretary  read  a  paper  from  Mrs.  Gibbons  on 
some  of  the  peculiarities  in  voting  on  questions, 
brought  before  societies  iu  Ireland,  and  on  the  conti- 
nent of  Europe.  She  observed  that  at  a  conference 
held  last  summer  at  Cologne,  the  president  "gene- 
rally or  always"  put  the  affinnatii'e  only.  At  a 
meeting  of  Teachers  iu  Ireland,  the  chairman  put 
the  negative  only,  and  if  no  one  voted  "no"  he  would 
declare  the  motion  "passed  unanimously." 
Elections. 

Mr.  H.  M.  Herr  was  balloted  for  and  unanimously 
elected  an  active  member  of  the  Society. 

The  annual  election  of  officers  resulted  as  follows: 
President,  Prof.  J.  3.  Stahr;  Fice  Presidents,  Profi. 
T.  K.  Baker  and  J.  H.  Dubbs:  Cor.  Secretary,  Dr. 
Knight;  Hec.  Secretary,  Dr.  .M.  L.  Davis;  Treasurer, 
Prof.  S.  S.  Rathvon;  fAbrarian,  Mrs.  L.  M.  Zell; 
Curators,  S.  S.  Rathvon,  C.  A.  Heinitsh,  Jno.  B. 
Kevlnski  and  Wm.  L.  Gill. 

New  Business. 

Being  the  annual  meettug,  and  reports  and  elec- 
tions, occupying  the  time,  no  business  other  than 
the  ordering  of  bills  reported  to  be  paid,  was 
brought  before  the  .Society. 

Kxtract  from  a  Report  on  General  Finance. 

"We  have  tabulated  these  financial  statistics  of  the 
Society  merely  to  show  by  comparison  with  other 
associated  enterprises  in  the  city  irnd  county  of  Lan- 
caster, what  a  little  wheelbarrow  we  have  been  push- 
ing forward  during  the  last  twenty  years,  when  ac- 
cording to  the  magnitude  of  the  subject,  we  should 
have  been  enabled  to  drive  a  "six-horse  Conestoga 
Team. 

"It  would  be  quite  safe  to  say,  that  such  a  collec- 
tion as  the  society  possesses,  could  not  now  be  made 
for  ten  times  the  amount  it  has  cost  us:  and  this 
fact  should  stimulate  a  desire  for  its  preservation 
and  perpetuation,  among  the  intelligent  and  moneyed 
citizens  of  Lancaster:  for,  extinguish  this  institution 
and  its  museum,  and  such  another  nucleus  could 
not  be  formed  again  for  fifty  years  to  come.  No 
future  scientists  would  feel  encouraged  lo  begin  such 
a  work  again.  The  public  seems  to  have  very  little 
comprehension  of  its  magnitude,  especially  since 
more  than  one-half  of  it  is  necessarily  packed  away 
in  drawers  and  boxes.  Indeed, there  are  people  who 
seem  to  think,  that  we  are  in  some  way,  pecuniarily 
enriching  ourselves." 

After  a  very  pleasant  meeting,  and  a  general  in- 
terchange of  sentiment,  the  society  adjourned  to  meet 
on  the  last  Saturday  in  January,  1882. 


Now  is  the  time  to  subscribe  for  The  F.iRHER  for 
1882.  Subscription  price  only  SI  per  year,  thecheap« 
est  Agricultural  Journal  in  the  country. 


14 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[January, 


Agriculture. 


Look  After  the  Implements. 

As  winter  approaches  we  cannot  refrain  from  say- 
inp- tliat  tlie  careful,  tliougiitful  farme  never  allows 
bis  plows,  harrows,  cultivators,  mowing  and  reaping; 
machines,  hay  tedders  and  other  implements  and 
machinery,  to  be  exposed  to  the  weather,  or  where 
they  can  be  damaged  by  fowls  or  stock.  He  pro- 
vides a  covered  place  for  them  all  where  the  rains 
and  snows  cannot  penetrate,  with  either  board  floor- 
ing or  placed  upon  scantling  to  raise  them  from  the 
ground.  Such  portions  of  the  iron  likely  to  rust 
should  be  painted  over  slightly  with  any  cheap  oil 
paint,  and  it  will  add  to  the  preservation  and  appear- 
ance of  all  implements  and  machinery,  especially  if 
the  woodwork  is  also  painted.  When  this  is  incon- 
venient the  iron  should  be  cleaned  of  dirt  and 
greased  with  pieces  of  fat  pork.  They  should  also 
be  put  in  good  repair  during  the  winter,  in  order  to 
be  ready  for  operating  when  needed  in  the  spring. 
Leaving  this  repairing  until  another  season  opens 
frequently  causes  damaging  delays  which  should 
always  be  provided  against.  There  is  nothing  like 
being  always  ready  with  these  things  for  any 
emergency. — OermaHtown  Telegraph. 
^ 

Do  Your  Own  Repairing. 

Wc  think  that  almost  every  farmer  will  agree  with 
US  that  every  farm  should  have  its  own  workshop, 
and  every  cultivator  of  the  land  should  understand 
how  to  use  it.  He  may  not  do  so  when  he  Brst  en- 
ters upon  farming  on  coming  of  age  ;  hut  after  a 
year  or  so  of  what  we  call  apprenticeship,  when  he 
finds  that  to  "know  how  to  do  things"  is  absolutely 
indispensable  he  will  tapidly  learn  to  attend  to  most 
of  his  own  repairing  of  the  ordinary  implements  and 
machines  upon  his  premises,  instead  of  incurring  de- 
lay, expense  and  uncertainty  by  depending  upon  pro- 
fessionals at  a  distance.  Rather  than  to  be  without 
a  workshop  and  the  necessary  tools,  one  should  be 
erected  expressly  for  the  purpose,  iu  a  convenient 
spot  and  daily  warmed  in  winter,  so  as  to  be  ready 
at  all  times  for  use,  in  which  many  odd  jobs  can  be 
done  also  not  immediately   connected  with  the  farm. 

All  ordinary  wooden  repairing  ought  to  be  done  by 
the  farmer  and  his  hands  during  rainy  days  and  in 
winter,  when  there  is  plenty  of  time  on  hand  for 
that  purpose.  Every  part  of  a  wheelbarrow,  except 
the  wheel,  ought  to  be  made  on  the  premises;  new 
forks  and  handles  of  iron  rakes,  repairing  even  some 
pori.'.ns  of  the  farm  machinery,  building  of  garden 
and  yard  fences,  repairing  roofs,  building  of  corn- 
cribs,  hog-pens,  wagon  and  cart  shelvings,  making 
of  the  frames  of  hotbeds,  and  all  the  many  jobs  con- 
stantly requiring  to  be  done  about  a  well-conducted 
place  too  numerous  too  mention.  A  person  becomes 
very  handy  in  the  use  of  good  tools  after  a  short  ex- 
perience, and  saves  many  a  dollar  without  consum- 
ing any  time  necessary  for  the  usual  demands  of  the 
farm. 


Ensilage  Solus. 

There  has  been  of  late  considerable  falling  olfin 
the  talk  about  silos  and  the  value  of  ensilage  as  a 
separate  food.  At  the  beginning  of  the  mania  the 
preserved  cornfodder  in  its  perfectly  fresh,  green 
state  was  to  accomplish  everything  unassisted. 
Milk,  butter  and  cheese  were  to  be  produced,  conM- 
tion  of  the  cattle  maintained,  and  'health  se»ured 
solely  bythe  feeding  of  ensiljige  ;  and,  altogether,  it 
was  to  be  effected  at  a  rate  of  economy  that  must 
satisfy  every  one  at  short  notice  that  this  newly- 
discovered  method  of  making  the  most  out  of  the 
products  of  the  earth  at  the  least  expense  must  com- 
mend itself  to  the  favorabl"'  attention  of  every  agri- 
culturist. 

But  has  it  done  so?  We  need  hardly  say  that  it 
has  not.  Ensilage  by  itself,  as  a  food  for  even  milch 
cows,  is  not  recommended  by  those  who  seem  to  he 
mostly  experienced  in  the  use  of  it.  Almost  all  ex- 
tensive feeders  employ  at  the  same  time  other  feed, 
which  takes  away  from  the  fresh  fodder  its   distinc- 


tive features  or  qualities  as  a  separate  food.  One 
farmer  says  the  fodder  comes  out  of  the  silo  in  good 
condition  and  is  eaten  up  clean  by  the  cattle;  but,  he 
"mixes  with  good  cut  hay,"  which  is  given  in  two 
feeds  per  day;  but  to  secure  proper  results  "some 
concentrated  feed  must  be  added,"  such  as  cakemeal 
bran,  etc.  And  this  is  the  way  the  question  is  now 
treated.  We  don't  pretend  to  say  that  this  combined 
food  is  not  very  good — excellent — and  that  cattle  will 
not  give  plenty  milk  and  thrive  upon  it,  but  we  beg 
to  be  allowed  to  say,  without  being  much  abused  for 
it,  th.at  we  douljt  the  economy  involved,  or  that  any 
labvr  is  saved,  or  that  any  profits  are  obtained  over 
the  system  in  vogue  before  a  silo  was  ever  built. 


Bad  Seed. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  it  is  easier  to  de- 
teriorate a  crop  by  choosing  bad  seed,  or  even  by 
carelessly  neglecting  the  selection  of  good  seed,  than 
it  is  to  improve  upon  a  variety  already  acknow- 
ledged to  be  good.  The  down  hill  road  is  the  easiest 
traveled. 

HORTJCL     rURE. 


Rosebushes. 

A  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Observer  says  : 
Never  give  up  a  choice  but  decaying  rosebush  till 
you  have  tried  watering  it  two  or  three  times  with 
soot  tea.  Take  soot  fiom  a  chimney  or  stove  with 
which  w'ood  is  burned,  and  make  tea  of  it.  When 
cold,  water  the  rosebush  with  it.  When  all  is  used 
pour  boiling  water  a  second  time  on  the  soot.  Tlie 
shrub  will  quickly  send  out  thrifty  shoots,  the  eaves 
will  become  large  and  thick,  and  the  blossoms  will 
be  larger  and  more  richly  tinted  than  before.  To 
keep  the  plants  clear  of  insects  syringe  them  with 
quassia  tea.  Quassia  chips  can  be  obtained  at  the 
apothecary's. 


Fears. 

The  pear  as  a  fruit  stands  next  in  popularity  to  the 
apple,  and  has,  like  it,  been  known  and  cultivated 
from  time  immemorial.  It  is  mentioned  by  the  ear- 
liest writers  as  a  fruit  growing  abundantly  in  Syria, 
Egypt,  as  well  as  Greece,  and  it  appears  to  have 
been  brought  into  Italy  from  these  places  about  the 
time  that  Sylla  made  himself  master  of  the  latter 
country  (68  B.  C.,)  ajid  from  thence  it  spread  oyer 
Europe  to  Britain.  Homer  mentions  the  "pendant 
pear"  as  one  of  the  fruits  of  the  orchard  of  Laertes 
(Odys.  24C.  iiSOI).  Theophrastus  often  speaks  m 
praise  of  them  and  of  the  great  productiveness  of  old 
pear  trees  in  his  works.  That  learned  physician  of 
ancient  times,  Galen,  considered  pears  as  containing 
in  a  greater  degree  more  strengthening  and  astrin- 
gent virtues  than  apples.  The  Greeks  and  Romans 
have  several  kinds  of  pears  whose  names  included 
their  taste  and  form.  Pliny  describes  about  forty 
varieties  cultivated  in  Italy.  Of  all  pears,  he  says, 
the  Crustumine  is  the  most  delicate  and  agreeable ; 
this  fruit  Columella  places  first  in  his  catalogue. 
Then  there  was  the  Falernian  pear,  which  was 
esteemed  for  its  abundant  juice,  which  Pliny  com- 
pares to  wine. 

The  Tiberian  pears  were  so  named  because  they 
were  the  sort  Tiberius,  the  emperor,  preferred,  and 
they  grew  to  a  larger  size  than  most  pears  ;  others 
were  named  after  the  persons  who  had  introduced  or 
cultivated  them.  Some,  Pliny  tells  us,  are  re- 
proached with  the  name  of  proud  pears,  because 
they  ripened  early  and  would  not  keep.  There  were 
also  winter  pears,  pears  for  baking,  etc.,  as  in  the 
present  day.  Nevertheless,  Pliny  did  not  consider 
this  fruit,  iu  an  uncooked  state,  good  for  the  con. 
stitution,  for  he  states  all  pears  whatever  are  but  a 
heavy  meat,  even  to  those  in  good  health,  unless 
boiled  or  baked  with  honey,  when  they  become  ex- 
tremely wholesome  to  the  stomach.  Some  pears 
were  used  as  counter-poison  against  venomous  mush- 
rooms ;  the  ashes  of  pear  trees  were  also  used  for 
the  same  medical  purpose.  The  ancients  appear  to 
have  had  a  curious  notion  respecting  the  effect  of 
this  fruit  on  beasts  of  burden,  for  Pliny  tells  UB  a 


load  of  apples  or  pears,  however  small,  is  singularly 
fatiguins-  to  them.  Thebest  way  to  counteract  this, 
they  say,  is  to  give  the  animal  some  to  eat,  or  at 
least  show  them  the  fruit  belbre  starting.  Virgil 
speaks  of  pears  which  he  had  from  Uato. — Science 
Gossip. 


Notes  on   Orchard  and  Garden  Work. 

One  who  depends  upon  the  garden  and  orchard  for 
his  living  will  be  very  apt  to  know  which  products 
bring  him  thebest  returns.  With  the  farmer  the 
orchard  and  the  garden  are  often  looked  upon  as  of 
little  importance,  if  not  i-egarded  as  necessary  evils. 
Both  manure  and  labor  are  grudgingly  supplied  and 
then  at  a  time  too  late  for  the  best  results.  In  the 
general  summing  up  of  the  business  of  the  year,  let 
the  farmer  take  into  account  the  return  from  the 
garden  and  orchard  or  fruit  garden.  We  do  not 
refer  to  the  supplies  of  vegetables  and  fruit  consumed 
at  home,  for  health  and  comfort  cannot  be  expressed 
in  dollars  and  cents,  but  the  actual  money  returns 
throughout  the  year.  Much,  of  course,  will  depend 
upon  the  location  in  reference  to  market,  but  we  are' 
sure  that  in  the  majority  of  cases  a  carefully  kept 
account,  in  which  all  the  odd  quarters  and  dollars 
are  fresented,  will  result  in  a  determination  to  en- 
large and  improve  tlie  ground  devoted  to  fruit,  vege- 
tables and  flowers.  The  time  has  passed  when 
choice  fruits  were  regarded  as  a  luxury;  and  the 
farmer  who  cannot  afford  to  provide  his  table  with  a 
large  variety  of  garden  vegetables  is  living  behind 
the  age.  The  man  who  sees  only  the  market  value 
of  any  product  of  the  soil  may  not  care  for  a  hand- 
some lawn  and  a  flower  garden  filled  with  choice 
plants;  but  he  only  half  lives  who  is  blind  to  the 
beauty  of  these  things. 


Making  Butter. 

The  following  method  of  making  butter  was  pur- 
sued by  the  Farmington  Creamery  Company,  Farm- 
ington,  Conn.,  in  the  production  of  a  premium  lot: 
The  milk  was  cooled  and  aerated  before  it  came  to. 
the  creamery,  was  received  once  a  day,  was  mixed 
at  once  in  a  receiving  vat,  thence  drawn  into  deep, 
open  coolers,  8  by  20  inches,  and  set  floating  in  a  pool 
of  cold  spring  water.  It  was  skimmed  in  twenty- 
four  hours,  the  cream  again  mixed  in  a  vat  and 
allowed  to  stand  twenty-four  hours  and  become 
slightly  acid.  It  was  then  cliurned  in  a  barrel-churn, 
and  dashed  running  about  forty-eight  strokes  to  the 
minute, -and  the  butter  coming  in  about  forty  five 
minutes.  The  butter  was  worked  by  a  lever  worker 
and  salted  one  ounce  to  the  pound.  After  standing 
twenty  hours  it  was  again  worked  over  and  packed 
in  tubs.  If  our  butter  has  any  particular  merit  we 
ascribe  it  largely  to  the  cows,  which  are  mostly 
Guernseys  and  Jerseys  and  their  grades;  the  Guern 
seys  giving  the  color,  the  Jerseys  the  dryness,  and 
both  solidity. 


How  to  Make  Tea  and  Coffee. 

The  Scotch  do  not  sny  "to  make  tea,"  but  "to  in 
fuie  the  tea,"  which  is  more  correct  in  ver.-  respect, 
dood  tea  is  an  infusion,  not  a  decoction.  By  boiling 
the  tea  leaves,  you  get  from  them  a  bitter  principle, 
and  you  drive  off  the  delicate  pcrfiimp  of  the  tea. 
For  this  reason,  the  tea-pot  should  never  be  kept  hot 
tiy  letting  it  stand  on  the  top  ut  a  cookuig  stove,  over 
a  lamp,  or  where  it  is  likely  to  be  made  to  boil.  Ex- 
cessively bad  tea  is  maiie  in  some  parts  of  the  eonti- 
Hint  by  people  who  do  not  know  better,  by  putting  a 
small  pinch  of  tea  into  a  large  kettle  of  wnfer,  and 
letting  it  boil  till  they  have  extracted  all  i  s  coloring 
m  itter,in  which  they  think  the  goodness  oi  tea  con- 
sists. A  metal  teapot  is  hi-tter  than  an  enr'hpnware 
1  n ',  and  the  brighter  it  is  kept  the  bet  r  Bfieter. 
'■  Mi.'e  t'te  teapot  with  boiling  water.  Put  in  a  bumping 
spoonf  il  of  tea  for  each  person,  and  one  for  the  poli. 
1  our  over  it  just  enough  boiling  water  to  soak  the 
tea.  Let  it  stand  a  few  niinutrs,  and  then  fill  up  Mie 
pot  with  boiling  water.  Do  not  put  in  carbonate  of 
poihi  to  soften  the  water  and  make  the  tea  draw 
better — i.  «.,  to  make  awn  tc'ied  saving  of  tea,  un 
ll-^s  you  are  in  absolute  poverty.  The  water,  in  fact, 
is  sofeiied  by  boiling,  which  causes  it  to  defOdt 
some  of  the  matters  it  held  in  solution;  witness  the 
"fur"  in  long  used  tea  kettles,  and  the  lime  which 
settles  at  the  bottom  of  many  waters  after  boiling  A 
cup  of  tea  is  an  excellent  thing  after  any  fatigue,  and 
its  refreshing  effects  may  then  be  followed  up  by 
more  substantial  nutriment. 

Cofi'ee  in  English  middle  class  houses  is  often  badly 
served.  It  should  not  be  boiled,  nor  made  in  quantity 
twice  a  week,  to  be  heated  up  when  wanted.  The 
kernels  should  be  suflliicntly  and  equally  roasted. 
As  it  is  the  roasting  which  develops  the  aroma,  under 
roasted  coffee  is  so  much  lost,  whilst  over  roasted  is 
much  driven  off  and  wasted  or  lost  in  another 
direction.  Of  the  two  faults  the  former  is  the  worst. 
Unroasted  coffee  is  useless.  Circumstances  very 
olten  compel  the  buying  of  cofiee  ready  giound, 
almost  always  ready  roasted ;  but  the  more  quickly 
coffee  is  used  after  both  roasting  and  grinding  the 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


15 


better.  It  Is  only  a  licaltliy  amusement  to  give  a 
coffee  mill  a  few  turns.  Coffee  is  easily  roasted  at, 
home  (it  slioulii  be  done  in  tlie  open  air)  In  an  iron 
cylinder  or  barrel  of  snisll  diameter,  staiidins;  on  two 
feet,  over  a  eoke  and  einder,  or,  belter,  a  cliarcoal 
Are,  turned  by  a  liandle  like  that  of  a  irrindstone. 

If  you  make  tlie  coffee  in  a  biu'cin,  put  into  the 
filter  a  Kood  dessert  spoonful  for  every  person,  and 
first  of  all  only  pour  a  few  spoonfuls  of  boilinir  water 
sunieient  to  soak  it,  and  after  lettin;;  it  stand  i.  a 
warm  i>Iaee  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  then  pour  on 
the  rest,  of  the  lioilinir  water,  and  let  it  pereolate. 
The  time  to  take  eoffee  is  either  in  the  morniu;,' 
(with  milk  mixed  in  due  proportion)  or  after  luneh 
or  an  early  dinner.  'In  the  evenin;,'  it  is  to  be  avoideil, 
unless  you  intend,  like  Lady  Macbeth,  to  "murder 
Bleep;"  for  which  you  are  sure  to  be  punished  next 
morning. 


Butter  Easily  Spoiled. 

A  farmer's  wife  writes  :  Of  all  the  products  of  the 
farm  butter  is  the  most  lial)le  to  l)e  tainted  by 
noxious  odors  floalinfr  in  the  atmosphere.  Our  peo- 
ple laid  some  veal  in  the  cellar,  from  which  a  little 
blood  llowed  out,  and  was  nef;leeted  until  it  bail 
commenced  to  smell.  The  result  was  that  a  jar  of 
butter  we  were  packings  smellcd  and  tasted  like 
spoiled  beef.  We  know  of  an  instance  where  there 
was  a  pond  of  filthy,  stairnant  water  a  few  hundred 
feet  from  the  bouse,  from  which  an  ofl'ensive  elUu 
vium  would  he  borne  on  the  breeze  directly  to  the 
milk-room  when  tlie  wind  was  in  a  certain  direction, 
the  result  of  which  was  that  the  cream  and  butter 
would  taste  like  the  disasreeable  odor  eomiu^'  from 
the  pond.  As  soon  as  the  poud  was  drained  thece 
was  no  more  d.\maged  butter.  It  is  remarkable 
how  easily  butter  is  spoiled. 


Household  Recipes, 


Light  Gingehbhead. — Three  cups  of  flour,  one 
of  sugar,  one  of  butter  and  one  cf  molasses;  three 
eggs  tieateu  light,  one  tablespoonful  of  ginger,  one 
teaspoonful  of  pearlash  and  some  cloves.  Beat  the 
butter  in  sugar  as  for  pound  cake,  then  add  otlier 
ingredients,  puttiuij  in  tlie  pearlash  last.  Bake  them 
in  cake  tins. 

CocoANUT  Cake. — Take  the  whites  of  eight  eggs 
beaten  so  a  froth,  one  half  cup  of  butter  stirred  to  a 
cream,  half  cup  sugar,  half  cup  sweet  milk,  two  and 
a  half  cups  sifted  Hour,  teaspoonful  cream  of  tartar, 
hall  a  teaspoonful  ol' soda.  .Make  of  this  thi'ce  flat 
cakes,  bake  on  pie  tins  and  while  warm  spread  vvilli 
icing,  and  grate  on  cocoanut  between  each  cake. 

Chocolate  Cake. — Take  the  yolks  of  ten  eggs, 
and  use  just  the  same  quantity  of  everything  as  you 
did  for  the  cocoanut  cake,  grating  chocolate  upon 
the  icing  between  each  cake.  The  whites  of  two 
eggs  beaten  till  they  will  not  slide  from  the  plate, 
and  enough  pulverized  white  sugar  to  make  it  very 
thick,  will  make  enough  icing  lor  one  cake. 

KocK  Cake. — The  whites  of  four  eggs  beaten  very 
light,  one  pound  of  loaf  sugar  added  to  them,  three- 
fourths  of  a  pound  of  4neet  almonds  slightly 
bruised.     Bake  on  paper  in  tins. 

GiNGEBBKEAD. — TlircBpounds  of  flour, one  pound 
of  butter,  half  pound  sugar,  quart  of  molasses,  two 
ounces  of  ginger,  one  ounce  of  cinnamon,  ounce  of 
allspice,  an  ounce  and  a  half  of  cloves.  Wash  before 
baking  with  molasses  and  water. 

English  Buns. — One  pound  of  flour,  half  pound 
of  sugar,  quarter  pound  butter,  same  of  cinnamon, 
half  pint  of  raisins;  rub  them  all  together  and  rai.^ 
with  milk  and  four  or  live  drops  of  pearlash.  Wash 
them  after  they  are  baked  with  sugar  and  water. 

Almond  Cake. — One  pmind  of  sugar,  half  pound 
of  flour,  ten  eggs,  ounce  of  bitter  almonds,  a  gla.ss  of 
kase  water;  beat  the  yolks  till  Ihey  are  quite  a  battc, 
then  adil  the  sugar  and  beat  it  well;  having  previ- 
ously pounded  the  almonds  tine  in  tlie  kase  water, 
add  them  to  the  yolks;  the  whiles  must  be  beaten 
very  light  and  then  add  the  flour  just  stirred  into 
the  other  ingredients.  Bake  an  hour  and  ten  min 
utes  in  rather  a  quick  oven. 

Milk  Biscuit  . — One  quart  of  milk,  pound  of  but 
ter,  enough  flour  to  thicken  it,  and  a  small  teacup 
ful  of  yeast;  set  them  to  rise  early  in  the  morning. 

Soft  Gingerbread. — Six  cups  of  flour,  two  of 
sugar,  Iwoof  butter,  two  of  molasses,  two  of  milk, 
four  eggs,  a  tablespoonful  of  ginger  and  a  little  all- 
spice; beat  the  butter,  sugar  and  eggs  light,  then 
stir  in  the  other  ingredients.  Add  a  teaspoonful  of 
pearlash  dissolved  in  vinegar. 

Doughnuts. — Three  pounds  of  flour,  IJ2  pounds 
of  sugar,  one  pound  of  butter,  six  eggs,  two  wine- 
glasses good  yeast,  mix  them  with  milk  to  a  paste, 
set  it  to  rise,  shape  them  and  fry  in  lard. 

Raisin  Pie. — Ingredients:  Kaisins,  one  pound; 
lemon,  one;  white  sugar,  one  cup;  flour,  two  table 
spoonfuls.  Boil  the  raisins  covered  with  water  an 
hour;  add  the  lemon,  sugar  and  flour.  Will  make 
three  pies. 


Corn  Bread. —Three  cups  of  cornmeal,  one  and 
one  half  cups  of  flour,  one  and  one  half  c-iips  of  sweet 
milk,  five  eggs,  four  teaspoonfuls  of  baking  powder, 
a  little  sugar-  Another  Wiiij :  One  cup  of  cornmeal, 
two  cups  of  flour,  one  half  cup  of  suirar,  three 
fourths  of  melted  butter,  one  cup  of  milk,  three 
eggs,  three  teaspoonfuls  of  liaking  powder. 

Cocoanut  Pudding.— Iugre»lients  :  Milk,  three 
pints;  line  bread  crumb,  one  teacup  ;  cocoanut,  one 
teacup;  eggs,  six;  sugar,  one  teacupful  ;  rind  of 
lemon,  one.  Soak  the  Ijread  crumbs  for  two  hours 
in  a  pint  and  a  half  of  tlie  milk,  and  tlie  grat- 
ed meat  of  the  cocoanut  also;  then  add  the  well 
beaten  CL'gs  and  the  lemon  rind  grated,  the  sugar  the 
rest  of  the  milk.  Stir  well  and  bake.  IJo  not  let  it 
remain  long  enough  in  the  oven  to  become  watery. 

Baked  Soup  for  Invalids. — This  recipe  Is  of  use 
for  invalids;-  it  is  easy  to  make,  antl  cooks  cannot 
well  blunder.  Takea  pound  of  juicy  steak  from  which 
all  the  fat  has  been  removed,  cut  it  up  in  pieces  of 
about  an  inch  square;  salt  and  pe|>pcr  it  slightly, 
take  a  stone  jar  to  hold  two  jiiuls;  pour  into  it  a  pint 
and  a  half  of  cold  water,  a  teaspoonful  of  whole 
rice;  cover  the  jar  with  a  saucer  and  let  it  bake 
slowly  for  four  hours;  remove  any  fat  jjresent. 

Baked  Indian  Puddino. — One  quart  of  milk, 
one  cup  of  molasses  (best)  one  teaspoonful  of  salt, 
one  ([uarter  pound  suet  chopped  fine,  half  lea-spoon 
ful  powdered  cloves  and  allspice  together.  Let  milk 
come  to  a  boil  and  stir  in  cornmeal  enough  to  make 
it  the  consistency  of  thin  batter,  add  suet  and  salt, 
stirring  constantly  to  prevent  its  becoming  lumpy; 
remove  from  the  fire  and  let  it  become  l)artially  cool 
then  stir  in  the  molasses  and  cloves  and  allspice. 
INnir  into  into  an  earthen  baking  dish  and  bake 
moderately  three  fourths  of  an  hour. 


Live  Stock. 


The  Care  of  Cows. 

The  comfort  of  the  cow  has  much  to  do  with  the 
quality  of  lier  milk.  In  hot  weather  the  annoyance 
produced  by  flies  and  excitement  caused  by  fighting 
them  make  the  night's  milk  still  poorer  than  it 
otherwise  would  be.  Chemical  analysis  has  shown 
a  great  falling  off  of  fat  of  the  milk  in  the  same  cow 
when  chased  by  a  dog.  Any  unusual  excitement  of 
the  cow  affects  the  fat  in  her  milk.  Extremes  of 
heat  and  cold  also  affect  the  milk.  Inac:i-e  where 
cows  went  into  a  stream  in  hot  weather,  and  stood 
several  hours  in  the  water  above  the  knees,  there  was 
a  falling  off  of  the  butter  product  from  the  same 
quantity  of  milk.  This  is  accounted  for  by  the  extra 
food  required  to  keep  up  the  animal  heat  being  carri- 
ed off  by  the  water.  Wlie n  we  consider  the  fact  thivt 
milk  is  secreted  from  the  blood,  we  can  readily  see 
tlie  effect  that  must  be  produced  by  excitement  on 
the  nervous  system  of  the  cow.  In  a  case  occurring 
in  the  city  of  Albany,  bf.  Y.,  where  a  nervous  cow 
was  milked  by  a  passionate  man,  who  whipped  and 
otherwise  ill-treated  her  at  milking,  the  milk  was 
given  to  a  child  who  had  been  healthy,  but  after 
using  the  milk,  became  ill  and  suffered  from  intesli 
nal  irritation,  followed  by  a  fever  which  seemed  to 
affect  the  brain  and  nervous  system.  Tiiis  illness 
was  placed  directly  tothe  milk  of  the  ill-treated  cow. 
— National  Live  Utock  Jonrnal. 


Charcoal  for  Sick  Animals. 

In  nine  cases  out  of  ten  when  an  animal  is  sick, 
tlie  digestion  is  wrong.  Charcoal  is  the  most  e(H 
cient  and  rapid  corrective.  The  hired  man  came  in 
with  the  intelligeiiee  that  one  of  llie  flnest  cows  was 
very  sick,  and  a  kind  neiglibor  projiosed  tin-  usual 
drugs  and  poisons.  The  owner  being  ill  and  unable 
to  examine  llie  cow,  concluded  that  the  trouble  came 
from  overealing,  and  ordered  a  teaspoonful  of  pul 
verized  charcoal  to  be  given  in  water.  It  was  mixed 
|)laced  in  a  junk  bottle,  the  head  turned  upward 
and  the  water  turned  downward.  lu  five  minutes 
improvement  was  visible,  and  in  a  few  hours  tlie 
animal  was  in  the  pasture  quietly  grazing.  Anotlier 
instance  of  equal  success  occurred  with  a  young 
heifer  which  had  become  badly  bloated  by  eating 
green  apples  after  a  hard  wind.  The  bloat  waa  so 
severe  that  the  sides  were  as  hard  as  a  barrel.  The 
old  remedy,  saleralus,  was  tried  for  correctiug  the 
acidity.  But  the  attempt  to  put  it  down  always 
raised  coughing  and  it  did  little  good.  Half  a  tea 
cupful  of  freeh  powdered  charcoal  was  given.  In  six 
hours  all  appearance  of  the  bloat  had  gone,  and  the 
heifer  was  well. 


Hints  About  Horses. 

Oats  should  be  bruised  for  an  old  horse,  but  not 
for  a  young  one,  because  the  former,  through  age 
and  defective  teeth,  cannot  chew  them  properly. 
Tlie  young  horse  can  do  so,  and  they  are  thus 
properly  mixed  with  saliva  and  turned  into  whole 
some  nutriment.  There  is  no  nourishment  in  bad 
hay,  and  cheapness  should  never  lem|it  you  to  use  it. 
Damaged  corn  is  also  exceedingly  injurious.  Sprinkle 
bay  with  salted  water.    It  is  more  easily  digested. 


For  a  saddle  or  coach  horse  half  a  peek  of  sound 
oais  and  cighieen  pounds  of  good  hay  are  sufficient. 
If  the  bay  is  not  good  aild  a  quarter  of  a  peck  more 
oats.  A  horse  which  works  harder  may  have  ralhei 
more  of  each  ;  one  that  works  less  should  have  lees. 
Hack  feeding  Is  wasteful.  The  belter  plan  is  to 
feed  Willi  chopped  hay  from  a  manger,  tieeause  the 
food  Is  not  then  thrown  about,  and  is  more  easily 
chewed  and  digested. 

Hay  for  Swine. 
In  Ibe'opinion  of  an  exchange  hay  is  very  beneficial 
to  swine.  .Swine  need  rough  food  as  well  as  horses, 
cattle  or  the  human  race.  To  prepare  it  you  should 
have  a  cutting  box  or  hay  cutter,  and  the  greener 
the  better.  Cut  lliu  hay  as  short  as  oats,  or  shorter, 
and  mix  with  bran  shorts  or  middlings  and  feed  as 
other  food.  Hogs  soon  learn  to  like  it,  and  if  soak- 
ed in  swill  or  other  slop  food  it  Is  highly  relished  by 
them.  In  winter  use  for  the  hogs  the  same  hay  you 
feed  for  horses  and  you  will  find  that,  while  it  saves 
bran  or  other  food,  it  puts  on  flesh  as  rapidly  as  any 
thing  that  can  be  given  them.  In  summer  the  use 
of  hay  can  be  commenced  as  early  as  the  grass  will 
do  to  cut,  and  when  run  through  the  cutting  box 
can  be  useil  lo  advantage  by  simply  soaking  iu  fresh 
water  until  it  sours. 

Warts  on  Horses. 

These  fungous  growths  appear  in  the  horse  most 
frequently  about  the  mouth,  nose  and  lips,  but  they 
are  oecasionally  found  upon  other  parts  of  the  body. 
They  are  sometimes  found  in  large  numbers  about 
the  lips  of  colts,  and  are  generally  rubbed  off,  or 
drop  off.  If,  however,  they  grow  large  and  become 
deeply  rooted,  they  may  be  cut  off  by  passing  a 
needle  through  the  crnler,  armed  witli  ilouble  thread 
and  tied  tiglitly  around  the  neck  on  each  side.  This 
prevents  the  possiliililyof  the  ligatures  being  rubbed 
off.  Or  they  may  be  painted  over  with  the  perman- 
ganate of  potash,  a  few  applications  of  which  will 
entirely  destroy  warts  of  a  large  size,  or  they  may  be 
removed  with  a  knife. — Jennintjs. 


The  Horse  Shoe  and  its  Application. 
The  number  and  disposition  of  the  nails  depend 
upon  the  kind  of  shoe.  For  speed  the  light  draft, 
from  five  to  seven  may  be  employed,  while  for  heavy 
horses  and  for  heavy  draft  the  number  may  be  in- 
creased. Where  few  nails  are  used  they  should  be 
more  widely  distiibuted  than  is  usually  the  custom. 
When  it  is  remembered  that  the  Introduction  of 
every  nail  is  so  much  injury  to  the  structures  of  the 
foot,  it  will  readily  be  seen  that  the  smaller  the  num- 
ber requisite  for  the  purpose  the  better  for  the  ani- 
mal. In  driving  the  nails,  it  is  es.sential  that  athick 
short  hold  of  the  crust  should  be  had  rather  than  a 
long  thin  one.  Not  only  is  the  shoe  thus  held  more 
firmly,  but  there  is  a  probability  that  the  nail  holes 
may,  by  the  downward  growth  of  the  horn,  be  re- 
moved at  the  next  shoeing,  which  in  most  cases 
should  not  exceed  an  inlerval  of  four  or  five  weeks. 
The  points  of  the  nails  should  be  shortened  to  just 
that  length  which  will  permit  them  to  be  turned  over 
and  hammered  down  smoolhly,  with  perhaps  the 
least  possible  rasping.  The  common  method  of 
rasping  notches  for  the  extremities  of  the  nails  is  not 
advisabh.  In  fact,  asl  havealready  said,  the  rasp 
should  never  be  used  upon  tlieexternal  walls  of  the 
hoof  except  in  cases  of  absolute  necessity  10  prevent 
striking  of  the  opposite  limb.  lis  nse"  destroys  the 
natural  polish, exposes  jiarts  bLueath,  which  are  not 
fitted  for  such  exposure, renders  the  born  brit-lc,  and 
liable  at  any  moment  to  quarter  cracks  and  other 
maladies. 

Literary  and  Personal, 


The  Guardian,  a  monthly  magazine  for  young 
men  and  women,  Sunday-schools  and  familes.  Edi- 
ted by  Hev.  J.  H.  Dubbs,  D.D.  It  is  a  long  time 
since  we  have  seen 'he  face  of  this  "old  familiar," 
which,  if  we  recollect  rightly,  originated  here  In  the 
city  of  Lancaster,  under  the  editorial  auspices  of  the 
late  Key.  Henry  Harbaugh,  more  than  thirty  years 
ago,  and  for  a  time  was  also  printed  here. 

That  the  Ouarilian  should  have  been  permitted  to 
exercise  its  vigilant  functions  for  such  a  long  period 
without  break  or  Interruption,  evinces  that  it  has 
been  faithful  to  its  trust,  or  has  had  a  cordon  of 
sustaining  and  indulgent  friends.  No.  1,  Vol.  33, 
(January  188'3)  of  this  excellent  publication  has 
found  its  way  to  our  table;  and  we  scan  it  with  more 
than  ordinary  interest,  not  only  on  account  of  old 
memories,  (for  some  years  it  was  on  our  exchange 
list)  but  also  for  its  healthy  tone,  its  undoubted 
moral  and  intellectual  attitude,  and  its  continued 
editorial  ability.  It  is  an  octavo  of  Sti  pages,  in 
tinted  covers,  and  is  issued  by  the  Meformed  Church 


16 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[January,  1882. 


Publication  Board,  907  Arch  Street,  Philadelphia, 
Pa.,  at  the  very  low  price  of  $1.25  per  year  in  ad- 
vance. 

We  conffratuiate  the  hoard  in  securins  an  editor  so 
worthy  of  bein>f  the  successor  of  such  distinguished 
predecessors  as  Doctors  Harbau2;h  and  Bausman. 
We  feel  confident  that  the  Ouardian  will  lose  none 
of  lis  "Life,  Light,  Love,"  under  the  editorial  man- 
agement of  Dr.  Dubbs  ;  and  therefore  we  heartily 
commend  it  to  the  favorable  consideration  of  our 
readers,  whatever  their  religious  faith  may  be. 

Faithful  to  its  motto,  it  can  inculcate  nothing  that 
will  be  detrimental  to  that  spiritual  rest  for  which 
our  frail  humanity  is  yearning,  in  the  eternal  world. 

Address  of  Hon.  Geo.  B.  Lobing,  Commissioner 
of  Agriculture,  and  other  proceedings  of  the  Cotton 
Convention  held  at  Atlanta,  Georgia,  November 
3,  1881.  Uniform  in  size  and  mechanical  execution 
with  the  Serial  Bulletins  of  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture— pp.  36. 

We  are  under  obligations  to  Prof.  C.  V.  P.iley,  for 
a  copy  of  this  valuable  contribution  to  the  Agricul- 
tural and  Entomolgical  Literature  of  the  Country, 
as  developed  through  cotton  culture  and  its  protec- 
tion from  the  ravages  of  noxious  insects. 

Practical  or  applied  entomology  certainly  means 
lomething  in  its  relations  to  the  general  crops  of  our 
diversified  country,  however  insignificant  it  may 
seem  in  favored  localities.  Prof.  Riley  says — 
"  Whenever  we  begin  to  carefully  estimate  the  losses 
which,  as  a  nation,  we  sustain  from  insect  ravages, 
the  figures  always  startle,  and  you  will  doubtless  be 
surprised  to  learn  that  they  reached  in  a  single  year 
nearly  $400,000,000."  This  estimate  is  just  as  likely 
to  fall  far  below  the  real  amount  of  damage,  as  it  is 
to  reach  beyond  it,  but  under  any  circumstances, 
who  among  our  readers  can  practically  comprehend 
this  amount  in  detail.  Ten  hundred  t?iousaud  dol- 
lars—or one  million — seems  to  be  a  vast  amount,  dis- 
sipated annually  through  the  instrumentality  of  in- 
sects, and  even  this  amount,  to  a  man  accustomed  to 
labor  at  75  cents  a  day,  cannot  be  fully  comprehend- 
ed. Prof.  Riley's  remarks  before  the  convention 
aforesaid  includes  among  other  things— methods  of 
counteracting  injurious  insects — the  cotton  worm — 
natural  history  of  the  cotton  worm — improved  appli- 
ances— poisoning  from  below,  ifcc,  exemplified  by  a 
detailed  context,  and  only  requires  a  vigilant  and 
intelligent  co-operation  to  produce  the  desired  effect. 
It  is  not  sufficient  that  we  know  what  to  do,  but  that 
we  do  it.    All  success  lies  in  that. 

1.  i  POET  OP  THE  Commissioner  of  AuuicnLTURE, 
for  the  year  1881,  58  pp. — uniform  with  the  above. 
This  report  contains  concise  statements  of  work  in 
the  various  divisions  of  the  Agricultural  Depart- 
ment, including — Division  of  Garden  and  Ground — 
Botanical  Division — Microscopical  Division — Chemi- 
cal Division — Entomological  Division— Seed  Distri- 
bution—(1,325,922  papers  of  Vegetable  Seed  were 
distributed  from  July  1,  1880  to  June  30,  1881). 
Statistical  Division — Forestry — Artesian  Wells — 
Agriculture  on  the  Pacific  Slope — Examination  of 
Wools  and  Animal  Fibers— Grape  Cultui'e  and  Wine- 
Making — Manufacture  of  Sugar  from  .Sorghum — Tea 
Culture — Contagious  Diseases  of  Domesticated  Ani- 
mals— Sugar  from  Beets,  and  the  Operations  of  the 
Disbursing  Office.  It  appears  that  Congress  has 
only  appropriated  ?195,300,  for  all  the  divisions  of 
the  department  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1881, 
which  seems  small,  compared  with  the  subject  of 
Agriculture — the  basis  of  all  the  other  int*ests  in 
the  country.  A  copious  appendix  is  attached  to  this 
report,  containing  communications  from  competent 
authorities,  on  contagious  Pleuropneumonia,  and 
Foot-and-mouth  disease,  and  matters  relating  thereto. 
TuE  American  Farmer,  No.  1,  Vol.1,  series  9, 
comes  to  us  a  four-columned  royal  tjuarto  of  16 
pages,  and  henceforth  is  to  be  published  semi- 
monthly, at  $1.50  a  year,  by  Samuel  Sands  &  Son, 
W.  Baltimore  street,  Baltimore,  -Md.  The  American 
Farmer — heretofore  published  in  octavo  form — never 
occupied  au  inferior  position  in  the  world  of  agricul 
tural  literature,  and  its  patrons  and  the  public  may 
rest  fully  assured  that  it  takes  no  retrogressive  step 


in  its  "  new  departure  ;"  but,  on  the  contrary,  if  we 
are  at  all  competent  to  judge  from  the  clean,  neat, 
and  mechanically  executed  journal  before  us,  a  very 
perceptible  step  forward.  The  i'ai-mer  is  a  veteran 
in  the  journalistic  enterprises  of  the  country,  and 
its  senior  editor  is  one  of  that  distinguished  band  of 
patriarchs  who  have  devoted  their  energies  to  the 
dissemination  of  useful  knowledge.  The  Farmer  is 
one  of  the  oldest— if  not  the  very  oldest — agricul- 
tural journals  published  iu  the  country,  and,  there- 
fore, as  a  guarantee  of  the  future,  it  can  refer  with 
confidence  to  the  past,  for  no  journal  could  have 
sustained  itself  so  long  without  possessing  unques- 
tionable merit.  We  tender  our  holiday  greetings, 
and  wish  it  a  ?iappy  Xew  Year,  commending  it  to  its 
patrons  and  an  appreciative  public. 

Landreth's  Rural  Register  and  Almanac, 
published  annually  for  gratuitous  distribution,  1882. 
This  is  a  royal  octavo  of  82  jjages,  in  colored  paper 
covers,  and  amply  illustrated  with  accurate  figures 
of  the  vegetable  productions,  the  raising  the  seeds 
of  which  the  publishers  make  a  specialty.  The 
bird's  eye  view  of  the  central  portion  of  Bloomsdale 
farm  will  give  a  tolerable  idea  of  the  magnitude  of 
the  concern,  from  which  it  will  be  perceived  that 
twenty  fine  buildings  are  required  for  its  successful 
operation,  and  additional  ones  are  projected.  Send 
for  the  Register  by  all  means. 

The  Pennsylvania  Farmer,  a  demi-folio  of  16 
pages,  good  paper  and  fair  print.  Published  monthly 
at  Mercer,  Pa.,  at  $1  a  year  in  advance  by  F.  H. 
UmhoUz,  editor  and  proprietor.  No.  1,  Vol.  1  of 
this  excellent  journal  is   now  before  us,  and   is   an 

able   representative  of  the   interests  it  specializes 

"  Farm,  Field,  Garden  and  Home." 

The  Scientific  Times,  a  weekly  record  of 
American  progress  iu  science,  art,  finance,  com- 
merce and  manufactures.  This  is  an  old  caterer  for 
the  farmers  and  artizans  of  the  country.  It  is  finely 
illustrated,  and  no  doubt  it  is  crowned  with  merited 
success. 

St.  Louis  Miller,  a  semi-monthly  journal,  de- 
voted to  the  interests  of  the  milling  trade.  In  the 
absence  of  any  other  evidence,  this  journal  alone  im- 
plies that  St.  Louis  is  a  very  large  village,  and  has  a 
very  large  grain  and  flour  trade.  A  copy  of  No.  3, 
Vol.  7,  (January  6,  1882;  has  found  the  desk  of  our 
sanctum,  and  remembering  that  just  forty-seven 
years  ago  we  sojourned  a  month  in  the  city  of  St. 
Louis,  the  presence,  the  magnitude  and  the  general 
make  up  of  the  journal  before  us,  impresses  us  with 
the  immense  progress  the  city  must  qave  made  since 
1836  when  her  population  was  ten  thousand  less 
than  Lancaster  is  to-day.  But  the  Miller — it  may  be 
called  a  demi-folio  (17  by  13)  of  16  pages  and  has 
five  closely  printed  columns  to  the  page — printed  on 
calendered  paper,  and  profusely  illustrated  with  all 
kinds  of  new  and  improved  machinery  pertaining  to 
mills  and  milling.  Its  pictorial  advertisements  alone 
cannot  but  be  interesting  to  any  one  having  "half  an 
eye,"  or  half  an  idea,  on  the  subject  of  mechanics. 

Its  80  columns  of  reading  and  advertising  matter 
relate  almost  exclusively  to  the  grain  and  flour 
trade,  and  collaterals  appertaining  to  that  trade, 
(only  in  one  little  corner  do  we  find  the  "humbug" 
artificial  ear-drums  advertised,  which  had  better 
been  filled  with  "beans.")  Nobody,  certainly, 
ought  to  starve  in  St.  Louis  for  the  want  of  bread, 
at  least. 
The  receipts  of  flour   for   the   j'ear    1881 

bbis 1,. 5.59,691 

Shipments  of  flour  for  the  same  time  .  2,619, .529 
Keceipts  of  wheat  in  bushels  was  .  11, 619, 741 
Shipments  of  wheat  for  the  same  time  .  6,891,090 
Keceipts  of  corn  for  the  same  time  .  20,249,310 
Shipments  of  corn  for  the  same  time  .  14,451,990 
Receipts  of  oats  for  the  same  time  ^.  5,950,900 
Shipments  of  oats  for  the  same  time  .  3,108,3h6 
Receipts  of  rye  for  the  same  time        .  419,914 

Shipments  of  rye  for  the  same  time         .  303,499 

Receipts  of  barley  for  the  same  time  .  2,3^7,633 
Shipments  of  barley  for  the  same  time       .       182,219 

The  last  two  items  may  illustrate  alarge  consump- 
tion of  JSar^ej/ in  St.  Louis.  If  that  is  a/arf,  it  has 
its  redeeming  quality  in  the  significant  other  fact, 
that  the  quantum  of  Sye  was  comparatively    small. 


The  St.Louit  Miller  is  published  by  Thomas  &  Stone, 
and  as  above  indicated,  is  b  semi-monthly,  at  $2.00 a 
year,  or  fl.25  for  six  months  ;  and  every  intelligent 
and  progressive  miller  ought  to  be  a  subscriber. 

Annual  Review  of  The  Appleton  Post— .4p- 
pleton,  Wisconsin,  Thursday,  December  29ih,  18S1. — 
This  is  a  folio  (15  by  31)  of  24  pages,  and  6  columns 
to  the  page,  abounding  in  interesting  historical,  sta- 
tistical, geographical,  and  local  matter.  The  quality 
and  make-up  of  the  paper  are  excellent,  and  the 
numerous  illustrations  up  to  the  modern  standard. 
Accompanying  the  whole  is  an  extra  sheet  25  inches 
square,  containing  on  one  side  a  map  of  Ledyard, 
Wisconsin,  scale  200  ft.  to  1  inch,  and  on  the  other 
side,  a  map  of  Outagamie  county.  Wis.  The  illus- 
trations mainly  relate  to  the  city  of  Appleton,  and 
are.  Second  Ward  High  School ;  St.  Joseph's  Church 
and  School  Buildings;  Lawrence  University;  the 
Ravine  looking  west  from  foot  of  Prospect  street ; 
Fourth  Ward  Ravine,  near  the  upper  dam ;  a  double 
page  map  of  the  city  of  Appleton  ;  Memorial  Presby- 
terian Church;  College  Avenue,  looking  east;  College 
Avenue,  looking  west  from  Duvkee  street;  First  Na- 
tional Bank  Building;  full  page  bird's-eye  view  of 
the  city  of  Appleton;  Appleton  Water  Powers,  Nos. 
1,  2  and  3  :  Upper  Dam;  New  CourtHouse;  a  viewof 
the  city  from  University  Dome;  Marston  &  Beve- 
ridge's  Hub  and  Spoke  Factory;  the  new  Brewery; 
besides  sundry  smaller  and  personal  illustrations. 
Of  course,  we  kno/v  this  is  all  to  give  the  city  of  Ap- 
pleton "a  lift"  in  her  competitive  progress  with 
other  progre.'isive  towns  in  the  "great  west,"  and  no 
one  can  find  fault  with  this;  for,  if  people  who  o\vn  a 
town  and  live  iu  it,  do  not  put  their  hands  to  the 
wheel  and  help  it  forward,  they  can  hardly  deserve 
success,  as  things  now  go  in  this  nether  world.  The 
water  power  of  Appleton  from  this  showing  must  be 
immense, for  it  seems  to  beliterallv  a  dammed — oil,  a 
city  of  dams;  which,  in  these  days  of  fire  and  explo- 
sion, is  a  matter  of  vast  importance.  We  are  in- 
debted to  Mr.  Mike  K.  Gochenaur,  formerly  of  this 
county,  for  a  complimentary  copy  of  this  annual 
number  of  the  Post,  ami  we  commend  the  enterpris- 
ing manifestations  of  that  far  off  town  to  the  favor- 
able consideration  of  our  patrons  and  readers.  In 
looking  over  the  144  columns  of  the  choice  reading 
matter  of  this  lively  journal,  we  feel  our  local  Old- 
foiryism  the  more  impressive,  notwithstanding  our 
eflorts,  iu  later  years,  to  move  onward. 


BOARD   OF  AGRICULTURE.  I 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  State  Board  of  I 
Agriculture  will  be  held  in  Harrisbnrg,  com- 
mencing Wednesday,  January  25,  at  2  p.m.  The 
following  is  a  full  list  of  subjects  of  essays  and  dis- 
cussions, furnished  by  Secretary  Thomas  J.  Edge, 
from  whom  all  inform.ation  may  be  had  : 

Treatment  and   management  of  Dairy  Cows,  Hon.        i 
C.  C.  Mnsselman,  of  Somerset. 

Agriculture  of  the  Old  and  New  World,  F.  Jacket, 
of  Blair. 

The  Common  Law  and  Statutes  of  Pennsylvania 
Regulating  Surface  and  Underground  Water  Courses 
between  Land  Owners,  Hon.  M.  C.  Beebe,  of  Ve- 
nango. 

Lessons  of  1881,  .and  the  Outlook  for  1882,  E.  Reed- 
cr,  Bucks. 

Associated  Dairying,  John  I.  Carter,  of  Chester  co. 

Farmers' Gardens  and  Truck  Patches,  Rev.  J.  Cal- 
der,  Harrisburg. 

Preparation  of  the  Ground  for  Wheat,  J  D.  Lyte, 
Butler. 

Is  the  importation  of  Foreign  Live  Stock  an  Ad- 
vantage to  the  Pennsylvania  Farmer?  A.  D.  Shimer 
of  Nortnampion. 

S  enography  in  .Agriculture,  H.  C.  Demming,  of 
Harrisburg. 

The  Best  method  of  Fire  Insurance  for  Farm  Build- 
ings and  their  Contents,  Henry  C.  Tyler,  of  Susque- 
hanna. 

Weeds  and  their  Eradication,  Col.  D.  H.  Wallace, 
of  Lawrence. 

Production  and  Preservationof  Apples,  J.  Miles,  of 
Erie. 

During  the  evening  sessions  or  at  other  times,  at 
the  option  of  the  Board,  addresses  will  be  delivered 
on  the  following  topics: 

The  Relation  of  the  Soil  and  Crops  to  Heat  and 
Moisture,  Prof.  W.  H.'  Jordan,  Pennsylvania  Stale 
College. 

Agricultural  Education,  Prof.  S.  B.  Heiges,  of 
York. 

On  a  subject  not  assigned, by  Col.  Frank  Mantor, 
of  Crawford. 

The  rbove  proiramme  will  not  be  strictly  adhered 
to,  as  other  topics  will  probably  be  introduced  by 
members  of  the  Board.  Any  question  of  a  proper 
nature,  if  handed  to  the  secretary,  will  be  referred 
to  a  suitable  person  for  answer. 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER' 


III 


Important  to  Grocers,  Packers,  Hucksters,  and  the 

General  Public. 

THE  KING  FORTUNE-MAKER. 


A  Netv  Provens  for  Preservitiff  all 
Perishable  Articles,  Animal  and 
Vegetable  from  Fermentation  and 
Putrefaction,  Jietaining  their  Odor  and  Flavor. 


OZONE 


OZONZ-Purifled  air.  active  state  of  Oxygen."- Tr 


ehnter. 


This  preservative  is  not  a  liquid  pickle,  or  any  of  the  old  and  exploded  pr.icesses,  but  is  simply  and  purely 
OZONE,  as  produced  and  applied  by  an  entirely  new  process.  Ozone  is  the  antiseptic  principle  of  every 
substance,  and  possesses  the  power  to  preserve  animal  and  vegetable  structures  from  decay. 

Thrre  is  nothing  on  the  f 41  ce  of  the  earth  liable  to  tirecay  or  spoil  which  Ozone^the 
netv  Preservative y  will  not  preserve  for  all  titne  in  «  perfectly  fresh  and  palatable 
condition, 

Tlie  value  of  Ozone  as  a  uatnvnl  preserver  has  been  known  to  our  abler  cheniisls  for  years,  but,  until  now,  no 
means  of  producing  it  in  a  prnctieal,  inexpensive,  and  simple  manner  have  been  discovere<i. 

Mieroseopie  observations  prove  that  decay  is  due  to  septic  nuUler  or  minute  K^'rn'W.  t'lnt  develop  and  feed  upon 
animal  and  vesetahle  structures.  Ozone,  applied  by  the  Prentice  nietliod,  seizes  and  destroys  these  iiernis  at  onee. 
and  thus  preserves  At  our  olViee  in  Cincinnati  can  be  seen  almost  every  article  ♦hat  can  be  thought  ol,  preserved  by 
Uiis  process,  and  every  visitor  is  welcomed  to  come  in.  taste,  smell,  take  away  with  bun,  and  test  in  every  way  the 
merits  of  Ozone  as  a  preservative.  We  will  also  preserve,  free  of  ehar^e.  any  article  that  is  brou^Iitor  sent  prepaid 
to  u,s,  and  return  it  to  the  sender,  lor  him  U>  keep  and  test. 

KKICSII  M  K\T!^.  surh  iis  l>cef,  nivillon.  veal,  jiork.  poultry,  K:m"*^.  fisl>i  «fct'-i  preserved  by  this  method,  ciiu  bo 
shipped    to  Kurope,  subjected  to  iitinusphcrie  changes  and  return  to  this  country  in  a  state  of  perfect  preservation. 

EW<J!S  can  be  treated  at  a  cost  (»f  less  iliaii  one  dollaratbousand  dozen,  and  be  kept  in  an  ordinary  room  six  months 
or  more,  tborouKhly  preserved  ;  the  yolk  held  in  its  nornud  eonditi«»n.  and  the  ck^s  as  fresh  and  perfect  as  on  the 
day  they  were  treated,  and  will  sell  as  strictly  "choice."  The  advantage  in  pre.-erviuy:  eywi*  is  readily  seen;  there 
are  seasons  when  thev  can  be  boufiht  for  H  or  K)  c-ents  a  dozen,  and  by  holding  them,  can  be  sold  for  an  advance  of 
from  *)ne  hundred  to  three  hundred  per  ce  t.    One  man.  with  this  method,  can  preserve  5,(K)t)  dozen  a  day. 

FKt'BTS  may  be  permitted  to  ripen  in  their  native  climate,  and  can  be  transported  lo  any  part  of  tlie  world. 

The  juice  expressed  from  fruits  can  be  held  for  an  inHetinite  period  without  fermentation— hence  the  i^reut  value 
of  thisprocess  for  producintr  a  temperance  beverage.     Cider  eun  be  held  ijerieelly  sweet  for  any  lenjyth  of  lime. 

VKCiK'I'.t  ISI.KM  can  he  kci>t  lor  an  iiideluiitc  i)erio(i  in  their  natural  condition,  retaining;  their  odor  and  flavor, 
treated  in  their  orif;riiial  packa;;es  at  a  small  expense.  All  KniinHi  Hour,  meal,  etc.,  are  held  in  their  normal  condition. 

BTT'IKK.  after  beintc  treated  by  thisprocess.  will  uot  become  rancid. 

Dead  human  bodies,  treated  belore  decomposition  sets  in.  can  beheld  in  a  natural  condition  for  wpeks,  without 
puncluriuK  the  skin  or  mutilatint?  the  body  in  any  way.     Ilenee  the  great  value  of  Ozone  toundert;ikers. 

There  is  no  ehanj>e  in  the  sliL;htest  particular  in  the  appearance  of  any  article  thus  preserved,  and  no  trace  of  any 
foreiKn  or  unnatural  odor  or  taste. 

The  process  is  so  simple  that  a  cbiid  can  operate  as  well  and  as  suceessfully  as  a  man.  There  is  no  expensive 
apparatus  or  machinery  required. 

A  room  filled  with  ditlerent  articles,  such  as  eggs,  meat,  fish,  etc.,  can  be  treated  at  one  time,  without  additional 
trouble  or  expense. 

Xt^-  III  fact,  Ihore  is  nolliii>$f  that  Ozone  will  not  preserve.  Think  of  everytliing  you  can  that  is 
liable  to  sour,  decay,  or  spoil,  and  then  remember  that  we  guarantee  that  Ozone  will  preserve  it  in  exactly  the 
condition  vou  want  it  for  anv  length  of  time.  If  you  will  remember  this  it  will  save  asking  questions  as  to  whether 
■Ozone  will  preserve  Ibis  or  that  article— il  will  preserve  aiiylhinK  an<l  every  tiling  >ou  c-an  lliikik  of. 

There  is  not  a  township  in  the  Unite<l  States  in  which  a  live  man  cannot  make  any  amount  of  money,  from 
Sl.tXK)  to  SUMMiO  a  ye;ir,  that  be  pleases.  We  desire  to  get  a  live  man  interested  in  each  county  in  the  United  States, 
in  whose  hands  we  can  place  this  l*rcservative,  and  through  him  secure  the  business  which  every  county  ought  to 
roduce. 

ATT^^OT^I  T  N T  17    Awaits  auy  Man  who  Secures  Control  of   OZONE  in  any 
r  VJ  n   1    U  IN  EL  Townshii)  or  County, 

A.  r.  Powcn,  Jbirion,  Ohio,  has  cleared  ?2.000in  two  months.    $2  for  a  test  package  was  bis  first  iuvestmcnt. 

Woods  Brothers.  Lebanon,  \Varren  County,  Ohio,  made  ^6.000  on  eggs  purchased  iu  August  and  sold  ^s'ovember 
1st.    S2  for  a  test  jjaekage  was  their  first  investment. 

F.  K.  Raynioncl,  iMorristown.  Belmont  Co.,  Ohio,  is  clearing  &2,(KK)  a  month  in  handling  and  selling  Ozone.  :f2  for 
a  tost  pai-kage  was  his  tirst  investment. 

I).  F.  Weliber.  Charlotte,  Eaton  Co.,  Mich.,  has  cleared  $l.ftOO  a  mtuith  since  August.  $2  for  a  test  package  was  his 
first  investment. 

J.  B.  Oaylord,  «0  I.a  Salfe  St.,  Chicago,  is  preserving  eggs,  fruit,  etc.,  for  the  eoniniission  men  of  Chicafio,  charging 
iV^c.  per  dozen  tor  eggs,  and  other  artleies  in  projiortion.  He  is  preserving  5,l»()t)  dozen  eggs  per  day,  atul  on  his 
business  is  making  ^.'i.tMHl  a  month  clear.     S2  for  a  test  j>ackage  w:ts  his  first  investment. 

The  Cineinn.'di  Feefl  Co.,  West  49s  8cventh  .Street,  is  making  i-'>,(J(l  a  month  in  handling  brewers'  malt,  preserving 
and  shipping  it  as  feed  to  all  parts  of  the  country.  ISIalt  unprescr\ed  sours  in  24  hours.  Preserved  by  Ozone  it  keeps 
perfectly  sweet  for  month.s. 

These  are  instances  wluc-h  we  have  asked  in  the  privilege  of  publishing.  There  are  scores  of  others.  Write  to  any 
of  the  above  parties  and  get  the  evidence  direct. 

Now,  to  prove  the  absolute  truth  of  every  thing  we  have  said  in  this  paper,  wp  propose  to  place  in  your 
tiaiKls  tlie  iiiefins  4»r  |>rovin^-  U*r  yourself  Mint  we  have  n4»t  eluinie<l  lialf  enoii^fli.  To  any 
personwhodoubtsanyofthc.se  statements,  and  who  is  interested  sufKeiently  to  make  the  trip,  ^^■c  will  pay  all 
traveling  and  hotel  expenses  for  a  visit  to  this  city,  if  we  fail  to  prove  any  etaleiucnt  that  we  have  made. 

How  to  Secure  a  Fortune  with  Ozone. 

A  test  pa<Ujige  of  Ozone,  containing  a  snllieient  (piaidity  to  prese^-ve  one  thousand  dozen  eggs,  or  other  articles 
,in  projiortion.  will  be  sent  to  any  applicant  on  receipt  of  ?2.  This  package  will  enable  the  applicant  t<»  pursue  any 
line  of  tests  ami  exi>enments  he  desires,  and  thus  satisfy  liiniself  as  to  the  extraordinary  merits  of  ()z<ine  as  a 
Preservative.  Alter  having  thus  satisfied  himself,  and  had  time  to  look  the  field  over  to  determine  what  lie  wishes 
to  tie  in  the  future — whether  to  sell  the  article  toothers  or  to  confine  it  to  his  own  use,  or  any  other  line  of  policy 
which  is  best  suileil  to  him  and  to  his  township  or  county — we  will  enter  into  an  arrangement  with  hiui  that  will 
make  n  fortune  for  him  and  give  us  good  profits.  We  will  give  exclusive  townshi|)  or  county  privilcKcH  t<j  the  first 
■responsible  applicjuit  wi^o  orders  a  test  piick:ige  and  desiresto  control  the  business  in  his  h»c-alily.  'I'Bn*  man  wlio 
nernreseoiiirol  of  4»7.oiie  lor  any  speeial  territory,  will  enjoy  a  monopoly  n'liich  will  surely 
enrich  liim. 

Don't  let  a  day  Pass  until  y()U  have  ordered  a  Test  Package,  and  if  you  desire  to  secure  an  exclusive  privilege  wo 
assure  you  that  delay  ma]^"  deprive  you  of  it,  for  the  applications  come  in  to  us  by  scores  every  nuiil— many  by 
.telegraph.     "  First  come  tirst  served  "  is  our  rule. 

If  you  do  m>t  care  to  .send  money  in  advance  for  the  test  package  wc  will  send  it  C.  O.  D.,  but  this  will  jmt  you  to 
the  expense  of  charges  tor  return  money.  Our  correspondence  is  very  large;  we  have  all  we  can  do  to  attend  to  the 
shipping  of  onlers  and  giving  attention  to  our  working  agents.  Therefore  we  can  not  give  any  attention  to  letters 
which  do  not  order  Ozone.  If  you  think  of  any  article  that  you  are  doubtful  about  Ozone  preserving  remember  we 
gitarantee  that  it  wili preserve  it,  no  niattrr  what  it  is. 

We  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  a  class  of  references  whicli  no  enterprise  or  firm  based  on  anything  but  the 
soundest  business  success  and  highest  commercial  merit  could  secure. 

We  refer,  by  permission,  as  to  our  integriiy  and  to  the  value  of  the  Prentiss  Preservative,  to  the  following 
gentlemen  :  Edward  C.  Koyce.  Member  Board  of  I'ublic  Works;  E.  O.  Eshelhy.  City  Comptroller;  Amor  Smith,  Jr., 
Collector  Internal  Revenue;  Wulsiu  &  Worthington,  Attorneys;  Martin  H.  llarrell  and  IJ.  F.  Hopkins.  County 
Commissioners;  W.  S.  Cappeller,  County  Auditor;  all  of  Cincimiati,  Hamilton  County.  Ohio.  These  gentlemen  are 
•  each  familiar  with  the  merits  of  our  Preservative,  and  know  from  actual  observation  that  we  have  without  question 

The  Most  Valuable  Article  in  the  World. 

TheS2  you  invest  in  a  test  package,  will  surelv  lead  you  to  secure  a  township  or  county,  and  then  your  wav  ia 
absolutely  clear  to  make  from  S2,(XK)  lo  SlO.OtX)  a  year. 
Give  your  full  address  in  every  letter,  and  send  your  letter  to 

PRENTISS  PRESERVING  COMPANY.    Limited,) 

S.  jG.  Cor,  yinth  <t-  liace  Sts.,  Cincinnati,  O, 


J^oT-Sm 


THE 


OFFICE 

9  North  Oueen  Stfeet, 

LANCASTER,  PA. 


THE  OLDEST  AND  BEST. 


THE  WEEKLY 

LANCASTER  EXAMINER 

One  of  the  largest  Weekly  Papers  in 

the  State. 
Publislied  Erery  Weddnesay  Morning, 

Is  an  old,  well-eBtabliBbed  newspaper,  and  contains  just  the 
news   desirable    to  muke    it  an  interesting  and  valuabU 
Family    Newspaper,    The  postage  to  subcribers  residJnj 
outside  of  Lancaster  county  is  paid  by  tbe  publistier. 
Send  for  a  specimen  coi)y. 

Two  Dollars  per  Annum. 


THE  DAILY 


LANCASTER  EXAMINER 

The  Largest  Daily  Paper  in  the 
county. 

Published  Daily  Except  S   nday. 

Tbe  dally  is  published  i%ery  evening  during  the  ireek. 
It  is  delivered  iu  ttle  City  and  to  surrounding  Towns  a<v 
cessible  by  railroad  and  daily  stage  lines,  for  10  cents 
a  week. 

Mall  Subscription,  free  of  postage— One  month,  00 
cents;  one  year,  83-00. 


THE  JOB  ROOMS. 


The    Job    rooms    of    The    Lancaster   Examines  «r« 
filled  with  the  latest  styles  of  presses,  material,  etc.,  and 
we  are  prepared  to  do  all    kinds  of  Book  and  Job  Println 
at  as  low  rates  and    bhort  notice  as  any  cstablishmeuC  1 
the  State. 

SALE  BILLS  A  SPECLUiTT. 

With  a  full  assortment  of  new  cats  that  we  have  just 
purchased,  we  are  prepared  to  print  the  finest  and  most 
attractive  sale  bills  in  the  State. 


JOHN  A.  HIESTAND.  Proprietor, 

No.  9  North  Queen  St., 

L.A.NCA.S'rKR.  FA.. 


IV 


THE  LANCASTER   FARMER 


[JanuaJy.  1882. 


WHERE  TO  BUY  GOODS 


IN 


LANCASTER. 


BOOTS   AND   SHOES. 

MARSHA I>I.  «fc  SSOX.  Xo.  12  Centre  Squnre,  Lan- 
caster, Dealers  in  Boots,  Shoes  and  Rnbbers.    Re- 
pairing promptly  attended  to. 


MI^HVY.  No.  3  East  King  street.     For  the  bes 
.     Dollar  Shoes  in  Lancaster  go  to  M.  Levy,  No.  3 
Eiist  King  street. 


BOOKS  AND   STATIONERY. 

JOHBf  B.\ER"S  -SOK'S,  Nos.  15  and  17  North  Qneen 
Street,  have  the  largest  and  best  a.ssorted  Book  and 
Paper  Store  in  the  City.  ^^ 


FURNITURE. 


HEIXITNH-S,  No.  I.5U  Eiist  King  St.,   (over  China 
Hall)  is  the  cheapest  place  in  Lancaster  to   buy 
Furniture.     I'icture  Frames  a  specialty. 


CHINA  AND  GLASSWARE. 


HI«JH  *  M.4RTIBf,  No.  IS  East  King  St.,  dealers 
in  China,  Glass  and  Queensware,   Fancy  Goods, 
Lamps,  Burners,  Chunueys,  etc. 


CLOTHING. 


MVKK.S  A  BATHKOSf.  Centre  Hall,  No.  12  East 
King  St.    Largest  Clothing  House  in  Pennsylvania 
outside  of  Philadelphia 


DRUGS  AND   MEDICINES. 


GW.   IIUL.I>,  Dealer  in  Pure  Drugs  and  Medicines 
,    Chemicals,   Patent  JlediciTies,  Trus.ses,  Shoulde 
Braces,  Supporters,  &c.,  L5  West  King  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa 


JOHN  F.  LONti  A:  SON,  Druggists,  No.  12  North 
Queen  St.    Drugs,   Medicines,   Perfumery,    Spices, 
Dye  Stuffs,  Etc.    Prescriptions  carefully  compounded. 


DRY  GOODS. 


GIVI.I-.K,  BOWKKS  A-  HUKST,  No.  25  E.  King 
St     Lancaster,  Pa.,  Dealers  in  Dry  Goods,  Carpets 
and  Merchant  Tailoring.    Prices  as  low  as  the  lowest. 


HATS  AND   CAPS. 


OH    AMEK,  No.  39  West  King  Street,  Dealer  in 
.    Hats,  Caps,  Furs,  Robes,  etc.    Assortment  Large. 
Prices  I^ow.  


JEWELRY  AND   WATCHES. 


HZ.  KHOAOS  A-  BRO  ,    No.  4  West  Kmg  St. 
.    Watches,   Clock  and  Musical  Boxes.      Watches 
and  Jewelry  Manufactured  to  order.  


PRINTING. 


JOHN    A.    H1KST.4NI).   9    North  Queen   St.,  Sale 
Bills    Circulars,  Posters,  Cards,    Invitations,   Letter 
and  Bill  Heads  and  Envelopes  neatly  printed.    Prices  low. 


Thirty-Six  Varieties  of  Cabbage;  26  of  Corn;  28  of  Cu- 
umber-  41  of  Melon;  33  of  Peas;  28  of  Beans;  17  of 
Squash-  ''3  of  Beet  and  40  of  Tomato,  with  other  varieties 
in  proportion,  a  large  portion  of  which  were  grown  on 
mv  five  seed  farms,  will  be  found  in  my  Ves«"table 
and  Flower  Seed  Calalogiie  for  IHffi.  Sent  kkee 
to  all  who  applv.  Customers  of  last  Season  need  not 
write  for  it  All  Seed  sold  from  my  establishment  w.ai- 
ranted  to  be  fre.sli  and  true  to  naim',  so  far.  thai  shoiild 
it  prove  otherwise,  I  will  refill  the  order  gratis.  The 
original  iiilr.«luter  ol  Karly  Ohio  and 
Bnrbaiik  t»o»al»es.  Marbleliend.  Karly  Corn, 
the  Hu)>bar<l  Sqliasli.  Marblehesd  (Jabbasc 
Phlnne.v'.s  Melon,  and  a  score  of  other  New  Vegeta- 
bles, I  invite  the  patronage  of  the  public.  New  Vegeta- 
bles a  specialty. 

JAME!^  J.  H.  OREGORY. 
Miirblehead,  Mass. 


Nov-6mo] 


FARMING  FOR  PROFIT. 

It  is  conceded  that  this  large  and  comprehensive  book, 
(advertised  in  another  column  by  J.  C.  McCurdy  &.  Co., 
of  Philadelphia,  the  well-known  publishers  of  Standard 
works,)  is  not  only  the  newest  and  handsomest,  but  alto- 
gether the  BEST  work  of  the  kind  which  has  ever  been 
published.  Thoroughly  treating  the  great  subjects  of 
general  Agriculture,  Live-Stock,  Fruit-Growing,  Busi- 
ness Principles,  and  Home  Life;  telling  just  what  the 
farmer  and  the  farmer's  boys  want  to  know,  combining 
Science  and  Practice,  stimulating  thought,  awakening 
inquiry,  and  interesting  every  member  of  the  family, 
this  book  must  exert  a  inighty  intluence  for  good.  It  is 
highly  recommended  by  the  be-st  agricultural  writers 
and  the  leading  papers,  and  is  destined  to  have  an  ex- 
tensive sale.    Agents  are  wanted  everywhere.         jan-lt 

CIDER  MILLS! 


EVAPORATE  YOUR  FRUIT. 

ILLUSTRATED    CATALOGUE 
FREE  TO  ALL. 

AMERICAN  DRIER  COMPANY, 

Ctaaiubersburg;,  Pa. 

Apl-tf 


Wine  Presses! 


Fruit  Presses.  Apple  Slicers, 
Fodder    and    Ensillage    Cutters, 
Grain  Fans, 
Grain  and  Fertilizer  Drills, 

Broad-cast  Seed  Sowers, 
Corn  Shellers,  Corn  Mills, 

Grain  Mills,  etc.,  etc. 

FOR  SALE  BY 

D.    LANDRETH    &   SONS, 

AGRICULTURAL   AND   HORTICULTURAL  IM- 
PLEMENT 

AND 

SEED    WAREHOUSE, 

Nos.  21  and  23  South  Sixth  Street, 

Between  Market  and  Chestnut  Sts., 

—  and  — 

No.  4  ARCH  STREET, 

apr-6m  PHILADELPHIA. 

MERCHANT  TAILORING. 

1848     (The  Oldest  of  All.)     1881 

RATHVON  &  FISHER, 

MERCHANT  TAILORS  AND  DRAPERS, 

respectfully  inform  the  public  that  having  disposed  of 
their  entire  stock  of  Ready-Made  Clr)thiug:,  theynow  do, 
and  for  the  future  shall,  aevote  their  whole  attention  to 
the  CrSTOM  TRADE. 

All  the  desirable  stvles  of  CLOTHS,  CASSIIMERE=(, 
WORSTEDS,  COATINGS.  HUITINGS  and  VESTINGS 
constantly  on  hand,  and  made  to  order  in  plain  or  fash- 
ionable style  promptly,  and  warranted  satisfactory. 

AU-Wool  Suit  from  glO.OO  to  §30.00. 
All- Wool  Pants  from  3.00  to  10.00. 
All-Wool  Vests  from  200  to     6.00. 

Union  and  Cotton  Goods  proportionately  less. 

Cutting,  Kepairi.ig,  Trimming  and  Making,  at  reason- 
able prices. 

Goods  retailed  by  the  yard  to  those  who  desire  to  have 
them  nnide  elsewher©. 

A  full  supply  of  Spring  and  Summer  Goods  just 
opened  and  on  hand. 

Thankful  to  a  generous  public  for  past  patronage  they 
hope  to  merit  its  continued  recognition  In  their  "new  de- 
parture." 

RATHVON  &  FISHER. 

PRA.TI  1ALTA.IU3R  S, 

No.  101  North  Queen  Street, 

LANCASTER,  PA. 
1848  1881 


GLOVES,  SHIRTS,  UNDERWEAR. 
SHIRTS  MAdFtO  order, 

AND  WARRANTED  TO  1-  IT. 

E.  J.  ERISMAX, 

56  North  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

1-1-12] 


A  HOME  ORGAN  FOR  FARMERS. 


A  MONTHLY  JOURNAL, 


Devofed  to  Agriculture,  Horticulture,  Do- 
mestic Economy  and  Miscellany. 


Founded  Under  the  Auspices  of  the   Lancas- 
ter County  Agricultural  and  Horti- 
cultural Society. 


EDITED  BY  DR.  S.  S.  RATHVON. 


TERMS  OF  SUBSCRIPTION  : 


ONEDOLLpPERANNUJf, 

POSTAGE  PREPAID  BY  THE  PROPillETOR. 

All    subscriptions    will    commence    with    the 
January  number,  unless  otherwise  ordered. 


Dr.  8,  S.  Rathvou.  who  has  so  ably  mauaged  the  editorial 
department  in  the  past,  will  continue  in  the  poeltion  of 
editor.  His  contributious  on  subjects  connected  with  the 
science  of  farming,  and  particularly  that  specialty  of  which 
he  is  so  thorouhly  a  master — entomological  science — some 
knowledge  of  whicti  has  become  a  necessity  to  the  success- 
ful f;irmer,  are  alone  worth  much  more  than  the  price  of 
this  publication.  He  Is  determined  to  make  "The  Farmer' 
a  necessity  to  all  households. 

A  county  that  has  so  wide  a  reputation  as  Lancaster 
county  for  its  agricultural  products  sboiUd  certainly  be 
able  to  support  an  agriculUiral  paper  of  its  own,  for  the 
exchange  of  the  opinions  of  farmers  interested  in  tbis  mat- 
oter.  We  ask  the  co-oporation  of  all  farmers  ini,ere8ted  in 
this  matter.  Work  among  your  friends.  The  "Farmer"  is 
only  one  dollar  per  year.  Show  them  your  copy.  Try  and 
induce  them  to  subscribe.  It  is  not  much  for  each  sub- 
scriber to  do  but  it  will  greatly  assist  us. 

All  communications  in  regard  totheeditorial  management 
should  be  addressed  to  Dr.  S.  S.  Rathvon,  Lancaster,  Pa., 
and  all  bnsuiess  letters  in  regard  to  subscriptions  and  ad- 
vertising should  he  addressed  to  the  publisher.  Rates  of 
advertising  can  be  had  on  applicutiou  at  the  office. 


JOHN  A.  HIESTAND, 

No.  9  North  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

(hr    T(-i    (hnflper  day  iit  hoiue.     Samples  worth  $.5  free. 
ipO     I  U   (pZUAddreBS  Stisson  &  Co.,  Portland,  Maine, 
jiin-lyr* 


ONE  DOLLAR  PER  ANNUM.    SINGLE  COPIES  10:CBNTS 


Dr.  S.  S.  EATHVON,  Editor. 


LANCASTER,  PA.    FEBRUARY.  1882. 


>■ 

;OHN  A.  3IIESTAND,  Publisher. 


Knirrol  n(  llic    I'list  Ollirc  ai   l.iiiK'uvK-i 
St'i'OlKl  «'lns'*  ,1laIH'r. 

CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER, 


-A    lirt-t-iltuy   Malt 


tDITORlAL. 
Tbe  English  S|i;irro\v,  .        .         .        ■ 

Oureelvef,         ..-..- 
February  Snows,  --..-■ 
Wood-worms,    ------ 

Planting  Trees  ou  Hailway  EnibaiikmiMitF,  ■ 
The  Largest  Tree  in  the  World, 
Shifty,  Tlirilty,  Franee,        -        .        .        . 
Kitchen  (i anion  for  February,  - 

Poultry  Exhibition, 

Rules  anil  Exceptions,       -        -        -        - 
Itvbri<i«  Nut  Ahvavs  li.ine 
Aliile. 

Writing  for  the  Fanner,        .        -        .        • 
Excerpts,  ------- 

M  isccIljnu'OU«*  —  Doint-slie  —  Si-it-ntilu-  — 
KciMloniy —     Historical — Slalislii-al 

CONTRIBUTIONS. 

The  Efrg— Its  Contents  and  How  it  is  Made, 

Fruit  Belts,        .--.-. 

Chinese  Fruit  Pear,  .        .        .        . 

Oommereial  Fertilizers,    -        -        .        . 

SELECTIONS. 
Poultry  Show, 

White  Vein — Cause  of  the  Disease  in  Tob.acco, 
The  liiirly   <_'utling  Tiieory  -  Convincing  llxperi- 
enccs. 
Tobacco    (Irowing — Profits    Realized    by   some 
Experts,   -.-...-- 
Karly   Xuvinj;    in  tlie   i''iel(l — IJesnlt  of   Careful 
Hiindliii'i;— An  Excellent   Crop  -  Cost  of  Cniw- 
iiigTottacco  -  Another  Paying   Crop— Slill  An- 
other—In Conclusion. 

AmericinSilk  (ioods, 

Coal  Tar  and  Alkali  in  Peach  Cu  turc,    - 
Points  in  Cows,     ..----. 

OUR  LOCAL  ORGANIZATIONS. 
Lancaster  County  Agricultural  and  IlorlicuHu- 

ral  Society,        ...... 

Crop  Hcporls  "'Growth  and  Consuni|jlion  of 
Tinibcr  Trce«  in  Aniorica" — What  CansCH  \Vhitc 
Vein  in  Tobacco  -KankUrowiiiK  Wheal — Daii-\" 
Cow-  and  the  Soillinj^  Sy.«tcni. 

Poultry  Association, 

Fulton  Farmers'  Club, 

ItNhibits  an<i  .\nt.wers  to  (iuo.^-lions— Exaniinin;^ 
the  IIosi'h  Kami — Literary  Exercises. 

Liuna!an  Society, 

Uluscinn— Library— ni^torical- 

liMsiuC!*-. 


17 

IS 
IS 
IS 

1« 

19 

in 

10 

20 

20 


A  Nice  Wayof  Cooking  Cohl  Meal'^ 
Chocolate  Cake,        -        •  ■ 

Breakfast  liusks. 

Preparing  Carrots,    -        -        -        ■ 
ISarley  Soup,  -        -        -        " 

Cornstarch  Cakes,     -        -        -        ' 
French  Tapioca  I'udding,     - 
Sweet  Macaroni,        -        -        - 
Oatmeal  Pudding, 
Wholesale  Pic  Crust, 
St-;wed  Apples  and  Kicc, 
Literary  and  Personal, 


4'-   OcscRifl^r  '"flce"^- 


f^TOR  1882  ^i% 

W  ■■)  1)1-  ii.uilttt  >UBE  to  all  sp]>!ir*nli,  »nd  to  ci;<t(.i>:fri  wltbo^it 
(•rdi  riDS  It.  It  lOKtikiiis  five  Color**!  (jIkI?*.  lioli  piii.TAv  inzi, 
►  bout  ?('0  pages,  und  full  dr  li  ijU'^ni.  v'l'^f*  s'H'l  liifntloui  f.r 
l.|aiitiugI5Wivaiietiti..fV.t'.-u;'l-aiia  M..»rr  >^«.  ds  Plai,-., 
hniilTriei,  tic.     li.vftliiai  Ir  I.  a'l.     Scua  I.  r  it.     Ad'Ifett, 

D.  M.  FERRY  &  CO.,  Detroit.  Mich. 


},  CREAMERY 

rS'MPLESTSBEST. 
Agents  Wc.nted 


(hp Pa  week  in  vi 
i{)DUAilibpt.8H. 

jiiu-lyi* 


ourovvu  town.     'I'ernis  and  $.'»  onllit  free 
llALLEri  fc  Co.,  I'orllaui],  Maine. 


21 


BUTTER  WORKER 

Mcit  Etfectivt  ami  Convfiiitrit 

A, -I  Power  Worker  ij, 

Cap'cityl«)-l>l>lt  Ills  per  BAY 
li  it!e:-  iT'iitii-.  S'lii.i'i'i'- 
l;..x.--..-t.-     .v....'r...  ,,,.,./..,. 

A.  H.REID, 

?S  S.ieth  Slr«t,  Phila..  Pa. 
IV-b-inl 


PENSIONS 


From  all  the  leading-  varieties  of  purcl.rc.l  ruullty 
Eraniahs,  Cochin,  llainbnrgs,  Polish  Gaine,  Uorkiog 
and  French  Fowls,  Plymouth  liocks  and  Bantoms, 
Koucn  and  Pckins  Ducks.  Send  bn-  Illustrated  Cir- 
cular. 

T.  SMrnr,  p.  M.,  Fte-li  Pond,  X.  V. 

feb-^ni 


■:.'i 


:'A) 


-ra;icr.s  Uead-Nt  w 


AGRICULTURE. 
Planting  Tobacco,        .        .        .        - 
Improved  Grasses,    -        .        -        - 
Rotation  of  Crops        -        -        -        - 

HOUSEHOLD    RECIPES. 
Orange  Pie,  .        .        -        -        - 

New  England  Baked  Indian  Pudding, 
Chicken  Pic,         .        .        -        -        . 
Prune  Pudding,        .        .        .        . 


-  :;i 

-  U 

-  :ii 
:n 

-  31 


SEEDS 


BULBS, 
PLANTS. 

Peaniiliil  llliisiiaieil  Caialope  ri'ee. 

Itin  Itfit  liti  (1  ii-»v.  r..rc  aii.i  i.c.iMiIi.l 
(I'lwers  ever  wnt  out.  Ntw  t;indi-'lit*.  'J'uU- 
loKct,  Auiiiivllii,  Rotes.  C'uriiA-.ioii*.  10^  van- • 
ifi  of  Lili'.  s,  rli-i'p  Fl'iwtr  nnd  Vrirt-tatle 
Sr.li.  S.-idt  ff  II...1M)  Pl.Mf.  Ac.  All  Ut'U 
}7  exr»^|.ir™M-l..li>Uf.r,''r>dii«riV»;CENTl'A»*ii:-. 
Lv*r\-tliiiig    wnft:!ii'td    true    to    uane.      See 

(■■ii:ii\inj*;  p»i<> ;  »«.•  low.  TIic  follow liic'tm 
bv  iiiiti)  nmti'ai*].  )'Ji^:'d'oIur.  ]Ust>rii  iiau<t>) 
60c.  12  P.  nrl  Tul.et<.».  ►.  8.'k'.  JU  Mllrt.  10  ktH 
nnmtd^^l.&O.  All  l^ix^  '^uru  and  Urte  \m\\-i, 
Ilcnillcumiicyor  po'lapc  Bt«inr.5.  My  n-odj 
rs-alill.lir-il  rti.iitaliiin  Hnd  i"i  i-nit  i-nriioi  ili'^  wcrld. 

Lt:\VES  CHILDS,  a^^K^^-'^S,  N.  Y. 


Kor  SOI«DlHR». 

w  iiluw.-!.  f.uInT.",  iiiutlturs  ..r 
.LiMii-ii,  'l  h'jU=jiiJs  )  L-l  i-iilit"i-'l.  1  Villi  lull  9  givri 
I.-rlcssof  liiit'ti.  t«n*.  t'jL-  or  t.i|'iur«-,  varicoi-j 
vi-ius  oror  uiiy  lll«ea»c.  Ttiuusuiid9  oi'pvDsiou- 
ii-j  nn<l  s..ldH'i-i  entitled  to  I.M'KE.VS|<:  ahU 
IMUXTV.  F.VTE.\TM  i-ruuiin-a  f.,r  iiivent- 
<  i-v.  ."^ul'iitrn  l.iiil  wurraiHH  iir-i-urud.  ln*uphc 
;iiiil  f.l'l.  .>olJu-rs  uiL<l  lair-*  ajuily  i"i>r  yi-ur 
ii;:lits  :it  Mjuf.  Siii'l  a  ^taIul.i  f-T  1',hsi.jU'mi  1 
iluuiity  \ivwi,  lilaiiks.Tii'l  ui-.ti  ui-ti'itf.  I-'itt  liw  l 
\>v  l:iw.  Wcciii  n  fiTtw  th..iMai..i-..r  I'.'iiMuiuri 
uiid  Clk'Uls.  A<Mi'<t--'  E.  H.CO!8tOn&  CO., 
I   .S. Claim  A tt\  ■--.!.  ■tkll"X;;...Wu3l.ii.i;tviirU.C 


LIGHT  BRAHMA  EGGS 

I'l.r  liatiliii.;;,  ]iow  really— from  ll:'  i"-i  -;i:iin  i:i  llic 
counly— at  the  niodcr.Ue  price  of 

$1,50  for  n  scttini;  of  X3  Z^SSS. 
L.  ILVTHVO.X. 

Ne.  0  Xorlli  ^iueen  "-l.,  iCxnniiilcr  Oni<-c,  I.a!i»"Wl<r,  Pa. 

W ANTED. -CAN VASSEUS  r.uibc 
LANCASTER  WEEKLY  EXAMINER 

III  ICviry  Township  in  iIk-  Cinity.  (i..od  \Vaj;cs  can  lie 
Mia<t<-.     Itiijiini-  III 

THE  EXAMINER  OFFICE. 

.N\>.  a  North  <iii.<n  Sirci  t,  Laiic.ialcr,  I'a 

(ri7f).v  ^VI.KK.    SI'  n  (lav  at  home  easily  made.    Cosily 
ij)/  Zoutllt  ir.f.     A.lilicss  Tlirr  ,\;  Co.,  Augui-ta,  Maine, 
.inn-lyv* ^ 

S£ND  FOR 

On  Concuicl  tiiaj  evii:e?,  Tninslilanlcil  Everficiii^,  Tuiili, 
I'oi'Iar,  Liuilen  Miii'lc,  Ce.  Trie  Seedlings  and  Trees  for 
liniber  iilnntatinnu  bv  tbc  lOfl.iiiin 

.F.  JKSTKIXS'  XfnSF.RY. 

3-2-?.i 


.Tan.^lni 


\\V.  WA^T  OM»   KOOIiS. 

\\i;  W.vxT  fiEnJUS  Books. 

WE  WANT  HOOKS    PKINTED  IN  LANC.\STl;i!  CO. 

Wc  Want  .VU  Kinds  of  Old  Hooks. 

LIBRARIES,  ENCLISII  OR  CERMAX    liOrCiJlT. 

Cash  paid  for  Iii>oksin  any  iinanlily.     Sfnd  your.'uldres.s 
and  we  will  call. 

RKES  WELSH  <t  CO.. 

23  South  Niiilli  Street.  Philadelphia. 


WINONA,  COl.lMHIAN.\:cO.,  OHIO. 


DCkiCinkl^  For  soi.Dir.RS, 

rCriollirid  tiJuw«.  taUnr),  nv.ll.tis  IT 
cliildrcn.  TlK^usrindsvotctitiil. 't.  IVn?ioii«r;vi  n 
<..r  lM^J■  f  lii.i:<r.toi-,.  >  c  ..r  riilliir.-.v  ai..  ■  (1  >  ■  :«_> 

,.,1J„'.  riililkd  tn  I.MKI;A>-L  ..ii.l  l!Ol  .NTV  . 
l'ATl;>TS  i.t'itiirfl  l-r  J;,vc!il..rs  N  J>' ri 
laaii  warrants  j.rorurt.l.  l...iirlttaLd  t-'M.  fe';l»l't-r; 
»T.J  l.eirsaiMly  f..ry..iirriflitsai..nco.  t-cii.ia 
itaot>9  for"  ilie  Ciiii' n-S-liiitT."  and  Pcnr-'n 
and  it<^un(y  laws. blanks  and  iiistratlii.ns.  »\  ■-' 
faiiriKrto  tlifiisands  of  P-  n-icn'Ti  and  Clipi.t  J. 

Address  N.W.FIti8;ernlclACp.l'r.N!i";s,*: 

riIl..NT  All-J  «.  Lo^tn.'..l ;-,  «  i,l.:ai-tou.  D.  C. 
de<-ll 


U/ri  I  AIICrD  Oiurslscnaranteoillo  be  thfl 
flLLL'AUbCni  cheapest  and  best  in  the 
world.  .^'.50  nothins  can  bent  our  .S.\'>rlNG  .HA- 
CIIINK.  It  saws  oil  a  J-foot  log  in  -' mmutca. 
Pictor.'tt!  hooka  freo.    W.  GILKS,  Chicaeo,  nu 


THE  LANCASTER   FARMER. 


PEXxsYi,VAXiA  RAii.KOAD  snieniri.K. 
Trains  lhave  tbe  Depot  in  ibi^  '"ity,  ^i^  fnllow?  : 


WE   TWARD. 

Pacific  Express' 

Way  Pj.ii<eugei-t 

Niagara  Express 

}Ianovcr  Accoimnodation,. 

Mail  train  via  Jit.  -Joy 

Xo.  '2  via  Columbia 

Sunday  Mail 

Fast  Line',    

Frederick  AcL-oinmodatiou . 

Harriffbuii?  Accom 

Columbia  Accomraodatiou.. 

Harribburjj  Express 

Pittsburg  Express 

Cinciuuati  Express' 


EASTWAKD. 

''inciiniiiti  Express 

Fa  (?t  Line*' 

Harrieburg  Express 

rohimbia  A<.-commodatiou., 

Pacific  Exproh-H-'^ 

Sunday  Mail 

.Tobn8tOT\"u  Express 

Day  Express" 

Harrieburjj  Accom 


I. pave 
Lancaster. 

2:40  a.  til. 

5:00  a.  m. 
11:00  a.  111. 
11:05  p.m. 
Ht:20a.  m. 
11.25  a.  m. 
10:50  a.  m. 

2;30p.  m. 

2::i5p.  ui. 

5:45  p.  lu. 

7:20  p.  m. 

7:30  p.m. 

8:50  p.  ni. 
ll:;>Op.  m. 

Lancaster. 
2.55  a.  m. 
5:08  a.  ni. 
»:Uo  a.  m. 
9.in  p.  m. 
:li}  p  m. 
2:00  p.  m. 
8:05  p.  m. 
5::>5  p.m. 
0:25  p.  m. 


Arrive 

narrisbiirg. 

4:05  a.  m. 

7:50  a.  m. 

11:20  a.  m. 

Col.  10:40  a.  m. 

12:40  p.  ni. 

12:55  p.  m. 

12:40  p.  in. 

3:25  ji.  ni. 

Col.  2:45  p.  m. 

7:40  p.  m. 

Col.  8:20  !».  m. 

8:40  p.  m. 

10:10  p.  m. 

12:45  a.  m. 

rUiladelphia 
:-::oo  a.  m. 

7:40  a.  m. 
10:00  a.  in. 
12:01  p.  m. 

3:40  p.  m. 

5:0U  p.m. 

5:^0  p.  m, 

7:20  p.  m. 

9:30  p.m. 


The  Hanover  Accommodation,  west,  connects  at  Lancaster 
iTith  Niagara  Express,  -west,  at  0::^5  a.  m.,  and  will  ruu 
through  to  Hauover. 

The  Frederick  Accommodiitiou,  west,  coniiecTJ?at  Lancas- 
ter with  Fast  Line,  west,  at  2:10  p.  m.,  and  runs  to  Frederick. 

The  Pacific  Express,  east,  ou  Sunday,  when  flagged,  will 
stop  at  M'ddletowii,  ElizabetUtowu,  Mouut  Joy  and  Laudla- 
ville. 

"The  only  trains  which  ruu  daily. 

+Kuu6  daily,  except  Monday. 


NORBECK  &  MILEY, 


PRACTICAL 


^i 


EDW.  J.  ZAHM, 

lt|'.\Ll:::  :  t-' 

AMERICAN  AND   FOREIGN 

AA^ATCHES, 

SOLID  SILVER  &  SiLVER  PLATED  WARE, 
CLOCKS. 

JEWELRY  ITABLE  CUTLERY. 

^■jl.-  Agf-jit  fjr  11:.'  Arund.'l   I'laU.l 

SPECTACLES. 

North  Qusen-st.  and  Centre  Square,  Lancaster,  Pa. 
79-1 -rj 


JE.  :E^.  :!BOX7^IVE.A.3Nr, 


''^^dW^^TC/h/j 


"     AT  rOlVKNT  PO<«SIRI.r  i'RIt'EH, 

No.   106  EAST  KING  STREET, 

73-1-1:;]  Ojijmsltr  T.inptiril   llol't. 

ESTABLISHED  1832. 

h       '-11'-... 


'W  - 


^^ 


Sarriage  Builders 

fOX  &  CO"S  OLB  ST.\)I!». 

Cofnef  of  Duke  mi  Vioe  Streets, 

LANCASTER,  PA. 

THE  LATEST  IMl'ltOVEIV  ' 

SIDE-BAR  BUGGIES, 

PHAETONS, 

Carriages,  Etc. 

mmmmmmwmm. 

Prices  to  Suit  the  Times. 

KKPAIKTNG  promptly .ittended  to.     All  wmk 
guaiantceil. 

&.  lo.  co::s:, 

M;uiuf;iL-turer  of 

Carriages,  Buggies,  Phaetons,  etc. 

CHURCH  ST.,  NEAR  DUKE,      LANCASTER,  PA. 

Large  Stock  of  New  and  Secou-haud  Work  on  hUud 
very  cheap.  Carriufjps  Made  to  Order  AVoik  Warranted 
or  one  year.  [7f-9-li 


G.  SENER  Sl  sons 

n.s  ;t!!d  (le:dprs  in  all  l;iniU  tl 
ru]i>h---il 

.<»lII!\'«iI-E.«iiu  tbf-  fOUMl 
loors,  IiIiu<lB,  Mouldinj^rf,  &c 

PATENT  0.  G,  WEATHERBOARDING 


M:iliiifi(ctu:ei.s  itiitl  ilenlprs  in  all  lunil-  tf  ron.,'!i  uiiJ 

ruii>.h'-ii 


The  bpst  Sawwl  .*«III1\'4<I.F,.<>  iit  tbp  muntry.     .\!so  S.iab, 
Doors,  IiIiu<lB,  Mouldinj^rf,  &c. 


aud   PATENT  ULIND.'^,  ivbicli  ar.'  lar  Kiljierior  lo  auy 
other.     Also  be«l  <10AI.  cotiHtaiilly  on  baud, 

OFFICE  AND  YAIID  : 

Northeast  Comer  of  Prince  and  Walnnt-sts., 
la?j"castp:r,  r^v. 

7D-l-li!] 

PRACTICAL  ESSAYS  ON  ENTOMOLOGY, 

l'.;mhriiciii;»  the  history  aud  habits  uf 

NOXIOUS  AND  INNOXIOUS 


INSECTS, 


and  the  bo^t  rrniodir's  for  theii-  eximl^^i.'ii  ^-r  oxterminaf  ion. 

By  S.  S.  RATHVON,  Ph.  D. 

LiANCASTER,  PA. 
This  wni-k  will  be  Highly  Illustrated,  ;uid  will  be  pu!  in 
press  (aR  soon  after  a  sufliciout  uiunbtn-  of  subscribers  can 
be  obtained  to  cover  the  cost)  as  th"i  work  can  poasibly  be 
accomplished. 
79-2- 

^  a  raonth  and  expense.=(   *jiiaranteed    to    Agents. 
/    Outfit  free.  SHAW  &  CO.,  Au','U3l;i,  M^lne. 

0-2-12 


$7 


Fruit,  Shade  and  Ornamental  Trees. 

I'liint  Tne^  raitred  in  thi^  rouuty  md  rUito-l  to  this  climate. 
Wnte  t''>r  nriccs  to 

LOUIS  C.  LYTZ, 

Bird-in-Hand  P.  O.,  Lancaster  co.,  Pa. 

Nuraerv  at  Smoketo-.vii,  >,ix  miles  east  of  Laucastf^r. 

7'.)-i-ia 

WIDMYER  &  RICKSECKER, 

UPHOLSTERERS, 

Ari.i  RLiimractuix-r^  nf 

FURMITURE  PD  CHAIRS, 

WAREROOMS: 

102  East  King  St.,  Cor.  of  Duke  St. 


79-1 -I'i] 


LANCASTER,  PA. 


Special  Iiaducements  at  the 
NEW  FURNITURE   STORE 

W.  A.  HEINITSH, 

UTo.     IS    3.-2    13.    IS.X3VO     STU-EE'I' 

(over  Bursk's  Grocery  STore),  Lancaster,  Ta. 
A  i::ene;-al  a^.sor*mciit  of  fiiruiture  of  all  kiuda  coiistautly 
':'U  baud.    JJou't  forget  Ihe  uumber. 

Nov-Iy]  (over  Bursk's  G.ocery  Store.) 

For  Good  and  Cheafj  Work  go  to 

F.  VOLLMER'S 

FLIRNITURE  WARli   ROO.MS, 

No   309  NORTH  QUEEN  ST . 

(Oppoaile  Northeru  Market), 
AI.^o,  ail  kiniU  of  i.iclure  fratuee,  uov-ly 

GREAT  BARGAINS. 

A  large  assortment  of  fdl  kinds  of  Canieta  are  still  sold  at 
lower  rates  than  ever  at  the 


CARPET  HALL  OF  H.  S.  SHIRK, 

No.  202   IVest  Kino  St. 

Call  and  examine  our  stock  aud  satisfy  yourself  that  we 
can  fehow  the  largest  ;iBsortment  of  these  Brussels,  throe 
plies  and  iugrahi  at  all  prices— at  the  lowest  Philadelphia 
prices. 

Also  ou  hand  a  large  aud  oompleto  assortment  of  Rag 
Carpet. 

Satisfaction  guaranteed  bath  as  to  price  aud  quality. 

You  are  invited  to  call  aud  see  my  goods.  No-  trouble  m 
showing  thani  even  if  you  do  not  want  to  purchase. 

Don't  forget  thie  notice.  You  can  save  money  here  if  yju 
want  to  buy. 

Particular  attontion  given  to  customer  vork. 

Also  on  hand  a  full  assortment  of  Counterpanes,  Oil 
Cloths  and  Blankets  of  every  variety.  [nov-iyr. 

PHILIP  SCHUM,  SON  &  CO., 

38  and  40  West  King  Street. 

We  keep  ou  baud  i>f  our  0'.vu  luauufat  ture, 

QUILTS,  COVEPvLETS, 

COUNTERPANES,  CARPETS, 

Bureau  and  Tidy  Covers.  Ladies'  Famishing  Goods,  No- 
tions, etc. 

Particular  attention  ]iaid  to  customer  Rag  Carpet,  aud 
scowering  and  djcin^of  all  kiu(!.s. 

PHILIP  SCHUM.  SON  &  CO.. 

Nov-1y      Laiicawter.  Pa. 

THE  HOLMAN  LIVER  PAD] 

Cures  by  absorption  without  uiedicine. 

Now  is  the  time  io  apply  these  remedies.  They  wiil  do 
for  you  what  nothing  else  0:1  earth  can.  Hundreds  of  citi- 
zens of  Lancaster  s'V  so.     Get  the  genuine  at 

LANCASTER  OFFICE  AND  SALESROOM, 

22  East  Orange  Street. 


G.  R.  KLINE. 

yVTTOf^NEY-AT-f:iAW, 

OFFICE  :    15  NORTH  DUKE  STREET, 

LiVNCA-STEB,    PA.. 

Nov-ly  J 


The  Lancaster  Farmer. 


Dr.  S.  S.  SATHVON,  Editor. 


LANCASTER,  PA.,  FEBRUARY,  1882. 


Vol.  XIV.  No.  2. 


THE  ENGLISH  SPARROW. 

■•Auslialia  iuiiiortcd  Eiit;lisli  sparrows  to 
kill  worms,  but  it  t'oiiiid  tliat  tlu'  birdsan^  tlic 
worst  pest  of  tiu'  two,  and  bouiiticsare  offered 
for  tluiir  destruction." 

[t  appears  tliat  Australia  has  repeated  the 
blunder  of  America,  in  importing  the  "  Eng- 
lish sparrows  to  kill  worms," and  now  both 
Countries  are  "down  on  the  sparrow,"  because 
lie  cannot  be  forced  to  habitually  do  violence 
to  the  instincts  of  his  nature.  The  ''English 
s|)arrow"  (Passer  domesticus)  is  a  Finch,  be- 
longing to  the  family  Fhingillido':,  and 
therefore,  by  nature,  is  a  granivorous  bird, 
and  not  strictly  speaking,  an  insectivorous 
one.  It  is  not  the  fault  of  the  sparrow  that  it 
don't  eat  worms,  any  more  than  it  is  the  fault 
of  the  lion,  because  he  don't  "eat  straw  like 
an  ox."  There  was  therefore  no  more  wis- 
dom in  importing  the  fclnglish  sparrow  for  the 
purpose  of  destroying  insects,  than  there 
would  have  been  in  importing  an  English 
pigeon  to  destroy  mice.  It  is  nothing  to  the 
purpose  to  allege  that  they  do  occasionally,  or 
under  certain  extraneous  circumstances,  eat 
insects,  for  that  is  only  a  neyad'fe  quality  at 
best.  If  birds  must  be  imported  to  destroy 
insects,  those  of  a  positive  charactive  should 
have  been  imiiorted. 

Tlie  sparrow  however,  is  sufticiently  posi- 
lirr  in  the  direction  his  instincts  lead  him, 
although  as  a  uniform,  or  exclusive  feeder  on 
insects  he  is  netjative,  and  it  is  almost,  if  not 
cpiile,  impossible  for  him  to  be  otherwise, 
without  doing  violenci'  to  his  own  physical 
organization.  If  he  were  purely  insectiverous 
he  would  not  be  eking  out  a  precarious  living 
in  our  cold  uncongenial  clime  during  winter, 
when  insects  are  not  obtainable  by  birds  of 
his  mandibular  conformation  ;  he  would  in- 
stinctivi'ly  migrate  with  other  members  of  the 
"  leathered  realm,"  who  habitually  feed  on 
insects.  It  .setms  to  us  that  this  fad  alone 
iinulit  to  hti  prima  fftcia  evidence  that  no  con- 
i  lince  can  be  placed  on  the  English  sparrow 
;i>  a  reliable  remedy  against  the  multiplication 
of  noxious  insects.  It  is  very  probable  that 
he  ma)/,  and  perhaps  docs,  appropriate  some 
insecls  when  he  can  get  nothing  else,  or  when 
he  is  providing  a  repast  for  his  young  family, 
in  common  with  many  other  birds  that  are 
not  strictly  insectiverous.  Until  young  birds 
are  fully  competent  to  [irovide  for  themselves, 
the  (larent  birds  usually  furnish  them  such 
r  Mid  as  is  best  adapted  to  their  juvenile  con- 
ilition,  and  in  that  respect  they  perhaps  <Io 
less  violence  to  the  laws  of  physiology  than 
Imnian  jiarents  do,  in  the  rearing  their  own 
prngeny.  A  tender  .juicy  worm  is  easier  to 
'liuest  than  a  hard  dry  seed,  especially  during 
I  lie  period  o(  helpless  inactivity.  The  sparrow 
Hun,  being  a  granivorous  bird,  its  normal 
('">d  is  jrain,  or  seeds,  and  when  these  are  not 
'  I'lainable  it  will  appropriate  that  which 
luarest  approximates  to  arain,  or  seeds,  and 
li.iice  the  English  sparrows  beget  themselves 
to  cities,  towns,  villages  and  hamlets,  where 
they  can  obtain  bread-crumbs,  undigested 
grains  in  the  droppings  of  animals — especially 


those  of  the  hor.se — and  in  the  absence  of 
these,  the  young  buds  of  trees  and  shrubbery. 
The  streets  of  Lancaster  city  are  full  of  them 
both  .Summer  and  Winter,  whilst  in  the  sur- 
rounding country  there  are  few  or  none  of 
them.  Two  summers  ago  a  creeping  vine  on 
a  gable  in  East  Orange  street,  contained  lifty 
or  one  hnnilred  sparrows  nests,  and  each  one 
of  them  was  the  cradle  of  a  brood  or  two 
during  the  season.  Within,  perhaps,  a  hun- 
dred yards  of  it  stood  several  elm  trees,  badly 
infested  by  the  "elm  leaf  beetle,"  (Galerucea 
zanthomalorna.)  There  were  tens  of  thousands 
of  th(se  insi'cts  in  the  ]iivv;i,ihe  pupa,  and  the 
imatji)  states :  but  no  one  that  ever  watched 
those  birds  ever  saw  them  lly  in  the  direction 
of  those  infested  elm  trees,  and  this  seemed 
the  more  remarkable,  inasmuch  as  the  leaves, 
the  branches,  the  trunks,  and  the  pavement 
under  ihe  trees,  were  literally  swarming  with 
the  insects  in  all  their  stages  of  development  ; 
moreover,  the  birds  were  rearing  their  broods, 
and,  from  their  appearance  alone,  one  would 
suppose  that  if  ever  there  was  an  insect  that 
might  be  expected  to  excite  the  appetite  of  a 
small  bird,  it  would  have  been  these  Elm-lcaf- 
Beetlcs.  But  no,  they  were  totally  ignored. 
Now,  notwitlistanding  all  this,  it  is  not  our 
intention  to  disparage  the  English  sparrow  ; 
for,  as  we  before  intimated,  he  has  his  place  in 
the  economy  of  nature,  and  those  who  have 
forced  him  out  of  it  must  take  the  conse- 
quences. He  is  doing  all  he  can,  under  the 
circumstances  in  which  he  is  placed,  and  the 
highest  reasoning  creature  can  do  no  more, 
lie  doubtless  is  doing  some  good  in  his  own 
peculiar  way.  If  he  does  not  destroy  the 
number  of  insects  we  think  he  should,  he  may 
be  gobbling  up  the  seeds  of  many  noxious 
weeds,  when  he  can  get  access  to  them,  and 
that  is  surely  something. 

.  But,  in  dealing  with  the  sparrow  we  do  not 
think  it  would  be  wise  to  follow  the  example 
of  Australia,  by  ottering  bounties  for  their  de- 
struction; for  this  might  furnish  the  other 
horn  of  the  dilemma,  as  it  did  on  another  nota- 
ble occasion  in  that  same  Australia.  The  gov- 
ernment of  New  South  Wales  offered  bounties 
for  the  destruction  of  the  owls  and  hawks  of 
that  colony  some  years  ago,  on  account  of  the 
depredations  they  committed  upon  the  poultry 
of  the  farmers,  through  which  they  were 
finally  exterminated.  But  then  the  more  de- 
structive rodents  increased  most  fearfully, 
soon  the  country  was  overrun  Ijy  rats,  mice, 
rabbits,  &c.,  and  so  great  w;is  the  destruction 
of  the  pasture  fields,  that  a  single  woolgrower 
or  a  single  district  lost  fifteen  hundred  .sheep 
by  starvation.  A  similar  event  occurred 
many  years  ago  in  .Scotland.  There  seem  to 
be  certain  balances  in  the  economy  of  nature, 
the  equilbriuin  of  which,  if  destroyed,  or 
undue  preponderance  be  given  in  either  direc- 
tion, results  in  disaster  to  the  interests  of  the 
aggressor  ;  and  often  too,  in  a  manner  that 
was  wholly  uncontemplated. 

Wc  cannot  therefore  say   what  effect   the 
total  destruction  of  the  sparrows  would  have 


upon  the  vegetable  world,  but  there  is  room 
for  rational  inference  that  it  would  not  be  a 
favoiable  one;  because,  imlircct  inllueiicesiiiay 
be  so  intensified  as  to  produce  more  injury 
than  those  that  are  direct.  Although  the 
sparrows  belong  to  the  Finch  family,  yet 
within  that  family  there  are  groups,  some  of 
which  are  more  decidedly  granivorous  than 
others.  Although  their  natural  proclivities 
may  lead  in  thai  direction,  still  they  are  not 
so  exclusively  seed-eating  as  the  tn<e  ./?/ic/if,?, 
of  which  the  canaries  may  be  regarded  as  a 
familiar  type.  The  sparrows  have  the  conical 
bills  of  pure  granivorous  birds,  but  they  are 
more  decidedly  notched  than  most  of  the 
other  groups  of  the  family.  We  therefore 
not  only  may  in/cr  that  they  capture  insects— 
es|)ecially  during  the  breeding  sea.son— but 
they  have  often  been  seen  in  the  very  act  of 
doing  so  :  and,  if  each  bird  captures  and  killg 
a  single  female  insect  in  the  spring  before  she 
has  deposited  her  eggs,  the  benefit  resulting 
from  it  may  be  incalculable.  The  destruction 
of  a  few  buds  of  fruit  trees  in  early  spring,  is 
surely  not  to  be  compared  with  the  general 
interest  of  the  crop  ;  and  perhaps  such  a  con- 
tingency could  be  obviated  by  furnishing  the 
birds  with  neces.sary  food. 

We  have  been  portraying  the  English  spar- 
row as  he  aciually  is,  and  not  as  people  may 
think  he  o/(;//(«  to  be.  From  his  &(f(<i(.s  in  the 
classified  arrangement  of  the  feathered  tribes, 
we  freely  confess  that  we  are  not  at  all  dis- 
ai)p  linted  in  him.  When  the  wag,  dressed  in 
an  ox's  hide  appeared  before  Baron  Cuvier,  in 
order  to  frighten  him,  he  eiKpiired  what  he 
wanted  ;  and  when  the  wag  replied  in  a 
se[nilchral  tone — "I  want  to  eat  you,"  the 
Baron  significantly  replied,  in  an  unconcerned 
manner—"  Hoofs,  horns,  IIerbiverou.i.  You 
can't  do  it.'"  We  knew  of  a  cow  that  ate  the 
frill  of  a  woman's  sunbonnet ;  and  we  also 
knew  of  a  cat  that  ate  jiickles,  but  those  arti- 
cles were  not  their  normal  food  of  course. 
Nor  can  it  be  said  that  they  habitually  fed  on 
that  kind  of  provender.  Under  similar  cir- 
cumstances, aided  by  domestication,  sjiarrows 
are  occasionally  seen  cai)tiiriiig  and  eating  in- 
sects, but  it  can  hardly  be  regarded  as  a 
normal  characteristic. 

On  the  whole  then,  from  what  we  know  of 
the  English  sparrow  through  local  experience, 
and  the  general  tone  of  the  public  press,  we 
have'comniitted  a  blunderin  introducing  it  into 
the  United  .States  for  the  pur|iose  of  destroy- 
ing our  surplusage  of  insects  ;  and,  whatever 
we  intend  to  ultimately  "do  about  it,"  it  is 
perhaps  well  that  the  ma.ssps  of  the  people 
should  have  some  knowledge  of  what  he  is 
and  how  he  lives.  lie  is  a  shrewd,  pugna- 
cious and  iH'rseveriiig  little  elf,  and  'tis  a 
pity  he  should  have  gained  such  a  "  disreputa- 
ble reputation." 

We  would  not  recommend,  therefore,  that 
a  government  bounly  .should  Ik;  offered  for  his 
head,  when  a  simple  repeal,  or  suspension  of 
the  law  for  his  protection,  and  his  elevation  to 
the  status  of  a  "game  bird,"  would  as  effec- 


18 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[February, 


tually,  aud  more  cheaply  accomplish  the  de- 
sired end.  Tt  is  true,  he  is  not  a  very  large 
bird,  but  then  it  would  only  take  the  more  of 
them  to  make  a  "mess,"  and  the  process  of 
extinction  would  be  more  rapid.  There  are 
"four  and  twenty"  of  them  that  infest  our 
premises,  that  we  would  sooner  see  "baked 
in  a  pie,"  than  to  endure  their  spattering  at- 
tempts at  ■whitcwasliinrj,  especially  wlien  any- 
thing valuable  happens  to  stand  beneath  their 
winter  rookeries ;  and  yet,  we  rather  like 
their  social  presence. 


OURSELVES. 

"The  fourteenth  volume  of  the  Lancaster 
Farmer  begins  with  the  January  number. 
The  industrious  editor,  Dr.  Rathvon,  has  for 
years  given  his  time  and  talents  to  pushing 
the  agricultural  interests  of  this  grand  agri- 
cultural county  ahead  tlirough  its  columns, 
and  although  ill  requited  for  his  laborious 
work  will  still  keep  his  hands  on  the  helm.  He 
cordially  invites  contributors  and  correspon- 
dents to  render  liim  what  aid  they  can  in  mak- 
ing the  Farmer  a  still  more  valuable  vehicle 
of^progvessive  agriculture  and  pomology,  and 
there  should  be  a  generous  response  from  all 
sides  to  his  invitation.  We  observe  that  he 
alludes  to  the  ungenerous  and  unjust  charge 
made  against  him"  by  a  member  of  the  Agri- 
cultural Society,  that  he  had  suppressed,  out 
of  jealousy,  or  for  some  other  cause,  the  essays 
of  the  offended  member  from  the  society 
proceedings  as  published  in  the  Farmer. 
It  was  hardly  worth  his  while  to  go  to  the 
trouble.  No  one  gave  the  silly  accusation  a 
moment's  thought.  The  charge  that  Dr. 
Rathvon  was  unalile  to  answer  the  entomo- 
logical queries  of  his  captious  critic  brought 
smiles  to  the  face  of  every  member  of  the  so- 
ciety present.  All  that  individual  ever  knew 
about  insects  is  not  a  tenth  part  of  wliat  Dr. 
Rathvon  has  forgotten  about  them." 

The  foregoing  from  the  columns  of  a  recent 
issue  of  the  Daily  New  Era,  needs  no  com- 
ment from  us,  save  the  expression  of  a  grate- 
ful sentiment  for  the  kindly  recognition  of  our 
labors,  our  integrity,  and  the  status  of  the 
journal  we  seem  called  upon  to  edit. 


which  places  the  subject  in  the  company  of 
probabilities,  or  inferentialities.  If  we  Im, 
I)erhaps  we  may  be  able  to  say  more  about  it 
six  weeks  later  in  the  season,  for  which  we 
are  content  to  wait. 


FEBRUARY   SNOWS 

-  The  morning  of  February  1st,  1882,  was  ush- 
ered in  by  an  eight  inch  snow,  followed  by  one 
of  about  twelve  inches  on  the  4ih,  but  it  can- 
not be  said  that  the  temperatnre  was  uncom- 
fortably cold.  On  the  morning  of  llie  2nd 
(candlemas)  the  clouds  had  entirely  dispersed, 
and  the  sun  shone  out  bright  and  clear.  This 
according  to  an  ancient  tradition  (perhaps 
confined  to  Pennsylvania  alone)  was  ominous 
of  a  prolonged  winter,  and  a  late  spring.  It 
was  ground-hog  day,  and  the  tradition  is 
something  like  the  following  : 

If  the  ground-hog  comes  out  of  his  hole  on 
candlemas  and  sees  his  shadow  reflected  by 
the  sun,  he  immediately  returns  to  his  winter 
lair,and  resumes  his  state  of  hibernation  for  sis 
weeks  longer.  But  if  the  sky  is  clouded  and 
he  is  unaVile  to  see  his  shadow,  he  remains 
out,  and  the  spring  will  be  an  early  one.  We 
are  unwilling  to  say  anything  calculated  to 
undermine  this  ancient  conceit,  but  really  the 
groundhog  is  not  much  of  a  prophet  after  all. 
Si.v  weeks  from  candlemas  would  carry  us  to 
about  the  17th  of  March,  which  is  "St.  Pat- 
rick's day  in  the  morning."  Now,  we  are 
nearly  "three-score  and  ten,"  and  yet  we 
never  knew  Spring  to  commence  much  before 
the  17th  of  March,  but  have  known  it  lo  be 
"bitter  cold"  ctfter  that  date  on  frequent  occa- 
sions,    Besides,  there  is  that  quallifying  "if," 


\A^OOD-WORMS. 

"An  old  experieiiced  farmer  says  that  hick- 
ory cut  in  July  or  August  will  not  become 
worm-eaten.  Oak,  chestnut,  walnut  or  other 
timber  cut  from  tlie  middle  of  July  to  the 
last  of  August  will  last  twice  as  long  as  when 
cut  in  winter.  When  oak  is  cut  at  this  season, 
if  kept  off  the  ground, it  will  season  through  if 
two  feet  in  diameter,  and  remain  perfectly 
sound  for  many  years;  whereas  if  cut  in  win- 
ter or  spring  it  will  become  sap-rotten  in  a 
fbw  years." 

Perhaps  the  most  common  worm  tliat  in- 
fests hickory  timber  is  the  larva  of  the  "Paint- 
ed Clytus,"  [Clytus  p/rtus)  a  longhorned  Beetle 
{Lonaicornia)  of  a  dark  mottled  greenish  color, 
striped  obliquely  with  yellow  on  the  wing- 
covers,  and  transversely  on  the  thorax.  Tlie 
"Locust-tree  borer"  (Clytus rohinia)  similarly 
marked,  is  very  nearly  like  the  first  named  ; 
so  much  so  indeed  as  to  be  easily  confounded 
with  it,  and  some  entomologists  are  of  opin- 
ion that  the  species  are  identical,  or  at  most, 
only  varieties.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  paint- 
ed clytus  is  usually  found  in  early  spring — 
even  as  early  as  the  beginning  of  April,  or  of 
May — whilst  the  locust-tree  clytus  is  usually 
found  in  early  autumn.  Many  years  ago,  be- 
fore coal  was  used  as  a  houseliold  fuel  as  uni- 
versally as  it  is  now,  we  laid  in  our  supply  of 
hickory  wod  in  autumn.  This  we  had  sawed 
in  convenient  lengths  to  suit  the  size  of  the 
stove.  Invariably,  almost  every  spring  these 
beetles  would  evolve  by  hundreds,  and  issue 
through  the  cellar  grate.s.  After  a  week  or  ten 
days  the  insects  would  entirely  disappear,  and 
no  clvtes  would  be  seen  until  about  the  month 
of  September,  or  early  in  October,  when  the 
different  species  of  solidayo  would  be  fairly 
swarming  with  them.  This,  together  with  a 
difterence  in  the  length  of  their  horns  {an- 
tenna) and  other  minor  characters  has  been 
deemed  sufficient  to  establish  two  species  of 
these.  Now,  if  hickory  wood  is  cut  before 
these  insect  deposite  their  eggs  in  it,  it  is  not 
likely  to  be  infested  by  these  worms,  and  the 
same  may  be  said  of  oaks,  chestnut,  walnut 
and  other  timber.  More  respect  must  be  paid 
to  the  season  in  which  the  mature  insects  are 
abroad,  pair  and  oviposit, whatever  the  month 
may  be.  Cutting  timber  in  July  and  August 
might  elude  the  attacks  of  the  locust  clytus, 
because  tlie  sexes  are  usually  found  in  cotu  on 
the  bloom  of  the  solidago  in  September, 
and  as  late  as  October  ;  but  we  think  it  would 
have  to  be  cut  in  this  latitude,  before  July  to 
elude  the  attacks  of  the  painted  clytus,  or 
whatever  the  woodboring  insect  may  be.  The 
whole  success  of  eluding  the  attacks  of  wood- 
boring  insects  hinges  upon  their  ovipositing 
periods.  If  the  substances  which  form  niduses 
for  their  eggs  are  removed  before  the  eggs  are 
deposited  they  are  likely  to  escape;  always 
provided  the  insects  are  indifferent  whether  it 
is  fallen  or  standing  timber.  These  periods 
the  farmer  has  Ijetter  opportunities  to  ob- 
serve than  the  closet  entomologist.  When- 
ever he  finds  beetles  in  cotu  he  may  infer 
that  the  next  act  after  that,  will  be  the  de- 
position of  eggs.  Separate  from  these  circum- 
stances, days^  weeks,  months  and  signs  mean 


nothing.  The  instincts  of  insects  may  lead 
them  to  avoid  fallen  timber  because  of  its  li- 
ability to  be  used  before  their  progeny  could 
be  developed  therein,  or  because  the  eggs  re- 
quire some  moisture  to  facilitate  incubation  ; 
or  because  both  the  eggs  and  the  newly  ex- 
cluded embryo  might  be  sun-killed  before  the 
latter  could  penetrate  hard  or  dry  timber. 
Nothing  is  more  fatal  to  the  young  larvie  and 
eggs  of  some  insects  than  a  hot  sun.  In  per- 
fect freedom  insects  would  hardly  deposit 
their  eggs  on  stone  or  iron. 

The  foregoing  has  no  relation  to  those  wood- 
boring  insects  that  manifest  a  preference  for 
dead  timber,  whether  standing  or  fallen,  de- 
cayed parts  of  living  timber,  or  that  which  is 
very  mnch  rotted;  but  even  many  of  these 
choose  such  parts  of  it  as  contain  some  mois- 
ture, whilst  others  may  be  found  in  timber 
almost  as  hard  and  dry  as  old  bones. 


PLANTING  TREES   ON  RAILWAY  EM 
BANKMENTS. 

In  our  sylvian  enthusiasms,  our  theories  of 
tree  replenishment  may  not  be  borne  out  by 
practice.  A  writer  in  the  Journal  of  Forestry, 
for  December,  1881,  discourses  on  "some  ob- 
jections or  restrictions  which  apply  to  plant- 
ing and  rearing  timber  on  railway  embank- 
ments;" and  briefly  indicated,  they  are,  '■'■First, 
the  risk  of  windfall;  second,  the  risk  of  fire; 
third,  the  lodgment  of  leaves  against  the  rails; 
and  fourth,  the  hindrance  of  view  over  the 
adjacent  country." 

AVheii  we  reflect  that  the  great  storm  which 
passed  over  Leicestershire,  England,  last  Oc- 
tober, uprooted  or  ruinously  damaged,  on  the 
estates  of  Belvoir  Castle  alone,  319  oaks,  165 
spruce,  266  larch,  162  elms,  124  ash,  70  span- 
i.sh  chestnut,  13  linn,  18  sycamore,  19  beech, 
15  poplar,  16  birch,  6  cherry,  2  each  of  silver 
fur  and  Turkey  oak,  6  of  Scotch  fir,  and  1 
each  of  mountain-ash,  bird-cherry,  maple  and 
horse-chestnut  trees,  and  that  usually  the 
United  States  is  more  stormy  than  England, 
we  must  admit  a  very  serious  obst  cle  to  the 
enterprise. 

Again,  when  we  reflect  upon  the  sorrowful 
devastations  of  the  forest  fires  of  Michigan  a 
few  months  ago,  the  effects  of  which  her  peo- 
ple arc  still  suffering,  we  are  compelled  to  ac- 
knowledge an  other  source  of  danger,  especial- 
ly if  any  of  the  resinous  pinesshould  be  planted. 
(The  leaves  of  pines  burn  readily  in  conse- 
quence of  the  turpentine  they  contain,  even 
when  quite  green).  Although  the  third  ob- 
jection might  be  obviated  by  ''sweepers"  in 
front  of  the  wheels,  and  at  any  rates  would 
only  continue  for  a  brief  season  each  year, 
yet  the  lodgment  of  these  leaves  in  excava- 
tions might  become  a  source  of  danger  for  an 
indefinite  period,  and  moreover,  would  al- 
ways be  in  danger  of  being  ignited  in  dry 
weathei. 

The  hindrance  of  a  view  of  the  adjacent 
country  would  be  a  serious  objection  to  those 
who  travel  for  pleasure,  and  desire  to  see  the 
country  they  are  passing  through.  However 
beautiful  the  trees  may  become,  to  have  them 
on  either  side  of  a  road  for  hundreds  of  miles 
— or  perhaps  thousands — would  he  like  pass- 
ing through  a  long  forest — or  a  deep  cut  or 
tunnel— and  hence  it  would  become  monoto- 
nous if  not  a  darli  and  gloomy  avenue  of 
transit, 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


19 


Tho  risks  from  wiiidfalls  would  doubtless, 
in  time,  become  a  very  coiisidenilile  one,  and 
perhaps  the  main  one.  In  the  dim  long  ago, 
it  seemed  to  liave  been  tacitly  understood 
that  the  poor  people  of  the  towns  and  villages 
of  our  Stale,  were  privileged  to  gather  the 
wind  falls  of  contiguous  forests  and  appropri- 
ate thrui  to  their  own  use.  At  all  events  they 
did  gather  theui  and  carry  them  home,  and  no 
owner  of  forest  premises  ever  interfered  with 
their  right  to  do  so,  and  perhaps  would  have 
been  looked  upon  as  a  very  mean  man  if  he 
had. 

Now,  we  well  remember  how  tliickly  the 
ground  of  those  forests  was  strewn  with  wind- 
falls after  every  storm,  and  how  eagerly  the 
poor  hied  themselves  thither  to  get  the  lirst 
choice  of  them,  and  this  was  particularly  the 
case  when  the  trees  were  large  and  old.  Think 
of  a  train  of  cars  entering  such  a  dangerous 
avenue  on  a  dark  and  stormy  night,  feeling 
its  way  cautiously  for  a  whole  night  in  mo- 
mentary fear  of  encountering  these  windfalls 
on  the  track. 

Again,  where  would  railroad  comjiauics 
find  room  to  plant  their  trees?  "Where  the 
roads  ran  at  grade  there  might  be  little  difli- 
culty,  but  where  they  penetrated  hills  by  deep 
excavations,  or  where  elevated  on  high  em- 
bankments, they  evidently  would  be  compel- 
led to  i)lant  them  on  the  sides  of  tho.se  exca- 
vations and  embankments,  and  thus  the  pro- 
jecting limbs  would,  in  time,  spread  and 
interfere  with  the  transit  of  cars,  or  with  the 
etlicieney  of  the  telegraph  wires.  They  could 
not  plant  them  along  the  margins  of  their 
grants,  for  there  they  would  tr  spass  upon  the 
contiguous  property;  morever,  railroad  com- 
panies are  granted  the  right  of  way  to  trans- 
port passengers  and  merchandise,  and  not  to 
convert  them  into  timber  forests,  jeopardiz- 
in>;  the  lives  and  properly  of  their  jiatrons. 

We  give  these  views  for  what  they  may  be 
worth,  and  not  as  an  unqualified  endorsement 
of  them,  nor  yet  as  a  positive  dissent.  There  is 
evidently  two  sides  to  the  question,  and  be- 
fore we  commit  ourselves  to  either  side,  we 
should  contemplate  the  subject  both  pro  and 
con.  It  doubtless  would  be  pleasant  to  ride 
through  a  long  shaded  avenue  in  summer 
time,  but  if  this  should  add  to  the  present 
burden  of  danger,  much  might  be  lost  and 
nothing  gained. 

THE  LARGEST  TREE   IN  THE  WORLD. 

"  The  biggest  tree  in  the  world  is  not  in 
California,  as  every  one  supposed,  but  in  Aus- 
tralia. The  Champion  of  the  Yosemite  Val- 
ley must  give  way  to  the  "Peppermint"  trees, 
on  the  Dandenong  rauge  of  hills  in  Australia. 
Baron  Von  Muller  who  is  a  great  authority  on 
botanical  subjects,  asserts  that  he  has  seen  one 
of  these  trees  of  the  enormous  height  of  St. 
Paul's  Cathedral,"  4^iO  feet. 

The  above  paragraph  is  credited  to  Land  and 
Water,  by  the  Journal  of  Forcstri/.  This  will 
never  do.  We  must  find  a  tree  480  feet  and 
one  inch  in  height,  even  if  we  have  to  si)lice 
it.  Perhaps  the  great  Santa  Barbara  grape 
vine  might  be  irellised  up  to  a  greater  height 
than  the  Australian  peppermint,  but  then  it 
would  hardly  pay,  as  they  would  be  sure  to 
"beat  it"— perhaps  with  a  pumpkin  vine— in 
Australia.  The  race  in  "big  things"  seems 
to  lie  between  California  and  Australia,  and 


are  mere  specta- 


tho  remainder  of  the  worl 
tors. 

On  a  "second  thought,"  perhaps,  it  would 
be  better  just  now  to  "divide  the  honors,"  for 
the  same  authority  nominally  accords  to  New 
York  Stale — "(/ic  lanjcst '  orrliurd  in  the 
ii'or/fZ,"  namely,  that  belonging  to  Mr.  Kinst- 
ry,  on  the  l)ank.s  of  the  llud.son,  containing 
24,000  yapple-trees,  4,000  cherry-trees,  1,000 
pear-trees,  500  peach-trees,  500  chestnut-trees, 
•JOO  plum-trees,  15,000  grape-vines,  and  0.000 
raspberry-trees.  Of  apples  alone  Mr.  K.  sold 
over  ;jl),OOU  barrels,  and  a  proportionate  quan- 
tity of  other  kmds  of  fruit  last  year.  Taken 
as  a  whole,  Mr.  Kinstry's  may  be  the  largest 
orchard  in  the  world  ;  but,  if  the  number  of 
peach  trees  was  thousands  instead  of  hun- 
dreds, it  would  not  equal  some  of  the  peach 
orchards  of  the  little  Slate  of  J)elaware,  and 
the  plums  can  be  outnuuibcred,  we  think,  by 
orchards  in  Michigan. 

We  are  not  sure  that  big  trees,  big  orchards 
and  big  farms,  ;ire  the  best  things  for  the  gen- 
eral welfare  and  eciuity  of  a  country — and  this 
might  also  ajiply  to  big  establisbmenls  of  any 
kind,  uule.ss  it  were  such  as  could  not  be  con- 
ducted on  small  or  medium  scales — as  rail- 
roads and  canals  for  instance,  and  which  can- 
not accomplish  their  objects,  or  accommodate 
the  demands  of  the  public,  without  traversing 
hundreds  or  thousands  of  miles. 


SHIFTY,  THRIFTY,  FRANCE. 

"The  Montez.uma  (N.  Y.)  marshes  are  like- 
ly to  become  as  valuable  as  a  coal  mine.  The 
nuirl  is  being  shipped  to  France  by  the  thou- 
sands of  tons,  being  used  there  as  a  deodoriz- 
er and  entering  into  the  manufacture  of  arti- 
ficial fertilizers.  Seeing  that  we  are  export- 
ing so  niueb  fertilizfng  matter  in  Ihe  shape  of 
cereals,  and  Ijeef'  pork  and  mutton,  we  really 
oMght  to  keep  all  crude  fertilizing  matter  at 
home  to  replenish  those  tields  whose  fertility 
has  been  shipped  to  Europe." 

The  French  seem  to  know  "whats  what" 
on  subjects  of  "fragrance  and  fertility;"  some- 
thing which  we  Americans  are  slow  in  learn- 
ing. Marl,  tli£  qualities  of  which  should  be 
familiar  to  American  farmers,  is  aksolutely 
unknown  in  many  districts  of  our  country, 
not  very  far  either  from  localities  where  thou- 
sands of  tons  of  it  have  been  imbedded  these 
many  hundreds— perhaps  thousands— of  years. 

The  next  step  may  be  for  France  to  send 
our  marl  back  to  us  again,  in  the  form  of  ex- 
pensive fertilizers.  Perhaps  then  it  would  be- 
come popular,  for  it  would  be  French,  and 
'you know'  we  are  a  very  "Freuchy  people  in 
tastes.  Here  we  sweat  and  odorizc,  and 
France  .sends  over  and  takes  our  deodorizers. 
They  are  a  wonderfully  prolific  peoph;  any 
how,  in  scientific,  domestic,  manufacturing 
and  social  exi)edients  and  economics;  and  al- 
though comparatively  poor  in  area  and  virgin 
fertility,  yet  they  are  rich  in  resources,  and 
could  live  sumi)tuously  on  what  we  waste,  or 
willfully  throw  away. 

"A  market  for  the  sale  of  toads  lo  garden- 
ers is  held  every  week  in  Paris.  A  hundred 
good  toads  bring  from  .$15  to  $17.  They  are 
brought  packed  in  damp  moss  in  well-ventila- 
ted ciwks." 

There  it  is  again:  the  next  step  will  be  to 
import  American  toads,  as  companions  to  our 
marl.  As  we  are  said  to  be  a  money  getting 
people,  it  would  not  be  surprising,  if  some  of 
our  enterj)rising  experts  would  engage  in  the 


exportation  of  toads — especially  if  it  "  pays" 
;— seeing  that  we  have  such  a  low  appreciation 
of  them  as  domestic  auxiliaries  on  this  side  of 
the  Atlantic. 

"The  highest  mountain  on  the  north  Ameri- 
can continent,  is  Mount  St.  F.lias  in  Alaska, 
who.se  elevation  is  ; 7,780  feet.  Next  to  it 
eonie  the  volcano  of  Popocala[)etl,  in  Mexico, 
17,70(1  feet,  and  Orizaba,  also  in  Mexico, 
17,370  feet. 

We  own  the  liighest  mountain:  that  surely 
is  siiinc  compensation.  France  can't  deprive 
us  of  that  "any  way."  Hut  should  the  ice 
crop  fail,  we  may  find  her  hankering  after  our 
Alaska  ice.  Ulu-  would  profit  by  it,  although 
wc,  it  seems,  cainiot.  AVell,  let  her  take  it, 
and  the  marl  and  toads  along  with  it.  She 
can't  take  our  highest  mountain,  nor  our  nox- 
ious insects  {indeed  these  she  u'on't  take,  she 
is  satisfied  with  our  phijUoxera)  nor  our 
stenches. 

Irony  apart,  these  paragraphs  carefully 
culled,  are  significant.  Before  another  cen- 
tury in  our  history  tran.spires,  our  country 
may  have  a  more  practical  illustration  of  the 
use  of  marl  and  toads,  and  perhaps  of  high 
mountains  too,  than  it  has  now.  These  arc 
the  bountiful  provisions  of  nature,  that  liave 
been  permitted  by  a  power  outside  of  nature, 
for  our  utilization  when  the  proper  time  and 
circumstances  hanuonize  in  their  discovery 
and  development. 

KITCHEN  GARDEN  FOR   FEBRUARY. 

In  the  Middle  States,  frost  usually  prevents 
out-door  ellbrts  in  the  way  of  gardening. 
Next  month  however,  will  bring  its  labors, 
and  we  can  now  only  prepare  to  follow  them. 
It  is  presumed  all  per.sons  into  whose  hands  t..is 
Journal  is  likely  to  fall  are  jirovided  with  that 
cheap  and  simple  means  of  enjoyment,  a  HoT- 
liED,  for  forwarding  tender  vegetables.  AVe 
do  not  mean  the  more  expensive  structure 
under  which  delicacies  are  provided  ready  for 
the  table,  but  a  plain  box,  of  suitable  size  and 
figure,  with  sash  and  shutter  to  fit,  under 
which  plants  ol'<-ahb(i(jc,  tomalo,  cjij-plant,  &c., 
may  be  raised  in  anlicipalion  of  spring,  and 
on  its  arrival,  to  be  transplanted  in  the  open 
air.  If  there  be  one  who  has  a  garden  still 
unfurnished  with  what  we  have  just  described, 
let  him  lake  our  word  for  it  he  will,  on  trial, 
thank  us  for  urging  its  immediate  provision; 
no  country  family  can  half  enjoy  the  comforts 
within  reach  who  are  unprovided  with  such 
a  structure;  a  glance  at  one  in  use  will  give 
the  necessary  information  as  to  the  construc- 
tion. Towards  the  close  of  this  month  (if  the 
weather  bc'very  severe  it  may  be  prudent  to 
defer  it  awhile),  the  seeds  just  named  may  be 
planted  under  glass;  watch  them  lest  they 
sutler  from  frost,  or,  as  is  not  unfrequently 
the  case,  from  want  of  suflicient  air  as  the 
weather  becomes  milder,  when  they  all  need 
increased  water.  If  the  remarks  under  the 
head  of  January  are  referred  to,  perhaps  some- 
thing may  be  found  which  will  apply  with 
equal  force  to  the  present  month. 

We  can  only  speak  in  general  terras  of  the 
work  which  may  be  advantageously  done  now, 
preparatory  to  the  active  season  which  ap- 
proaches. The  thoughtful  man  will  study 
out  the  subject  for  him.self  and  leave  no- 
thing undone  which  may  expedite  the  varied 
and  i>iessing  labors  of  spring.  If  tools  and 
implements   are  likely  to  be  needed,  ho  will 


20 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[  February  1 


provide  them  in  due  season;  repair  the  old 
ones,  examine  and  realize,  if  need  be,  the 
gashes  of  the  forcing  frames,  long  before  they 
are  actually  required;  overhaul  his  stock  of 
seeds,  and  make  out  a  list  of  those  which  may 
be  needed,  so  that  they  may  be  in  hand  before 
the  time  of  sowing:  thus  not  only  his  inte- 
rest, but  his  personal  comtort  will  be  advanc- 
ed, and  those  little  trifles  which  perplex  the 
careless  and  improvident,  may  be  made  sources 
of  enjoyment.  With  each  duty  discharged 
at  the  proper  time,  with  "a  place  for  every 
thing  and  everything  in  its  place,''  many 
rough  spots  m  life's  journey  may  be  made 
smoother. — Landreth^s  Eur.  Reg. 

Comment  on  the  above  is  unnecessary.  It 
speaks  for  itself,  and  contains  the  essence  of 
the  admonition— "He  that  is  forewarned  is 
forearmed,"— or  at  least  he  may  be,   if  he 

will. 

^ 

POULTRY   EXHIBITION. 

This  rare  peageant,  which  finally  closed  on 
Wednesday  evening  at  10  o'clock,  January  18, 
1882,  was  the  distinguishing  feature  of  the 
month,  in  the  domestic  history  of  Lancaster 
county;  and,  independent  of  its  pecuniary 
outcome,  it  may  be  "scored"  as  an  unquali- 
fied success,  as  it  deserved  to  be.  Whatever 
indifference  may  be  manifested  in  quarters 
from  which  we  would  naturally  look  for  active 
sympathy,  one  thing  seems  certain;  namely, 
that  there  is  considerable  of  a  "chicken- 
fever"  in  Lancaster  city  and  county,  and  any 
one  who  visited  the  exhibition  must  have  been 
impressed  with  the  evidence  that  the  chicken 
was  determined  to  be  "seen  and  heard." 

The  "birds"  themselves,  very  graphically 
represented  the  different  nationalities  of  the 
human  family,  and  their  vociferations,  atti- 
tudinizings,  genuflections  and  gyrations  may 
fitly  have  represented  the  babel  and  the  move- 
ments upon  some  foreign  quay,  where  diverse 
nations  are  wont  to  meet  in  promiscuous  in- 
tercourse, although  limited  by  a  ruling  power 
apart  from  themselves.  The  awards  of  the 
premiums  will  be  found  on  another  page  in 
this  number  of  tlie  Farmer,  where  it  finds  a 
permanent  record  and  may  be  referred  to  by 
those  who  participated  in  the  exhibition,  when 
other  records  have  perished.  xVnd  that  is  not 
all.  It  stands  as  a  limng  record,  creditable  to 
the  energy  and  perseverance  of  its  originators 
and  conductors. 


RULES  AND   EXCEPTIONS. 


Hybrids  Not  Always  Barren. 
The  general  sterility  of  the  mule  has  given 
rise  to  an  Impression  that  hybrids  are  gene- 
rally sterile,  and  indeed  the  term  mule  and 
hybrid  have  become  almost  synonymous.  Sci- 
entific agriculturists  and  other  philosophers 
have  even  built  theories  on  this  suppc^sed  uni- 
versal sterility,  and  we  are  not  sure  but  some 
theories  in  the  popular  general  science  of  the 
day  are  founded  on  those  supposed  facts.  But 
as  "one  swallow  does  not  make  a  summer,  so 
does  not  this  one  great  fact  about  the  mule 
make  a  general  law.  Facts  opposing  this  gen- 
eral application  of  the  principle  are  numerous 
and  must  be  familiar  to  most  observing  per- 
sons. One  of  the  most  interesting  that  we 
have  seen  recently  relates  to  the  progeny  of 
the  common  buffalo  and  the  domestic  cow. 
The  progeny  breed  freely  and  are  said  to  be 
good  milkers,  and  there  is  even  some  prospect 
that  the  fact  may  be  utilized  in  the  pr.  duction 
of  a  very  hardy  and  valuable  race. 


It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  race  of  obser^" 
ers  is  so  limited,  while  students  evryewhere 
abound.  Though  the  fact  that  hybrids  are  not 
necessarily  sterile  is  sustained  by  numerous 
instances  if  people  will  only  look  about  them, 
few  know  of  it  who  are  studying  up  these 
questions,  not  because  they  do  not  exist,  but 
because  they  are  not  in  the  books.'' — German- 
town  Telegraph. 

Time  was,  within  our  remembrance,  when 
the  mule  was  booked  and  discussed  without  an 
exception,  as  a  perfectly  sterile  animal,  but, 
subsequently  a  voice  came  up  from  Alabama 
that  a  female  mule  had  foaled,  just  as  any 
other  female  animal  of  the  horse  kind  would. 
This  then  was  an  exception  to  the  rule,  in  the 
minds  of  those  who  credited  the  story.  Then 
came  a  similar  report  from  Florida,  from 
Kentucky  and  elsewhere,  but  nothing  authen- 
ticated, save  by  newspaper  paragraphs.  Per- 
haps none  of  these  cases  were  sufficiently  au- 
thentic to  break  the  theoretical  rule  in  the 
minds  of  many  scientists.  Now  however,  ac- 
cording to  our  extract  below,  taken  from  the 
National  Live  Stock  Journal,  the  French  sa- 
vants at  least,  have  been  compelled  to  admit 
the  fact.  This,  of  course  totally  destroys  the 
rule,  because  that  can  hardly  be  considered  a 
rule  to  which  there  are  so  many  exceptions; 
and  yet  there  are  admitted  rules  to  which,  it 
is  said,  there  are  more  exceptions  than  cases 
that  are  covered  by  the  rule. 

But,  then,  single  isolated  facts,  however 
well  attested,  do  not  entirely  exhaust  tlie 
subject,  for  there  are  phases  of  the  question 
suggested  by  both  of  our  quotations,  that 
would  seem  to  need  a  more  deffinite  exem- 
plification, especially  in  regard  to  the  fer- 
tilizing animal— whether  an  asinus  or  a  ca- 
ballus.  Moreover,  the  fertile  or  non-fertile 
character  of  the  progeny  involves  a  question 
of  some  interest.  If  the  cause  of  this  depar- 
ture from  a  general  rule  can  be  determined, 
the  matter  might  be  turned  to  additional 
profit  in  mule-culture.  As  the  Telcgrajjhsug- 
gests,  it  would  be  well  for  tliose  "who  are 
studying  up  these  questions,"  to  investigate, 
and  if  they  can  find  nothing  "in  the  books," 
to  see  that  it  is  duly  placed  on  record  there. 
A  Breeding  Mare  Mule. 

A  breeding  mare  mule  was  recently  exhib- 
ited at  theJardin  d'Acclimatation  in  Paris, 
which  has  produced  three  colts.  As  the 
French  savants  have  hitherto  been  very  in- 
credulous as  to  reports  of  mule  breeding,  it 
is  stated  that  they  carefully  inquired  into  this 
case,  and  became  satisfied  that  it  was  true. 
We  have  heard  of  mare  mules  occasionally 
breeding  in  America,  but  we  do  not  recollect 
the  year  and  locality  of  this,  or  whether  the 
sire  was  a  jack  or  a  stallion,  and  shall  be 
obliged  to  any  of  our  readers  wlio  can  furnish 
these  particulars;  also,  what  sort  of  an  ani- 
mal the  produce  turned  out  to  be.  In  the 
above  instance  of  mule  breeding  in  France, 
the  sire  was  a  stud-horse. — Chicago  Live- 
StoVk  Journal. 


WRITING   FOR  THE  FARMER. 

Friend  Rathvon:  "Why  is  it  that  our  peo- 
ple of  Lancaster  county  will  not  write  more 
for  the  Farmer?  Surely  there  are  many  who 
could  give  valuable  information.  More  origi- 
nal matter  would  make  the  paper  more  inte- 
resting."—J.  i3.  G. 

"  That's  so  " — eminently  and  absolutely  so 
— and  yet  tlie  desirable  thing  is  not  done; 
but  we  can  conscientiously  .say  it  is  not 
through  any  example,  any  unwillingness,  or 


any  refusal  of  ours.  We  have  however  erect- 
ed no  tribunal  before  which  we  arreign  any 
one  for  delinquencies  of  this  kind.  Contribu- 
tions of  this  kind,  like  church  contributions, 
should  be  voluntary.  There  is  no  power  ex- 
cept self-compulsion  that  can  be  legitimately 
exercised  in  such  a  matter.  If  those  who  are 
able  to  write,  choose  to  "pass  over  Jordan" 
without  having  left  a  record  for  the  benefit  of 
posterity,  they  are  not  accountable  to  us.  It 
would  be  a  great  relief  to  us,  if  we  had  more 
intelligent  contributors,  and  would  greatly 
add  to  the  interest  of  the  journal,  the  editor- 
ial labors  of  which,  have  devolved  upon  us 
these  many  years  ;  but  we  must  reconcile  our- 
selves to  the  situation.  It  cannot  continue 
forever,  and  we  do  not  believe  that  our  con- 
dition in  the  "forever"  will  be  in  the  least 
damaged  through  the  labors  we  have  endured 
here  ;  because,  when  we  go  hence,  we  do  not 
expect,  or  even  desire,  to  go  to  a  land  of 
apathy  and  idleness,  but  to  one  of  use  and  per- 
petual progress;  and  our  capacity  of  enjoy- 
ment there  will  be  proportioned  to  our  eftbrts  to 
labor  usefully  here.  .  .  .  We  wish  some 
one  would  answer  our  aged  friend's  query:  we 
confess  we  cannot.  If  the  ship  can  be  saved 
by  throwing  us  overboard,  like  Jonah  of  old, 
we  will  cheerfully  submit  to  the  sacrifice.  All 
that  we  have  borne  in  conducting  the  Farmer 
thus  far  down  the  stream  of  time,  may  never 
be  known  until  our  "  book  of  life  "  is  opened. 
Perhaps,  if  a  local  journal  were  established  to 
advance  the  interests  of  our  secular  craft,  we 
might  be  as  remiss  in  our  contributions  to  its 
columns  as  those  are  who  ought  to  "write 
for  the  Farmer  ;"  but  we  think  we  would 
not.  A  lovetor  writing  however,  must  lieculti- 
vated,  founded  on  use,  before  men  will  be- 
come habitual  and  voluntary  writers;  unless 
they  write  for  emolument,  and  then  it  be- 
comes a  task. 

In  reply  to  our  venerable  friend's  financial 
inquiry,  we  would  say,  that  liis  remittance 
was  duly  received  and  placed  to  the  credit  of 
those  for  whom  it  was  intended  ;  and  the 
acknowledgment  will  be  found  on  the  labels] 
of  the  different  papers. 

As  pertinent  to   this  subject,  but  without  I 
claiming  that  w  fill   the   measure  of  the  fol- 
lowing from    the  columns  of  a  coutemperary  j 
journal,  we  quote  it  as  a  morally  wholesome  ad- 
monition to  all.  "Thousands  of  men  breathe,  j 
move  and  live:  pass  off  the  stage  of  life,  and  < 
are  heard  of  no  more.     Why?     They  did   not  I 
a  particle  of  good  in  the  world,   and   none 
were  blessed  by  them;  none  could   point  to] 
them  as  the  instruments  of  their  redemption: 
not  a  line  they  wrote,  not  a  word  they  spoke,  j 
could  be  recalled,  and  they  perished — their] 
light  went  out   in  darkness  and  they  were  re- 
memljered  no  more  than  the  insects  of  yester- 
day.    Will   you  thus  live  and  die?     Live  for] 
some  thing.   Do  good,  and  leave  behind  you  a] 
monument  of  virtue  that  the  storms  of  time] 
can  never  destroy.      Good  deeds  will  shine  as  | 
bright  on  earth  as  the  stars  of  heaven." 


EXCERPTS. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Georgia  has  fifty  cotton  mills  in  operation  | 
and  others  in  course  of  erection. 

The  last  census  return  place  the   "defec- 
tive "  list  of  persons  in  the  United  States  at  J 


1882.J 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


21 


over  500,000.  The  list  comprises  the  deaf' 
(liinili,  blind,  insane,  idiotic  and  jiauper. 

TwENTY-KivE  acres  of  tobacco  liave  been 
growu  this  year  at  Putney,  Vt.,  which  there- 
fore chiims  to  be  the  banner  town  in  the  State 
in  tliis  respect. 

"LYiN(i  ligures,"  says  Mr.  Dunlap,  of  The 
Chiiago  Tribune,  "  are  tliose  in  a  current 
newspaper  article  to  the  eftect  that  with 
$2,500  a  person  can  go  to  Dakota  and  realize 
a  net  profit  in  wheat  culture  of  S19,000  the 
first  year." 

TilK  statement  tliat  the  Canada  tiiistle  is 
spread inu;  over  a  large  part  of  the  Northern 
or  Middle  States  is  not  creditable  to  the  en- 
I  teri)rise  of  farmers.  It  should  be  eradicated 
by  eternal  visilance. 

The  Philadelphia  Farmer  has  already  pre- 
dicted that  there  will  not  be  even  a  fair  crop 
of  peaches  next  year,  should  the  coming  win- 
ter and  sjiring  be  favorable.  The  freezing 
last  winter  and  the  hot,  dry  fall,  told  severely. 
Blossom  buds,  usually  prominent  before  frost, 
are  shriveled  and  show  but  little  strength. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  Barton  drover.s 
handled  3,000  cattle  this  season,  and  two 
Craftbury  men  have  sold  7,000. 

If  the  novice  would  stick  to  one  or  two 
kinds  of  fowls  in  the  beginning,  less  losses  and 
disappointments  would  be  the  result. 

Oil  of  titrpentine  is  recommended  to 
keep  harness  free  from  mold. 

All  manner  of  decaying  vegetable  matter 
should  be  added  to  the  compost  heap  instead 
of  being  left  to  accumulate  about  the  door- 
yard,  where  it  will  prove  a  fruitful  source  ef 
malaria.  Turn  the  heap  occasionally  and 
keep  it  moist  to  prevent  fire  fang. 

Greex  manuring,  or  the  plowing  in  of 
green  crops,  is  especially  adapted  for  light, 
sandy  soils,  which  need  humus  to  increase 
their  retentive  power. 

A.  B.  Gkofp,  of  Michigan,  is  said  to  have 
exhibited  an  onion  seventeen  inches  in  cir- 
cumference, weighing  upward  of  two  pounds. 

A  MIXTURE  of  muriate  of  potash,  fish 
guano  or  sulphate  of  ammoniate  and  super- 
phosphate of  lime,  is  an  excellent  fertilizer 
for  corn. 

Oregon  had  100,000  tons  of  wheat  for  ex- 
port, this  year. 

Texcii,  a  French  food-fish,  have  been  in- 
troduced in  the  Central  Park  pond,  in  New 
York. 

AViiEN  artificial  teeth  were  made  of  ivory, 
the  canine  teeth  of  hippopotamus  were  highly 
valued  by  denti.sts  for  that  purpose,  on  ac- 
count of  keeping  color  better  than  any  other 
kind  of  ivory. 

In  the  construction  of  the  tubular  bridge 
over  Menai  strait,  England,  there  were  used 
2,000,000  bolts,  averaging  seven-eighths  of  an 
inch  in  diameter,  four  inches  in  length.  The 
quantity  of  iron  consumed  for  the  purpose 
amounted  in  length  to  120  miles,  and  in 
weight  '.100  tons. 

Probably  10.000  is  an  underestimate  of 
the  number  of  eggs  shed  annually  by  the 
herring. 

domestic. 
Combs  and  wattles  of  fowls  may  be  prevent- 
ed from  freezing  by  oiling  them  so  as  to  pre- 
vent their  getting  wet. 


Pigs  arc  able  to  consume  far  more  food  in 
proportion  to  tl>eir  weight  than  either  sheep 
or  oxen. 

The  Italian  bee  was  lir.ss  imported  into 
America  in  September,  18.50,  and  ever  since 
importation  and  home  breeding  of  queens  has 
been  constantly  gaining,  until  at  present  the 
supply  ralluT  exceeds  the  demand,  and  im- 
porters are  opening  a  new  field  t)y  introducing 
other  races  of  bees. 

I.IKE  the  blackberry,  the  raspberry  bears 
the  fruit  upon  the  cane  of  the  previous  year's 
growth,  which,  after  fruitage,  dies,  the  new 
cane  coming  forward  for  the  next  year's  crop. 

In  the  orchard  the  thumb  and  forefinger 
are  a  better  pruning  instrument  than  the 
knife,  and  the  latter  than  the  shears  or  the 
.saw;  but  the  former  must  be  used  in  the  nick 
of  time. 

Two  cows  well  sheltered  in  winter,  will 
produce  more  milk  and  butter  than  three  un- 
sheltered animals,  though  no  more  than  half 
the  feed  required  for  the  three  should  be  given 
to  the  two. 

If  the  cucumber  which  grows  nearest  the 
root  be  saved  for  seed  for  a  number  of  years 
in  succession,  the  result  will  be  a  smaller  and 
earlier  variety.  If  the  fruit  on  tlie  extremity 
be  saved  it  will  produce  a  larger  and  later 
variety. 

Whatever  you  undertake  in  the  poultry 
line  be  sure  to  cultivate  a  thorough  know- 
lege  of  its  details  before  launching  out  with 
full  steam  in  a  haphazard  way. 

Sheep  should  be  tagged  regularly,  and 
kept  clean.  They  should  be  culled  every 
year,  and  those  in  any  manner  deficient  in 
form  or  age  should  be  put  in  a  separate  pas- 
ture and  fattened  for  the  butcher. 

Eggs  from  hens  partake  in  a  great  degree 
of  the  flavor  and  quality  of  the  food,  proving 
that  they  should  be  fed  on  clean  wholesome 
food.  One  may  get  onions  instead  of  eggs  by 
feeding  hens  on  onions. 

Tomato  Soup.— One  pint  of  milk,  one 
quart  of  water,  one  pint  of  tomatoes;  two 
crackers  powdered,  and  one  and  a  half  tea- 
spoonfuls  soda.     Boil  twenty  minutes. 

To  break  up  setting  hens  liave  seven  pens^ 
one  for  each  day  of  the  week,  then  all  hens 
found  wanting  to  set  on  any  day  of  the  week 
should  be  put  in  the  pen  corresponding  to 
that  day.  Keep  them  in  five  days.  By  this 
arrangement  it  is  easily  told  how  long  each 
hen  or  pen  of  hens  have  been  in. 

Save  the  middle  grains  of  the  fine  ears  of 
corn  for  seed. 

Hogs  should  be  allowed  to  have  a  heap  of 
coal  ashes.  They  will  be  all  the  healthier  for 
it. 

Beef  and  mutton  are  not  flavored  by 'feed- 
ing turnips  to  the  animals— at  least  this  is  the 
statement  of  some  who  have  tried  it. 

An  orchard  should  never  be  planted  in  a 
clay  soil  unless  the  latter  is  underdrained, 
after  which  it  becomes  one  of  the  best  soils 
for  apples  and  pears. 

Let  every  farmer  keep  all  the  stock  he  can 
possibly  afford  to — and  generally  he  can  afford 
to  keep  more  than  he  does.  The  dependence 
of  farming  for  all  time  must  be  mainly  on 
stock. 


Young  cows  do  not  give  as  rich  milk  as  do 
those  of  mature  age.      A  lean  cow  gives  poor 
milk  and  a  fat  one  rich  milk. 
scientific. 

The  latitude  of  England  is  tlie  same  as  that 
of  Labrador,  and  the  former  country  is  only 
saved  from  the  coldness  and  desolation  of  the 
latter  by  the  warmtli  of  the  gulf  stream. 

Insects  are  often  attracted  from  a  distance 
by  artificial  flowers,  but  they  never  liglit  on 
them,  leading  us  to  believe  that  they  are 
guided  bv  some  other  sense  than  that  of  sight. 

It  is  recommended  that,  as  the  common 
ailanthus  tree  is  diiecious,  only  the  female 
trees  should  be  propagated  for  shade  in  towns, 
the  male  having  the  disagreeable  odor. 

The  assertion  that  iron  and  platinum 
when  raised  to  incandescence,  are  transparent 
to  light,  has  been  proved  false  by  a  series  of 
experiments. 

Some  engitieers  of  Dundee,  Scotland,  have 
tried  with  success  a  new  gun  for  throwing  a 
line  to  a  wrecked  vessel.  The  gun  is  about 
two  feet  in  length. 

The  impression  that  flowers  are  never 
found  double  in  a  wild  state  is  an  incorrect 
one,  the  fact  being  that  this  is  frequently  one 
of  nalure's  variations. 

Herr  Hansen  has  found  that  the  blue 
color  in  milk  is  due  to  the  presence  of  peculiar 
microscopical  organisms — known  as  bacteria 
— which  multiply  very  rapidly,  and  in  so 
doing  produce  a  blue  matter  resembling  ani- 
line. These  organisms  render  the  milk  unfit 
for  food,  especially  for  persons  of  weak  diges- 
tive power. 

M.  H.  F.  Blanforu  reports  that  he  has 
observed  white  ants  in  the  act  of  emitting 
rythmical  sounds.  Another  observer,  Mr.  F. 
P.  Pascoe,  has  heard  a  peculiar  sound,  in 
fields  of  Southern  Europe,  which  was  found  to 
be  the  song  of  a  small  lizard.  It  is  generally 
believed  that  these  creatures  have  uo  power 
of  producing  vocal  .»ounds. 

As  we  ascend  from  the  earth  the  air  grows 
thinner  and  thinner.  From  this  fact  astron- 
omers believe  that  the  limit  of  the  atmos- 
phere is  200  miles  from  the  earth's  surface. 

Coal  consists  of  from  eighty  to  ninety-five 
per  cent,  of  carbon  mixed  with  a  small  pro- 
portion of  mineral  substances,  which,  after  it 
i«  burned,  remain  as  ashes,  and  of  an  inflam- 
mable gas  contained  in  its  interstices. 

In  Alpine  regions  there  are  more  narrow, 
partly-closed  flowers  than  elsewhere,  and  a 
greater  proportion  of  long-tongued  insects, 
the  flora  seeming  to  be  exactly  adapted  to  the 
insects  feeding  on  its  honey. 

The  roes  of  various  kinds  of  fish  contain 
from  about  30,000  to  over  3,080,000  eggs. 

The  lion's  teeth  seem  formed  rather  for 
destruction  than  for  the  chewing  of  his  food. 

A  four-fingered  monkey,  in  its  native 
state,  has  been  seen  to  go  down  to  the  edge  of 
a  stream,  rinse  its  mouth  and  then  clean  its 
teeth  with  one  of  its  fingers. 

In  Bavaria  medical  men  arc  shorter  lived 
than  any  other  class.  Out  of  every  100  in- 
dividuals, 53  Protestants  clergymen,  41  pro- 
fessors, 39  lawyers  or  magistrates,  .34  Catholic 
priests,  but  only  26  doctors  reach  the  age  of 
50. 


22 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[February, 


The  octopus  has  a  gland  which  secretes  an 
inky  fluid,  and  this  be  squirts  out,  making  a 
thick,  dark  cloud  behind  him  which  baflles 
his  pursuer  at  the  same  time  that  it  helps 
himself  to  dart  away.  Mr.  Darwin  asserts 
that  the  octopus  often  takes  deliberate  aim  at 
an  enemy  when  it  squirts  out  this  unpleasant 
fountain. 

Ostriches,  when  the  full  number  of  eggs 
have  been  laid,  invariably  place  one  of  them 
outside  the  nest — the  nest  consisting  natur- 
ally of  a  hollow  scooped  out  of  the  land  by 
the  action  of  the  wings  and  legs  of  the  birds. 
It  has  been  found  that  these  eggs  are  reserved 
as  food  for  the  chicks,  which  are  often  reared 
in  a  natural  stall,  miles  away  from  a  blade  of 
grass  or  other  food. 

MORAL   ECONOMY. 

iNDtTSTET  need  not  wish. 

Truth  is  the  basis  of  every  virtue. 

Ataeice  is  the  mother  of  many  vices. 

The  path  of  truth  is  a  plain  and  safe  path. 

Old  injuries  are  seldom  canceled  by  new 
benefits. 

He  that  cannot  live  well  to-day  cannot  to- 
morrow. 

The  fountain  of  content  must  spring  up  in 
the  mind. 

Falsehood  sinks  us  into  contempt  with 
God  and  man. 

The  road  to  home  and  happiness  lies  over 
small  stepping  stones. 

The  touchstone  by  which  men  try  us  is 
most  often  their  own  vanity. 

Theee  is  a  long  and  wearisome  step  be- 
tween admiration  and  imitation. 

A  MAN  explodes  with  indignation  when  a 
woman  ceases  to  love  him,  yet  he  soon  finds 
consolation  ;  a  woman  is  less  demonstrative 
when  deserted,  and  remains  longer  incon- 
solable. 

It  is  hard  to  personate  and  act  a  part  long, 
for  where  trutli  is  not  at  the  bottom  nature 
will  always  be  endeavoring  to  return,  and  will 
peep  out  and  betray  itself  one  time  or  another. 

histoeical. 

Libraries  existed  in  Egypt  contempor- 
aneously with  the  Trojan  war. 

The  earliest  account  of  a  diving  bell  in 
Europe  is  at  Nuremburg,  1064.  "   .  - 

CHAucEEr  eceived  a  pitcher  of  wine  every 
day  from  the  cellar  of  Edward  III. 

The  tine  Syrian  sponge  is  usually  employed 
for  the  toilet,  owing  to  its  texture. 

On  account  of  the  scarcity  of  wood  in  India 
the  people  burn  manure  for  fuel. 

The  first  normal  school  in  America  was 
established  in  Concord,  Vt.,  in  -182.'!. 

Cloves  have  been  brought  into  the  Europe- 
an market  for  more  than  2,000  years. 

The  Egyptians  placed  a  mummy  at  their 
festal  boards  to  remind  them  of  immortality. 

STATISTICAL. 

The  value  of  property,  as  assessed,  for  pur- 
poses of  taxation,  in  the  United  States,  is 
$16,897,1.35,567,  or  $330.80  per  capita  for  a 
population  of  50,155,783.  The  New  England 
States,  with  4,010,529  of  the  population,  hold 
$2,652,070,586  of   the   property,   or  8601.27 


per  capita;  that  is  to  say,  with  considerably 
less  than  one-twelfth  of  the  population  they 
have  about  two-thirteenths  of  the  wealth  of 
the  country.  The  Middle  States  have  $5,- 
507,073,848  of  property  to  11,7.56,055  inhabi- 
tants, or  $473.55  per  capita;  the  Western 
States  have  $6,180,524,614  to  18,.524,989 
people,  or  $33.5.63  per  capita;  and  the  South, 
with  15,257,393  people,  assesses  its  own  pro- 
perty at  $2,360,246,890,  or  only  $1.55.29  for 
each  person.  The  States  which  have  the 
most  wealth  have  also  the  heaviest  debts.  In 
New  England  the  .state,  county  and  town  in- 
debtedness amounts  to  .$44.54  per  capita;  in 
the  Middle  States,  $41.57:  in  the  West, 
$13.17,  and  in  the  South,  $13.43.  The  dif- 
ference does  not  exactly  correspond  with  the 
difference  in  wealth,  but  it  does  approxi- 
mately. 


Contributions, 


For  The  Lanoasteu  Farmer, 
THE  EGG— ITS   CONTENTS  AND   HOW 
IT   IS   MADE. 
My  friend,  as  you  are  a  close  observer  of 
nature,  I  should  like  you  to  explain  to  me  the 
contents  of  this  egg,  and  how  it  is  made. 
It    is    composed  of  the  ova,   or    yolk;  and 
the    albumen,    or    white,    and    a  thin  skin 
covering  the  same,  and  a  shell  enclosing  the 
whole.     What  is  the  yolk  composed  of?    It  is 
composed  of  blood,  assimilated  through  the 
working  power  of  the  hen;  it  also  contains  a 
portion  of  oil,  derived  from  the  grain  that  she 
may  eat.     What  is  the  white  composed   of? 
It  is  a  thick  mucilage,  made  from  any  green 
substance  that  she  may  eat;  young  growing 
grass  is  preferable.      Hens  do  not  lay  so  well 
in  winter,  as  the  material   for  this  purpose  is 
in  its  dry  state;  the  skin  is  made  from  the 
refuse  of  the  woody,  fibrous  substance  of  the 
grass.     The  shell  is  composed  of  lime,  or  any 
hard    substance    easy  to  decompose;    oyster 
shell,  broken  in  small  bits,  is  the  best.  Where 
are  those  ovas  or  yolks  first  formed  'f    They 
grow  in  a  cluster  on  the  spine,  coming  through 
a  tuft  of    soft  skin,    perforated   with  small 
holes,  and  between  the  lungs  and  the  kidney 
(fowls  having  but  one),  there  is  one  forming 
every  twenty-four  or  thirty-six  hours,  so  long 
as  they  are  in  tlie  laying  mood.     How  long 
after  the  first  appearance  of  tlie  ova,  before 
the  egg  is   laid?      From  fifteen    to    twenty 
days;    the   ova,   or    yolk,  is    enclosed    in    a 
thin  skin;  as  it  grows    the    skin  stretches; 
and    when    matured,  the    skin    breaks,  and 
it  drops    out    into    the    mouth   of    the    ova 
duct,  which  is  somewhat  of  a  funnel  sha))e. 
The  mouth  then  closes,  and  the  yolk  is  swal- 
lowed into  the  first  division  of  the  duct ;  it 
then  opens  again,  ready  for  the  next,  always 
on  the 'alert.      When  two  drop  at  the  same 
time,  it  forms  a  double  yolk  ;  this  is  only  a 
freak  of  nature,  and  the  good  condition   of 
the  hen.     The  first  division  of  the  duct  is 
about  five  inches  in  length  ;  and  in  passing 
this  division  it  makes  three  revolutions,  and 
the  white  is  put  on  in  three  separate  layers. 
The  next  division  is  of  the  same   length,  and 
passing  in  a  rotary  motion,  turning  to  the 
left  with  the  small  end  first,  opening  the  way 
as  it  passes,  the  same  as  swallowing.   In  this 
division  is  where   the  skinning  process  is  per- 
formed ;  and  also  in  this  is  where  it  gets  its 


shape,  depending  on  the  freeness  of  the  duct 
to  yield  to  its  passage.     The  next  division  is 
six  inches  long  ;  in  this  it  receives  the  shell, 
which    is  a    thin  fluid,   in  color  to  suit  the 
breed  that  is  laying  it,  as  it  is  the  color  of  the 
egg  that  proves  the  genuineness  of  a  thorough- 
bred fowl.     At  the  terminus  of  the  third  divi- 
sion the  duct  is  of  a  globe  shape  ;  here  the 
egg  turns  over,  and  passes  big  end  first,  which 
is  head  first,  according  to  nature.     How  long 
is  the  ova  duct  ?     It  is  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
inches.  This  ova  duct  must  be  a  curiously  con- 
structed  affair.     It   is.     At   the   terminus  of 
each  division  there  is  an  elbow,  and  the  inner 
side  is  very  soft,  with  a  silk-like  feel,  and  is 
composed  of  folds,  each  one  lapping  partially 
over  the  other,  and  soft  and  pliable  ;  the  first 
division    being    the  coar-ser,   and  increasing 
in  fineness  of   folds,   and    more    numerous ; 
and    as    the    egg    passes    each    division,    it 
presses    from    beneath    them    the     amouut 
necessary  for  the  make-up  of  the  same,  and 
no  more.     How  is   this  egg   fertilized,   and 
when?    Through   the  influence  of  the  male 
bird,  which  passes  through  a  small  tube  or 
duet,  lying  along  the  spine  and  making  a  con- 
nection  with  the  cluster  of  small  undevelop- 
ed ovas.     How  long  will  this  egg  keep,  that 
I   may  rely   upon   its  hatching,  providing  I 
turn  it  over  every  day  ?    You  can't  turn  it 
over ;  you  may  turn  the  shell,  but  not  the 
inner  portion  of  the  egg,  as  it  is  hung  in  the 
centre  by  two  spiral  cords,  one  being  attach- 
ed to  each  end  of  the  yolk  made  fast  to  a 
thin  net-work  covering  the  yolk,  and  passes 
through  the   white  and   is  fastened  to    the 
membrane  or  skin  lining  the  shell.     Each  one 
of  those  cords  is  twisted  the  contrary  way 
from  the  other,   holding  it  the  heavy   side 
down  all  the  time.     This  proves  that  the  egg 
is  growing  and  forming  into  its  proper  state, 
whilst  passing  the  duct,  as  well  as  taking  on 
its  outward  coating  at  the  same  time.     Why 
is  the  head  of  the  chick  in  the  larger  end   of 
the  egg?    Because,  when  it  is  ready  to  extri- 
cate itself  it  has  a  greater  distance  to  draw 
back  its  head  and  propel  forward  again  with 
a  heavy  stroke,  until  the  shell  is  cracked  to 
admit  air.     This  is  its  first  breathing.     How 
is  it   that  it  strikes  the  place  every   time  ? 
Because  ils  head   and  neck  is  under  the  left 
wing  ;  therefore  it  is  supported  by  the  same, 
and  kept  on  a  level.     By  this  means  it  strikes 
the  same  place  every  time ;   it  soon  gains 
strength  and  knocks  a  hole  through  the  shell. 
What  is  its  mode  of  growth  in  the  shell?  It  is 
made  up  entirely  of  the  albumen  or   white; 
the  first  coating,  or  layer,  forms  the  bone  and 
sinews;  the  second  the  flesh, the  third  the  skin; 
the    first    formation  are  two    black  specks, 
which  are  the  eyes,  one  on  each  side  of  the 
spiral  cord  at  the  larger  end;  next  the  skull 
bone  between,  the  neck  and  spiue,  legs  and 
wings    attaching;  at  nine  days  there  is   life; 
at  the  end  of  two  weeks  the  white  is  consum- 
ed; the  two  spiral  cords  make  a  connection 
in  the  stomach  and  protrude  from  the  navel; 
now  being  formed  into  blood   veins,  and  en- 
closing the  yolk  in  a  network  of  small  ones; 
through  these  the  chick  derives  its  nourish- 
ment from  the  yolk;  transforming  back   to  its 
former  substance,  blood,   after  cracking  the 
shell,  it  gains  strength  very  fast,  and  those 
two  blood  veins  commence  drawing  into  the 
belly,  and  lifting  what  remains  of  the  yolk,. 


J.S82. 


The  Lancaster  farmer. 


23 


and  draws  it  in  iilso;  it  now  has  strengtli  to 
stretcli  out  its  tiny  legs  tlie  yollt  being  out  of 
the  way  of  its  toeniiils,  tlieie  is  no  danger; 
the  navpl  bein<;  closed,  and  with  its  feet  at 
the  bottom  and  head  and  sliouKlers  at  tlie 
top,  the  shell  divides  in  two  halves  and  the 
chick  rolls  out.  What  have  we  that  comes  in- 
to the  world,  I  may  say,  on  a  more  scientifical 
principle  than  the  fowl,  take  it  from  the 
tirst  formation  of  the  ova.  Such  is  nature; 
the  Almighty  has  made  all  things  in  wisdom, 
and  for  our  benelit,aiul  there  are  so  many  ways 
to  cook  the  egg,  also  the  chick,  and  every  way 
of  each  it  is  calculated  to  tickle  the  i)alate. 
Take  ( are  of  your  poultry.—  W.  1.  P. 

For  Thk  LANCASTni  Farmku, 
FRUIT    BELTS. 

Close  observers  could  hardly  have  failed  to 
iM.tice  that  for  a  number  of  years  past  certain 
sections  of  Lancaster  county  have  produced 
better  ai)ples  than  others.  The  section  lying 
east  of  a  line  drawn  northward  from  Chris- 
tiana through  Leacock,  West  Karl  and  the 
western  parts  of  Ephrata  and  Clay  townships, 
grows  finer  apples  than  the  section  west  of 
that  line.  In  the  southern  part  of  the  county 
is  another  small  fruit  belt.  This  includes 
part  of  Ifartic  and  Druraore,  Fulton 
and  Little  Britain  town^ihips.  An}'^  one  de- 
sirous of  verifying  these  assertions  need  only 
compare  the  fruit  brought  to  our  market  from 
New  Holland,  Ephrata  and  other  points  in 
the  several  tovvnsliiiis  named,  with  that 
brought  from  Concstoga,  Manor,  Hempfield 
and  other  places  in  the  western  section. 

How  can  we  account  for  this  difference  ? 
The  cause  cannot  be  in  the  soil,  as  that  is  not 
materially  different  in  the  several  locations. 
Latitude  and  longitude  cannot  have  a  marked 
effect  on  so  small  a  scope  as  a  single  county. 

Our  hot  and  dry  summers  for  a  number  of 
years,  no  dout,  have  been  the  great  hindrance 
that  we  had  to  contend  with  in  successful 
apple  culture.  Can  it  be  that  those  eastern 
and  southern  belts  have  more  rain  i* 

Onr  main  supply  of  rain  during  the  summer 
season,  comes  from  thunder  showers,  and 
these,  as  is  well  known,  are  more  or  less  sub- 
ject to  attraction  by  mountain  ranges  and 
large  streams  of  water. 

In  severe  drought,  for  many  years  past,  the 
obseivation  has  been  made  from  a  certain 
point  in  the  county,  that  a  thunder  shower  to 
reach  that  point  must  almost  invariably  arise 
north-east  from  that  point.  If  it  rises  only  a 
few  degrees  north  of  that  point  it  will  go  in 
an  eastern  direction  and  discharge  itself 
through  the  north-eastern  part  of  the  comity. 
If  the  shower  forms  a  few  degrees  further 
south,  it  will  discharge  itself  obliquely  across 
the  southern  part  of  the  county.  Very  often 
thunder  showers  starting  at  the  point  named, 
divide,  one  part  thereof  going  east,  while  the 
other  takes  the  southeastern  course. 

The  attractive  points,  no  doubt,  ai'e  the 
Conewago  hills  on  the  north  and  the  Snsque- 
lianna  river  on  the  south 

In  most  seasons  these  attractive  points  lose 
much  of  their  force,  and  then  thunder  show- 
ers appear  to  be  able  to  move  in  all  directions. 

The  past  season  thunder  showers  were 
rare,  the  drought  was  very  severe  over  the 
greater  part  of  the  country,  but  the  few 
thunder  showers  we  had   almost  invariably 


followed  the  Susijuehanna,  and  the  southern 
belt  suffered  but  little  from  drought,  as  the 
crop  of  apples,  potatoes  and  corn  there  raised 
fully  shows. — Casper  Hiller. 


CHINESE  FRUIT    PEAR. 

CoLt'.MniA,  Pa.,  February  Id, 

"  Slia  Icii,"  or  Chinese  Sand  Pi'ars. 
".Suet  leu,"  or  Cliiiiese  Snow  I'cars. 


ISS-J. 


Friend  .S.  >S'.  l{<ithrim : 

During  1S:!2,  I  got  a  tree  from  the  l:il(^  Wni. 
R.  Prince,  of  Flushing,  Long  Island,  New 
York.  It  grew  vigourously,  and  in  a  few 
years  produced  a  heavy  crop  of  its  large  and 
beautiful  fruit.  The  jiears  are  large  and 
showy,  but  they  never  become  soft  or  eatable, 
unless  cooked.  We  did  not  know  what  they 
were  good  for,  and  we  let  them  lot  on  the 
ground,  but  we  have  since  discovered  that  for 
canning,  for  preserves,  for  applebuttcr,  the.se 
l)ears  can't  be  excelled. 

If  you  wish  to  boil  applebutter,  and  us? 
them  with  the  cider  instead  of  apple,  you  will 
have  an  article  that  any  person  would  prefer 
to  all  apples— all  I  can  say  is — it  "tastes  dif- 
ferent !"  At  one  time  I  raised  a  lot  of  seed- 
lings; these  grew  from  two  to  five  feet  high 
the  first  season.  Other  seedling  pear  trees 
rarely  grew  as  many  inches  the  first  year.  Of 
course  I  thought  these  would  make  excellent 
stocks  to  work  on  other  pears  ;  but  I  soon 
found  that  other  pears,  though  growing  freely 
on  this  stock  for  a  year  or  two,  did  not  con- 
tinue their  vigor,  but  stopped  growing,  be- 
came stunted,  mossy,  and  bore  poor,  knotty 
fruit,  and  would  not  make  thrifty  trees.  Yet 
these  Chinese  and  crosses  all  take  kindly  on 
other  iiear  stocks  or  trees. 

A  friend  in  Columbia,  to  whom  I  gave 
grafts  many  years  ago,  set  them  on  top  of  a 
large  pear  tree;  and  this  has  never  been  in- 
jured by  cold,  blight,  or  any  thing  else,  but 
bears  lots  of  its  large  fruit  every  year. 

The  last  severe  winter,  (22'  below  zero), 
apparently  did  not  injure  any  of  my  trees,  yet 
the  flower  buds  must  have  bee;\  injured,  as 
none  of  my  trees  had  a  flower,  or  bore  a  single 
specimen  of  fruit  the  last  season. 

In  ISSO,  the  "Sha  lea"  and  my  seedling  both 
bore  heavy  crops,  though  quite  small  trees 
My  seedling  on  a  limb  four  feet  long  and  an 
inch  in  diameter  where  it  branches  out  from 
the  main  trunk,  had  thirty  seven  (.37)  large 
pears.  One  morning  I  went  out  with  a  basket 
intending  to  take  tliein  off— but  lo !  some 
person  who  proliably  had  a  better  right  to 
them  than  I  had,  cleaned  them  all  of  ! 

I  have  never  seen  or  heard  of  a  well 
authenticated  case  of  blight  on  any  of  this 
class  of  pears.  I  have  had  other  pear  trees 
killed  by  blight  that  stood  only  twenty  feet 
from  them.  There  have  been  rumors  of  them 
blighting,  but  these  rumors  want  confirma- 
tion. 

At  Rochester,  New  York,  they  have  what 
they  call  the  .lapan  Pear.  This  may  be  what 
Mr.  Prince  called  the  "Suet  lea,"  or  Chinese 
Snow  Pear,  or  a  cross  of  it,  as  it  is  of  the 
same  class  as  all  the  other  of  the  Chinese  varie- 
ties— the  Kieffer,  Le  Conte  and  the  rest. 
This  Japan  variety  is  certainly  a  most  excel- 
lent eating  pear,  as  I  can  fully  acknowledge 
from  a  specimen  sent  me  last  fall  by  Charles 
Downing,  of    Newburg,   New   York.      This 


specimen  wa,s  as  round  iis  a  ball,  with  stem 
and  eye  a  little  depressed,  twelve  incnes  in 
circimiference  and  of  excellent  quality. 

Now  where  any  trees  of  these  Chinese 
species,  such  as  liave  already  been  mixed  or 
cro.ssed  with  good  pears,  are  growing  and 
bearing  fruit,  tlic  probability  is,  that  their 
seeds  being  planted,  these  seedlings  will  .still 
retain  their  peculiar  growth  and  health,  and 
the  prospect  of  still  further  improvement  is 
very  promising.  However,  it  would  be  better 
not  to  de|)end  on  bees  to  carry  the  pollen  as 
they  may  take  pollen  from  the  poorest  pears, 
but  by  opening  the  flowers  on  a  Chine.se,  and 
carefully  removing  the  pistles  before  the 
pollen  is  ripe,  and  then  with  a  cainePs  hair 
brush  take  the  pollen  oil' of  a  flower  of  a  supcr- 
for  variety,  and  apply  to  the  stigma  of  the  one 
you  wish  to  impregnate,  you  can  hardly 
fail  of  success,  and  a  new  and  superior  class 
of  pears  will  be  the  result.    J.  B.  GMUtEU. 

COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS. 

The  question  of  the  comparative  values  of 
the  various  kinds  of  fertilizers  manufactured 
or  sold  in  this  .section  of  the  State,  appears  to 
be  a  matter  of  special  interest  with  the  far- 
mers and  others  in  the  fast-improving  agri- 
cultural district  of  which  Oxford  (Chester 
county)  is  the  centre.  According  to  an  act 
of  the  Legislature  of  the  28th  of  June,  1879, 
every  package  of  commercial  fertilizer  offered 
for  sale  is  required  to  have  stamped  upon  it 
the  name  of  the  manufacturer,  the  place  where 
manufactured,  the  weight,  and  an  analysis 
stating  the  percentage  therein  contained  of 
nitrogen,  or  its  equivalent  of  ammonia  in  an 
available  form,  of  potash  soluble  in  water,  of 
phosphoric  acid,  &c.,  every  manufacturer  or 
importer  of  such  fertilizers  being  recjuiied  to 
pay  a  license  to  the  State  varying  from  ten  to 
thirty  dollars,  according  to  quantity  sold,  and 
to  file  with  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of 
Agriculture  a  copy  of  the  analysis  above  re- 
ferred to.  Any  person  selling  or  offering  for 
sale  any  commercial  fertiliz.er  without  the  re- 
quired analysis,  or  stating  that  it  contains 
more  of  the  specified  constituents  than  it  real- 
ly does,  it  shall  be  liable  to  a  fine,  ranging  in 
amount  from  twenty-five  to  one  hundred  dol- 
lars for  the  first  oflence  and  not"  le.ss  than  two 
hundred  dollars  tor  each  subsequent  offence — 
one  half  lo  go  to  the  informer,  provided  the 
informer  is  a  purchaser  for  his  own  use.  It  is 
made  the  duty  of  the  board  of  agriculture  to 
analyze  such  specimens  of  fertilizers  as  may 
be  furnished  by  its  agents,  said  samples  to  be 
accompanied  with  proper  proof  that  they 
were  fairly  drawn,  and  the  money  paid  for 
licenses  is  to  constitute  a  special  fund  out  of 
which  the  expenses  of  analysis  arc  to  be  paid. 

In  pursuance  of  this  act.  Prof.  F.  A. 
Genth,  "Chemist  of  the  Pennsylvania  Board 
of  Agriculture  "  has  made  a  tabular  state- 
ment, giving  the  chemical  analysis  of  more 
than  one  hundred  dilVerent  kinds  of  fertilizers 
which  are  sold  in  the  Slate,  mo.st  of  which 
are  also  manufactured  here,  but  .some  are  im- 
ported from  Maryland,  New  Jei-sey,  New 
York,  Ohio,  Illinoi.s,  and  even  from  Missouri. 
The  money  value  of  the  different  manurial 
ingredients  is  rated  by  Prof.  Genth  as  follows, 
viz  :  "  soluble  and  reverted  phosphoric  acid  10 
cts.  per  pound;  insoluble  phosphoric  acid  from 
bone,  Ccts. ;  from  South  Carolina  Rock,  5  cts.; 


24 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[February, 


potash,  6  cts. ;  ammonia  17^  cts.  ])ei'  pound." 
On  the  basis  of  these  rates  and  of  tlie  analysis  of 
the  different  samples  tested,  the  Professor 
gives  tlie  estimated  value  per  ton  of  each 
kind  embraced  in  the  table,  as  also  the  selling 
price  of  the  same  at  the  place  of  selection. 
If  his  figures  are  in  the  least  to  be  depended 
on,  a  great  deal  of  money  is  wasted  by  farm- 
ers in  the  purchase  of  fertilizers  whose  value 
is  much  less  than  the  cost.  Of  the  whole 
number  of  samples  given  in  the  table  the  sell- 
price  of  more  than  two-thirds  of  them  is  great- 
er than  the  calculated  value,  and  in  some 
cases  very  mi.ch  greater.  For  instance,  the 
"Complete  Bone  Phosphate  "  from  the  Allen- 
town  Manufacturing  Company,  worth  only 
S2o.21  is  sold  at  $35;  "Plant  Food"  from 
Frederick,  Md.,  selling  at  |40,  is  worth  but 
$30.78;  the  "Economical  Fertilizer"  of 
Baugh  &  Sons,  Philadelphia,  worth  $25.33, 
they  sell  at  $33,  &c.;  the  "  Ammouiated 
Bone  Phosphate"  of  Josiah  Cope  &  Co.,  near 
Oxford,  worth  «27.16,  is  sold  at  #35  ■.  the 
"  Fossil  Alkalite  "  of  Keeve  &  Co.,  selling 
for  $15,  is  only  worth  $2.05;  and  the  "  Ara- 
moniated  Bone  Phosphate  "  of  the  Susque- 
hanna Fertilizing  Company,  at  Oxford, 
selling  at  $34,  is  given  as  worth  only  $30.40. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  fertilizers  produced 
by  a  considerable  number  of  manufacturers, 
according  to  Prof.  Genth's  table,  are  worth 
much  more  than  they  are  sold  for — as  the 
"Kaw  Bone  Phosphate"  of  Job  Pugh,  O.k- 
ford,  selling  for  $35,  is  given  as  worth  $38.08; 
the  "Superior  Acid  Phosphate  "  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna Fertilizing  Company,  at  Oxford, 
selling  at  $25,  is  worth  $28.40;  the  "High 
Grade  S.  C.  Rock  "  of  the  Waring  Manufac- 
turing Company,  at  Colora,  Md.,  selling  at 
$25  per  ton,  is  set  down  as  worth  $32.93;  and 
"  Waring's  Q.  and  L.  Bone,"  by  the  same 
company,  selling  at  $35,  is  rated  by  Prof. 
Genth  to  be  worth  $48.49. 

The  publication  in  the  Oxford  Press  of  the 
table  from  which  the  above  figures  are  taken 
has  raised  some  excitement  among  the  manu- 
facturers and  dealers  in  fertilizers  in  that 
neighborhood,  and  as  one  of  the  first  results, 
the  following  advertisement  appeared  in  the 
Oxford  Press  of  last  week: 

A  PUBLIC  MEETING  of  Fanners  and  Manufacturers 
of  Fertilizers  will  be  iield  in  Grange  Kooni  at 
Lincoln  Station,  (near  Oxford),  on  Weduesday,  Feb.  8th, 
at  1  I*.  M.,  to  consider  the  foUowinj^  question,  \iz.  : 
Should  fanners  ih  buying  fertilizers  be  guided  by  their 
estimated  value  as  determined  by  analyses  and  i/ublislied 
by  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture  ?  The  purpose  of  Ihis 
meeting  is  to  hear  from  the  manufacturers  on  this  sub- 
ject. 

What  conclusion  was  arrived  at  by  the 
meeting,  if  any,  we  have  not  heard.  The 
manufacturers  and  dealers  in  the  fertilizers 
pronounced  to  be  of  comparatively  little  value 
will  naturally  feel  dissatisfied,  and  probably 
will  endeavor  to  have  Prof.  Genth's  verdict 
set  aside,  while  those  whose  productions  are 
declared  by  him  to  be  of  high  valufe,  will 
pretty  certainly  maintain  the  correcthess  of 
his  calculations  and  couclusioos.  It  will  be 
for  the  farmers  to  decide  between  them. — /.  P. 

[We  never  supposed,  that  either  the  act  of 
the  Legislature  or  the  analysis  of  the  Chemist 
of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  were  to  be 
regarded  as  an  arbitrary  and  unchangeable 
ultimatum,  governing  the  manufacture  and 
price  of  Chemical  FertiUzers.  We  rather  re- 
garded it  as  a  preliminary  experiment  under 
the  sanctions  of  law,  to  prevent  present  pos 


sible  impositirns  and  frauds  in  the  manufac- 
ture and  sale  of  these  manurial  substances. 
The  law,  however,  should  not  be  wiped  out, 
merely  because  in  its  execution  it  happens  to 
discriminate  in  favor  of  one  set  of  fertilizers 
and  against  another  set.  Whatever  inequali- 
ties may  exist,  should  be  corrected  by  a  read- 
justment of  the  scale  of  prices,  after  a  fairand 
calm  investigation  of  the  subject.  Manufac- 
turers, regarding  the  matter  from  a  merely 
selfish  standpoint,  will  avail  themselves  of 
the  endorsement  of  the  State  chemist,  no 
matter  how  worthless  their  goods  may  be  : 
and  those  who  deem  their  goods  discredited 
will,  of  course,  be  dissatisfied,  perhaps,  like 
the  Irishman  in  Court,  who/car«/  that  justice 
would  be  done  him.  After  all,  it  is  possible 
that  the  chemical  composition  stamped  upon 
the  outside  of  a  sack  of  manure,  may  not 
prove  a  protection  against  the  fraud  inside.] 


Selections. 


POULTRY-SHOW. 

Premiums  Awarded — Some  Special  Points. 

The  third  annual  exhibition  of  the  Lan- 
caster Poultry  association,  which  opened, 
in  Excelsior  Hall,  on  Tliursday,  January 
12th,  1882,  closed  on  Wednesday  evening 
the  18th.  It  was,  in  all  respects,  the  best  and 
most  successful  exhibition  of  poultry  ever 
given  in  this  county,  if  not  in  the  state,  and 
was  attended  by  a  far  larger  number  of  visi- 
tors than  either  of  the  ^preceding  shows  given 
under  the  auspices  of  the  society. 

Below  will  be  found  the  list  of  premiums 
awarded  by  the  judges,  and  paid  by  the  so- 
society. 

Class   I. — Asiatics. 

Light  Brakma — Fowls,  Dr.  D.  F.  Royer, 
1st  and  four  specials;  VVm.  F.  McLean,  2d; 
11.  H.  Hewitt,  3d.  Chicks,  Hon.  C.  S.  Coo- 
per and  Dr.  D.  F.  Royer,  tied  for  1st  and  2d 
premiums  and  special,  and  divided  them;  T. 
M.  Nelson  3d. 

Dark  Brahma — Fowls,  Dr.  D.  Royer  1st. 
Chicks,  Dr.  D.  F.  Royer  1st  and  2d,  and  tied 
Zimmerman  and  Hoffer  for  3d,  beside  taking 
two  specials. 

White  Cochin — Fowls,  A.  S.  Flowers,  1st 
and  special;  J.  F.  Shatter  2nd  and  3d.  Chicks, 

A.  S.  Flowers,  1st  2d  and  3d,  and  several  spe- 
cials. 

Black  Cochin — Fowls,  Samuel  G.  Engle  1st 
and  2d  and  several  specials;  J.  F.  Shafter  3d. 
Chicks,  T.  Frank  Evans  1st  and  2d  and  spe- 
cials; Dr.  E.  11.  Witraer  3d. 

Buff  Cochin — Fowls,  L.  K.  Bennett  1st; 
Zimmerman  &  Hoffer  2d;  M.  B.  Weidler  3d. 
Chicks,  no  1st  premium;  J.  B.  Long  2d;  A. 

B.  Hostetter,  3d. 

Partridge  Cochin— Yowls,  H.  S.  Garber  1st 
and  2d  and  five  specials;  C.  E.  Long  3d. 
Chicks,  H  S.  Garber  1st  and  2d  and  tied  Dr. 
D.  Royer  for  3d  and  special. 

iaiis/!.a?i— Fowls,  Dr.   D.  F.  Royer  1st;  T. 
Frank  Evans  2d.     Chicks,  A.  H.   Sharpless 
1st. ;  Dr.  D.  F.  Royer  2d. 
Games. 

Black  Breasted  R«Z— Fowls,  Dr.  D.  F. 
Royer,  1st  and  3d;  E.  N.  Denman,  2d.  Chick. 
Dr.  D.  F.  Royer,  1st  and  specials ;  E.  F. 
Denman,  2d. 


Brown  Breasted  Reds — T.  B.  Dorsey,  1st  ; 
T.  K.  Bennett  2d  and  a  tie  betw(  en  them  for 
special.  Cliicks,  T.  K.  Bennett  1st  and  two 
specials. 

Ginger  Red— Yowls,  T.  K.  Bennett  1st;  no 
competition. 

Yellow  Buckwing — T.  K.  Bennett  1st — no 
competition.     Chicks,  T.  K.  Bennett  1st. 

White  Game— Yowls,  T.  B.  Dorsey  1st,  2d 
and  special. 

Black  Game — Fowls  and  chicks,  no  Isl 
prem.,  T.  K.  Bennett  2d. 

Gray— Chicks,  T.  B.  Dorsey  1st. 

B.   B.   Red  Malay— Yowls,  D.    M.   Broscy 
1st.     Chicks,  D.  M.  Brosey  1st  and  2d. 
Class  3 — Game  Bantams. 

Black  Breasted  Red— Yowls,  T.  K.  Bennett 
1st,  3d  and  two  specials-;  Charles  E.  Long  2d. 
Chicks,  T.  B.  Brosey  1st  and  special;  Frank 
Selak  2d;  George  Snyder  3d. 

Brown  Breasted  Red — Fowls  and  chicks,  T. 
B.  Dorsey  1st — no  competition. 

Ginger  Red— Chicks,  J.  L.  Otto,  1st  and 
special — no  competition. 

■  Yellow  Duckwing — Fowls,  Dr.  J.  C.  Maple 
1st,  2d  and  special;  Chas.  E.  Long  3d.  Chicks, 
T.  K.  Bennett  1st,  Chas.  E.  Long,  2d. 

Silver  Buckwing — Fowls,  Dr.  J.  C.  Maple 
1st  and  special,  and  tied  T.  K.  Bennett  for 
2d  and  3d.  Chicks,  George  Snyder  1st;  Dr. 
J.  C.  Maple  2d;  Aug.  L.  Wentzel  3d. 

Red  Pyle— Yowls,  T.  B.  Dorsey  1st;  Geo. 
Snyder  2d;  Chas.  E.  Long,  3d.  Chicks,  T.  K. 
Bennett  1st,  and  ties  Dr.  Maple  for  2d  and 
3d. 

White  Pyle — Fowls,  George  Snyder  1st; 
Dr.  J.  C.  Maple  2d.  Chicks,  J.  B.  Lichty 
1st;  Dr.  Maple  2d. 

BtacA;— Fowls,  T.  K.  Bennett  1st — no  com- 
petition. Chicks,  T.  B.  Dorsey  1st  and 
special — no  competition. 

White— Yowls,  T.  B.  Dorsey  1st.  Chicks, 
J.  L.  Otto  1st;  T.  B.  Dorsey  2d. 

Graf/ — Chicks,  J.  L.  Otto  1st — no  competi- 
tion. 

Class  4 — Hamburgs. 

Black — Fowls,  Snyder  &  Hartman,  1st  and 
2d.  Chicks,  Geo.  C.  Liller,  1st  and  four 
specials;  T.  K.  Benett,  2d;  T.  B.  Dorsey,  3d. 

SHrer  Penciled. — Fowls,  S.  M.  Nelson,  1st — 
no  competition.  Chicks,  Mrs.  Kate  Yearsley 
Ash,  1st  and  2d. 

Golden  Penciled— Yowls,  J.  W.  Bruckhart, 
1st;  Snyder  &  Hartman,  2d;  T.  K.  Bennett, 
3d.  Chicks,  T.  B.  Dorsey,  1st;  J.  W.  Bruck- 
hart, 2d  and  3d. 

Silver  Spangled — Fowls,  no  1st  premium; 
Wm.  F.  McLean,  2d;  Hon.  J.  A.  Stober,  3d. 
Chicks,  T.  B.  Dorsey,  1st  and  special;  Hon. 
J.  A.  Stober,  2d  and  3d. 

Class  5 — Spanish. 

Black  .S/xi?!!^;— Chicks,  -John  Grosh,  1st — 
no  competition. 

White  Leghorn — Fowls,  Henry  Neater,  1st 
and  3d;  Dr.  D.  F.  Royer,  2d.  Chicks,  Robert 
R.  Morris,  1st  and  six  specials;  John  R. 
Trissler,  2d  and  3d 

Brown  Leghorn — Fowls,  Dr.  D.  F.  Royer, 
1st — no  competition.  Chicks,  Jos.  H.  Trissler, 
1st,  2d  and  five  specials;  M.  L.  Greider,  3d. 

Class  5 — American. 
Plymouth   Rock— Yowls,  Dr.  D.   F.  Royer, 
1st  and  five  specials;  Aug.  L.  Wentzel,   2d; 
Lount  Lattin,  3d.     Chicks,  Dr.  D.  F.  Royer, 


1882. 


■THE  Lancaster  farmer. 


25 


1st  and  2il  and  live  specials;  Aug.  L.  Wentzel, 
3d. 

Bominiqtie— Chicks,  John  Wilcox,  1st  and 
special;  M.  L.  Greider,  2d;  T.  K.  Benin'tt,  3d. 

Ameriran  i'('/;ci'(//((— Fowls,  Mrs.  Kate 
Yeanslt-y  Ash,  1st.  Chicks,  G.  C.  Morris,  Ist 
and  2d;  Mrs.  Kate  Yearslcy  Ash,  3d. 

Black  Java — Chicks,  M.  L.  Greider,  1st  and 
special;  Lount  Lattin,  2d  and  3d. 

Ermincttes — Fowls,  Kate  Yearsley  Ash, 
1st — no  competition. 

Class  7 — Polish,   Plain  or  Bearded. 

White  Crested  TF/i«e— Fowls,  J.  W.  Carroll, 
Ist;  T.  B.  Dorsey,  2d.  (Jhicks,  Wni.  A. 
Schoenber<;er,  1st. 

White  Created  Black— Povr\s  Dr.  D.  F.  Roy- 
er  1st — no  competition.  Chioks,  Dr.  D.  F. 
Royer.  1st  and  2d  and  four  specials;  J.  W. 
Bruckhart,  3ii. 

Oolden  Bearded  ~Fovf\s,  T.  B.  Dorsey,  1st; 
T.  K.  Bennett,  2d;  Wni.  A.  Schoenberger, 
3d.  Chicks,  T.  B.  Dorsey,  1st;  £.  K.  Ben- 
nett, 2d;  J.  W.  Carroll,  3d. 

Silver- Bearded— Fow\»  and  chicks,  T.  B. 
Dorsey,  1st — no  competition. 

Class  8 — French. 

Hoxtdun — Fowls,  B.  S.  Koons,  1st;  Richard 
PreuSser,  2d.  Chicks,  T.  W.  Wyraan,  1st 
and  four  specials;  T.  M.  Nelson,  2d;  II.  H. 
Hewitt,  3d. 

Class  g— Dorkings. 

White — Fowls,  no  1st  premium;  W.  J. 
Kirby,  2d  and  special — no  competition. 

Co^orec?— Chicks,  H.  H.  Tshudy,  1st— no 
competition. 

Class  :o — Bantams, 

Golelcn  Seahright — Fowls,  no  1st  premium; 
Dr.  J.  Maple,  2d  and  two  specials;  B.  S. 
Koons,  3d. 

Silrer  Sebright — Fowls,  no  1st  or  2d  pre- 
miums; Dr.  D.  F.  Royer,  3d  and  two  specials. 

Itose  Comh  White— FowXs,  .1.  L.  Otto,  1st, 
lA  and  two  specials.  Clilcks,  J.  Ij.  Otto,  1st 
— no  competition. 

Japanese — Fowls,  T.  B.  Dorsey,  1st — no 
rompetition.  Chicks,  B.  8.  Koons,  1st — no 
I'drnpetition. 

Black  African — Fowls,  Chas.  Lippold,  1st; 
j   T.  B.  Dorsey,  2d;  Dr.  J.  C.  Maple,  3d. 
Class   II — Miscellaneous. 

Silky — Fowls  and  chicks,  Wm.  M.  Mc- 
I  .'an,  1st — no  competition. 

Class   12 — Turkeys. 
TJronze— Fowls,  B.  L.  Wood,  1st  and  three 
si]ecials;  Samuel  G.  Engle,  2d;  T.  M.  Nelson, 
;'.(1.     Chicks,  B.  L.  Wood,  1st. 

117ii(e— Fowls  and  chicks,  J.  AV.  Bruckiuut, 
1  st  and  two  specials. 

Narr<ajansett — M.  L.  Greider,  1st  and 
special — no  competition. 

Class   13  — Ducks. 

Pciui— Dr.  D.  F.  Royer,  1st  and  special; 
i  rfo.  A.  Geyer,  2d;  J.  W.  Bruckhart,  .3d. 

Rouen — Geo.  A.  Geyer,  1st. 

Colored  Muscovy — Dr.  D.  F.  Royer,  1st. 
j       Cayuga— Dr.  D.  F.  Royer,  1st. 
!  Class  14 — Geese. 

Toulouse — George  A.  Geyer,  1st  and  special. 

Class  15 — Ornamental. 
Wlrite    Guineas — J.    B.    Garman,   1st — no 
nimpetition. 


Pearl    Guineas— John  M.   Ilagans,  1st— no 

competition. 

Breeding  Pens. 

The  following  premiums  were  awarded  the 
exhibitors  of  l)reeding  pens  consisting  of  one 
cock  and  four  liens  in  the  clas.ses  named: 

White  Cochins— A.  8.  Flowers,  1st  and  one 
special. 

Partridge  Cochins— U.  S.  (iarber,  1st  and 
one  special. 

Games— J.  B.  Lichly,  1st  and  one  special. 

II'.  P.  Bantams— Georgi-  Snyder  1st  pre- 
mium. 

Silver  Penciled  IlamburgK—J.  W.  Bruck- 
hart, 1st  premium. 

M'hite  Leghorns— U.  R.  Morris,  1st  pre- 
mium. 

Brown  Leghorns— M.  L.  Greider,  1st  pre- 
mium. 

Plymonth  PorA-.s-- James  Black,  1st. 

Brahmas—J.  B.  Long,  1st. 

Class  16 — Pigeons. 

Carriers— Black,  John  E.  Sclmm,  1st  and 
2d;  J.  M.  Skiles,  Jr.,  3d.  Blue,  John  E. 
Sebum,  1st.  Dun,  John  E.  Schura,  1st. 
White,  Chas.  Lippold,  2d. 

Pouffrs— Clieckered,  Henry  Neater,  1st. 
Red  Pied,  Chas.  Lippold,  1st;  Geo.  C.  Liller, 
3d. 

_Brt,-6s— Henry  Neater,  2d;  Geo.  C.  Liller, 
3d.  Red,  J.  M.  Hagans,  2d.  Yellow,  J.  M. 
Hagans,  1st.     AVhite,  John  E.  Sebum,  2d. 

Fantails— Created,  J.  M.  Skiles  1st;  J.  M. 
Hagans,  2d.  White,  Chas.  Lippold,  1st;  J. 
M.  Hagans,  2d;  F.  A.  Pennington,  3d.  Plain 
white,  Chas.  Lippold,  1st;  J.  M.  Hagans,  2d; 
F.  A.  Pennington,  3d.  Black,  J.  M.  Skiles, 
Jr.,  1st.  Blue,  J.  M.  Hagans,  1st.  Yellow, 
C.  S.  Greider,  1st;  Chas.  Lippold,  2d;  J.  M. 
Skiles,  Jr.,  .3d.     Dun,  J.  M.  Skiles,  Jr.,  2d. 

White  Calcutta— CresieA,  F.  A.  Penning- 
ton, 1st. 

Jacobins — Black,  John  E.  Schura,  1st;  F. 
A.  Pennington,  2d;  J.  M.  Hagans,  .3d.  Red, 
Charles  Lippold,  2d;  F.  A.  Pennington,  3d. 
Yellow,  Charles  Lippold,  2d;  J.  M.  Hagans, 
.3d.     White,  Henry  Neater,  3d. 

r»j)i/j?crs— Baldhead,  black,  Charles  Lip- 
pold, 1st;  J.  M.  Hagans,  2d.  Blue,  C.  S. 
Greider,  1st.  Bearded,  yellow,  Charles  Lip- 
pold, 1st,  Red,  Charles  Lippold,  1st.  Short- 
Faced,  Charles  Lippold,  1st;  .John  E.  Sebum, 
2d.  Inside  Tumblers,  black,  red  and  mot- 
tled, Charles  Lippold,  1st. 

T^<j-&!7s— Solid  colors,  black,  Henry  Neater, 
1st;  Charles  Lippold,  2d;  J.  M.  Hagans,  3d. 
Red,  J.  M.  Skiles,  Jr.,  2d.  White,  John  E. 
Schum,  lst;Henry  Neater,  2d;  Joseph  Eibel, 
3d.  Yellow,  Henry  Neater,  1st;  Charles  Lip- 
pold, 2d;  .Johh  E.  .Schum,  .3d.  Turbits, 
winged — Red,  Charles  Lippold,  Ist;  John  E. 
Schum,  2d;  J.  M.  Hagans,  3d.  Yellow,  John 
E.  Schum,  1st;  J.  M.  Hagans,  2d:  George  C. 
Liller,  3d.  Black,  Charles  Lippold,  2d.  Sil- 
ver, J.  M.  Hagans.  2d.  Tailed  Turbits — 
Black,  John  E.  Schum,  1st  and  2d;  Tliomas 
Humplireyville,  .3d.  Blue;  Charles  Lippold, 
1st.  Dun,  J.  M.  Skiles,  Jr.,  1st;  Charles  Lip- 
pold, 2d. 

l^umfieters — Black,  John  E.  Schum,  1st 
and  3d;  Charles  Lippold,  2d.  Yellow,  John 
E.  Schum,  2d.  White,  John  E.  Schum,  1st 
J.  M.  Skiles,  2d;  Annie  May  Raymond,  3d. 
Mottled,  Charles  Lippold,  1st;  John  E. 
Schum,  '2d;  C.  S.  Greider,  3d. 


Anticcrps — Blue,  Charles  Iloman,  1st  and 
2d;  Jo.sepii  Eiljel,  3d.  Silver,  Joseph  Eibel, 
1st;  Charles  Lippold,  2d;  Cln-ist.  E.  Barr,  3d. 
Red  checkered,  J.  M.  Hagans,  1st;  Cliarles 
Lii)pold,  2d;  John  E.  Sdium,  .3d.  Blue 
checkered,  Jolin  E.  Schum,  1st;  Jos.  Eibel, 
2d  and  3d. 

A/rican  Oicis — White.  John  E.  Sclium,  Isl; 
Chas.  Lippold,  3d.  Blue,  Chas.  Lippold,  Ist; 
Jolin  E.  Schum,  2d. 

English  0»p/s— Blues,  Thos.  Humphreyville, 
1st.  Silver,  Chas.  Lipi)()ld,  lst;C.  S.  Greider, 
2d.  Yellow,  J.  M.  Skiles,  2d;  Chas.  Lippold, 
3d. 

Swallotcs — Red,  J.  M.  Hagans,  1st;  John  E. 
Sclium,  2d.  Blue,  J.  M.  Skiles,  1st;  John  E. 
Schum,  2d;  J.  M.  Hagans,  3d.  Black,  Chas. 
Lippold  st;  John  E.  Schum,  2d  and  3d. 
Yellow,  Jolm  E.  Schum,  1st  and  2d. 

Magpies— Red,  J.  M.  Hagans,  1st.  Yellow, 
Henry  Neater,  1st;  J.  M.  Hagans,  2d  and  .3d. 
Black,  J.  M  Ilagans,  1st. 

A^itiis— Black,  J.  M.  .Skiles,  1st;  Chas.  Lip- 
pold 2d.     Yellow,  John  E.  Sclium,  1st. 

SneUs—'lihick,  Chas.  Lippold,  1st.  Red, 
J.  M.  Skiles,  3d. 

Moorheads — J.  M.  Hagans,  1st  and  2d; 
Geo.  C.  Liller,  3d. 

Quafo'r.s— Blue,  Chas.  Lippold,  2d. 

Frill-Backs— John  E.  Schum,  1st. 

Birmingham  Rollers — Charles  Lippold,  1st; 
John  E.  Schum,  2d  and  3d. 

Archangels — J.  M.  Ilagans,  1st;  John  E. 
Schum,  2d. 

Priests — .John  E.  Schum,  1st. 

Ice  Pigeons — John  E.  Schum  1st  and  2d. 
Class  17 — Cage  and  Ornamental  Birds. 

Belgium  Canary — Charles  Lippold,  1st  and 
2d;  Zachariah  M.  Weaver,  3d. 

Cardinal— Chas.  Lippold,  2d— no  competi- 
tion. 

Mocking  Bird—'Wm.  Killinger,  1st— no 
competition. 

Gold  Finch— ChAH.  Lippold,  let- no  com- 
petition. 

Ring  Dove — J.  B.  Garman,  1st — no  compe- 
tition. 

Bull  Finch— Ch&s.  Lippold.  1st-  no  com- 
petition. 

Pertinent  Poultry  Points. 

T.  B.  Dorsey,  of  St.  Denis,  Md.,  was  very 
liroperly  awarded,  in  addition  to  numerous 
otlier  premiums,  the  special  premium  of  $10 
for  the  best  collection  of  fowls  on  exhibition. 
Fine,  as  is  his  collection,  he  added  largely  to 
it  while  in  LHncaster  by  purchasing  a  large 
numtor  of  the  finest  birds  exhibited  by  other 
breeders. 

H.  S.  Garbcr,  of  Mount  Joy,  enjoyed  the 
distinction  of  exhibiting  tlie  fowl  scoring  the 
highest  number  of  points.  It  is  a  Partridge 
Cochin  hen  and  scored  00  points  out  of  a  pos- 
sible 100.  It  was  awarded,  as  a  siiecial  pre- 
mium, a  folding  exhiliition  coop,  and  in  con- 
nection with  its  mate,  a  fine  cock  scoring  05^ 
points,  took  first  premium  and  a  year's  sub- 
scription to  the  weekly  Intelligencer.  Mr. 
Garber's  breeding  pen  of  Partridge  Cochins 
was  awarded  the  silver  cup  valued  at  SIO, 
given  by  Mr.  M.  L.  Greider  for  the  breeding 
pen  of  White,  Black,  Buff  or  Partridge  Coch- 
ins .scoring  the  greatest  number  of  points. 

A.  S.  Flowers,  of  Mount  Joy,  carried  oflf 
almost  all  the  premiums,  regular  and  special 
on  White  Cochins,  none  of  his  birds  scoring 


26 


tHE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[February, 


less  than  92  points  and  some  of  them  as  high 
as  98.     His  exhibits  attracted  nnic-h  attention. 

T.  Franlc  Evans,  ofLititz,  and  S.  G.  Engle, 
of  Marietta,  divide  the  principal  honors  and 
ptofits  on  exhibits  of  Black  Cochins,  their 
birds^scoring  well  up  in  the  nineties. 

Of  Games,  T.  K.  Bennett,  of  Phillipsburg, 
liad  the  largest  number,  the  greatest  variety 
and  took  the  greatest  number  of  premiums. 
One  of  his  Br.  B.  Red  pullets  scored  97J  points, 
was  awarded  .13  as  the  best  of  her  class  and  a 
special  valued  at  $10. 

The  display  of  Bantams  was  very  large  and 
tine,  and  tlie  bulk  of  the  premiums  were 
awarded  Messrs.  Dorsey  and  Bennett,  and 
Dr.  Maple,  of  Trenton,  N.J. 

There  were  many  fine  exhibits  of  Ham- 
burgs,  of  all  colors;  but  George  C.  Liller,  of 
this  city  took  the  lead.  He  entered  but  a 
single  pair  of  Black  Hamburg  chicks  and 
with  them  he  was  awarded  the  following:  for 
best  pair  Hamburg  chicks  lat  premium  and 
special;  for  best  Hamburg  pullet  of  her  class 
special  premium;  for  best  Hamburg  cockerel, 
special  premium;  for  best  pair  of  Hamburgs 
of  any  variety,  special  premium.  It  is  not 
often  that  a  "single  pair"  wins  so  big  a  pot. 

Jos.  R.  Trissler,  of  this  city,  roped  in  a  ma- 
jority of  the  premiums  ofl'ered  lor  Brown  Leg- 
horns, and  Robert  R.  Morris,  of  Pottsville, 
for  White  Leghorn  chicks;  though  Henry 
Neater,  of  York,  took  first  premium  for 
White  Leghorn  fowls. 

So  far  as  Plymouth  Rocks  were  concerned. 
Dr.  D.  F.  Royer,  of  Shady  Grove,  Franklin 
county,  sat  down  on  everybody  else.  In  ad- 
dition to  the  regular  cash  premiums  awarded 
him  he  carried  off  ten  specials,  valued  at 
$35.50. 

B.  L.  Wood,  of  Doe  Run,  Chester  county, 
was  awarded  first  premium  for  best  pair  of 
Bronze  Turkeys,  the  cock  scoring  97  and  the 
hen  99  points.  S.  G.  Engle  had  on  exhibi- 
tion a  heavier  pair,  but  the  cock  had  acciden- 
tally hurt  his  wing  which  reduced  his  score. 

J.  W.  Bruckhart,  of  Salunga,  took  first  and 
two  special  premiums  for  a  fine  pair  of  white 
turkeys.  H.  H.  Tshudy,  of  Lititz,  showed  a 
heavier  pair,  but  the  cock  was  "  disqualified" 
because  he  had  a  small  black  feather  in  his 
tail. 

There  was  a  warm  contest  between  John  E. 
Schum  and  Chas.  Lippold,  both  of  Lancaster, 
for  the  pigeon  cliampionship.  Each  of  these 
fanciers  took  some  thirty  premiiuus,  but  ac- 
cording to  a  close  calculation  made  by  the 
executive  committee  Schum  came  out  one 
point  ahead,  and  was  awarded  an  additional 
premium  of  $10  for  the  best  collection,  Lip- 
pold taking  a  $5  premium  for  second  best. 


WHITE    VEIN— CAUSE  -OF    THIS   DIS- 
EASE  IN   TOBACCO. 

There  are  a  few  things  connected  with  to- 
bacco growing  more  aggravating  to  the 
grower  than  to  find  on  stripping  his  tobacco 
that  the  small  ribs  or  veins  are  not  colored 
like  the  rest  of  the  leaf,  causing  it  to  present 
a  streaked  appearance.  The  farmer,  very 
naturally,  asks  himself  the  cause,  and  soon 
has  some  theory  to  account  for  it. 

A  number  of  these  theories  liave  come 
under  the  writer's  observation,  and  some 
have  been  tested  by  him,  and  a  record  of  his 
experiences,  it  is  thought,  will  be  of  interest 


to  others  and  stimulate  them  to  test  the  mat- 
ter more  fully,  both  by  experiment  and  obser- 
vation. 

The  Early  Cutting  Theory. 
The  first  theory,  as  near  as  I  can  recollect, 
was  given  me  six  or  seven  years  ago,  and  was 
the  too  early  cutting  of  the  crop.  We  cut 
several  hundred  stalks  quite  green,  in  order 
to  give  a  road  through  the  field.  This  was 
colored  so  nicely,  while  the  balance  of  the 
crop  that  year,  which  had  ripened,  contained 
so  much  white  vein  that  it  refuted  this  theory 
at  once,  and  I  began  to  inquire  for  another. 

The  next  year  a  friend  cut  his  crop  rather 
over-ripe,  had  plenty  of  white  vein,  and  he 
jumped  to  the  conclusion  that  ovcr-riijeness 
caused  it.  The  next  year  several  neighbors 
cut  early  and  still  had  white  vein. 

Another  gentleman  proposed  that  old  worn 
lands  caused  the  vein,  and  that  on  new  lands 
it  would  cure  all  right.  This  also  proved  in- 
correct, as  I  have  had  white  vein  on  the  best 
of  new  ground. 

Convincing  Experiences. 
Thus  I  continued  groping  in  the  dark  un- 
til the  summer  of  1879,  in  which  I  had  ex- 
periences which  convinced  me  I  had  at  last 
reached  the  right  solution  of  the  problem. 
That  season  I  had  a  variety  of  tobacco  known 
in  our  neighborhood  as  the  "  Hanging  Leaf 
Hoover,"  which  is  of  slow  growth.  After 
topping,  it  received  but  a  slight  rain  until  it 
was  cut  off.  On  stripping  it,  I  found  the  to- 
bacco all  nicely  cured  except  that  the  first  five 
or  six  branch  ribs  or  veins  from  the  tips  of 
the  leaves  are  ichite! 

I  reasoned  as  follows:  The  phenomenon  is 
often  witnessed  of  the  human  heart  becoming 
so  weakened  by  disease  that  it  is  not  able  to 
propel  the  life  power,  the  blood,  into  the  ex- 
tremities, the  feet  and  hands,  thus  causing 
them  to  die  first,  often  as  long  as  several  days 
before  the  heart  ceases  to  beat;  so  the  plant, 
by  continued  drouth,  became  so  weakened 
that  the  sap  did  not  circulate  to  the  veins  at 
the  extreme  points  of  the  leaves,  and  they 
died  before  the  tobacco  was  cut  and  could  not 
po.ssibly  cure  brown,  as  could  those  which 
were  nearer  the  life  centre  of  the  plant — the 
stalk— and  therefore  grew  more  perfect. 

This,  then,  I  think  is  the  cause  of  white 
vein;  either  from  drouth  or  some  other  cause 
the  plant  becomes  stunted  before  cutting,  and 
the  veinlets  are  no  longer  vitalized  and  can- 
not cure  as  do  those  of  stalks  which  continue 
growing  vigorously  from  the  time  of  planting 
until  it  is  cut,  and  in  this  new  land  has  the 
advantage,  as  it  pushes  the  plant  to  perfec- 
tion quicker  than  old  soils. 

I  do  not  think,  as  some  do,  that  white  vein 
is  under  our  control,  but  that  it  depends  en- 
tirely on  the  weather  after  topping,  and  I  think 
if  farmers  will  but  reflect  how  the  growing 
season  was  when  they  had  much  white  vein, 
they  will  invariably  have  found  it  dry  and 
hot. — E.  K.  H. ,  in  New  Era. 


TOBACCO  GROWING— PROFITS  REAL- 
IZED BY  SOME  EXPERTS. 

The  past  year  was  a  remarkable  one  in 
several  ways  for  the  tobacco  growers  of  Lan- 
caster county.  The  planting  season  opened 
very  auspiciously,  and  the  young  plants  were, 
perhaps,  never  set  out  under  more  favorable  I 


circumstances.  For  a  time  all  went  well  and 
the  crop  came  along  famously.  But  at  the 
season  when  rains  were  most  needed  by  the 
maturing  plants,  a  Icng-continued  drouth  set 
in,  which  continued  without  intermission 
until  the  crop  was  harvested.  What  promised 
to  be  the  largest  crop  ever  grown  in  this 
county  proved  the  smallest  we  have  had  in 
recent  years. 

Early  Buying  in  the  Field. 
But  the  early  planted  fields  had  advanced 
so  far  towards  maturity  when  the  dry  spell 
came  that  they  suftered  comparatively  little 
from  want  of  rain.  The  belief  that  there 
would  be  a  very  short  crop  woke  up  the 
buyers  to  a  study  of  the  situation,  and  as  the 
previous  year's  crop  had  been  very  defective, 
each  buyer  became  very  desirous  of  securing 
some  of  the  choice  lots  of  the  present  season. 
The  result  was  that  about  the  middle  of 
August  buyers  by  the  dozen  came  pouring 
into  the  county,  overrunning  every  portion  of 
it  in  their  search  of  choice  lots,  which,  when 
found,  they  at  once  purchased  while  still 
standing  in  the  field,  paying  unprecedented 
prices  for  them.  Nothing  to  match  this 
scramble  for  the  weed  had  before  been  seen 
among  us,  and  perhaps  nowhere  else  in  the 
United  States.  Perhaps  one-half  the  entire 
product  of  the  county  was  purchased  in  this 
way,  and  even  after  the  furore  had  spent  its 
greatest  force,  the  buying  continued  steadily 
until  nearly  the  whole  product  of  the  county 
was  secured  by  the  eager  buyers. 

Result  of  Careful  Handling. 

Purchasers,  however,  by  the  terms  of  their 
contracts,  bound  the  farmers  to  an  unusually 
careful  handling  of  their  crops  and  the  latter, 
fearful  that  the  high  prices  paid  by  the  form- 
er might  induce  them  to  find  fault  for  the 
purpose  of  breaking  their  contracts,  were 
careful  to  manipidate  their  crops  with  even 
more  than  their  usual  care.  The  result  has 
been  that  much  of  the  present  crop  is  in  some 
particulars  the  best  and  most  carefully  hand- 
led we  have  ever  seen,  and  has  proved  unusu- 
ally profitable  to  tlie  growers,  as  we  hope  and 
believe  it  will  also  be  to  the  liberal  men  who 
have  bought  it.  Tobacco  has  been  delivered 
at  the  packing  houses  in  this  city  during  the 
present  month  equal  in  quality  to  any  ever 
grown  in  Pennsylvania,  andj  although  the 
weight  uer  acre  is  considerably  below  the 
average  of  some  other  years,  the  greatly  in- 
creased prices  received  for  the  crop  have  run 
the  value  per  acre  realized  by  some  farmers 
fully  up,  if  not  beyond,  that  of  any  previous 
year.  Several  instances  of  this  kind  have 
come  to  our  notice  during  the  present  week, 
and  we  have  deemed  the  matter  of  suflicient 
interest  to  give  the  figures  here. 

An  Excellent  Crop. 
The  first  crop  to  which  we  call  attention 
was  that  grown  by  Mr.  Moses  Snavely, 
of  Pequea  tovifnship,  purchased  by  Messrs. 
Skiles  &  Frey,  of  this  city,  and  received  by 
them  on  last  Wednesday.  It  was  not  a  large 
crop,  con.sisting  of  only  10,400  plants,  grown 
on  something  less  than  two  acres  of  ground. 
It  was  planted  in  rows  four  feet  apart,  and  28 
inches  apart  in  the  rows.  The  crop  was  sold 
in  the  early  fall  at  33  cents  through,  and  when 
delivered  was  found  to  consist,  after  careful 
assorting  by  the  grower,  of  1,640  pounds  of 


18S2.J 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


27 


wrappers  over  24  inclips  lon^,  7M  pounds  of 
wrappers  under  24  inelies,  490  pounds  of  sec- 
onds, and  377  pounds  of  lillers,  inakinf?  a  total 
Iof  ;5,271  pounds,  by  no  means  a  large  yield 
80  far  as  pounds  are  uoncerned,  but  tlie  great 
price  of-SS  cents  brought  tlie  value  of  the  crop 
to  SI, 079.4:^),  for  which  sum  the  fortunate 
grower  received  a  check. 

Cost  of  Growing  Tobacco. 
It  is  needless  for  us  to  say  this  lot  of  to- 
bacco is  a  superb  one.  Tlie  leaves  are  long, 
silky,  soft  and  tough,  and  the  butts  of  the 
"hands"  are  as  even  as  if  they  had  been 
planed  ofT.  It  has  been  well  handled,  as  it 
deserved  to  be.  To  show  how  much  labor 
and  expense  was  incurred  in  the  production 
of  this  lot  of  tobacco,  tlie  grower,  at  our  re- 
quest, made  a  detailed  estimate,  which  will 
show  not  only  what  figures  can  be  realized 
jflrom  tobacco  growing,  but  what  care  and 
nd  attention  are  required  to  raise  a  Brst-class 
rop.  A  year  ago,  at  the  request  of  tlie 
■Census  Department,  we  procured  from  a 
iuumber  of  well  known  growers  careful  esti- 
jmates  of  the  cost  of  growing  au  acre  of  to- 
Ibacco;  we  have  often  wished  to  give  them  in 
jthcso  columns,  hut  as  they  arc  to  appear  in 
the  government  report  we  have  not  felt  at 
liberty  to  use  them  until  then.  The  following 
estimate  will,  however,  serve  to  show  growers 
.elsewhere  something  of  the  cost  of  growing 
Ifine  tobacco  here: 

iDterest  on  value  of  land  (§250  per  acre) 5  30  00 

Marking  and  care  of  seed  bed 5  00 

PlOHinsf  two  acres   onetime .5  00 

Harrowinf;  ground  three  times 8  00 

(Making  out  rows 1  50 

Setting  out  plants S  00 

Cultivating  witL  sliovel-harrow  five  times 10  00 

Hoeing  three  times,  eighteen   days 18  00 

Worming,  topping  and  euckering 35  00 

Cutting  and  liangiug  in  barn 8  00 

interest  ou  cost  of  barn,  lath,  etc 10  00 

Stripping  and  preparing  for  market 40  00 

Jringing  to  market 8  00 

S^alue  of  manure  used 3.5  00 


Total  cost 8^12  00 

Here  we  have  as  the  total  cost  of  the  crop 
212.00;  the  held  was  less  than  two  acres,  but 
avoid  fractions,  we  will  call  it  two  full 
.ores,  and  we  therefore  find  that  the  cost  per 
ere  was  SIOU.OO.  This  leaves  the  grower  a 
et  profit  of  ;S4:«.71  per  acre,  which,  all  things 
lonsidered,  is  truly  a  wonderful  result.  The 
leld  was  so  much  less  than  two  acres  that 
itrictly  speaking,  the  profits  may  fairly  be  set 
own  at  $4.jO  per  acre.  There  was  not  one 
ay  during  the  entire  growing  seasim  that 
ands  were  not  at  work  in  the  field.  The 
vorming  was  not  done  once  or  twice  a  week, 
rat  every  day;  nor  was  this  task  left  to  chil- 
Iren.  In  .short,  the  labor  steady  throughout 
;he  season,  and  nothing  was  left  undone  to 
lecure  success.  The  sum  realized  shows  that 
t  pays  to  give  the  tobacco  crop  careful  atten- 
tion. 

Another  Paying  Crop. 
Messrs.  Skiles  &  Frey  received  the  crop 
prown  on  3i  acres,  grown  by  Mr.  Jacob  Sleh- 
nan,  of  Manor  township.  The  yield,  in 
weight,  was  much  greater  in  this  case  than  in 
;he  preceding  one,  having  been  7,737  pounds, 
)r  2,210  per  acre,  but  the  price  paid  was  only 
54J  cents  through;  this  netted  the  grower 
51,895.56  for  his    crop,  or    at  the  rate  of 


$541.. ")8  per  acre.  If  we  allow  for  cost  of 
cultivation  at  the  same  rates  as  estimated  in 
the  crop  mentioned  above,  we  have  as  th";  net 
profit  per  acre  IS435..58,  which  nearly  equals 
the  results  secured  by  Mr.  Suavely.  Let  us 
suppose,  for  a  moment,  that  Mr.  Stehman 
had  received  the  .same  price  for  his  crop  ])er 
pound  that  Mr.  Suavely  did,  the  residt  would 
have  been  that  his  3i  acres  would  have 
yielded  him  a  gross  sum  of  $2,553.21,  or  at 
the  rate  of  $729.40  per  acre,  and  deducting 
SlOO  as  the  cost  per  acre  for  cultivation  and 
expenses,  we  get  the  net  sum  of  iii;(i2:i.4(;  as 
l)rotit  realized  from  a  single  acre  grown  in 
tobacco. 

Still   Another. 

But  we  have  still  another  case  we  shall  lay 
before  our  readers.  Mr,  John  .1.  Long,  of 
Drumore  township,  on  last  Monday,  delivered 
at  the  packing  house  of  Mr.  Daniel  Mayer,  in 
this  city,  his  crop  grown  on  U  acres  of  ground, 
weighing  3,059  pounds,  and  for  which  he  was 
paid  the  smn  of  S978-8S,  or  at  the  ,rate  of  32 
cents  per  iioiuid  through.  This  is  a  yield  of 
2,038  pounds  per  acre,  which  at  the  price 
paid,  would  amount  to  .SG.")3,1()  per  acre.  De- 
ducting Mr.  Snavely's  allowance  of  $10(i  as 
the  cost  per  acre,  we  havea  net  profit  of  $44(1. 
10  realized  from  a  single  acre  of  Lancaster 
county  grown  tobacco. 

The  above  figures,  be  it  remembered,  are 
not  ideal  ones.  They  are  actual  facts.  They 
are  from  the  books  of  the  purchasers  and  the 
checks  received  by  the  sellers.  They  represent 
three  tran.sactions  consummated  during  the 
present  week.  They  are  not  isolated  cases, 
either.  We  have  no  doubt  others  like  them 
have  occurred  of  which  we  have  not  heard, 
and  that  still  others,  and  not  a  few  of  them 
either,  will  transpire  before  the  present  crop 
is  delivered. 

In  Conclusion. 

A  few  papers  in  neighboring  counties,  whose 
ignorance  far  outruns  their  sen.se  and  discre- 
tion, have  from  time  to  time,  been  proclaim- 
ing that  their  tobacco  farmers  are  as  skillful 
as  our  own  and  their  crops  as  good  or  even 
better.  We  have  been  content  to  let  these 
sheets  blow  their  penny  trumpets  uncontra- 
dicted. We  now  confront  them  with  facts.  If 
they  have  others  that  equal  or  exceed  them, 
we  will  gracefully  acknowledge  that  their  to- 
bacco growers  are  more  skillful  and  their  pro- 
duct superior;  but  nothing  short  of  actual 
facts  will  answer — bare  assertions  will  not 
serve  the  purpose.  We  have  no  desire  to  be- 
little the  product  of  our  neighbors;  there  is  no 
occasion  to  do  .so.  But  when  we  can  get  such 
prices  as  are  given  above  and  realize  sums  per 
acre  that  exceed  those  received  by  the  growers 
of  seedleat  anywhere  in  the  United  .States, 
we  think  our  claim  to  be  the  champion  to- 
bacco growers  of  the  country  is  pretty  well 
founded. 


AMERICAN  SILK  GOODS. 
The  silk  trade  of  America  and  the  subject 
of  sericulture  generally  cannot  be  said  to 
have  enlisted  that  attention  outside  of  the 
circle  directly  interested  to  which  they  are 
rea.sonably  entitled.  Any  one  reading  the 
volume  published  under  the  direction  of  the 
Silk  As.sociation  of  America,  by  Mr.  William 
C.  Wyckoff,  of  New  York,  will  certainly  be 
interested  and  very  probably   be    surprised. 


"Everybody,"  he  says  in  his  preface,  "knows 
that  silk  good.s,  both   domestic   and   foreign, 
are  cheaper  now  than  formerly,  but  compar.a- 
tively  few  persons  are  aware  that  the  Ameri- 
can goodsare,  asa  rule,  better  as  well  as  cheap- 
er.    That  there  is  iiiuch  general  ignorance  on 
this  subject   m.ay  be  shown    in   many  ways— 
perhaps  the  most  striking  illustration   is  pre- 
sented by  the  fact  that  nearly  the  entire  pro- 
duct of  some   of  our  silk   mills  is  still    repre- 
sented as  of  European  make  in  the  final  sales 
of  the  retailer  to  the  customer.     In  fact,  our 
manufacturers  are  obliged     to  make    better 
fabrics  than  their  foreign  rivals  in  order  to 
attain  the  market   where  imported    articles 
held  a  long  established  reputation."     Census 
bulletin  Xo.  (i9,  prepared  by  Mr.  Wycoff  as  a 
special  agent  of  tlie  Census  ottice,  gave  34,440 
as  the  greatest  number  of  hands  employed  at 
any  one  time  during  the  year  ending  June  30, 
1880,  in   the  various  factories,  to  wliom  $9,- 
107,835  were  paid  in  wages.     The  total  num- 
ber of  factories  reporting  was  383,  represent- 
ing a  capital  investment   of  $18,899,500,  and 
employing  8,407  looms.      The  total  net  value 
of  linislied  goods  produced  was  set  at   $34,- 
410,4(53,  the  gross  value  of  materials  and  sup- 
plies being  $22,871,300.     The  principal  arti- 
cles of  production   were:  Machine   twist,  $0,- 
000,275;  ribbons,  85,9.'.5,005;  fringes  and  dress 
trimmings,  $4,950,275;  dress  goods,  $4,115,- 
205;   handkerchiefs,  $3,802,550;  cords,  tassels 
and  mill inery  tri nimings, $1 , 392, 355 ;  u pholster- 
ing  and  uiillinery  Iriniinings;  1  ,:!92,3.")5;  satins, 
§1,101,875.     It  is  not  very  easy  to  make  com- 
parisons with  imported  silks,  as  the  invoice 
value  of  these  latter  is  said  to  be  on  an  ave- 
r.age  twenty-five  per  cent,  under  the  real  fig- 
ure,while  the  duty  and  dealers'  lu'ofits  have  to 
to  be  added,  but  is  estimated  that  rather  more 
than   a   third  of  the   silk   goods  used  in  the 
United  States  were  of  American  manufacture. 
About  ninety-five  per  cent,  of  the  imports 
come  through  New  York.     The  total  value  in 
1880    was  $33,305,400,  or  about    $7,500,000 
more  than  in  the  preceding  year,  a  showing 
without  parallel  since  1.871,  when  the  im|)ort3 
amounted  to  $33,899,719.     In  1877  and  1878  a 
figure  of  barely  $20,000,000  was  attained,  the 
figures  being  ehxpient  as  to  the  financial  con- 
dition  of  the   coinmunity.     .Silk,    it   may   be 
said,  stands  fourth  in  the  list  of  duly-paying 
imports,     contributing     $18,550,4(X)    to    the 
Treasury,  and  so  ranking  after  sugar,  wool 
and  iron.     The  imports  of  raw  silk  in  the  last 
fiscal  year  amounted  to  20,138  bales,  valued 
at  $10,885,107,  a  falling  off  from  21,741  bales, 
valued  at   $il, 949,743  in    the  jirevious   year, 
but  far  in  advance  of  former  sea.son.s. 

Perhaps  the  craze  which  most  frequently 
agitates  the  agricultural  community  is  that 
of  producing  silk  for  home  manufacture. 
There  is  no  diflieulty  in  breeding  and  rearing 
silk-worms  if  one  has  time,  patience  and  mul- 
berry trees  at  command,  but  there  is  no 
market  for  the  cocoons,  the  manufacturer 
wanting  reeled  silk — not  cocoons.  The  man- 
ufacture of  silk  thread,  Mr.  Wycoff  tells  us, 
though  it  has  now  outgrown  foreign  comiie- 
tition,  was  a  long  while  "in  the  wilderness." 
American  housewives  had  a  prejudice  in  favor 
of  Italian  sewing  silk,  and  Massachusetts 
manufacturers  had  to  humor  them  by  afl'ect- 
ing  foreign  packages  and  wrappers,  and  com- 
pounding   "  Italian"    trade      names.      The 


28 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[February, 


sewing-macliine  lias  completely  revolutionized 
the  business  and  brought  about  the  invention 
of  machine-twist.  American  sewing  silk  has 
an  extremely  high  standard  of  purity — a  fact 
which  lias  naturally  helped  to  drive  out  Eng- 
lish goods  which,  by  the  addition  of  dye,  are 
made  to  yield  from  eighteen  to  twenty-five 
pounds  for  each  pound  of  raw  silk.  Thou- 
sands of  cords  of  white  birch  from  Maine  are 
annually  converted  into  spools,  and  many 
English  makers  come  to  the  United  States  for 
these  little  articles,  which  an  ingenious  ma- 
chine centres  and  prints — printing  on  the 
wood  is  preferred  to  labeling — at  the  rate  of 
100  a  minute.  The  cabinets  given  by  manu- 
facturers to  new  customers  with  the  Srst 
purchase  cost  about  1^  per  cent,  of  the  total 
sales;  one  firm  has  spent  .SloO.OOO  in  this  sort 
of  advertising.  A  S50  cabinet  is  nothing  out 
of  the  way,  and  at  times  their  value  will  reach 
S300  or  $450.  In  dress  goods,  plain  black 
fabrics  are  the  harde-t  to  make,  as  every  de- 
fect in  them  is  perceptible,  and  until  a  very 
recent  period  their  successful  manufacture 
was  scarcely  expected  in  the  United  Slates, 
principally  on  account  of  the  costliness  of  the 
skilled  labor  required.  Now  nearly  a  third  of 
the  plain  silks  are  made  here,  and  the  indus- 
try is  making  steady  progress,  thanks  especi- 
ally to  the  care  given  to  the  quality  of  the 
article,  while  European  manufactures  are 
only  too  apt  to  load  theirs  with  dye.  A  simple 
test  is  to  burn  a  small  quantity  of  the  threads, 
pure  silk  will  immediatly  crisp  and  leave  a 
pure  charcoal;  heavily-dyed  silk  will  smoulder 
and  leave  a  yellow,  greasy  ash.  Very  few 
velvets  are  manufactured  in  the  United  States, 
but  the  production  of  figured  dress  silks, 
grenadines,  satins  and  the  like,  is  large  and 
growing;  American  linings  have  a  high  repu- 
tation, and  American  ingenuity  has  proved 
equal  to  the  task  of  producing  a  satisfactory 
and  lasting  silk  for  umbrellas.  Silk  handker- 
chiefs have  come  into  vogue  during  the  last 
eight  years  and  especially  since  the  Centen- 
nial Exhibition.  The  manufacture  of  rib- 
bons began  in  18G1  as~an  experiment,  there 
being  a  demand  for  particular  shades,  which, 
it  was  thought,  could  be  more  speedily  met  by 
making  than  by  importing.  Now  the  busi- 
ness has  grown  to  great  proportions.  Curi- 
ously enough,  nearly  all  the  designs  for 
American  ribbons  originate  in  American  fac- 
tories, frequently  months  in  advance-  of  the 
introduction  of  the  goods  into  the  market. 


COAL  TAR  AND  ALKALI  IN  PEACH 
CULTURE. 

Apropos  to  what  has  been  said  about  pro- 
tecting peach  stems  from  borers  and  from 
yellows  by  scalding  the  trees,  and  putting 
gas  tar-impregnated  sawdust  or  sand  about 
the  collar,  Mr.  Storm,  of  E9,st  Tyrone,  Pa., 
reports  that  having  some  peach  trees  aljout  as 
far  gone  as  they  could  be  to  retain  any  life,  a 
nurseryman  whom  he  consulted  about  tarring 
the  stems,  told  him  that  it  was  not  mucli 
difference  what  he  used,  for  trees  so  far  gone 
did  not  recover,  but  tarring  the  whole  .stem 
would  be  sure  to  finish  them.  Mr.  S.,  think- 
ing that  desperate  cases  need  desperate  reme- 
dies, and  wishing  to  experiment  further  with 
tar,  cleaned  out  a  basin  round  the  base  of  the 
trees  and  poured  in  a  pool  of  tar,  entirely 
surrounding  and  soaking  the  collar,  as  he  had 


done  with  advantage  before  to  some  borer- 
infected  apple  trees. 

The  result  was  that  the  peach  trees  threw 
out  strong,  healthy  shoots  the  next  season, 
and  have  maintained  vigorous  growth  during 
two  seasons  since.  Other  cases  within  the 
experience  of  the  writer  have  proved  that  tar, 
or  even  coal  oil,  can  be  applied  to  the  bark  of 
young  trees  with  impunity  during  the  winter, 
but  a  coating  of  it  in  the  summer  is  speedily 
fatal.  A  workman,  however,  once  mistaking 
directions,  added  a  quantity  of  tar  to  a  wash 
of  soap  and  sulphur,  which  he  was  directed  to 
apply  to  the  stems  of  some  young  orchard 
trees  in  June.  The  tar,  not  mixing  well, 
showed  itself  in  daubs  and  streaks  liere  and 
there  on  the  stems,  covering  them  nearly  or 
quite  half,  and,  being  irremovable,  was  an 
eyesore  for  years.  None  of  the  trees  suffered 
eriously,  however,  excepting  in  a  few  cases, 
where  they  had  a  heavy  coat;  these  took  on 
the  appearance  of  being  bark-bound  and  im- 
peded in  their  growth. 

In  Mr.  Rutter's  late  excellent  work  on  the 
peach,  he  shows  that  the  free  use  of  alkaline 
washes  and  manures,  especially  potash  and 
lime,  will  preserve  a  peach  orchard  from  the 
yellows,  as  well  as  from  other  destroyers  of  its 
fertility.  Mr.  Eutter  has  had  thirty-hve  years 
of  very  extensive  and  varied  experience,  and 
his  reliability  is  beyond  question.  So  far  as  re- 
gards the  borers,  the  carbolic  acid  of  coal  tar 
Is  most  convenient  and  effective.  It  mixes  in 
water  well  by  stirring  it  first  into  hot,  strong 
soapsuds.  A  pint  of  the  crude  acid,  costing 
'25  cents,  is  recommended  to  four  or  five  gal- 
lons of  soft  soap;  which,  diluted,  will  make 
twenty  gallons  of  wash,  to  be  applied  in  June, 
and  again  in  August  for  assured  effectiveness, 
although  the  Jime  application  usually  suffices. 


POINTS  IN  COWS. 

Points  in  stock  are  the  badges  of  purity. 
What  are  known  as  "points"  are  certain 
conformations,  outlines  of  shapes  and  marks 
of  color  which  specify  that  the  animal  pos- 
sessing them  is  truly  and  distinctly  a  member 
of  the  class  demanding  the  specifications  pos- 
sessed. The  average  farmer  gives  but  little 
attention  to  the  finer  points,  but  with  his  ex- 
perience, and  habit  of  association,  judges  very 
critically  at  times.  While  farmers  are  seem- 
ingly anxious  to  improve,  they  endeavor  to  do 
so  without  knowing  in  which  direction  to 
benefit  themselves.  Nearly  every  farmer 
claims  to  be  an  expert  at  selecting  milch 
cows,  yet  in  breeding  his  stock  he  does  not 
consider  first  what  he  is  to  breed  for.  Does 
he  stop  to  consider  tvhether  he  wishes  the  off- 
spring of  his  favorite  cow  to  be  a  superior 
milker  or  a  great  butter  producer  ?  The  in- 
fluence of  the  sire  is  to  be  considered  above 
all  others  in  such  a  matter.  Jersey  bulls  are 
scattered  far  and  wide  now,  and  are  within 
the  reach  of  all,  and  yet  the  dairyman  who 
sends  his  milk  to  market,  and  cares  not  to 
make  butter,  is  foolish  in  patronizing  Jersey 
bulls.  The  Jerseys  are  for  butter-producing 
only,  and  are  not  heavy  milkers.  The  milk 
such  cows  give  is  very  rich;  it  is  almost  pure 
cream;  but  it  does  not  come  up  in  quantity. 
The  farmer  who  desires  large  yields  of  milk 
from  cows  should  seek  to  have  transmitted  to 
his  young  stock  the  blood  of  the  Holstein  or 


Ayrshire;  for,  although  the  milk  from  cows  of 
these  breeds  is  not  as  rich  in  quality  as  that 
from  the  Jerseys  or  Guernseys,  they  greatly 
excel  them  in  quantity.  Thus,  those  farmers 
living  within  reach  of  clieese  factories  can 
better  promote  their  interests  by  selecting 
Holsteins  or  Ayrshires  for  improving  their 
stock;  while  those  who  send  butter  to  market 
should  have  nothing  but  the  butter-producers. 

A  great  milker  shows  her  qualities  in  her 
looks  and  make-up.  The  eyes  and  hair  also 
give  good  indications.  The  first  point  for  a 
farmer's  observation,  and  the  principal  one,  is 
to  observe  that  she  does  not  show  a  tendency 
to  become  "beefy,"  or  rounding  with  points 
that  denote  good  fattening  qualities.  A  first- 
class  cow  does  not  take  on  fat  as  a  rule,  but  is 
rather  bony  and  ugly-looking.  The  shape  of 
the  Jersey  should  be  deer-like,  with  a  large, 
mild-looking  eye  and  soft  feeling  of  hide  to 
the  touch.  The  udder  should  be  full,  reach- 
ing far  up  at  the  rear.  One  of  the  most 
prominent  points  is  the  large  milk  ducts 
(sometimes  as  large  as  a  person's  arm)  run- 
ning from  the  udder  to  the  middle  of  the 
stomach.  They  are  sure  indications  of  good 
milking  qualities.  Jerseys  have  black  nozzles 
and  tongues,  the  udder  being  usually  smoother 
than  in  other  breeds,  and  velvet-like  when 
examined  by  touch.  The  Holsteins  are  a 
very  large  breed  of  cows,  equaling  the  Short- 
horns in  size,  but  largely  excelling  them  in 
milking  qualities.  The  young  male  calves 
from  such  cows  can  be  kept  with  profit,  as 
the  Holsteins,  when  fed  for  the  purpose, 
make  not  only  good  beef  but  equal  to  the  best. 
Oxen  from  this  stock  are  nearly  equal  to  the 
Devons.  Their  color  is  usually  black  and 
white. 

But  in  endeavoring  to  breed  for  milk  it 
should  not  be  forgotten  that  two  excellent 
characteristics  are  rarely  found  in  a  single 
breed.  Thus  we  must  not  expect  to  find 
good  milkers  among  the  Shorthorns,  nor  have 
choice  beef  from  the  milch  cows.  A  cow  can- 
not make  milk  and  beef  at  the  same  time.  If 
her  tendencies  are  toward  milk  she  will  be 
hard  to  fatten;  if  she  keeps  extra  fat  it  means 
that  she  is  a  better  flesh-former  than  a  milk- 
producer.  A  great  deal  depends  on  the  feed, 
as  a  m,itter  of  course;  but  the  breed  must 
first  be  taken  into  consideration,  if  an  in- 
crease in  the  herd  is  contemplated. — Philadel- 
phia liecord. 

Our  Local  Organizations. 


AGRICULTURAL    AND    HORTICULTU- 
RAL   SOCIETY. 

The  horny-fisted  sons  of  toil  turned  out  fairly  well 
dt  the  meeting  on  iMonday  afternoon,  February  6th, 
18S2,  but  the  horny-fisted  daughter  was  conspicuous 
by  her  absence.  She  did  not  respond  to  the  invita- 
tion extended  to  her  at  the  last  meeting,  although 
Mr.  Calvin  Cooper,  the  mover  of  the  invitation,  ex- 
plained that  he  had  induced  Mrs.  C.  to  come  far 
enough  to  ascertain  that  no  ladies  were  present,  and 
— well  when  a  woman  won't  she  won't,  you  know. 
It  was  whispered  around,  however,  that  there  was  a 
little  more  punctiliousness  observable  in  the  appear- 
ance of  some  of  the  bachelor  and  younger  members 
by  reason  of  the  anticipated  influx  of  farmeresses,  so 
to  speak. 

The  following  were  present:  President,  Joseph  F. 
Witmer,  of  Paradise;  James  Wood,  Oak  Hill;  Calvin 
Cooper,  Bird  in-Hand;    M.  D.  Kendig,  Creswell;  F. 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


29 


R.  Diffcnderfl'er,city;  W.  W.  Griest,  city;  Enos  H. 
Weaver,  Strashure:;  Uebron  Herr,  Lampeter;  J.  F. 
Landis,  East  Lampeter;  D.  W.  (iraybill,  I'etersbiirK; 
J.  M.  Johnston,  city;  C.  L.  Huneecker,  Manlicim 
township;  Wash  L.  Hershcy,  Chicliics;  Levi  S.  Ueiet, 
Oregon;  H.  (i.  Hush,  West  Willow;  Jno.  U.  Landis, 
Millcrsville;  Cyrus  Nell',  Mountville,  II.  K.  Myers, 
Millersville;  Eph.  S.  Hoover,  Mauheim  township; 
John  Huber,  Pequea. 

In  the  absence  of  Secretary  Linville,  ex  Secretary 
Kendig  was  recalled. 

Crop  Reports. 

James  Wood,  Little  Britain,  reported  a.  good  crop 
of  snow  and  nothing  else  visible. 

C.  L.  Hiinsecker  noticed  before  the  snow  fell  that 
the  wheat  and  grass  looked  well. 

J.  F.  Landis  reported  the  waterfall  for  January  in 
East  Lampeter  to  be  4ls'  inches. 

Wash.  L.  Hershey  regarded  the  cropsVenerally  In 
a  favorable  condition  but  did  not  particularize. 

'•  Growth  and  Consumption  of  Timber  Trees  in 
America" 

was  the  subject  of  an  essay  by  C.  L.  Hunsecker.  It 
was  substantially  thus  : 

Although  a  dense  forest,  almost  untrodden  by 
civilized  man,  yet  as  early  as  17'i0  John  Bartram 
planted  on  the  banks  of  the  Schuylkill  below  Phila- 
delphia a  garden  containing  many  forest  trees  of 
North  America,  and  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne, 
1702-14,  an  act  of  Parliament  was  passed  for  the 
protection  of  the  colonial  forests.  In  17.50  the  felling 
of  white  pine  was  prohibited.  About  the  same  time 
iron  furnaces  were  established  in  Virginia, Maryland, 
Pennsylvania,  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  but  the 
apprehension  of  the  scarcity  of  fuel  was  not  realized, 
for  coal  came  to  the  relief.  And  no  doubt  when  the 
necessity  again  arrives  for  anew  departure,  a  substi- 
tute will  doubtless  be  found  for  the  wood  now  used 
in  ties,  telegraph  poles,  fences,  etc.  To  instance  the 
enormous  consumption  of  timber  Mr.  Hunsecker 
said  that  during  the  year  18.S0,  1,. 500,000, 000  feet 
were  cut  in  Minnesota,  Mississl;>pi,  Alabama, 
Florida  and  Texas.  On  the  other  band,  an  immense 
amount  of  timber  stands  in  this  country — 7(i0,000 
square  miles  of  it;  besides  Iowa,  Kansas,  Utah,  etc., 
are  becoming  wooded  by  the  planting  of  trees. 
Favorable  legislation  has  and  is  doing  much  for  the 
western  prairie,  in  some  of  the  States,  "Arbor  Day  " 
being  a  regular  holiday  for  the  planting  of  trees.  It 
may  be  said,  however,  that  the  cultivation  of  forests 
is  grearly  neglected  in  most  countries,  and  in  many 
a  very  sensible  want  of  wood  is  felt.  How  shall  we 
remedy  this  !  Who  shall  plant  tVees  !  In  the  Old 
World  governments  can  coerce,  but  in  our  country 
it  must  depend  upon  the  will  of  the  citizen.  Among 
some  of  the  public  benefactors  in  this  line  are  .Mr. 
Fisher,  the  red  cedar  pencil  manufacturer,  who 
planted  a  large  tract  of  land  iu  cedars;  the  Lan- 
dreths,  of  PhiLadelphia,  who  have  been  planting 
large  areas  in  Virginia  with  catalpa,  ailanthus, 
white  oak,  hickory,  etc.,  and  some  Scotch  immi 
grants,  who  are  building  up  forests  in  Missouri. 

Mr.  Hunsecker's  essay  was  quite  lengthy,  and 
contained  much  interesting  statistical  information 
pertaining  to  the  timber  interests  of  America. 

What  Causes  White  Vein  in  Tobacco. 

Mr.  Hebron  Herr  read  the  following  essay  on  the 
above  subject.    It  was  as  follows: 

This  is  a  very  important  question,  and  one  that 
should  elicit  the  attention  and  consideration  of  all 
growers  of  the  weed.  Numerous  arguments  have 
been  advanced  on  various  occasions,  but  have  not 
proven  satisfactory  to  the  public  in  general. 

In  my  little  experience  I  have  discovered  that 
tobacco  which  has  been  grown  perfectly,  nothing  in- 
terfering with  its  growth  from  the  small  and  tender 
plant  up  to  perfectly  matured  .stalk,  will  invariably 
cure  with  the  veins  the  desired  color.  Therel'ore, 
the  cause  which  produces  white  veins  in  our  totiacco 
is  attributable  first  to  a  diseased  condition  of  the 
plant  in  one  or  another  stage  of  its  growth.  Tobacco 
may  assume  this  diseased  condition  at  various  stages 
ol  its  growth.  It  may  become  diseased  ii]  our  plant 
beds,  or  when  being  transplanted  from  our  plant  beds 
into  the  field,  or  when  half  matured,  or  after  it  is 
fully  matured.  At  any  of  thhse  stages  it  may  be- 
come diseased,  and  nevergrow  healthy  thereafter. 
Fully  matured  tobacco  may  become  diseased  by 
being  permitted  to  stand  in  our  fields  in  the  hot  and 
dry  sun  after  it  has  ceased  to  grow.  It  may  be  left 
remaining  on  the  field  after  maturity  without  any 
disastrous  effect  when  the  soil  is  in  a  moist  and 
growing  condition.  By  permitting  tobacco  to  re- 
main standing  on  our  fields  in  the  hot  and  dry  sun 
after  ceesing  to  grow  It  becomes  subject  to  changes 
by  the  influence  of  the  sun's  rays  robbing  it  of  its 


vitality  and  retarding  the  copious  flow  of  the  nour- 
ishing elements  which  impart  the  life  and  vigor  to 
the  plants,  evidently  leaving  the  plant  in  a  diseasetl 
cr)ndition  when  harvested.  We  should  be  very  care- 
ful when  growing  tobacco  in  seasons  as  the  last  two 
Hereto  harvest  our  crop  immediately  on  the  plant 
arriving  at  maturity  or  before  it  ceases  to  grow.  It 
is  better  to  have  our  tobacco  an  inch  or  so  shorter 
and  harvest  it  in  a  healthy  condition,  than  a  few 
fnches  longer  and  harvest  it  in  an  unhealthy  condi- 
tion. The  next  point  to  he  taken  Into  consideration, 
and  one  also  pertaining  to  the  cause  of  white  veins 
is  that  of  curing  the  tobacco  after  it  has  been  grown 
and  harvested.  Experience  being  the  best  teacher 
and  guide  has  taught  me  that  the  more  we  retard  the 
curing  of  our  tobacco,  subjecting  it  to  undergo  a 
number  of  changes  while  curing,  the  better  the  color 
will  be  and  the  leaf  will  pttssess  more  of  that  fine 
silken  condition,  and  with  a  much  less  frequency  of 
white  veins.  Moisture,  I  claim,  is  otie  of  the  prime 
essentials  in  the  curing  of  tobacco.  Our  curing 
houses,  therefore,  should  be  so  constructed  in  the 
first  place  not  to  have  them  iiuilt  so  high,  and  invar- 
iably have  a  ground  Moor  or  so  arrangecl,  if  having 
another  floor,  that  it  could  be  opened  to  permit  the 
moisture  and  dampness  to  draw  up  thfough  the 
tobacco  to  assist  in  retarding  the  rapid  curing.  To- 
bacco which  I  cured  in  my  tobacco  cellar,  when 
coming  to  shipping  I  discovered  no  white  veins;  also 
that  which  I  cured  in  another  building  possessed 
very  little;  it  also  was  subject  to  the  influence  of  a 
ground  floor,  while  that  which  was  cured  in  my 
tobacco  house  possessed  white  veins,  and  the  higher 
up  in  my  shed  the  more  numerous  they  became. 
Now,  the  cause  or  reasons  which  I  give  for  this  is 
that  the  tobacco  which  I  cured  in  my  cellar  cured 
slowly,  undergoing  numerous  chances  of  becoming 
moist,  and  when  too  moist  was  by  ventilation  caused 
to  become  dry,  reviving  the  vitality  and  vigor  of  the 
plants  which  had  become  dormant  or  inactive  when 
harvested;  while  that  cured  in  the  house  above, 
having  not  possessed  this  advantage,  cured  very 
rapidly,  and  the  more  rapid  the  more  frequent  would 
white  veins  appear.  Houses  being  covered  with  slate 
are  often  spoken  of  as  not  being  beneficial  to  curing 
tobacco,  owinii-  no  doubt  to  the  heated  condition  iu 
which  it  becomes  during  the  day,  causing  the  tobac- 
co to  cure  too  rapidly.  Tobacco  harvested  while  in 
a  green  state  seldom  cures  white  veins.  This  is 
owing  to  the  green  and  sappj'  condition  of  the  leaf, 
causing  it  to  cure  more  slowly;  and  its  being  in  a 
trreen  state  is  subjected  to  more  numerous  changes. 
We  should  aid  our  tobacco  as  much  as  possible 
while  curing  by  closing  tightly  our  houses  during  the 
day,  and  opening  them  at  night.  Therefore,  in  con- 
clusion, the  cause  of  white  veins  in  our  tobacco  is  at- 
tributable, first,  to  a  diseased  condition  of  plants 
while  growing,  and  secondly,  to  an  improper  method 
of  curing;  and  as  a  preventive  we  shouhi  endeavor 
to  raise  healthy  plants,  transplant  properly,  cultivate 
frequently  and  trust  ill  Him  who  is  the  giver  of  all 
good  gifts  to  send  us  copious  showers  to  assist  in  a 
rapid  growth,  and  we  will  be  enabled  to  grow  tobac- 
co possessing  very  few  white  veins. 

Mr.  Cooper  thought  Mr.  Herr  had  struck  the  nail 
on  the  head  in  saying  that  when  cut  in  a  green  and 
succulent  condition  the  weed  was  in  little  danger  of 
white  vein.  Many  of  us  cut  the  weed  too  ripe;  we 
wait  for  too  much  length.  Better  have  less  length 
and  also  less  white  vein. 

Mr.  Graybill  wanted  to  know  why  on  a  good  healthy 
stalk  one  or  two  leaves  will  sometimes  have  while 
vein  ;  to  which  Mr.  Herr  responded  that  part  of  the 
stalk  was  diseased,  just  as  one  finger  on  a  man's 
hand  may  be  diseased  and  the  other  digits  perffcctly 
healthy. 

Mr.  Graybill  also  wanted  to  know  why  )'ou  call 
sometimes  sweat  out  white  veins;  and  in  response, 
Mr.  Herr  thought  it  was  a  poor  rule  that  would  not 
work  both  ways;  therefore  if  you  can  sweat  in 
white  veins  you  can  also  sweat  them  out. 

Enos  II.  Weaver  read  an  article  from  the  CoutUrij 
Crciitleinan,  taking  substantially  the  same  views  ex- 
pressed by  Mr.  Herr,  which  were  also  in  accord  with 
Mr.  Weaver's  experience. 

Mr.  Cyrus  Nelf  knew  that  some  varieties  of  to- 
bacco were  subject  to  white  vein. 

President  Witmer  had  been  told  that  two  well 
known  growers  in  the  eastern  end  leave  their  to- 
bacco stand  until  very  ripe,  and  they  never  have 
white  vein.  Two  years  ago  Mr,  Witmer  cut  some 
tobacco  when  only  reasonably  ripe,  cured  it  properly, 
and  out  ol  two  acres,  only  :'00  pounds  were  market- 
able. 

Mr.  J.  F.  Landis  said  the  best  tobacco  he  ever 
grew  stood  at  least  two  weeks  after  It  was  ripe. 

Mr.  J.  H.  Landis,  through  other  growers,  had 
learned  that   many  concur  that  wbeu  a  drought  is 


followed  by  a  wet  spell  and  a  consequent  growth  of 
the  weed  the  white  vein  is  very  numerous. 

This  was  just  directly  opposite  to  President  Wit- 
nicr's  experiences.  Under  just  these  circumstances 
two  years  ago  he  had  a  very  fine  crop  ami  very  little 
white  vein. 

In  .Mr.  (Jrayliill's  section,  three  years  ago,  heavy 
rains  and  hail  occasioned  a  resetting  ;  then  came  a 
dry  spell,  then  a  heavy  rain,  and  it  was  the  best  crop 
Mr.  a.  ever  had. 

.Mr.  Hoover  also  had  a  theory,  to  wit:  In  '79, 
about  the  second  week  of  August,  heavy  rains  suc- 
ceeded the  long  drought,  and  the  result  was  a  mag 
nificent  crop.  About  the  time  tobacco  needs  rain  the 
most  is  the  lopping  time;  If  the  plant  then  lack 
nourishment  the  leaf  will  probably  show  a  defect  in 
the  shape  of  white  veins. 

Rank  Growing  Wheat. 

"Ought  Kank  Wheat  to  be  Pastured?"  was  an 
swered  by  James  Wood.  It  depends  upon  the  win- 
ter that  follows.  If  we  have  an  o[)en  winter  it 
might  be  no  disadvantage  to  pasture  it  out;  but  if 
the  winter  was  severe,  pasturing  would  be  less  de- 
sirable and  quite  risky.  On  the  whole,  he  thought 
that  rank  wheat  should  not  be  pastured. 

.Mr.  Hunsecker  thought  pasturing  would  have  a 
tendency  to  check  the  rankness  of  wheat  and  thus 
make  a  better  crop. 

Dairy  Cows  and  the  Soiling  System. 

Can  dairy  cows  be  kept  in  as  healthy  condition  by 
the  soiling  system,  and  is  the  butter  as  good  ?  was 
answered  by  J.  F.  Landis. 

"  Can  dairy  cows  be  kept  in  as  healthy  condition 
by  the  soiling  system,  and  is  their  Imtter  as 
sweet?" 

If  by  the  soiling  system  we  mean  the  feeding  of 
cows  through  the  summer  months  insmall  inclosures 
or  stables,  and  only  take  the  parts  into  consideratiOQ 
touched  u()oii  by  my  question,  I  am  decidedly  op- 
posed to  the  system.  In  order  to  have  healthy  cows 
it  is  essential  that  we  have  good  lood,  pure  air,  pure 
water,  light  and  comfort.  1  claim  this  cannot  be 
had  in  a  small  lot  or  stable  to  so  full  an  extent  as  in 
the  field.  The  first  part  of  the  question,  as  an 
swered,  answers  the  second.  In  oriler  to  have  sweet 
butter  we  must  practice  cleanliness  from  the  time 
the  milk  leaves  the  cow  until  the  butter  is  on  the 
iiread.  There  are  few  things  so  absorbent  of  sur 
rounding  odors  as  butter.  1  have  seen  good  butter 
condemned  hereon  our  market  because  the  [lersons 
making  it  plac.d  it  iu  a  kettle  in  which  cheese  was 
placed,  or  anything  else  having  an  odor,  which,  in 
itself,  may  not  be  objectionable.  When  that  butter 
is  put  UDon  the  table  it  has  lost  its  sweetness.  I 
claim  that  the  soiling  system,  to  some  extent,  affects 
the  healtli  of  cows  as  well  as  the  sweetne.'^s  of  the 
butter. 

President  Witmer  did  not  agree  with  the  referee. 
He  thought  there  were  many  advantages  in  the  soil- 
ing system  and  only  one  objection,  viz  :  the  disad- 
vantage of  the  labor  attending  it.  .Mr.  W.'s  cows 
never  did  as  well  as  under  the  soiling  system. 

Mr.  Nefl'  is  trying  to  feed  his  cattle  entirely  in  the 
stable.  Last  year  from  December  to  February  lie 
never  took  out  the  cows  even  for  water,  and  they 
never  did  better.  Mr.  Neff  saw  no  reason  why  eallle 
could  not  be  ke|il  as  well  and  in  as  healthy  condition 
in  as  out  of  the  stable  He  cleaned  his  stables  twice 
a  day. 

Mr.  Cooper,  one  of  the  committee  at  the  State 
Fruit  Growers'  Society,  re|>ortcd  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting meetings  the  society  ever  held.  The  room 
was  crowded,  and  all  the  essays  and  discussions 
evinced  greafinlerest  on  the  part  of  the  members. 

The  following  questions  are  on  the  programme  for 
next  meeting  : 

"  Should  patent  fertilizers  be  appliei^  to  tobacco, 
and  if  so  at  what  time!"  Keferrcd  to  D.  W.  Gray- 
bill. 

"  Can  we  not  dispense  with  the  division  fences 
with  profit!"  Eph.  8.  Hoover. 

"  Should  we  encourage  the  introduction  of  new 
varieties  of  apples  ?';  L.  S.  Keist. 

"  What  13  the  best  time  for  sowing  cloverseed  i" 
Enos  H.  Weaver. 

"Is  sub  soiling  beneficial?"  John  C.  Linville. 

Adjourned. 


30 


THE  LANCASTER  .FARMER. 


[February, 


POULTRY   ASSOCIATION. 

The  Association  held  their  meeting  on  Monday 
morniner,  February  6.  The  followinfr  were  present : 
President,  G.  A.  Geyer,  of  Springville;  J.  B.  Lichty, 
Secretary,  city;  M.  L.  Greider,  Mount  Joy;  H.  H. 
Tshudy,  Lititz;  J.  B.  Long,  city;  C.  E.  Long,  city; 
J.  F.  Witmer,  Paradise;  Charles  Lippold,  city;  John 
E.  Schum,  city;  W.  W.  Griest,  city;  Washington 
Hershey,  Chiclsies;  F.  R.  Diffenderffer,  city;  J.  M. 
Johnston,  city. 

Secretary  Lichty  in  his  report  for  the  year  18S1, 
stated  that  there  were  forty-five  members  iu  good 
standing,  the  average  attendance  was  tliirteen,  and 
during  the  year  twenty -five  members  had  been 
elected,  of  which  number  only  six  paid  the  member- 
ship fee.  Members  are  in  the  arrears  to  the  extent 
of  §150.  The  Secretary  suggested  that  those  in 
arrears  prior  to  January  1,1882,  be  notified  that 
upon  the  payment  of  their  dues  to  that  date,  the 
association  will  place  their  names  upon  the  honorary 
list  of  membership.  The  total  number  of  entries  at 
the  late  show  was  551,  but  only  520  birds  were  ex- 
hibited, of  which  327  were  poultry,  185  pigeons  and 
7  cage  birds;  also  33  breeding  pens  were  exhibited. 
Cash  premiums  _paid  amount  to  $173.50;  -other 
special  premiums  swelled  the  total  value  of  pre- 
miums awarded  to  $830.75;  the  only  class  in  which 
the  entrance  fees  exceeded  the  premiums  paid  was 
the  Spanish,  consisting  principally  of  Leghorns, 
although  there  was  a  loss  of  tifty  cents  on  the 
Asiatics.  The  varieties  on  which  the  entrance  fees 
more  than  reimbursed  the  society  for  premiums  are  : 
Light  Brahmas,  Dark  Brahuias,  Black  and  Partridge 
Cochins,  B.  B.  K.  Game,  B.  B.  R.  Game  Bantams, 
White  and  Brown  Leghorns,  Plymouth  Rocks  and 
S.  S.  Bantsms.  In  the  pigeon  list  but  five  varieties 
paid,  viz:  White  Crested  Fantails,  White  Trumpet- 
ers, Blue  and  Blue  Checkered  Antwerps,  and  Blue 
English  Owls.  There  were  sixty-two  varieties  of 
poultry  which  averaged  over  five;  seventy-one  of 
pigeons  and  six  cage  birds.  Of  the  seventy. one 
varieties  of  pigeons  exhibited  but  fjve  paid  the  asso- 
ciation. All  premiums  to  foreigd  and  local  exhibi- 
tors have  been  jiaid,  greatly  to  the  credit  of  the 
society. 

Treasurer  J.  B.  Long  then  submitted  liis  annua 
report,  showing  that  $S.'2.13  had  come  into  his 
hands  from  the  receipts  of  the  show  and  other 
sources.  $821.7-1  had  been  paid  out,  leaving  in  the 
treasury  at  present  thirty-nine  cents. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  C.  E.  Long,  the  Secretary,  was 
authorized  to  employ  some  one  to  collect  the  out 
standing  dues. 

John  Sekloiuridge,  of  Ephrata,  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  society. 

The  Secretary  was  authorized  to  place  on  the 
honorary  list  of  membership  such  names  as  in  his 
discretion  he  might  eee  lit. 

By  a  mistake  express  charges  amounting  to  $5.40 
had    been   charged   to   certain   exhibitors.     As   the 
society   had   offered   to   pay   this  itself  if  promptly 
agreed  to  shoulder  the  debt. 
Adjourned. 


FULTON   FARMERS'   CLUB. 

The  February  meeting  of  the  club  was  held  at  the 
residence  of  Joseph  R.  Blackburn.  Members 
present :  E.  H.  Haines,  Wm.  P.  Haines,  Moutilliuu 
Brown,  J.  R.  Blackburn,  S.  L.  Gregg  and  Wm. 
King.  The  family  of  Josiah  Brown  was  represented 
bv  his  wife  and  daughter,  that  of  Grace  A.  Sing  by 
her  son  Joel,  and  that  of  Lindley  King  by  S.  Lind- 
ley  Jackson.  Visitors:  Neal  Hambleton  and  wife. 
Layman  C.  Blackburn  and  wife,  Edw.  Stubbs  and 
wife,  and  Samuel  J.  Kirk  and  wife.  The  attendance 
would  no  doubt  have  been  considerably  larger  but 
for  the  driving  snow  storm. 

Exhibits  and  Answers  to    Questions. 
Joseph    H.    Blackburn  exhibited  a  large   plate   of 
fine  winesap  apples,  which,  judging  by  the  way  they 
vanished,  the  Club  thought  to  be  very  fine. 

E.  H.  Haines  asked  if  winesap  apple  trees  grow  as 
ast  and  come  into  bearing  as  soon  as  other  varie- 


ties? There  were  several  present  who  had  winesap 
trees.  They  all  spoke  of  them  as  growing  as  well  as 
other  varieties,  and  being  good  bearers. 

Montillion  Brown  had  been  reading  lately  in  an 
agricultural  paper  of  a  kind  of  winter  oats,  or  oats 
that  could  be  sowed  in  the  fall,  and  wished  te  know 
if  any  one  present  had  any  knowl^di.^e  of  it. 

E.  H.  Haines  said  that  he  believed  that  there  was 
such  a  variety  of  oats.  Some  time  ago  there  was  a 
kind  of  oats  mix.-d  with  the  wheat  that  the  winter 
failed  to  kill. 

It  was  the  general  opinion  of  the  club  that  such  a 
variety  would  not  be  at  all  desirable,  as  it  would  be 
too  late  to  sow  after  the  corn  had  been  harvested, 
and  it  would  be  liable  to  give  trouble  by  getting 
mixed  with  the  wheat. 

Neal  Hambleton  asked  the  proper  time  for  trim- 
ming an  Osage  Oi-ange  hedge. 

E.  H.  Haines  said  that  he  had  experience  with 
hedges,  and  thought  that  he  knew.  Whenever  there 
is  a  growth  of  six  or  eight  inches  "long  cut  it  off.  It 
is  easily  done,  and  all  that  is  cut  off  dries  up  and 
gives  no  further  trouble.  It  is  easier  to  trim  three 
or  four  times  a  year  than  once.  If  the  shoots  are 
left  to  grow  for  a  year,  pruning  breaks  up  the  hedge 
and  makes  it  look  badly  and  leaves  a  lot  of  brush  to 
burn. 

Layman  C.  Blackburn  had  noticed  an  article  in 
the  New  York  Trihuue,  by  J.  F.  Wade,  giving  an 
account  of  the  writer's  experience  with  an  old 
orcha_rd  which  he  had  taken  in  hand  when  it  was  in 
a  plight  that  it  would  take  pages  to  describe,  and  a 
number  of  the  trees  so  nearly  dead  that  the  owner 
said  they  could  not  be  saved.  By  pruning,  scraping 
off  the  old  bark[and  the  filth  iu  wet  times,  when 
they  could  easily  be  removed,  and  plowing  five  times 
iu  a  season,  aud  dragging  iu  proportion,  he  had 
completely  renewed  the  trees  and  brought  them  into 
profitable  condition.  He  (L.  C.  Blackburn)  wished 
to  know  the  opinion  of  the  club  as  to  probable  sue 
cess  in  renovating  old  orchards  in  general  by  such 
treatment. 

E.  H.  Haines  :  If  the  trees  got  into  bad  condition 
by  neglect,  there  might  be  some  hope  of  succes-;,  hut 
if  the  trees  were  old,  we  might  as  well  try  to  rejuve- 
nate an  old  man. 

Ed.  Stubbs  could  not  agree  with  the  writer  that 
trees  might  be  made  to  bear  every  year  by  thorough 
cultivation.  He  had  seen  trees  that  were  cultivated 
that  did  not  bear  well. 

Neal  Hambleton  thought  that  the  leason  that 
trees  bore  only  every  other  year  was  that  they  needed 
more  rest  than  they  got  through  the  winter. 

Montillion  Brown  had  two  Queen  apple  trees,  one 
of  which  did  not  miss  a  crop  for  ten  years  in  succes- 
sion. It  was  favorably  located,  and  the  hogs  ran 
around  it  and  kept  the  ground  loose.  The  other 
trees  wv.re  not  in  so  favorable  a  location,  and  bore 
every  other  year.  There  was  not  much  difference  in 
their  vitality. 

S.  L.  Gregg  had  a  similar  experience  with  two 
trees.  The  hogs  ran  around  one  of  them,  ind  it 
bore  every  year,  but  it  wore  out  sooner  than  the 
other,  which  only  bore  every  other  year  '. 

William  Kiug ;  Is  it  advisable  to  trim  old  trees  '■ 
Ed.   Stubbs:    Don't  think   it   is.      They    will   die 
sooner  than  if  let  ejone. 

L.  C.  Blackburn  :  if  trees  are  well  trimmed  when 
they  are  young  they  will  not  need  much  after  they 
grow  old.  If  not  attended  to  when  young  they  will 
have  to  be  trimmed  when  they  are  old. 

E.  H.  Haines  said  that  his  father  once  let  some 
Yankee  graft  some  old  trees.  The  grafts  nearly 
all  grew  and  bore  fruit,  but  it  finally  killed  the 
trees. 

Mary  Ann  Brown  said  that  they  once  had  an  old 
orchard  trimmed  and  it  gradually  died  off.  It  never 
did  any  good  after,  Mr.  Brown  had  some  old  trees  on 
which  large  limbs  were  dying  out  off',  leaving  several 
feet  remaining  on  the  tree. 

S.  L.  Gregg  had  an  article  read  from  the  Oxford 
Press  entitled  "High  Farming,"  giving  an  account 
of  the  extraordinary  productions  of  a  farm  in  Lower 
Oxford  township,  Chester  county.  Some  of  the  mem-  | 


bers  thought   it   a  very  clever  advertisement.    The 
owner  is  a  manufacturer  of  fertilizers. 

Examining  the  Host's   Farm. 

The  forenoon  session  was  now  adjourned,  both 
members  and  visitors  retiring  to  the  dining  room 
where  for  some  time  they  diligently  occupied  their 
time  in  jiutting  themselves  outside  of  the  good  things 
of  this  world.  After  exhausting  all  their  powers  in 
this  line  of  business  they  plunged  out  through  the 
whirling  storm  to  look  at  the  condition  of  the  live 
stock  of  the  host.  After  again  convening  in  the 
house,  criticisms  were  called  I'or. 

Montillion  Brown  :  He  has  some  very  nice  fat 
steers.  Did  not  go  to  see  his  wheat  field.  Suppose 
it  is  good. 

William  P.  Haines  had  noticed  some  very  thrifty 
pigs. 

Neal  Hambleton  spoke  of  the  flue  condition  of  the 
pigs,  and  also  of  their  pen,  which  was  well  arranged 
and  everything  about  in  neat  order. 

E.  H.  Haines, would  like  to  see  a  good  hog  pen.  He 
had  been  in  search  of  one  for  some  time  and  had 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  a  perfect  hog  pen  or 
chicken  house  were  things  that  had  not  yet  been  in- 
vented. This  led  to  quite  a  discussion  on  the  con- 
struction of  hog  houses. 

Literary  Exercises. 

The  literary  exercises  of  the  club  were  next  taken 
up,  when  Carrie  Blackburn  recited  "The  Boy  Con- 
vict's Story,"  an  account  of  a  young  man  who,  In 
his  boyuood,  had  been  kept  in  strict  surveillance  by 
his  pious  parents,  who  made  the  atmosphere  of 
his  home  frigid  with  propriety,  until  at  last  he  left 
the  parental  roof  to  seek  abroad  the  recreations  and 
pleasures  for  which  he  was  longing  and  which  were 
denied  him  at  home.  But  he  strayed  too  far,  and 
finally  was  betrayed  into  the  commission  of  crime. 

Neal  Hambleton  congratulated  the  little  girl  on 
her  choice  of  a  selection  for  recitation.  He  thought 
that  the  young  should  not  be  restrained  in  civil 
amusement  It  is  a  mistake  that  we  do  not  mingle 
more  with  the  young.  Gaines  and  other  amusements 
shuulii  not  he  discouraged,  but  we  should  use  every 
means  to  nitke  home  cheerful  to  the  children. 

E.  H.  Haines  was  afraid  that  there  was  too  much 
truth  in  the  boy's  story.  We  should  mingle  freely 
with  our  children  and  let  them  see  society  as  it  is. 
Young  people  who  are  kept  in  restraint  and  isolated 
for  fear  of  their  being  contaminated  do  not  know 
what  value  to  put  on  what  they  see  and  bear.  They 
are  liable  to  be  taken  in. 

Monlilliou  Brown  thought  one  reasou  why  people 
in  this  country  did  not  mingle  more  freely  with  the 
children  was  owing  to  the  secluded  nature  of  the 
farmer's  life.  This  little  Club  gave  an  opportunity 
for  a  more  social  feeling  between  old  and  young.  VVe 
should  take  the  young  with  usand  havethem  take  an 
intei'est  iu  it. 

S.  L.  Gregg  thought  that  the  young  of  the  present 
day  had  many  advantages  that  we  were  deprived  of 
when  we  were  young,  and  they  should  be  encouraged 
to  avail  themselves  of  them. 

Mabel  Haines  recited  the  Wayside  lun.  Lauretta 
A.  Kirk  recited  The  Two  Dimes,  and  Ella  Brown, 
The  Independent  Farmer. 

The  next  meting  of  the  Club  will  be  held  at  the 
residence  of  Joseph  Griest,  Fulton  township,  March 
4th. 


JANUARY  MEETING  OF  THE  LIN- 
N.1EAN. 
The  Societj'  convened  on  Saturday  afternoon,  Jan- 
uary 28,  in  the  hall  of  the  Y.  M.C.  A.,  the  President, 
Prof.  Stahr,  and  the  Secretary,  Dr.  Davis,  occupying 
their  respective  chairs.  After  the  formal  opening 
and  the  collection  of  dues,  the  following  donations  to 
the  museum  and  library  were  anuounoed  by  the 
curators: 

Museum. 

A  fine  specimen  of  the  "  Frog  Fish"  {Balrachus 
tau),  six  inches  in  length,  from  Mr.  Frank  Mettfett, 
was  donated  through  Mr.  Daniel  Heitshu.    ThisflsU 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


31 


was  received  from  Baltimore  iD  a  cargo  of  oysters, 
and  was  still  alive  when  it  arrived  In  Lancaster,  al- 
tbough  it  must  liavc  been  out  of  the  water  several 
days. 

Eight  specimens  of  the  "  seventeun-year  cicada  " 
(^Cicada  »eplen<Iecie) ,  \n  the  piip:r  fiirm,  donated  by 
Mr.  Geo.  Hensel,  florist,  East  Orange  street.  These 
iDsects  were  dug  out  of  the  ground,  elghteeu  inches 
below  the  surface,  and  about  f  ur  feet  from  the  out- 
Side  wall  of  Mr.  H.'s  greenhouse,  ou  the  16th  of 
January,  and  were  alive  when  received  by  the  cura- 
tors. Vrof.  Riley  is  of  the  opinion  tluit  tliey  belong 
to  his  brood  No.  8  and  will  appear  the  "  coming 
summer." 

A  beautiful  specimen  of  Wilson's  thrush  (  Turdun 
fuicecms),  found  In  a  dying  condition  In  East 
Orange  street,  in  November  last,  and  donated  by  W. 
De  C.  Kathvou.  As  this  bird  usually  migrates  in 
September  or  the  beginning  of  October,  it  mu.'it  have 
been  deceived  liy  the  pleasant  autumn  weather,  and 
was  suddenly  overcome  by  cold. 

A  very  perl'ect  Indian  implement,  found  on  a 
small  Island  in  the  Susquehanna  river,  near  Safe 
Harbor,  was  donated  by  Mrs.  A.  H.  Keist,  of  No. 119 
South  Queen  street,  through  Mr.  William  Uocbm. 
This  relic  of  the  Hcd  Man  Is  of  an  unusual  form,  and 
was  probably  used  in  "barking"  trees, orin  skinning 
large  animals,  or  both. 

."Specimens  of  "Georgia  cotton"  ((fosfypiiim  her- 
I  u-iiim)  were  donated  by  Mr.  J.  J.  Sprenger,  of 
llimie,  Georgia.  Height  of  plant,  four  feet  six 
inches;  spread,  three  feet,  and  contained  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  bolls.  This  was  represented  as  an 
average  of  the  plants  In  the  field  where  it  grew. 

Fine  specimens  of  "Sponge"  (Spoiigia —  /)  gather- 
ed on   Nantucket   Beach,  Mass.,  last   Summer,  and 
donated   by   Mr.   D.    Maxwell,   of  Baltimore.     One 
s|KclmeD  is  of  a  very  delicate  and  uncommon  form. 
Library. 

Nos.  li.5  and  2ti,  vol.  20,  of  the  Official  Gazette  of 
I  be  United  States  Patent  Oflice,  from  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Interior.  The  Lancastek  Fakmeu, 
ISSli. 

Historical. 

Three  envelopes,  containing  forty  seven  local  and 
fi 'reign,  historical,  biographical  and  scientific  scraps, 
l'>  the  Curators. 

A  twenty  dollar  bill  of  the  Lancaster  Bank,  dated 
•  luly  1,  18.5J,  by  .Mr.  J.  G.  Thackara. 
Papers  Read. 

Dr.  Kathvon  read  three  papers  containing  notes  ou 
I  lie  history  and  habits  of  the  "Frogfish,"  the 
"  Thrush,"  and  the  "Cicadas"  donated. 

Mrs.  Gibbons  read  an  interesting  letter  from  a 
iiicnd  in  Nebraska,  relating  to  some  phenomenal 
IKCuliarities  of  the  wells  in  the  district  where  that 
friend  reside^. 

New   Bus  ness. 

The  Presiden'  announced  the  chairman  of  the 
>!auding  committee  for  the  year  1S82,  said  chairman, 
under  the  provision  of  the  constitution,  belug  au- 
1  liorized  to  appoint  each  two  colleagues  from  among 
the  members  and  correspondents  of  the  society. 
Mammology,  Dr.  M.  L.  Davis;  Ornithology,  William 
L.  Gill;  Eerpetology,  W.  T.  Bolton;  Ichthyology,  C 
A.  Heinitsh;  Eutomology,  S.  S  Rathvon;  Botany, 
Mrs.  L.  D.  Zell;  Geology,  Prof.  I.  S.  Geist,  Paleon- 
tology, Prof.  T.  K.  Baker;  Microscopy,  Dr.  Knight; 
Mill'  lalogy,  J.  B.  Kevlnski;  Archajology,  Prof.  J.  H. 
Dulil'.-;  Natural  Historical  .Miscellany,  Mrs.  P.  E. 
iiibhons. 

After  passing  upon  bills  presented,  and  the  usual 
BOcial  and  scientific  intercourse,  the  society  adjourn- 
en  to  meet  on  the  last  Friday  evening  in  February, 
of  which  the  hour  and  place  will  be  announced  by 
the  secretary  in  due  time. 

Agriculture. 


PLANTING  TOBACCO. 

M.  Quad  describes  the  method  of  planting  tobacco 
in  Virginia  as  follows  : 

The  tobacco  crop  in  Virginia  has  long  been  a 
source  of  great  revenue,  and  there  was  a  time  when 
any  agriculture     outside  of    tobacco    raisii-g  was 


supposed  to  be  a  losin?  business.  Tobacco  land  must 
be  prepared  as  carcfullv  as  the  average  farmer 
woulil  prepare  airarden.  The  beds  for  the  ulants  are 
generally  prepared  on  a  piece  of  new  land  ami  in  lo- 
calties  sheltered  from  winds  and  having  a  southern 
exposure.  The  at^lies  from  the  luirni'd  shnihs,  leaves 
and  limbs  are  carefully  worked  into  llie  bed.  The 
seed  is  then  sown  as  we  sow  for  cabbage,  and  the 
plants  come  up  the  same.  When  they  are  large 
enough  lo  tran.'iplani  they  are  set  about  three  feet 
apart,  and  about  4,200  plants  Is  the  average  for  an 
acre  of  ground.  At  a  certain  age  the  plants  must  be 
"pruned,"  which  consists  of  breaking  olf  the  shoots 
ani  suckers  anl  pinching  off  the  head,  and  ai^ain 
the  tobacco  worms  must  he  hunted  off  the  p],\nts. 
Tobacco  growers  generally  put  In  corn  and  other 
crops  as  well,  so  that  hands  can  be  shifted  from  one 
growing  product  to  another  as  necessity  recpiires  or 
the  state  of  the  crop  permits.  A  fair  average  per 
acre  is  700  poumis.  Tiiis  must  be  snn. dried  on 
seallolds  In  the  field,  and  afterward  huiiir  In  barns 
and  smoked.  The  average  price  for  this  heavy  to- 
liaceo  is  seven  cents  per  pound.  An  acre  of  land  Is 
thus  made  to  yield  about  ?.500.  (irowers  estimate 
1,000  pounds  to  every  band  employed,  and  the  care 
of  the  tobacco  crop  is  only  one  half  their  labor. 


Improved  Grasses. 

In  many  respects  grass-culture  has  not  kept  pace 
with  Improvements  in  other  branches.  We  are  con 
tinually  getting  new  [ilanls,  new  trees,  new  fruits, new 
vegetables,  new  grains,  but  a  new  grass  is  never 
thought  of.  We  have  the  same  orchard-grass, the  same 
redtop,  and  the  same  timothy,  that  we  have  over  a 
liundred  years  ago;  and  so  far  as  the  drift  of  thought 
goes,  we  shall  have  the  same  gra9Ses  for  a  hundred 
years  to  come.  And  yet  there  Is  no  reason  that  we 
can  see  why  there  should  not  be  Improved  grasses,  as 
well  as  improvements  in  any  other  thing;  .and  there 
doutless  would  be  If  public  attention  was  drawn  to 
the  matter  as  it  should  lie. 

We  have  to  be  sure,  iluring  the  past  twen'y  years 
or  so,  been  treated  to  Hungarian  grass  or  millet,  a 
harsh,  coarse  thing,  of  little  merit  except  for  the  very 
Iieavy  crops  it  produces;  and  Lucerne  is  no  bettej. 
There  surely  must  be  others  which  It  would  be  of 
advantage  to  introduce.  We  see  in  foreign  agricul- 
tural journals  that  some  attention  is  being  giv- 
en to  a  species  of  grass  called  Tussock-grass,  from 
Its  growing  in  large  bunches,  and  which  from  its 
description  appears  to  be  closely  allied  to  orc'iard 
grass.  It  docs  not  appear  to  be  considered  very 
hardy;  but  there  are  no  doubt  a  numlier  of 
places  on  this  continent  where  It  would  find  Itself  en- 
tirely at  home.  It  is  said  to  grow  five  or  six  feet  In 
height,  and  to  produce  vegetation  of  great  fineness 
of  quality  and  exceedingly  nutritious.  When  once 
a  field  is  set  with  It,  it  is  seldom  killed  out  by  other 
vegetation,  and  goes  ou  producing  good  crops  for  a 
great  many  years.  It  appears  to  be  hardy  In  Hun- 
gary, and  If  so  It  ought  to  stand  considcralile  frost. 
We  wish  all  this  was  just  so  as  stated,  i)ut  we  are 
afraid  that  in  this  as  In  so  many  other  new  and  re 
puted  valuable  products  of  the  soil,  we  shall  not 
hear  much  of  it  In  the  future. 

But  It  Is  not  only  the  introduction  of  new  species 
that  grass  crops  and  grass  lands  may  be  Improved — 
there  miirht  be  selected  good  varieties  of  kinds  we 
now  grow,  just  as  we  have  selected  good  kinds  of 
other  things.  There  seems  to  be  here  a  good  chance 
for  somebody. — Gerinaidoioii  Telegraph, 


Rotation  of  Crops. 

In  a  well  planned  system  of  farming,  the  subject 
of  crop  rotations  should  be  carefully  considered,  as 
one  of  the  essential  elements  of  success  in  its  highett 
and  best  sense.  It  seems  to  be  the  prevailing  ojilii 
Ion  that  the  alternation  of  crops,  in  sytcmallc  order, 
is  a  modern  invention  that  was  gradully  developed 
as  a  direct  resultlof  the  applications  of  science  to  the 
art  of  aiirlculture.  The  early  writers  on  agricul- 
ture, even  from  the  times  of  the  Komans,  have,  how- 
ever, quite  uniformly  urged  the  advantages  of  a 
succession  of  crops  from  the  teachings  of  experience. 
They  were  satisfied  that  a  variety  of  crops  grown  In 
sueeession,  all  other  conditions  beini:  equal,  would 
give  a  greater  aggregate  yield  than  could  other- 
wise be  obtained .  The  reasons  for  the  success  of  the 
system  eonid  not,  it  Is  true,  be  given,  but  practical 
men  were  fully  agreed  In  urging  its  importance,  aud 
many  systems  of  rotation,  more  or  less  perfect,  were 
planned,  some  of  which  became  the  prevailing  rule 
of  farm  practice  in  particular  localities.  That  these 
practical  rules  of  alternating  crops  of  dilferent  habits 
and  modes  of  growth  are  based  on  correct,  but  not 
explained,  principles,  has  qeeu  shown  by  direct  ex 
periment. — l)i'.  Manly  Miles  in  American  AgricnU 
lurisl. 


Household  Recipes. 


OuANoE  Pie. — Grate  the  rinde  of  two  oranges  aud 
squeeze  the  juice.  Cream  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of 
butter  and  by  degrees  add  half  a  pound  of  sugar. 


Beat  In  the  yolks  of  six  eggs  (already  well  beaten), 
then  the  rinds  and  juice  of  the  orange".  Beat  the 
whites  of  the  egg  to  a  slIIV  froth  and  mix  them  lightly 
111  the  other  ingredients.     Bake  In  paste  lined  tin  pie 

plates. 

New  Enoi.anii   Baked  Indian  PrnDiNO.— One 

quart  of  milk,  three  quarters  cup  of  molasses,  two 
teas|K>oiis  gluu'er,  one-half  teaspoon  cinnamon,  a  bit 
of  salt.  Stir  these  Ihorouiihly  together  and  let  ^ome 
to  a  boil.  Have  ready  three  dessert  spoonfuls  of  In- 
dian iiii-al  wet  In  a  little  cold  milk;  put  Into  the  hot 
milk  and  after  stirring  thorouglilv  let  it  boll  live 
minutes.  This  should  be  made  early  In  the  morning 
and  set  away  to  cool.  When  needed  for  dinner  lake 
two  eggs  well  beaten,  two  tablespoonfulls  melted 
butter,  half  a  teacup  cold  milk,  stir  this  Into  the 
first  mixture  and  let  it  bake  two  hours. 

CniriiEN  Pie.— Choose  a  rather  tender  fowl, 
pluck  oil  the  pen  feathers,  singe  off  the  hairs  with  a 
piece  of  burning  paper,  then  wipe'  the  fowl  with  a 
clean  (lamp  elolli,  draw  It  carefully  by  slitting  the 
skin  at  tile  back  of  the  ne<-k  and  taking  out.  the  crop 
without  tearing  the  skin  of  the  breast;  loosen  the 
heart,  liver  and  lungs  by  Introducing  the  forefinger 
at  the  neck;  ami  then  draw  them,  with  the  entrails, 
from  the  rent.  Unless  you  have  broken  the  gall,  or 
the  entrails  in  drawing  the  bird,  t/o  not  leanh  it\  fo;' 
this  greatly  Impairs  the  flavor,  and  partly  destroys 
the  nourlshini;  c|ualltles  of  the  fiesh .  Cut  It  111  joints 
and  put  It  In  a  hot  frying-pan  with  an  ounce  of  butter 
and  two  ounces  salt  pork  cut  in  dice,  and  fry  It 
brown.  When  it  is  brown  stir  an  ounce  of  flour  with 
It,  and  let  the  flour  brown;  season  It  with  a  leaspoon- 
ful  of  salt,  a  h^vel  teaspoonful  of  [lepper  and  a  table- 
spoonful  of  chopped  parsley;  cover  it  with  boiling 
water  and  let  It  simmer  gently  for  an  hour,  or  until 
the  chicken  Is  tender. 

PitUNi:  PLi)i)i\(i.— One  half  pound  of  prunes 
boiled;  .soft  ami  thick,  j;emove  the  stones  and  sweet 
en  well;  then  a<ld  the  whites  of  six  eggs  beaten  stiff; 
chop  the  prunes  fine,  then  stir  in  the  eggs;  put  Into  a 
dish  and  bake  a  light  brown.  Serve  with  sweetened 
cream  . 

A  Nice  Wav  of  Codkino  Coi,d  Meats- — Chop 
the  meat  fine;  sc.son  with  salt,  pepper,  onion  or  else 
tomato  catsup.  Fill  a  tin  breadpan  two-thiriis  full; 
covered  it  over  with  mashed  potato,  which  has  been 
salted  and  has  milk  in  it;  lay  tuts  of  butter  over  the 
top  and  set  into  a  Dutch  or  stove  oven  for  fifteen  or 
twenty  minutes. 

Chocolate  Cake. — One  cup  of  sugar,  tablespoou- 
ful  of  butter,  om^  heaiiinu'  cup  of  flour,  one  tea- 
spoonful  of  cream  tartar  sifted  in  Hour,  and  half  a 
teaspoonful  of  soda  dissolved  in  a  tablespoonful  of 
sweet  milk.  Filling — whites  of  three  eggs  beateu 
to  a  stiH' froth,  one  cup  of  sugar  (pulverized),  and 
three  tablespooiifnls  of  grated  chocolate,  and  vanilla 
to  taste.  Bake  the  cake  in  jelly-cake  tins  in  three 
lavers,  and  spread  the  mixture  between  and  on  top. 
Eat  within  thirty-six  hours  after  baking. 

Bkeakfast  Ki:sKS.— Two  cupfuls  of  sweet  milk, 
two  eggs,  t>vo  teaspoonfuls  of  cream  tartar,  one  tea 
spoonful  of  soda,  half  a  cupful  of  white  sugar,  about 
four  small  cu|)fuls  of  fiour.  Beat  the  etrgs  very  light ; 
put  the  cream  of  tartar  in  the  Hour,  and  add  the  soda 
the  lasi  thing.     Bake  in  a.  long  pan    in  a  quick  oven. 

Pkeparixg  Caubots.— Carrots  iirepared  in  this 
way  make  a  good  side  d!sh  oi  entree:  Scrape  and 
wash  them ;  boil  until  they  are  tender,  in  as  little 
water  as  will  serve  to  keep  them  covered  ;  put  In  a 
large  pinch  of  salt;  when  the  carrots  can  be  easily 
pierced  with  a  broom  splint  diain  otl"  the  water  and 
roll  the  carrots  in  fiour  ;  put  a  lump  ol  butter  In  a 
saucepan  and  set  on  the  stove  ;  when  hot  put  the  car- 
rots In  and  fry  until  brown ;  the  carrots  may  be  cut 
in  two  parts  or  cooked  whole ;  turn  them  so  that  they 
will  brown  on  all  sides. 

Bahley  Soul". — Two  or  three  pounds  of  beef  from 
the  skill,  two  pounds  of  cracked  bones,  an  onion,  four 
stalks  of  celery,  lour  potatoes,  a  gallon  of  water, 
pepper  and  salt.  Put  all  into  the  soup  pot  and  boll 
very  irently  three  hours.  Wash  a  cup  of  barley  and 
boil  In  a  very  little  clear  watea  twenty  minutes. 
Strain  the  soup,  pres.sing  hard,  boil  up,  skim,  add 
the  barley  and  simmer  thirty  minutes. 

CoKNSTAiicu  Cakes — Take  the  whites  of  three 
egus,  one  cupful  of  sugar,  two-thirds  of  a  cupful  of 
sweet  milk,  two. thirls  of  a  cupful  ol  melted  butter, 
one  teaspoonful  of  cream  tartar,  half  teaspoonful  of 
soda,  half  a  cupful  of  cornstarch,  one  small  teaspoon- 
ful of  lemon  extract,  one  anil  one-half  cupfuls  of 
fiour.  Mix  t'.ie  cornstarch,  flour  and  cream  tartar 
together  and  sift  all  through  a  sieve.  For  yellow 
cakes  take  the  yolks  of  the  eggs  and  make  the  same 
with  these  exoptlons  :  Leave  out  the  cornstarch  and 
hall  a  cupful  of  butter  instead  of  two-thirds  soda 
buttermilk  and  soda  Instead  of  cream  tartar  and 
sweet  milk. — Country  Gentleman. 

Fkencu  Tapioca  Puddinu. — Take  two  ounces 
of  tapioca  and  boil  itjii  a  half  a  pint  of  milk  by  de. 
grees,  and  l)oli  until  the  tapioca  becomes  very  thick  ; 
add  a  well-beaten  egg,  sugar  and  flavoring  lo  taste, 
and  bake  three  quarters  of  an  hour.  This  prepara- 
ration  of  tapioca  is  superior  to  any  other,  is  nourish- 
ing, and  suitable  for  delicate  children. 


32 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[February,  1882. 


Sweet  Macaroni.— Break  up  a  quarter  of  a 
pound  of  the  best  macaroni  into  small  lengths,  and 
boil  it  in  two  quarts  of  water  with  a  large  pinch  of 
salt,  until  perfectly  tender  ;  drain  away  the  water, 
add  to  the  macaroni  into  the  stew  pan  a  cupful  of 
milk  and  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  sitted  lump  sugar, 
and  keep  shaking  over  the  fire  until  the  milk  is  ab- 
sorbea  ;  add  any  flavoring,  serve.  Stewed  fruit  may 
be  served  with  the  macaroni. 

Oatmeal  Pudding.  -Mix  two  ounces  of  fine 
Scotch  oatmeal  in  a  quarter  of  a  pint  of  milk;  add  to 
it  a  pint  of  Ijoiling  milk  ;  sweeten  to  taste,  and  stir 
over  the  Are  for  ten  minutes  ;  then  put  in  two  ounces 
of  sifted  bread  crumbs;  stir  until  the  mixture  is 
stiflf,  then  add  one  ounce  of  shred  suet  and  one  or 
two  well-beaten  eggs;  add  a  little  lemon  flavoring 
or  greated  nutmeg.  Put  the  pudding  into  a  buttered 
dish  and  bake  s  owly  for  an  hour. 

Wholesale  Congress.— Healthy  piecrust  is 
made  of  thin,  sweet  cream  and  flour,  with  a  little 
salt.  Don't  knead,  Bake  in  a  quick  oven.  Another 
way  is,  sift  a  quart  or  two  of  flour  in  a  pan.  Stir  in 
the  centre  a  little  salt  and  half  a  teaspoonful  of  soda 
well  pulverized.  Put  in  the  hole  a  cup  of  soft  (not 
liquid)  la.d,or  butter  and  lard  mixed  ;  stir  it  thor- 
oughly with  the  flour ;  next  add  two  scant  cups  of 
good  sour  milk  or  buttermilk.  Stir  all  qnickly  with 
the  flour  in  such  a  way  that  you  need  hardly  touch 
it  with  your  hands  till  you  can  roll  it  out.  Bake 
quick,     this  will  make  three  or  four  pies. 

Stewed  Apples  and  Rice.— Feel  good  baking 
apples,  take  out  the  cores  with  a  scoop,  so  as  not  to 
injure  the  shape  of  the  apples;  put  ttiem  in  a  deep 
bakiug-dish  an^'  pour  over  them  a  syrup  made  by 
boiling  sugar  in  the  proportion  of  one  pound  to  a  pint 
of  water;  put  a  little  piece  of  shred  lemon  inside 
of  each  apple  and  let  them  bake  very  slowly  until 
done,  but  not  in  the  least  broken.  If  the  syruf  isthin, 
boil  it  until  it  is  thick  enough  ;  takeout  the  lemon 
peel,  and  put  a  littlejam  inside  each  apple,  and  be- 
tween them  little  heaps  of  well  boiled  rice.  This 
dish  may  he  served  either  hot  or  cold. 


Literary  and  Personal. 


The  AMaRicAN  Bee  Journal  — This  oldest  and 
ablest  paperdevoted  exclusively  to  progressive  bee  cul 
ture,  published  in  the  country,  is  now  issued  in  a  royal 
octavo  form,  weekly,  at  .?L'.00  a  year,  by  Thomas  C. 
Newman,  editor  and  proprietor,  No.  974  West  Madi- 
son street,  Chicago,  Illinois.  This  is  a  far  better  and 
more  couveinient  form  than  that  of  a  quarto,  in 
which  it  was  issued  in  1881.  Indeed,  having  been 
published  as  an  'octavo  for  seventeen  years,  the 
wisdom  of  changing  to  a  quarto  for  a  single  year, 
seems  to  have  been  questionable,  and  now  returning 
to  nearly  the  uriginal  form  is  a  concession  that  the 
departure  was  not  a  wise  one.  But,  whatever  its 
form  may  have  been,  its  suhstanee  is,  and  always  has 
been,  of  the  highest  apieultural  order,  and  we  don't 
see  how  anyone' who  makes  bee  keeping  a  specialty, 
can  aflbrd  to  do  without  it. 

The  Western  Plow.man,  (not  "  ploughman  " 
but  /iloirmaii.) .  A  brand  new  agricultural  royal 
quarto  of  16  pages,  published  by  John  H.  Porter— J' 
W.  Ware  Editor— monthly,  at  Moline,  Illinois,  at 
the  very  low  price  oi fifty  cents  a  year,  (with  a  pre 
miuni  worth  a  dollar).  No.  1,  vol.  1,  of  this  "baby 
elephant,"  has  found  its  way  to  our  .lanctuin,  and  we 
confess  we  are  prepossessed  in  its  favor  ;  for,  being 
"  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  home,  the  farm  and 
the  family,"  it  makes  place  for  healthy  literature  in 
general,  as  well  as  farming  and  domestic  affairs. 
The  material  is  of  good  quality  and  the  imprint  especi- 
ally, agreeable  to  the  inflrm  of  sight,  being  bold, 
plain,  and  easily  read.  Its  very  title  insinuates 
economy,  for  it  saves  two  letters  in  spelling  and  ob- 
viates the  likelihood  of  any  foreigner  pronouncing  it 
Plufman.  The  very  paper  to  interest  the  house- 
hold, and  nelp  to  while  away  the  weary  nours  of  a 
long  and  lonesome  winter's  day.  It  deserves  to 
prosper,  and  we  think  it  will. 

The  Home  Economist,  devoted  to  the  interests  of 
social  economy.  "  A  guide  to  every  department  of 
practical  life,"  a  beautiful  folio,  published  monthly, 
by  F.  S.  Blanchard  and  Company— Luke  Goodwin, 
Editor— at  Worcester,  Mass.,  affiO  cts.  a  yipar,  with 
ma.uy  preminni  inducements  No.  I,  vol.  1,  for  Jan- 
uary, 1882,  received.  It  would  be  almost  impossible 
to  determine  the  literary  progress  of  the  country, 
from  the  rapid  increase  of  publications  alone.  Low 
subscriptions,  conspicuous  advertisements,  and 
showy  premiums,  are  prominent  factors  in  their 
material  success,  whatever  their  real  merits  may  be. 

The  American  Poultry  Yard.- A  weekly  illus- 
trated journal;  devoted  specially  to  the  interests  of 
fowl  breeders,  fanciers,  farmers,  marketers  and 
dealers.  H.  H.  Stoddard,  publisher,  Hartford, 
Conn.  81.,50  a  year.  We  can  add  nothing  to  the 
merited  reputation  this  journal  has  already  attained, 
and  that  reputation  is  built  on  character.  A  six 
columned  folio  that  onrjht  to  be  patronized  by  all  in- 
telligent poultrymen  of  the  country.  Its  illustrations 


are  beautiful  and  significant,  and  its  literary  matter 
unexceptionable. 

A  General  Index  to  the  contents  of  fourteen 
popular  treatises  on  natural  philosophy,  for  the  use 
of  students,  teachers,  and  artizans,  by  a  Massachu- 
setts teacher.  Published  by  Ivison,  Blakeman, 
Taylor  and  Co.,  Chicago,  111.  108  royal  8  vo.  Such 
a  work,  extended  to  other  subjects,  would  be  inval- 
uable to  those  residing  in  the  vicinity  of  a  good 
public  library,  as  it  would  obviate  the  necessity  of 
owning  a  large  library  themselves. 

Ward's  Natural  Science  Bulletin,  published 
at  Ward's  Natural  Science  Establishment,  Ruches- 
er.  New  York.  Price  50  cents  per  annum.  This  is 
an  illustrated  quarto  quarterly  of  16  pages, 
and  being  the  presentation  of  Ward's  Natural 
History  Establishment,  it  occupies  an  entirely  new 
field  in  Scientific  literature.  It  is  mainly  devoted  to 
the  exposition  and  advertisement  of  Ward's  Com- 
mercal  Museum.  No.  1 ,  vol.  2,  of  this  rare  journal  is 
now  before  us  and  in  its  leading  editorial  its  publisher 
says — "It  will  mainly  contain  original  matter:  articles 
from  various  contributors  on  subjects  connected  with 
their  particular  departments:  observations  on  s[)eci 
mens  received  at  the  aforesaid  establishment,  and 
interesting  notes  from  collecting  naturalists  in  the 
field."  "  There  will  be  given  from  time  to  time  many 
useful  hints  on  the  collecting,  preparation  and  care 
of  natural  history  specimens,  and  valuable  receipts 
for  compounds  necessary  for  the  collector,  and  prac- 
tical working  naturalist."  Perhaps  many  of  our 
readers  are  entirely  ignorant  of  such  an  establishment 
as  Ward's,  where  they  may  obtain  at  all  times  any 
thing  in  the  "line"  of  natural  history,  from  a 
"needle  to  an  anchor,"  or  from  a  tiny  chinchbug, 
up  to  a  gigantic  elephant.  Ward  also  deals  exten- 
sively in  models  of  extinct  animals,  and  in  stuffed 
specimens,  in  skeletons,  craniums,  Ac,  &c.  To  any 
one  having  the  least  taste  for  natural  history  and 
practical  Taxidermv,  this  journal  is  invaluable. 
Prof.  Ward  himself  has  just  recently  returned  from 
Australia  and  other  foreign  climes,  "  bringing  with 
him  mines  of  weahh;"  much  of  which  is  entirely 
new  to  the  scientific  world.  Mammals,  birds— their 
nests  and  eggs— reptiles,  crustaceans,  mollusks, 
shells,  corals,  ^  radiates,  minerals,  fossils,  fishes, 
weapons  and  implements,  utensils,  plants,  &c.,  &c. 
Prof.  Ward  also  publishes  a  series  of  17  catalogues  ol 
his  specimens  from  12  to  144  pp.,  ranging  in  price 
from  10  cents  to  $1.35,  in  which  are  enumerated 
what  he  has  for  sale,  and  the  prices  of  the  same. 
H.  A.  Ward,  No.  2  College  Avenue,  Rochester,  New 
York. 

The  Southern  Cultivator. — We  have  received 
the  January  number  of  The  SmUhern  Cultivator  and 
Dixie  Fa)'(7i«r,  the  oldest,  as  it  is  the  best,  agricul- 
tural journal  in  the  Southern  States.  It  is  now  pub- 
lished by  Jas.  P.  Harrison  &  Co.,  of  Atlanta.  Dr. 
W.  L.  Jones,  for  years  the  editor  of  this  popular 
journal,  retains  his  position;  Dr.  J.  S.  Lawton  is  the 
associate.  Under  this  management,  The  Southern 
CiiUviator  will  not  only  maintain  its  former  high 
standard,  but,  with  the  assistance  of  ample  capital 
and  increased  facilities,  and  contributions  from  the 
most  eminent  and  popular  writers  on  agriculture  in 
this  country,  will  attain  a  higher  standing  than  ever. 

The  number  before  us  is  a  gem.  No  journal  of  its 
kind  can  excel  it  in  the  value  of  its  reading  matter, 
the  beauty  of  its  illustrations,  and  its  adaptation  to 
the  demands  of  Progressive  Southern  agriculture. 
The  illustrated  title  page  is  the  finest  of  the  kind  we 
have  ever  seen.  The  Southern  Culliiiator  and  Dixie 
Farmer  should  be  read  and  studied  by  every  farmer 
and  planter  in  the  South.  The  terms,  S1.50  a  year, 
with  special  rates  for  clubs,  are  remarkably  low. 
We  advise  our  farmer  friends  to  subscribe  for  it. 

The  Arkansas  Farmer.— "  Non-partisan,  non- 
political,  but  devoted  to  the  real  interests  of  our 
farmers."  Little  Rock,  Arkaiisjs,  January  15, 1~.82. 
This  is  a  seven  columned  folio  (18  by  24)  issued  at 
gl. 50  per  year,  weekly.  The  cojiy  before  us  is  No. 
3,  Vol.  1,  and  is,  therefore,  brand  new;  end,  if  it 
continues  as  it  has  begun,  and  does  not  prove  a  suc- 
cess, there  must  b«  something  agriculturally— if  not 
financially  or  socially— very  "crooked"  among  the 
fanners  and  artizans  of  Arkansas.  Its  general 
makeup  will  average  with  the  country  folios  of  tlie 
North,  and  its  editorials,  contributions  and  selections 
are  solid  and  instructive.  We  rejo.ce  in  its  advent, 
for  it  seems  to  presage  "  better  days  a  coming"  for 
Arkauaiiw 

Repobt  of  the  "Pennsylvania  Fruit-Growers' 
Society,"  prepared  by  its  officers,  1^81.  An  octavo 
of  69  pages,  and  contains  the  Constitution  and  By- 
Laws  of  the  Society,  lists  of  offici'rs,  committees, 
life  members,  annual  members,  and  proceedings  of 
the  meeting  held  in  Gettysburg  in  January  of  last 
year.  The  report  contains  two  splendid  full-page 
colored  illustrations  of  the  "  Miner  plum  "  and  the 
"  Cumberland  triumph  strawberry,"  with  "  Hersh's 
seedling,"  Strinestown  pippin,"  apples,  and  the 
Maxatawney  grape,  concluded  by  an  index  of  con- 
tents. Peculiarly  situated  as  the  society  is,  with  the 
State  as  its  printer  and  publisher,  "  more  is  the 
pity  "  that  its  reports  only  get  into  circulation  about 


one   year   after   the   meeting  of  the   society  has  ad-   ■ 
journed. 

The  Southern  Planter,  devoted  to  agriculture, 
hoi'ticulture,  live  stock  and  the  household;  a  serai- 
monthly  quarto  of  15  pages,  in  tinted  covers,  jiub- 
lished  by  Rolfe  S.  Saunders,  Kiclimond,  Va.,  at  S2  a 
year.  No.  1  of  the  i'M  volume  of  this  journal  is 
before  us,  and  although  it  has  arrived  at  a  patri 
archal  age  among  the  literary  institutions  of  the 
South,  it  seems  to  have  lost  none  cf  the  vigor  of  its 
you'h,  for  it  -announces  its  intention  to  change,  in 
the  near  future,  to  a  weekly,  and  ought  to  be  sus- 
tained. 

Journal  of  the  Americuii  Agrienltural  Association 
for  July  and  October,  1881,  published  quarterly  at 
$2.00  per  year,  single  copies,  seventy-five  cents.  This 
is  a  Hoyal  octavo,  in  tinted  and  embellished  paper 
covers,  containing  26!  pages  with  44  pages  of  adver- 
tisements. Th  s  multiplied  by  two  would  swell  the 
volume  to  .524  paees  annually  of  choice  agricultural 
literature,  contributed  by  some  of  the  most  distin- 
guished agricultural  writers  of  the  country.  Profuse- 
ly illustrated  with  fine  engravings,  diagrams  and 
"black-line  charts,  together  with  a  mullitudeof  statis 
tics  relating  to  the  agricultural  interests  and  resour- 
ces of  the  country. 

AS  corelating  to  the  agricultural  interests  of  the 
country  are  those  of  the  transportation  of  agricultu- 
ral products;  hence  the  question  of  "The  Railroad 
and  The  Farmer"  is  discussed  in  lengthy  articles 
by  the  Hon.  L.  E.Chittenden  and  the  editor,  Joseph 
H.  Reall,  in  which  the  latter  criticises  the  former  in 
his  paper,  replying  to  a  former  paper  by  Mr.  Atkin 
son  on  the  same-subject.  Not  having  seen  Mr.  Atkin- 
son's paper,  and  not  having  carefully  read  either  Mr. 
Chittenden's  or  tlieEJitor's,  we  refrain  from  express- 
ing any  sentiment  at  this  time,  any  further  than  to 
say  that  our  symp.ithies  are  with  the  Farmer  in  all 
the  r;  hts  which  legitimately  belong  to  him,  and  es 
pecially  in  those  in  which  he  is  the  victim  of  unjust 
discrimination  by  Railroid  comzianies. 

The  Seed  Annual,  for  1882,  of  D.  M.  Ferrt  & 
Co.,  Detroit,  Mich.,  has  been  laid  upon  our  table, 
and  it  is  a  perfect  beauty  in  its  line  of  operation.  Its 
illustrated  and  descriptive  space  is  equivalent  to  at 
least  ISO  pages,  and,  including  the  embellished  cov- 
ers, it  has  ten  full  pages  colored  lithograpic  illustra 
tions,  embracing  72  figures  of  fruits,  vegetables  and 
fiowers.  It  has  also  ten  full  page  wood  cuts,  illus- 
trating their  seed  stores  in  Detroit  and  Windsor, 
Can.;  views  on  their  seed  farm,  packing  hou.se,  mail- 
ing department,  box  factory,  iV:c.,  itc,  besides  &ve 
hundred  and  forty  finely  executed  woodcuts,  illustra- 
ting fruits,  fiowers,  vines,  ornamental  plants,  trees, 
shrubbery,  vegetable,  gard-n  implements,  itc  &c., 
and  is  perhaps  as  good  a  work  on  practical  "Garden 
Botany,"  as  any  amateur  needs. 

Inteknational  Scientist's  Directory,  for 
1881-2,  by  S.  E.  Cassino,  Boston,  Mass.,  containing 
the  names,  special  departments  of  science,  &c.,&c., 
of  amateur  and  professional  naturalists,  chemists, 
physicists,  astronomers,  Ac,  &c.,  in  America, 
Europe,  Asia,  Africa  and  Oceanica.  12  mo.  Over 
400  pages.  Paper  $J.0O.  Cloth  $2..50.  Published 
December  1,  1881.  This  is  undoubtedly  the  best 
work  of  its  kind  ever  issued  from  the  pressof  the 
United  States,  or  perhaps  any  where  else  in  the 
world,  and  no  scientist  shcml  J  be  without  it.  No  one 
can  form  any  conception  of  the  labor  it  must  have 
required  to  collect  the  iiiforiiuition  required  in  com- 
piling such  a  work,  without  carefully  examining  its 
pages.     Address,  S.  E.  Cassino,  No.  32  Hawley  St. 

The  Oriental  Casket,  a  repository  of  literary 
gems;  comprising  poetry,  tales,  sketches,  essays, 
wit,  wisdom,  humor,  itc-.  from  the  world  of  litera- 
ture, science  and  art .  Edited  by  Emerson  Bennett, 
and  published  by  L.  Lum  Smith,  912  Arch  street, 
Philadelphia,  Pa,,  at  $2.00  per  annum:  issued  month- 
ly. This  is  truly  "  a  paper  for  all  times,  all  people, 
and  all  places,"  and  our  chief  regret  is,  that  me,  in- 
dividually, have  so  little  time  to  read  it.  The  Feb- 
ruary number  (Vol.  1,  No.  2),  of  this  magnificent 
journal  has  Imnored  our  table,  and  we  find  it  all  that 
its  title  claims  it  to  be;  truly  "  a  casket  of  gems," 
cortriliuted  by  a  score  of  distinguislied  writers,  b  >th 
American  and  foreign.  The  material  and  the  typo- 
graphical execution  is  equal  to  any  published  in  the 
Union  at  least,  and  its  "orient  pearls  at  random 
strung"  will  be  found  appreciable  by  a  diversity  of 
readers.  It  may  be  called  (in  size)  a  demi-folio,  of 
16  pages,  or  about  the  size  of  the  Scientific  American 
(12  by  Hi'..),  clean  and  solid;  no  advertisement,  no 
gaudy  type,  and  no  illustrations;  but  is  enveloped  in 
an  eiiibellislied,  tinted  puper  cover;  and  contains  suf- 
ficient literary  matter  to  feed  a  whole  household, 
from  Grandparents  down  to  little  Jo  and  Susey.  If 
there  is  no  "  vacancy"  for  it  in  the  realm  of  litera- 
ture, it  looks  vigorous  enough  to  make  one.  Our 
readers  will  observe  that  it  is  an  entirely  "new 
broom;"  and  perhaps  they  could  not  do  better  than 
help  to  make  it  an  old  one;  hut  if  they  are  unable  to 
make  up  their  minds,  the  33  flattering  editorial  no- 
tices on  the  second  page  of  the  cover,  ought  to  con- 
vey the  necessary  assiirance  that  they  cannot  go 
wrong. 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER> 


HI 


Important  to  Grocers,  Packers.  Hucksters,  and  the 

General  Public. 

THE  KING  FORTUNE-MAKER. 


THE 


u 


OZONE 


A  New  Process  for  Preservuu/  all 
Perisliahle  Articles^  Animal  and 
Vef/etable  /'rem  Permentadon  and 


I'lttrefactiony  Jietainhtg  their  Odor  and  Flaror* 

'*  OZONE— Purified  air,  active  state  of  Oxygen/*—  ^^'ehsfer. 

i^.is  preservative  is  not  a  liquid  picUle.  or  any  of  the  old  and  exploded  processes,  but  is  simply  and  purely 
020NE.  as  produced  and  applied  by  an  entirely  new  process.  Ozone  is  the  antiseptic  principle  of  every 
S'..bstance,  and  possesses  the  power  to  preserve  animal  and  vegetable  structures  from  decay 

Tfirre  is  iiofhhtfj  on  the  fare  uf  ihv  earth  liable  to  flvr<tij  orsjtoif  irhirh  Ozone,  the 
iie4r  I*t'esei'C(tfire,  teill  not  pi'eserre  /or  all  time  in  a  per/'erth/  fresh  atiff  pnlatuhle 
condition. 

Tin- v;iUr-  of  Oztnif  ;is  ;i  iinliiriil  ihh'mtnit  li;is  hci-ti  kimwii  lu  om*  Abler  clierai.sts  for  yours,  lint,  until  now,  no 
ni'  an*  of  |iriHlnfin>j'  il  in  ;t  iirnclioul,  inr\prn-.iA c,  :in(l  sinipli-  iiiiiuTK-r  havr  been  fliscovoreil. 

Mirrnscopic  ol>>'cr\"ations  pnivt-  that  ilc<'ay  is  'Im*  to  scptii*  niatlcr  or  niitnili;  ^jvrni-^,  that  develop  ami  fueil  iii><>n 
HI  lima  I  and  \t'};otal>U-  >lru<'tinT>.  O/om-.  ii})plit.Hl  by  tlic  I'rt'ntii-c  iiii'tlu»(l.  ?<i'i/.i's  and  destroys  these  jierins  at  <>nee. 
and  thus  preserves.  At  cm-  t)l!iee  in  ( 'ineiiniati  ean  be  seen  almost  every  arliele  'hat  <';ui  be  tlioiight  of,  preserved  by 
(iii-  prtK'e^s.  ami  every  visiKtr  is  wcleonn-il  to  come  in,  taste,  stnell.  take  away  with  him,  and  test  in  every  way  (he 
lut  rii>  of  <_)zoue  as  a  preservati\e.  We  \\  ill  also  jireserxe,  free  of  eliar;;e.  any  article  that  is  bruu^ht  or  sent  prepaid 
lo  H-,  and  retin-n  il  to  the  sender,  for  hiin  lo  keeji  an<!  test. 

FKKKII  MI'.A'I'S,  siK-li  iis  bi-c'f.  niiitton.  veal,  pork,  |>oiUtry,  ;;iime,  li-^h,  &e.,  ])rcserved  by  this  mcthoil,  <-an  be 
.ship}><'d    to  i;nrope.  subjei-ted  (o  atmospherie  elian;;es  and  return  to  this  eountry  in  a  .state  of  perfect  prericrvalitm. 

t<<«(sS  ean  be  treated  at  a  cuNt  of  less  Ihau  (.>ne  di»llar  a  thousand  <lo/.en,and  be  ke]>t  in  an  ordinary  room  six  niontli.s 
or  niore.  thoron^;!ily  in-eserved  :  the  yolk  heUl  in  its  H*»rnud  <'ondition,  and  the  ejjK^  us  frosli  and  perfe<'t  lus  on  the 
d.iy  I  hey  Were  treated,  and  «ill  sell  a.s  strietly  "ehoiee."  The  aihantai^e  in  preserving  ejCK:s  is  readily  seen ;  there 
iire  --cjisons  when  they  enn  be  bouiiht  fm-  s  or  lit  cents  a  dozen,  aiai  by  holding  them,  ean  hi'  sold  for  :m  advance  of 
Iron,  tiiu-  hundreil  to  three  hundred  jii-r  <■(■'  t.     Ontr  man,  w  itli  this  nietluxl.  can  preserve  5.*XH»  dozen  :i  <iay. 

FRl'ITS  may  be  permitte<l  to  ripen  in  Ihctr  ijati\  t-  eliniate,  and  ean  be  transported  to  miy  part  of  the  worlii. 

Tlie  .piiee  cvpres-ed  from  fruits  ean  be  held  for  an  indclinile  period  without  fermentation— lience  the  <;re:U  value 
ol"  this  proi-i'ss  \\tv  prodnein;;  a  temperance  be\erajie.     ( 'ider  ean  be  held  perfectly  sweet  for  any  lenjjjlh  of  time. 

VKfiKTAISLKS  ean  be  kei>l  ft)r  an  iinlclhiite  period  in  I  heir  natuial  condition,  retaining  their  odor  and  flavcJr, 
!r»  a:cd  in  their  ori-^inal  paeka;;('s  at  a  small  v-xpense.  All  grains.  Hour,  meal, etc., arc  held  in  their  normal  eonfliiion.' 

ni'l'TEK,  alter  beiny  treated  by  this  pnn-ess.  will  not  become  rancid. 

I'.a'l  Iiunian  boiliis.  treated  before  deeomposilion  sets  in,  ean  beheld  in  a  natural  condition  for  weeks,  without 
ptim  turiuK  the  skin  or  mutilatin*;-  the  body  in  any  way.    Hence  the  ^reut  value  of  Ozone  to  undertakers. 

'there  is  no  chaii;;i-  in  the  slightest  particular  in  the  appearance  of  any  arliele  thus  preserved,  and  no  iraec  of  any 
fort  ij;n  or  unnatural  odor  or  taste. 

The  process  is  so  simple  that  a  chiid  can  opei*ali.*  as  well  and  as  successfully  as  a  man.  There  is  no  expensive 
apparatU:;  or  machinery  re(inn*ed. 

-\.'r«>«iin  IHtcd  \\i(h  diU'crent  articles,  sueh  as  ey^is.  meal,  (ish.etc.  can  he  treated  al  one  time,  without  additional 
troid'Ie  or  expense. 

if..  Ill  fact,  tliore  iK  ii4»lliiii;;- Hint  4ly.<>iir^  u  ill  not  |ir<'s<^rvo.  Tliink  of  everytliins  you  can  that  is 
!i:t'i!.  to  v,,!ir,  de«a\-.  or  spoil,  and  then  renienilier  thai  we  ;;uarjiHlee  that  Ozone  will  preserve  it  in  exactly  the 
'  ■••i<i;iioii  you  want  il  lor  an>  lcu;;tli  «if  time.  Jf  vtai  will  rcnu-niber  this  il  «ill  >a\e  askinjj  r[iie.«tions  as  to  wliether 
O/oue  will  jireserve  this.ir  liiat  artit-le— iJ  will  |»resorve  an.ythiiig-  astd  evor.y  tlliiij^yoii  can  lliilik  of. 

'l'>:t  re  i"^  not    a  township  iu  the   I'uited   States  in  \\  hich  a    Ii\  e   man  ean  not   make  any  amount   of  money,  from 
^LiMt  lo  >Umk«»  a  year,  that  he  pleases.     \Ve  desire  to  ;;ct  a  live  man  intere>ted  in  each  county  in  the  I'nited  .Stales, 
in  wh<»e.  hand-  \\  e  ean  jilace  this  I*rcscrvali\ c,  and  tlwou<;h  liini  secure   ll;e  business  which  every  <-ounty  ou^ht  to 
r-.xluce. 

AP^DT^f  T  TV T  P    Awiiifs  any    M:ni  nlio   ^rnins  Control   of    0/0>'E   in   uny 
r  W  n    i    LJ  IN  C-  Toniiship  or  County. 

.\.  t '.  B<iwen.  Marital,  Ohio,  has  cleared  f2.(«H»iu  two  months.    J2  for  a  test  pnekasowa.s  his  tirst  investment. 

NVoods  brothers,  Lebanon.  ^Varrcn  County,  Ohio,  made  M1,W)0  on  eggs  purchased  iu  August  and  sold  November 
]-;,    M*  for  a  test  paeknjic  "  ^'^  their  Urst  investment. 

1".  K.  Kaymond,  IMorristown,  Uehnonl  Co.,  Ohio,  is  clearing  ^-J.fJOt)  a  montli  in  handling  and  selling  Ozone.  ?'J  for 
a  t«  -;  pa'kagi-  was  his  (irsi  iii\'csinieut. 

I  >.  ]'.  Weblter.  Charlotte,  llutou  Cti..  Jlieh.,  has  cleared  SI.iHMla  month  since  August.  ?2  for  a  test  jKukage  w:ls  his 
ih'-t  investment. 

.1.  }!.  <  Jay  lord.  SO  La  Salle  St.,  Chicago,  U  preserving  eggs,  fruit,  etc.,  for  tlie  conimis.sioa  men  of  Chicago,  charging 
1 '  _e.  jnr  dozen  fi>r eggs,  and  other  articles  in  j^roiaa-tion.  Jle  is  pr<-scrving  -"i,(HO  dozen  eggs  per  day,  and  on"  his 
bu-ines.-  is  makinu  •'.'I.nnO  a  month  ek-ar.     ?'J  for  a  lest  ijaekage  was  his  llrsl  investment. 

The  ciucimiati  I'ced  <  o..  West  l*.is  Seventh  Street,  is  making  .•: .">.(.! i  a  month  in  handling  bre Wei's"  mall,  preserving 
and  sitippiii-;  it  as  Iced  to  all  parts  of  the  country.  Mall  nnjircservcl  soni-s  in  2t  hoiu's.  Preserved  bv  Ozone  it  kcei»-4 
jK-r.^etly  sweet  for  months. 

These  are  in.stauces  which  \\  e  have  asked  in  the  privilege  of  i>ubli.sliing.  There  are  seoresof  others.  Writctoanv 
of  ihe  al>o\  e  parties  and  get  the  evidence  direct.  "     * 

Now.  t<i  pro\  e  (Ik- absolute  truth  oi' e\ery  thing  we  ha\e  said  in  llii^- ji.ipei .  we  |iro|»ONO  lo  ]>l:icr  in  your 
han<lN  Ilio  moans  of  provin;;-  lor  yotir*toll' tlial  we  liav<f  nut  oiaiiiu'il  half  piioii^Is.  To  any 
I'vr-'ii  who 'doubts  any  ol  ihetie  statements,  and  who  is  interested  sntlii-iently  lo  make  the  trtj),  we  will  pay  all 
irar  i  ling  and  hotel  expenses  for  a  visit  to  this  eitv,  it"  we  fail  to  prove  any  statement  that  we  have  made. 

How  to  Secure  a  Fortune  with  Ozone. 

A  1>  *l  |i.ickilK''  •»!"  '  t/oiif.  ( .inliiinin;;  ;i  siini<.-ioiit  (Hi;nilil\  lo  iirr-crvt-  oik-  llioii*iUi<l  tio/cii  e^u<,  oi-  nlln.T  .irlieles 
ill  I'ro|>oilioii.  will  be  r-iiil  Ui  any  iipiiliiaiit  on  ii'wipl  of  -L'.  Tl>is  packuKi-  will  unaljlo  IIr'  a)i|>li('anl  to  |>iir.suc  any 
l:n'-  of  li>ts  antl  I'.vpi'nnicnts  lie  deyiri's,  anil  thus  salisly  liiinsclf  as  lo  llie  (■xtraor<liniirv  nieril-:  of  l>;tone  as  a 
'.'re-evvativc.     After  Iiavin^  thus  sali>llucl  himself,  and  liail  liiue  lo  look  tlie  lii'lil  over  to  ilel'erniinc  what  lie  wishes 

to  <lo  m  the  mtnic— whether  to  sell  the  artirle  toothers  or  t. nrnie  it  to  his  own  use.  or  any  other  line  of  policy 

w  hieh  is  hest  snited  to  him  anil  lo  his  township  or  eonnty— ive  will  enter  into  an  arraiiKement  with  him  thai  will 
n!al;ea  lorlnne  for  him  ami  j;ive  us[;,,otl  prolits.  We  will  ^ive  I'xelusivi'  town-hip  c.reonntv  privih-^es  to  tin'  lirst 
•.■e-|...nsil,leal>plieant  who  or.lers  a  test  paeka^e  and  de-ireslo  eontrol  tin-  hu-ine-  in  his  lo.alilv.  Tllp  initll  n  ho 
xpfiircs  control  ol  OKoiie  lorHiiy  Hpocinl  territory,  n  ill  enjoy  i«  monopoly  wliifh  nill  •inrelr 
cnrieli  him. 

1  lint  lei  a  clay  I'liss  mitil  you  have  ordered  a  Tc-sl  raekajic,  ami  if  yon  desire  to  secure  an  exclusive  jirivilegc  we 
assiire  >ou  that  delay  may  deprive  yoii  of  it,  for  the  applications  eoinc  in  tons  by  seoi-es  every  nmil— many  by 
lele,i;rai>h.     "  Kirst  e<inie  lirst  served  '"  is  (uir  rule. 

If  you  do  not  care  to  send  money  iu  advance  for  the  lesl  package  we  will  seiiil  it  C.  O.  D..  but  this  will  jnil  you  lo 
the  ixpeiise  of  charges  for  reluru  money.  Our  correspondeuce  is  very  larjje;  we  luive  all  we  ean  do  toatteiKl'lo  the 
-liippiuc  of  orders  and  sivinst  atteutiou  to  oin-  workinK  airents.  Therefore  we  can  not  Kive  any  atlcntiou  to  letters 
which  dii  not  order  Ozone.  If  you  think  of  any  arli<>lc  that  you  are  doubtful  about  O/.one  preserving  remember  we 
^.j.:..;;;.*.  •■  t/i:tt  it  ^vii'i  ]trci-t^i~:r  it ,  no  matter  wiitit  it  is. 

Wc  desire  toi'all  yoinatlcnlion  to  a  cl.is- of  r<fereni  cs  w  hi.  Ii  no  cnlei|M  ise  or  linn  baseil  on  aiiv  thing  butllie 
soin..lest  bnsiuess  success  and  highest  commercial  im-rit  could  secure. 

We  refer,  by  permis.sion.  a.s  to  our  iidegriiy  ami  to  the  valtu'  of  Ihe    I'rcnliss  I're.-iervative,  to  the  following 
genllemcn  :  ICdward  C.  lioyce,  Member  Hoard  of  I'lddie  Works;  V..O.  Rshelbv.  C'itv(.omplroller:  Amm- Smith  Jr 
lolleclor  lulernal    Kcvenne;  Wulsin   >*;    Worlhingtcm.  AlKnne.vs;   IVbirtiu  II.  Ilarrell   and    B.  1".  Hopkins.  County 
CommUsiouci-s:  W.  !S.  rappellcr.fonTily  .\nilitor:  all  of  Cincinnati,  Hamilton  Conntv,  Ohio.    These  .gentlemen  are 
c.i.  h  fann'liar  with  the  merits  of  our  l'rc-cr\  ntive.aiid  know  from  actual  oh-crvaliou  that  we  have  without  <|uestion 

The  Most  Valuable  Article  in  the  World. 

The?J  yon  invest  in  a   test    package,  will  surely  lead  you   to  s,-«-me  a  towi.sliiii  or  coi::iIv.  nnd  tlnm   your  wav  i^ 
aii-^ilutely  clear  to  make  from  J^.iKtl  t<»  >1".<«X>  a  >ear. 
Give  yonrfull  address  in  every  letter,  and  ^en<i  your  letter  (o 


iic.isiKi{  E.iyiiiiii 


OFFICb: 

0  M\\  Oueeo  Streel, 

LANCASTER,  PA.. 


THE  OLDEST  AND  BEST. 
THE  WEEKLY 

L.WCASTl-R  liX.VMIXHR 

Oi-.e  of  the  largest  Weekly  Papers  in 

the  State. 
I'liltlMioil  Every  Weildiii'Miv  Moniiii!:, 

Is  an  old.  well-established  newspaper,  and  conijins  jm".  tb« 
news  desirable   to  make    it  an  iuler<stiii(;  and  valu"aU« 
Family    Newspaper.    The  poBlacie  to  eubcribers  rei'diag 
outside  of  Lancaster  county  is  paid  by  the  publisher 
Send  for  a  specimeu  copy. 


Two  Dollars  per  Annum. 


THE  DAILY 


LANCASTER  EXAMINER 

The  Largest  Daily  Paper  in  th; 
county. 

l'ul)lisli('il  IJaily  E.viept  S   iiiluy. 

The  daily  is  published  every  eveuiuif  duriDg  liu  wc^k 
It  is  delivered  in  in.)  City  .lail  to  . surrounding  Towns  af- 
cessible  by  railroad  und  djulv  stage  lines,  for  10  cents 
a  week. 

M«ll  .Sttbscriptlcjn.  f.-ee  of  pjstage— Oae  month  BO 
cetit<i:  one  jeir,   8.5.0U. 


Nov-."!!! 


PRENTISS  PRESERVING  COMPANY.   Limited,^ 

S^.  JC.  Cor.  yiiitli  ,(•   lliiif  Sts,,  Vinrinnati,  O. 


THE  JOB  ROOMS. 

The    job    rooin^    of    Thk    Lanca.siki:    Ex.V-MiNi:a  tn 
filled  with  the  lateststylca  of  (cresses,  nuterial,  etc..  aud 
we  are  prepared  to  do  all   kinds  of  Book  ami  Job  Priutlo 
at  as  low  rates  aiil    „bort  nr.tio.'  ad  anv  e.^lablisciinieut  i 
tbe  state. 

S.Vl.E  miJ-S  .V  Sl'EtlALTV. 

Willi  a  full  as.^ortiuent  of  nea  ems  that  ne  have  jus^ 
purcliased,  we  are  prepared  to  print  lbs  linest  and  lno«^ 
attractive  shIs  bilLs  in  the  State. 


JOHN  A.  HIESTAND,  Proprietor, 

No.  9  Nortel  Queen  St., 

L^VXCA-SriclK.  PA.. 


IV 


THE   LANCASTER   FARMER 


[FebruaJy.  15-- 


WHERE  TO  BUY  GOODS 


IN 


LANCASTER. 


BOOTS   AND   SHOES. 

MARSHAL,!.  A  S»»',  X...  1:;  tVulie  Square,  Lan- 
caster, Dealers  in  Boots,  Shoes  and  Rubbers.   _Ke- 
pairiug  iironiptly  attended  to. 

MI.EVY,  Xo.  •■)  Kast  KiuK  stnet.     For  the  be.s 
.     Dollar  i^hoes  ill  Lancaster  ■;»  to  ."^I-  Levy,   Xo.   .1 
East  King  street. 


BOOKS  AND   STATIONERY. 

JOHX  l!AER-.S  SOX'.S,  Xos.  l.'i  and  17  Xorth  Queen 
Street,  have  tlie  largest  and  lu'st  assorted  Hook  and 
I'ajier  Store  in  the  City. 

FURNITURE. 

HEIXITSIfS,X'o.  )•"''.  Ilast  King  St..   lover  China 
Hall  I  is  the  eheaixst"  jilaee  in  Lancaster  to   buy 
Furniture.     Picture  Frames  ,i  specialty. 

CHINA  AND  GLASSWARE. 

HIGH  *  MARTIX.  Xo.  !■'>  East  King  St.,  dealers 
ill  China.  Glass  and  (iueenswarc,   Fancy  Goods, 
].auips.  Burners,  Cliinineys,  etc. 


CLOTHING. 


MVF.BS  A  RATHFOSr.  Centre  Hall,  Xo.  12  ICast 
King  St.     Largest  Clothing.I louse  in  Pennsylvania 
oiitsiile  of  Philadcli)liia 


DRUGS  AND   MEDICINES. 

GW.  Hl'I.L.  Dealer  ill  Pure  Drugs  and  Jledicines 
,     Chemicals,    Patent   .Medicines,  Trusses,   Shoulde 
Braces,  Supporters,  A:e..  15  \\'est  King  St.,  Luuc.istcr,  I'a 

JOHN  F.  LOXC  *  SOSf.  Druggists.  Xo.  12  Xortli 
(iiicen   St.     Drugs.    Medicines,    Perfunier.v.    Spices, 
I>ye  Stuffs,  Etc.     I'rescriptions  carefully  coinpoiindcil. 


DRY  GOODS. 


C'^  IVLUR,  BOWF.RIS  A  HITRST,  Xo.  2.3  E.  King 
X    St..  Lancaster.  Pa.,  Dealers  in  Dry  Goods,  Carpets 
and  Merchant  Tailoring.     I'liccs  as  low  as  the  lowest. 


HATS  AND   CAPS. 


ClI.  AMER,  Xo.  W  Mest  King  .Street,  Dealer  in 
.     Hats,  I'aps,  Furs,  Robes,  etc.    .Assortment  Large. 
Prices  Lo>v.  

JEWELRY  AND   WATCHES. 


HZ.  RU0.4I>S  A-  BKO.,    Xo.    1  West  King  J^t. 
,     Watihcs.    Clock   and    Musical    IJo.vcs.      Watches 
and  Jewelry  Mauul'actiircil  to  order. 

PRINTING. 

JOHX    A.    HIESTAXI*.   'J   X<utll   Queen   St.,  Sale 
Bills.    Circulars.   I'osters,  Carils.    Invitations,    Letter 
anil  Bill  lleailsand  Kuveloiics neatly  printed.    I'riccslow. 


Thirlv-Si\  Varieties  of  Cabbage:  20  of  Corn:  2S  of  Cu- 
umber;  Jl  of  Jlelon;  :«  of  Peas;  2.S  of  Beans;  17  of 
Siiuash;  2:1  of  lieetand  4t)  of  Tomato,  with  other  varieties 
in  proportion,  a  large  portion  of  whi<-li  were  grown  on 
my  five  seed  farms,  will  be  fouiiil  in  ray  VOtfelablc 
anrt  Flower  Seed  t'atnlOKne  torlHSZ.  Sent  i-itnc 
to  all  who  appl.v.  <'ustomcrs  of  hist  Season  need  not 
write  for  it.  AHSecd  sold  from  my  estabiishnicnl  war- 
ranted to  be  fresh  and  true  to  name,  sy  far,  that  should 
it  prove  othcrwi.ic,  I  will  rcdll  thi'  order  gr  itis.  The 
oriiclnai  iiilr«>ilucer  «l'  Eiirly  Oli!<>  iind 
Rlirlmnk  I>«t:ttoe<i.  MHridoIienil,  F.itrly  Corn, 
the  Hnbbaril  S«mash.  Marl>lelie.i<l  Cabbage, 
l*hiniie.v'**  Melon,  and  a  score  of  other  Xew  Vegeta- 
bles, I  invite  the  patronage  of  the  public.  Xew  'Vegeta- 
bles a  specialty. 

J.\MES  J.  n.  GREGORY, 
MurbleUcad,  MaFt?. 
Xov-ijmoj 

EVAPORATE  YOUR  FRUIT. 

ILLUSTRATED    CATALOGUE 

FREE  TO  .KU.. 

AMERIC.\N-DRIER  COMPANY, 

<'<iainl»er.*»bura:.  Fa. 

Alil-tf 


FARMING  FOR  PROFIT. 

It  is  conncclrd  that  this  lartrc  ami  poiiiiirc*lio:i*;ive  book, 
(atJvt-rtiisol  ill  auotlur  coUiinn  by  J.  V.  MoC'iirfJy  &  *^"o.. 
of  Philadelijhia,  the  well-known  publishers  of  StantlanI 
works,)  is  not  only  the  newest  and  hand.soniest,  but  alto- 
gether the  BKST  work  of  the  kind  which  lias  ever  been 
puhlished.  TliorouKhly  treating  the  great  subjeets  of 
general  Agrieiilturc,  Live-Sloek,  Fruit-Growing,  Busi- 
ness l*rinci pies,  and  Home  Life;  telling  just  what  the 
farmer  and  the  farmer's  boys  want  to  know,  combining 
Science  and  Practice,  stimulating  thought,  awakening 
inquiry,  and  interesting  every  member  of  tlie  family, 
this  book  must  exert  a  niiglity  influence  for  good.  Itis 
highly  rcconnneijded  by  the  best  agricultural  writers 
and  the  lea<ling  papers,  and  is  destined  to  have  an  ex- 
tensive sjile.    Agents  are  wanted  everywhere.         jan-lt 


'  A  HOME  ORGAN  FOR  FARMERS. 


Til  UlCASTi  Ml 


.IK 


CIDER  MILLS! 


Wine  Presses! 


Fruit  Presses.  Apple  Slicers, 
Fodder    and    Ensillage    Cmteis, 
Grain  Fan.-;. 
(Traill  and  Fertilizer  Drills, 

Broad-cast  Seed  Sowers, 
Corn  Sliellers,  Corn  Mills, 

Grain  Mills,  etc.,  etc. 

FOi;  SALE  BY 

D.    LANDRETH    &   SON.S, 

AGRICULTURAL   AND   IIORTICULTCnAL  I.M- 
PLEMENT 

AND 

SEED    WAREHOUSE, 

Kos.  21  and  23  South  Sixth  Street, 

Betwei;n\  M.^hket  and  Cuestxvt  Sts., 

—  and  — 

No.  4  AF.CH  STREET, 

api-lim  I'niLADELPniA. 


A  MONTHLY  JOURXAL, 

Devoted  to  Agriculture.  Horticulture,  Do- 
mestic Economy  and  Miscellany. 


Founded  Under  the  Auspices  of  the   Lan;3.3. 
ter  County  Agricultural  and  Horti- 
cultural Society. 


EDITED  BY  DR.  S.  S.  RATHVOM. 


:erms  of  subscription  : 


ONE  DOLLP  PER  ANNUM, 

MERCHANT  TAILORING.        postage  PRmm m  the propbietor. 

1848        The  Oldest  of  All,'      1881     A11    subscriptions    will    commence    with    ths 

KAlrlVUlN     &      riortLK,  Januarynumber.unless  otherwise  orderel. 

MEIU  HAXT  TAILORS  A>D  DRAPERS, 


respectfully  inform  the  public  tliat  having  di.sro'^sd  of 
their  entire  stock  of  Keady-Made  Clotliiug,  theyiiow  do, 
and  for  the  future  shall,  asvo'.c  their  whole  attention  to 
the  CUSTOM  TKADE. 

All  the  desirable  8tvle.s  of  CLOTHS,  CASSIMERE^, 
WORSTEDS,  OOATINUS,  ST'lTINGS  and  VESTINGS 
coostautly  on  hand,  and  made  to  order  in  plain  tir  fash- 
ionaMe  style  promptly,  aud  warranted  satisfactory. 

All-Wool  Suit  fi-om  glO.OO  to  gnn.OO. 
All-Wool  Pauts  from  3.00  to  10,00. 
All-Wool  Vests  from  2  HO  to     0.00. 

I'tiion  and  Colton  Goods  proportionately  less. 

Cutting,  Reiiairi..g,  Trinir.iing  and  Makiog,  at  reason- 
able prices. 

Goods  retailed  by  the  yard  to  those  who  desire  to  have 
Iheni  niidc  elsewhere.    _ 

A.  full  supply  of  Sjiring  and  Sunimer  Goods  just 
opened  and  <>a  hand. 

Thankful  to  a  genero'js  public  for  past  patrotiflge  they 
hope  to  merit  its  continued  recDgnitioti  Jn  their  "new  de- 
parture." 

'      RATHVON  &  FISHER. 

l'a.\TIO.iLTA.[LOUS, 

No.  ]<>1  Xortli  Queen  Street, 

I,.\NC'ASTER,  r.\. 

1848  1881 


^    GLOVES,  SHIRTS,  UNDERWEAR.  IH 
i      SHIETS  MADE'tO  ORDER,     i^ 

^  .s.ND  wa::i:an'ti-:d  to  ht.  !^ 

S  E.  J.  ERISMAN.  t 

■W:56  North  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa.'^ 

7y-i-i2] 


Dr.  S.  S.  R^itlivcn,  \\l:o  has  so  ably  maua^ed  the  edi:-;i:.: 
department  in  the  paet,  will  continue  in  the  positiou  o:' 
editor.  His  contributious  on  subjects  connected  with  tiie" 
scieuce  of  farming,  aud  particularly  that  specialty  of  whic-i 
he  is  so  thorouhly  a  master — entomological  scieuce^somd 
knowledge  of  whicb  has  become  a  necessity  to  the  success- 
fid  farmer,  are  alone  worth  much  more  than  the  price  of 
this  publication.  He  Is  determined  to  make  "The  Farmer' 
a  necessity  to  all  households. 

A  couuty  that  has  so  wide  a  reputation  as  Laucaatei- 
couuty  for  its  agricultural  products  should  certainly  b-a 
able  to  support  an  agricultural  paper  of  its  own,  for  the 
exchange  of  the  opinions  of  farmers  Interested  la  this  m;iS 
oter.  We  ask  the  co-oporation  of  all  farmers  iuierested  in 
this  matter.  Work  among  your  friends.  The  *'Farmcr'  : 
only  cue  dollar  per  year.  Show  them  your  copy.  Try  aut 
induce  them  to  subscribe.  It  is  not  much  for  each  sub- 
scriber to  do  but  it  ^nli  greatly  assist  us. 

All  communicatiousin  regard  totheeditorial  mau;ig>?ri.3ut 
should  be  addressed  to  Dr.  S.  S.  Rathvou,  Lancaster.  Pa  , 
and  all  husincps  letters  in  regard  to  subscriptions  and  ai- 
vertiyiug  should  be  addressed  to  the  ijublisher.  Rate-^  ol" 
adveiTii-ing  c;in  be  had  on  application  at  the  office. 


lOHN  A.  HIESTAND. 

No.  9  North  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

(he    "rn   djOnP^'"  (l-'^y  at  home.     Samples  worth  $5  free. 
ij)J     I  U   JpZUAiWressSiiHSON  &  Co.,  Portlaud,  Maiae. 
jun-lyr"' 


ONE  DOLLAR  PER  ANNUM-SINGLE  COPIES  10  CENTS. 


Dr.  S.  S.  SATHVON,  Editor. 


LANCASTER,  PA.    MARCH,  1882. 


JOHN  A.  HIESTAND,  Publisher. 


Entered  nt  the    FosI  4>fliee  at  I.«»iBettster  as 
heeoiKl  4'laKM  Mailer. 

CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER. 


EDITORIAL. 

Our  Apology,   -        - 33 

"Our  Winged  Friends," 33 

Eitcben  Garden  for  March,      .        -        .        -  33 

Wliy  not  Write  for  the  Farmer  ?  -        -        -        -  33 

The  Bane  and  Antidote,   -----        34 
Death  frum  Wild  Animals  in  India— Snake  De- 
stroyers. 

"Revised  Fruit  List," 34 

Eating  Before  Sleeping,    -----        35 

How  Long  are  We  to  Live,  -----    C6 
The    Extreme     Limit    of    Human    Life— Weak 
Lungs. 

The  Will  and  the  Deed, 37 

Excerpts,      -------        -37 

CONTRIBUTIONS. 
Forestry.  --------        38 

Strawberries,        -------    39 

Practical  Poultry  Notes,  -----        39 

Domestic  Hints,   -------    39 

Practical  Kecipes,     ------        39 

ESSAYS. 
The  Growth  and  Consumption  of  Timber  Trees 
in  America,       -------40 

"Our  Winged  Friends, 41 

Seedling  Fruits, 44 

OUR  LOCAL  ORGANIZATIONS. 
Lancaster  County  Agricultural  and  Horticultu- 
ral Society, 45 

Crop  Reports -Apples,  Loc;il  vs.  Foreign  Ke. 
marl^s— Is  Sub-^ioiling  Ueneticial  ?— Can  AVe 
Dispense  with  Division  Fences  i»n  F(.ruis? — 
Reinarlcs  -Wlien  is  tlie  best  Time  to  Sow 
Clover  Seed?— More  About  Apples. 

Poultry  Society, ii, 

Fulton  Farmers'  Club,  -----     47 

Liuiiajan  Society,       ---->.-        47 
Twentietli  Anniversary  of  the  Founding  of  the 
Society    Museum — Library     Historical— Anni- 
versary— Science  Gossip- Ilifctory  of  the  Socie- 
ety. 
Literary  and  Personal,        .        .        -        -        -    4S 


LIGHT   BRAHMA  EGGS 

FOR    HATCHING, 

$1  .P>n  FOR  SETTING  OF  j  3. 

ALSO, 

Three  Barrels  of  Chicken  Manure 

FOR  SALE. 

L.  RATHVON, 

Examiner  Office  No.  9  N.  Queen-st.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 


SEND  IN  YOUR   SUBSCRIPTIONS 

—FOR— 

FOR  1SS2. 

The  cheapest  and  one  of  the  best  Agricultural  papers 
in  the  country. 

Only  $1,00  per  year. 

JOHN  A.  IIIESTAND,  Publisher, 

No.  9  North  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 


REID'S 

CREAMERY 

SIMPLEST*  BEST. 
Agents  Wanted 


BUHER  WORKER 

Most  Effective  and  Convenient 
Also  Power  Workers. 

Cap'city  10,000  Ibspor  DAY 
Butter  Printers.  SliippinK 
Boxes,  etc.    Semi  for  rircular. 

A.H.REID, 

26  S.ieth  street,  Phila.,  Pa. 
fcb-4in 


Egg's!  Eggs ! 

From  all  the  leading  wiriclies  of  pure  bred  Poultry 
Bramalis,  Cocliin,  }I;imburss,  Polish  Game,  Dorking 
and  FrcDcli  Fowls,  I'lvmoulli  Hocks  and  Banloms, 
Koueu  and  Pckiiis  Ducks.  Send  for  Illustrated  Cir- 
cular. 

T.  SMITH,  V.  M.,  Fresh  Pond,  N.  Y. 

fcb-oni 


SEEDS  ^™' 


ha. 
Jan 


PLANTS. 

BeauiM  lllroiratsJ  Catalope  Free. 

The  h--a  litl  of  11.  w,  rare  anJ  lio.-Hiti'nl 

flftwcrs  evur  icnt  on'.    New  <;i:nli"luB.  Tub«- 

Tosin,  An>niTlli8,  Rosci,  Carnations,  100  varir. 

lies   of   Liliis,  chrite   FI-'w-t  and  Vp;;>-lalile 

S>-c<)!,   Srt-ili  of  IJoU'v  Plants.  Ac.     All  »cp«li 

1"7  cxc'iitra'tfkinibnreoidinl'ivaCBKTl'APEUs. 

~  Everjthins    wnmnitil    Ime    to   uairc.     See 

t'lilTi'ofirue;  prices  lire  low.     The  followincfeut 

hr  «i!iil  noitpnid.    lOfii^'dloUifl.  10  sorun.imtd 

60r.  12  P^nrl  TubcrO'.  «.  8.'"-.  10  1  illc«,  10  sort* 

niitned.^l.riO.    All  litu-  htis  ami  Idil-o  bulht. 

Remit  currercy  or  j>o»l»cc  «tstnfi3.     jMv  troods 

..'aavsiablisbf-d  tvpuialifvfi  und  C"  t"i'tt  imrlsol  ib'' World. 

J.  UBWIS  ClIiLDS,  (^LI^K^S,  N*  IT* 

!ni 


WE  WAXT  oa.n  bo^iks. 

We  Want  Gekmas  Books. 

WE  WANT  BOOKS   PRINTED  IN  LANCASTER  CO. 

Wc  Want  All  Kinds  of  Old  Books. 

LIBRARIES.  ENGLISH  OK  GERMAN    BOUGHT. 

Cash  paid  for  Books  in  any  qnantity.    Send  your  address 
and  we  will  call. 

KEEK  WKL^iH  A  CO.. 

23  South  Nintli  Street,  Phila<lelphia. 


mm 

;Fon  1882 

Will  ba  mtiUd  rksi  to  ^1  appllcaoti,  uid  to  cuttomcri  wltbooft 
ordcriDg  (t.  It  conUini  five  cotortd  pUUi,  COO  angraTlnp, 
about  200  i)4(«i,  and  full  deicriptlnni.  prkct  ami  dirtctlooi  for 
planllnsl&OO  *ar{«tl«i  of  \>K«UbI«  and  Flowfr  S«*dt,  PlaoU, 
Fruit Inii,  ttc.     lovaluabl*  to  all.     S«nd  for  It,     Addraii, 

S.  H.  FES&T  a  CO.,  DeU0U«  Mioh. 


Jan-4ni 


dj/JCa  week  in  your  own  town. 
iI)0DAddre8s  H.  Hallett  &  Co. 

jnu-lyr* 


TermB  and  $5ovitfltfree 
.  Portland,  Maine. 


PENSIONS  w' 


For  80L,DIBR8, 

idowfl,  fitthvrs.  loutlien  or 
children.  Tb'iiisaDds  yet  catitlvd.  I't-Dsioiia  i^ivea 
for  Itiss  of  finger,  tue.  eye  or  ntpiurc,  vancos* 
v^^'iDS  or  or  Miiy  Ulac&ac.  Tbunsatida  (ifiieniioD- 
•  rn  and  aulJii-ra  entitled  to  IM'UEAl^E  and 
BOUNTY.  PATENTS  r-roturcd  for  ioTerit- 
'-■n.  Soldiers  land  wairautu  prucurtd.  bought 
and  sold.  Soldiurg  and  heirs  api'Iy  for  your 
rights  atoncc.  Scud  S  Btani|i3  for  I  cnsion  aod 
FJuULty  laws.  blanksMid  instiurti.ins.  Fees  fixed 
by  law.  Wy  can  refer  to  thoiHiiri'ls  of  I't-nsioni^ra 
and  Clients.  Address  E.  H,  CelStOn  St  CO,- 
U. S. Claim  Atty'8. Lock  iiox7:i.\VaBLmgtonJ).P 


LIGHT  BRAHMA  £GGS 

For  halchin;r,    now   ready— from    tlu-   best    hlrnin  in  th6 
county— at  tlic  niodenite  price  of 

$l«SO  for  a  setlini^  of  13  ZSsSfil. 

L.  U.VTHVON, 
Ne.  9  North  Queen  si.,  Exnniiner  Ofl'icc.  Tjiiicjister,  Pa. 

W ANTED. -<'ANVASSKI;S  f«ir  Ihc 
LANCASTER  WEEKLY  EXAMINER 
In  Every  Township  in  (he  County.     Ciood  Wages  can  ba 
made.     Inciuire  at 

THE  EXAMINER  OFFICE, 


No.  9  North  ilu 


Sircct,  Latica.ster,  Pa 


$72. 


\  WEKK.    $12  !i  day  at  home  easily  madw.     C'oBtly 
Outtit  froe.     Addrc/s  TitHK  k  Co.,  AugUKla,  Maine 
jiui-lyr" 


SEND  FOR 

On  Concord  Clraiicviues,  Tnuisplaated  Kvergiciiip.  Tulip, 
Poplar,  Linden  .Marie,  etc.  Tree  Seedlings  and  Trees  for 
timber  plantationB  l>v  the  10i>.(H)0 

J.  JE.XUIXS'  NTRKERY, 
3-2-79  WINONA.  001  UMIUANA'CO..  OHIO. 


PENSIONS 


For  SOtniKRS, 

Wiuows.  fiitliurs,  tnotlii  ra  c-r 
children.  Thousands  re tcntiil-d.  Pensions  fivcn 
forlois'  f  fiiip<.r.u»v«  yc  crrujuiire.viiricnM.  vons 
<<r  liny  l>Ui-fiMe.  TIi'.us.niuN  of  pciiMi'iiTi  nnd 
F.,M,.r<..-ntiUcdtf.  I.NCKEA^K  and  BOU>TV. 
l*ATl-NT.*»  iiniciirvd  for  Inventors.  Snldicra 
land  warrants  prurumt.  loUflit  and  5(dd.  Solditr^ 
and  hLirsappjy  f-T  ynnrriKhts  at  once.  Send  Si 
fit.imps  for  "T no  Cilir.in-Soldicr.*' and  Pcosi-n 
and  liiuiity  laws,  blanks  and  inMrnei^ons.  Vo 
canrcfrr  t"  thftiisfin-is  '<{  Pi  n^i.ncrs  and  Clipnti. 

Addrrs  N. W. F.tiKcrald A Co. iTxsKiN X; 
Patent  Att'ys,  Luiuiiui :.;;<, W  aahiugtyD.  iJ.O- 

dee-U 


WELL-AUGER/ 


Oursia  guaranteed  to  he  the 
cliear>cst  and  best  in  the 
worM.  Also  uiithinq  can  boat  our  sA\vrN'<;  MA- 
CIllNK.  It  saws  oil  ft  --foot  loj;  in  '_' ininutea. 
Pictorial  books  fra^     W.  GLLiilsi.  Chicajfo.  111. 

-6m] 


II. 


THE  LANCASTER   FARMER. 


»EIVBrKYI,VA!VIA  RAILROAD  KCHEDITLE. 

Trains  leave  the  Di^]^ol  ui  toia  city,  as  follows  : 


WE   TWAKD. 
Pacific  Express' 

1  eavt= 
Lancaster. 

2:40  a.  jn. 

5:00  a.  m. 
11:00  a.m. 
ILOSp.  m. 
10:20  a.  m. 
11.25  a.  m. 
10:50  a.  m. 

2;.'i0p.  m. 

2:35  p.m. 

5:45  p.  ni. 

7:20  p.  m. 

7:30  p.  m. 

S:50  p.  m. 
11:30  p.  m. 

Lancaster. 
2.55  a.  m. 
5:08  a.  m. 
8:05  a.  m. 
9.10  p.  m. 
:40  p   m. 
2:00  p.  m. 
3:05  p.  m. 
5:35  p.m. 
6:25  p,  m. 

Arrive 

Harrisburg. 

4:05  a.  m. 

7:50  a.  ra. 

11:20  a.  m. 

Hanover  Accommodation,. 

Mail  train  via  JIf.  .loy 

No.  2  via  Columbia 

cm.  10:40  a.  ra. 
12:40  p.  m. 
12:55  p.  m. 
12:40  p.  m. 

Frederick  .\ccommodatioii . 

Col.  2:45  p.  m 

Columbia  Accommodatiou.. 

fiarrisburg  Express 

Pittsburg  Express 

Cincinnati  Express" 

EASTWARD. 
Cincinnati  Express 

Ool.  8:20  p.  m. 
S:40  p.  m. 
10:10  p.  m. 
12:45  a.  m. 

Philadelphia 
3:00  a.  m. 
7:40  a.  m. 

Harrisburg  Express 

Columbia  Accommodation.. 

10:00  a.  m. 
12:0    p.  m. 
3:40  p.  m. 

5:00  p.  m. 

Johnstown  Express 

5:30  p.m. 
7:20  p.  m. 

Harrisburg  Accom 

9:30  p.  m. 

The  Hanover  Accommodation,  west,  connects  at  Lancaster 
with  Niagara  Express,  west,  at  9:35  a.  m.,  and  will  ruu 
through  to  Hanover. 

The  Frederick  Accommodation,  west,  couuectsat  L'lncas- 
ter  with  Fast  Line,  west,  at  2:10  p.  m..  and  runs  to  Frederick. 

The  Pacific  Express,  east,  ou  Sunday,  when  flagged,  will 
atop  at  M-ldletown,  Elizabethtowu,  Mouut  Joy  and  Landis- 
ville. 

•Tht)  only  trains  which  run  daily. 

tRuus  daily,  except  Monday. 

NORBECK  &  MILEY, 


PRACTICAL 


n 


Carriage  Builders 

cox  &  CD'S  OLB  STAiD, 

Cofoef  of  Duke  and  Vioe  Streets, 

LANCASTER,  PA. 

'^"'"'^THE  LATEST  I.MPROVED 

SIDE-BAR  BUGGIES, 


PHyETONS, 

Carriages,  Etc. 


iiniivjiijui  auu 


III 


Prices  to  Suit  the  Times. 

REPAIRING  promptly  attended  to.     All  work 
guaraiitfed. 
79-4- 

£5.  lO.  003Z, 

^-—      '  ^  ■  Manufacturer  Of 

Gtrriages,  Buggies,  Phaetons,  etc. 

CHURCH  ST.,  NEAR  DUKE,      LANCASTER,  PA. 

Large   Stuck   uf  New  and    Sacjn-haud    Work    on    hand 
very  cheap.    Carriages  Made  to  Order       Work  Warranted 
or  one  year,  [7'-9-lli 


EDW.  J.  ZAHM, 

DGALUn    IH 

AMERICAN   AND   FOREIGN 

WATCHES, 

SOLID  SILVER  &  SILVER  PLATED  WARE, 
CLOCKS, 

JEWELRY ITABLE  CUTLERY. 

Sole  Agent  for  the  Ai-uudel   tinted 

SPECTACLES. 

Repairing  strictly  attended  to. 

North  Queen-st.  and  Centre  Square,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

79-1-12 

AT  I.O\Vl-:sT  POSSEBI.K  l>RI4  ES, 

Fully  guaranteed. 

No.  106  EAST  KING  STREET, 

79-1-12]  Oppfisile   I.rop'iid  llolfl. 


ESTABLISHED   1882. 


G.  SENER  &  SONS, 

Mauufacturers  and  de.ders  in  all  kinds  of  rough  and 
finished 

The  best  Sawed  SISa  xf;j,E>i  ill  the  country.     Also  Sash, 
Doors.  BliudH,  Rlonldiuga,  &c. 

PATENT  0.  G.  WEATHERBOARDING 

und  PATENT  BLINDS,  whicli  are  far  superior  to  auy 
other.     Also  best  COAT  constantly  ou  hand. 

OFFICE  AND  YARD  : 

Northeast  Corner  of  Prince  and  Walnut-sts., 

LANCASXKR,  PA.. 

79-1-12] 


PRACTICAL  ESSAYS  ON  ENTOMOLOGY, 

Embracing  the  history  aud  habits  of 

NOXIOUS  AND  INNOXIOUS 

INSECXS,.^ 

and  the  beet  remedies  for  their  ex[)ulsion  or  extermluatioii. 

By  S.  S.  RATH  VON,  Ph7Dr'" 

.         LANCASTER,  PA. 

This  work  will  be  Highly  Illustrated,  and  will  be  put  in 
I>res8  (as  soon  after  a  sufhuieut  number  of  subscribers  can 
be  obtaiued  to  cover  the  cost)  aa  the  work  can  possibly  be 
accomplished: 


Fruit,  Shade  and  Ornamental  Trees. 

Plant  Trees  raised  in  this  county  and  suited  to  this  climate  . 
Write  for  prices  to 

LOUIS  C.  LYTE 

Bird-in-Hand  P.  O.,  Lancaster  co.,  Pa. 

Nursery  at  Smoketown,  six  railea  east  of  Laucaeter. 
7!)-l-12 

WIDMYER  &  RICKSECKER, 

UPHOLSTERERS, 

And  Manufacturers  of 

FURNITURE  PD  CHAIRS, 

WAREROOn»i: 

102  East  King  St.,  Cor.  of  Duke  St. 
TjAnoastbr,  pa. 

79-1-12) 

Special  Inducements  at  the 

NEW  FURNITURE   STORE 

"W.   A.   HEINITSH, 

]Vo.     IS    1—2    33.    XCXTVCr     STJEmaET 

(over  Bursk's  Grocery  Score),  Lauca.ster,  Pa. 
A  general  assor^meut  of  turuituieof  all  kiuds  coustantljr 
ou  hand.     Don't  forget  the  uumber. 

15  X-S  X:a.st  XSizLs  iStx-eet, 


Nov-ly] 


(over  Burt-k's  Giocery  Sloie.) 


A»'f^  a  moutU  and  expeuses  guaranteed   to    Agents 
St  t   i    Outfit  free. '       SHA'W  &  CO.,  AugusU,  Maine. 

li    79-2-12      ,,,.  .j^;„i,.,.,  ,,,„:.:;,„,..:  „,.,,.  :  - 


For  Good  and  Cheap  Work  go  to 

F.  VOLLMER'S 

FURNITURE   WAR):   ROOMS, 

No   S09  NORTH  QUEEN  ST.. 

(Opposite  Northern  Market), 

Also,  all  kiuds  of  picture  Irauies.  nov-ly 

GREAT  BARGAINS. 

A  large  assortm'^nt  of  all  kiuds  of  Carpets  are  still  sold  at 
lower  rates  than  ever  at  the 

CARPET  HALL  OF  H.  S.  SHIRK, 

Ko.  202    West  King  St. 

Call  and  examine  our  stock  and  satisfy  yourself  that  we 
can  ehow  the  largest  assortment  of  these  Brussels,  three 
plies  and  ingrain  at  all  price» — at  the  lowost  Philadelphia 
prices. 

Also  on  hand  a  large  and  complete  assortment  of  Rag 
Carpet. 

Satisfaction  guaranteed  bath  as  to  price  and  quality. 

You  are  iuvited  to  cjU  and  see  my  goods.  No  trouble  in 
showing  them  even  if  you  do  not  waut  to  purcljase. 

Don't  forget  this  uotice.  You  can  save  money  here  if  you 
waut  to  buy. 

Particular  attention  given  to  customer  v  ork 

Also  on  hand  a  full  assortment  of  Counterpanes,  OU 
Cloths  and  Blankets  of  every  variety  [nov-lyr. 

PHILIP  SCHUM,  SON  &  CO., 

38  and  40  "West  King  Street. 

We  keep  ou  iiaud  of  our  own  mauufacture, 

QUILTS,  COVERLETS, 

COUNTEBPAJTES,  CARPETS, 

Bureau  aud  Tidy  Covers.  Ladies'  Furnishing  Goods,  No- 
tions, etc. 

Particular  attention  paid  to  customer  Rag  Carpet,  and 
scowering  and  dyeing  of  all  kinds. 

PHILIP  SCHUM,  SON  &  CO.. 

Nov-ly  LanciiBter,  Pa. 

THE  HOLMAN  LIVER  PADI 

Cures  by  absorption  without  medicine* 

Now  is  the  time  io  apply  these  remedies.  They  will  do 
for  you  what  uothiug  else  ou  Carth  cau.  Hundreds  of  citi- 
zens of  Lancaster  s-y  so.    Get  the  genuine  at 

LANCASTER  OFFICE  AND  SALESROOM, 

S2  East  Orange  Street,  r.-h 

.v-i,r  '•'■:-:-'':  l/Ciq; 


No 


G.  R.  KLINE. 

offi(;;e  -.  is  north  duke  street, 

<  ■  ■ '  '  '  t ikiNbASTElR,    FA.. 


The  Lancaster  Farmer. 


Dr.  S.  S.  RATHVOil,  Editor. 


LANCASTER,  PA.,  MARCH    d882. 


Vol.  XIV.  No.  3. 


Editorial. 


OUR   APOLOGY. 

Au  iipulogy  is  iliii' "iir  patrons  for  ilii>  late 
iippeaiance  of  The  Faumeu  in  the  iiioiitli  ol' 
rebruary,  and  also  the  present  number,  and 
we  can't  tell  liow  long  this  state  of  things 
may  continue,  but  we  can  assure  our  readers 
that  it  is  only  temporary,  and  is  not  without 
a  mil  igalinj;  cause.  .Sin(^e  the  destruction  of 
ihe  Inquirer  buildinu;  by  fire,  a  hu>,'e  portion 
of  the  printing  executed  by  that  establishment 
devolves  upon  our  otHce  ;  and,  as  the  arrange- 
meni  is  only  a  lemi)orary  one,  we  can  only 
make  a  temporary  provision  for  it.  When 
our  patrons  become  aware  of  this  fact  we  feel 
assured  that  they  will  sympathize  with  us  in 
our  efforts  to  accommodate  those  who  in  one 
fell  swoop  of  the  devouring  flames  have  been 
deprived  of  the  mechaiiical  means  to  execute 
their  business  engagements.  These  contin- 
gencies cannot  be  foreseen,  but  when  they  do 
occur,  charity  dictates  lliat  wc  should  help  to 
bear  each  other's  burdens. 


■'  OUR  WINGEu  FRIENDS." 
We  publish  in  this  issue  of  The  Farmer 
the  very  interesting  paper  on  insectivorous 
birds,  read  by  S.  P.  Eby,  Esq.,  of  Lancaster, 
Pa.,  before  the  "State Horticultural  Society," 
at  its  annual  meeting,  held  at  Ilarrisburg  in 
.January  last;  and  we  regret  that  we  were 
not  able  to  publish  it  sooner,  for  sucli  papers 
are  worthy  of  a  permanent  record  ;  and  es- 
pecially when  they  come  within  the  category 
of  one  of  the  leading  specialties  of  this  jour- 
nal from  its  vt-ry  origin,  namely,  to  make  it  a 
record  of  the  sayings  am]  doings  of  the  people 
of  Lancaster  county  in  relation  to  agriculture 
and  its  allies.  Tlie  essay  needs  no  commenda- 
tion of  ours,  for,  having  it  before  them,  our 
readers  will  be  able  to  judge  for  themselves, 
and  we  can  assure  them  that  they  will  belioth 
interested  and  instructed. 

KITCHEN   GARDEN   FOR   MARCH. 

In  the  Middle  States  spring  has  arrived  ac- 
cording to  the  calendar,  but  the  experienced 
gardener  is  not  caught  by  arbitrary  terms; 
and  though  March  and  the  alnumac  may  in- 
dicate spring,  frost  and  storm  and  biting 
winds  caution  him  to  care  and  patience.  lie 
will  wait  the  progress  of  the  raontli  and  bide 
his  time. 

Artichokes  dress  ;  plant.  Asparagus  sow; 
))lant  Ihe  minssill  roots.  Ueets — Extra  Early, 
Philadelphia  Turnip,  and  Early  Blood  Turnip, 
sow.  Cabbage  .sow  in  a  sheltered  place,  if 
not  already  in  a  hot-bed.  Test  Landreth's 
new  varieties- the  Wakefield,  Early  Market, 
and  Bloomsdale  Brunswick.  Carrots — Early 
Horn,  .sow.  Cauliflowers — attend  to  those 
under  elass.  Celery  ."ow.  Cress  sow.  Com- 
post prepare.  Uung  prepare  for  hot-beds, 
Horse-radish  plant.  Hot-beds  make  ;  also 
force.  Lettuce  sow  ;  prick  out.  ^lushroom 
beds  attend  to.  Mustard  sow.  Onions  put 
out  in  sets— these  known  as  "Philadelphia 
Buttons "  much  the  best.  Parsnips  .sow — 
the  Sugar  is  the  best.     Peas — Landreth's  Ex- 


tra Early  and  luvicta  sow.  Also,  McLean's 
Advancer  and  McLean's  Gem,  wliich  we 
commend  with  confidence.  Potatoes— early, 
l)laiit.  The  early  Hose  is  admirable  in  every 
respect.  Hiulish — the  Long  Scarlet,  and  Red 
ami  White  Turnip  sow.  The  "Strap-leaved 
I-ong  Scarlet,"  an  improviinent  on  the  Long 
.Scarlet,  we  recommend.  Hhubarb  sow  ;  plant 
roots.  Sage  sow ;  plant.  Tomato  sow  in, 
hot-bed.  Turnip,  Strap-leaved  Early  Dutch 
sow;  but  generally  be  it  observed,  so  far  north 
as  Philadelphia,  these  directions  will  apply 
better  to  April  than  to  Murch.  —  Laiuhclk's 
Jiural  K((ji>,tcr. 

March  has  always  been  a  fitful,  capricious 
and  uncertain  month  ;  and.  under  the  most 
favorable  circumstances,  the  spring  season 
cannot  be  considered  as  fairly  inaugurated 
before  St.  Patrick's  day  ;  and  this,  too,  with- 
out regard  to  "Candlemas"  or  the  "Ground 
Hog,"  traditional  weathermarks  very  nn.safe 
to  give  character  to  any  practical  enterprise. 
Of  cour.se,  in  matters  relating  to  husbandry 
it  is  always  well  to  be  forewarned  ;  hut,  as 
"a  single  swallow  don't  make  a  summer,'' 
even  so  the  judicious'farmer  will  not  be  de- 
ceived by  a  single  "weather-breeder"  in  tlie 
month  of  March,  but  will  defer  his  sheep- 
shearing  and  goose-plucking  to  a  more  relia- 
ble period. 

If  we  cannot  plant  in  March  we  can,  at 
least,  do  something  in  the  way  of  preparation 
which  will  advance  and  facilitate  the  work  of 
the  kitchen-garden  when  the  proper  time  ar- 
rives. Those  who  manipulate  a  hot-bed  will 
not  be  greatly'.hindered,  whatever  is  likely  to 
be  the  character  of  the  weather  in  March.  In 
any  event,  we  would  admonish  our  readers  to 
plant  and  cultivate  the  best  varieties  of  fruits, 
grains  and  vegetables,  and  especially  the  best 
adapted  to  their  difl'ercnt  soils.  The  bat,  al- 
though it  may  be  the  most  expensive,  is  in 
the  end  the  cheapest,  both  to  the  producer 
and  the  consumer.  We  confess  tliat  we  are 
often  stu'prised  at  the  inferior  quality  of  vege- 
tables that  are  often  found  in  our  markets. 
Especially  is  this  the  case  in  the  matter  of 
green  corn.  That  for  table  use  should  possess 
the  Iwjhcst  sarcharine' qualities,  and  to  obtain 
the  seed  of  this,applicatit)n  should  be  made  to 
the  Landretlis,  of  "Blooiningdale Seed  Farm," 
and  then  "crop  it,"  in  order  to  have  it  for  a 
more  protracted  period  than  is  usually  the 
case  among  our  farmers  in  general. 


WHY  NOT  WRITE  FOR  THE  PARMER  ? 

Mr.  R.xthvon  :  In  your  February  number, 
I  see  a  correspondent  asks  the  ([uestion,  "why 
don't  the  farmers  of  Lancaster  county  write 
for  the  F.\i!.MEU,"  and  you  state  that  you 
cannot  ti'll  why. 

The  rei'son  why,  is  plain  and  simple  to  me 
and  a  good  many  other  people.  We  have 
many  good,  old,  and  experienced  farmers  in 
the  county,  but  not  .so  well  ediK-ated— at  least 
some  of  tiiem— as  other  classes  perhaps;  but 
when  tliey  write  wlial  they  knmr  b;/  e.rinrience, 
they  are  apt  to  be  ridiculed  by  those  of  higher 
edui'ation,  and  so  they  keep  it  to  themselves, 
and  only  communicate  it  in  a  private  way,  to 
a  L'ood  friend  or  neighbor. 

How  was  it  when  .1.  G.  wrote  about  lunar, 
influence,  about  two  years  ago.?  * 

Editors  and  publisliers  generally,  make  it  a 


nde  not  to  admit  into  their  coIkmius,  or  even 
to  notice  anonymous  communications;  but,  on 
this  occasion,  we  waive  the  rule,  because  we 
believe  tlie  reason  resigned  is  honestly — al- 
tliough  we  think  mistakenly— eut(Mtained, 
and  is  therefore  insullicieut  in  its  conclusions. 
In  the  lirst  i)lace,  the  experiences  of  men  differ; 
and  hence,  there  always  have  been,  and  per- 
haps always  will  be  different  opinions  among 
men  on  the  same  subjects.  And,  inider  our 
form  of  government  all  men  liave  the  privi- 
lege of  expressing  their  opinions  without  re- 
.straint,  so  long  as  they  are  not  contraband  of 
law.  But,  because  men  may  differ  witii  us, 
or  contest  our  opinions,  it  Is  no  reason  that  we 
should  be  silent,  especially  when  they  are 
supported  by  our  own  practical  experience. 
A  thing  that  is  realli/  true,  is  none  the  less 
true,  because  some  other  man  don't  believe  it 
is  true.  Does  any  Christian  believe  that  he 
ought  to  cease  to  preach  and  pray,  because 
Bob  IngersoU,  and  other  infidels,  ridicule 
Christianity  and  the  Bible?  No  more  ought  a 
farmer  to  cease  to  give  his  experimental  views 
of  farming,  because  others  may  honestly  dis- 
sent from  his  views.  When  tlie  Saviour  ad- 
vanced his  views,  he  wiis  "laughed  to  scorn;" 
but  he  continued  to  teach  them,  becau.se  lie 
knew  them  to  be  true.  When  St.  Paul  pro- 
claimed the  truths  of  Christianity  he  was  de- 
clared to  be  "mad;"  but  he  continued  to 
preach  and  to  write.  He  did  not  keep  what 
he  received  "to  himself,"  but  he  communi- 
cated it  to  others,  whether  tliey  believed  it  or 
not. 

It  was  the  same  with  Fulton  and  the  steam- 
boat, Morse  and  the  telegraph,  and  hundreds 
of  others  in  the  world,  who  have  advanced 
their  views  on  different  subjects,  only  to  meet 
other  views  in  conflic't  with  them,  but  time 
and  experience  ultimately  demonstrated  what 
was  true  and  .what  was  false.  Moreover, 
a  mere  4enial  does  not  negative  a  propo- 
sition ;".  hence,  if  one  man  dishelie>^es  us 
another  may  beHcve  us  ;  therefore,  so  long  as 
one  believes,  there  is  as  much  reason  to  con- 
tinue our  writing  as  there  is  to  discontinue  it, 
because  one  disbelieves.  When  the  "sower 
went  fortii  to  sow,"  his  seed  fell  upon  differ- 
ent kinds  of  ground,  and  the  effect  of  his  sow- 
ing was  different  in  its  results,  and  |it  perhaps 
will  always  be  so. 

We  alwjiys  give  our  correspondents  and 
contributors  a  respectful  hearing,  when  their 
views  come  within  the  scope  of  an  agricul- 
tural journal.  We  cannot  reject  or  suppre.«s 
an  article  because  it  happens  to  be  in  conflict 
with  opinions  previously  advanced  by  some 
other  writer  ;  nor,  indeed,  when  it  is  in  con- 
flict with  our  own  opinions  on  the  same  sub- 
ject. When  the  views  advanced  are  true 
ones,  the  truth  will  only  become  more  appar- 
ent through  free  discussion.  We,  therefore, 
admonish  our  iiatroiis  that  they  should  not 
feel  discouraged  liecause  others— even  those 
of  a  higher  education— may  differ  from  them 
in  opinion,  especially  when  tlieir  views  are 
based  upoii/ac<s  elicited  by  actual  experience 


34 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[March, 


and  not  mere  theories.  It  is  true  that  an 
educated  man  by  fallacious  arguments  may 
be  more  successful  in  impressing  fnhe  views 
than  an  uneducated  man  is  in  advancing  true 
ones,  but  time  and  experience  will  eventually 
demonstrate  who  is  right  and  who  is  wrong. 
As  to  the  matter  of  education,  it  does  not  re- 
quire a  very  higli  degree  of  it  in  order  to  be 
able  to  tell  the  truth  when  we  liiwio  the  truth. 
In  conclusion,  lunar  influence  upon  the 
earth's  surface  involves  que.stions  that  are  in 
an  unsettled  condition  among  men— even 
among  those  who  are  educated — but  there  are 
plenty  of  other  .subjects  of  a  mure  practical 
character,  whicli  are  worthy  the  pen  of  the 
experienced  farmer— subjects  moie  tangible 
and  nearer  to  his  daily  life,  and  the.se  should 
become  the  objects  of  his  occasional  illustra- 
tion. 


THE  BANE  AND  ANTIDOTE. 

The  two  paragraphs  adduced  below  illustrate 
a  state  of  things  in  India  that  perhaps  never 
enters  the  mind  of  the  average  individual  who 
concerns  himself  but  little  as  to  how  other 
people  live  and  die  in  this  world  ;  and,  even 
those  who  may  feel  an  interest  in  their  fellow- 
men,  and  contribute  to  their  alleviation,  may 
be  astonished  at  the  aggregate  of  human  ex- 
posure to  the  fatalities  of  animal  ferocity. 
Venomous  reptiles  and  caroiverous  mammals 
seem  to  be  the  bmw  of  India,  however  en- 
dowed she  may  be  in  other  repects  ;  and,  al- 
though we  may  suppose  that  she  also,  to 
some  exteut,  possesess  the  antidote,  yet  it  can 
not  be  sutliciently  strong  to  overcome  the  pre- 
ponderatiugbane.  India  possesses  many  snake 
destroying  birds,  notably  the  Secretary,  the 
Cassowary  and  the  Vulture,  besides  many 
others.  If,  therefore,  with  all  these  checks  to 
the  increase  of  venomous  snakes,  together 
with  the  hundreds  of  thousands  destroyed  an- 
nually, under  the  auspices  of  government, 
there  is  still  such  a  fearful  mortality  from 
snake  bites,  what  might  it  be  if  none  of  these 
counter-operations  existed.  The  question  in- 
volved in  these  two  papers  is  one  that  brings 
before  us  on  a  large  scale  the  relations  that 
one  class  of  animals  bears  to  another,in  main- 
taining the  equilibrium  of  nature,  in  which  it 
is  plainly  evident  that  if  the  one  did  not  at  all 
exist,  even  though  its  presence  might  be  re- 
garded by  some  people  as  an  unmitigated 
nuisance — what  a  fearful  redundancy  there 
might  be  of  the  other  more  objec- 
tionable class.  This  rule  may  also  be  applied 
on  a  smaller  scale  to  the  noxious  animals  and 
their  natural  antidotes  in  our  own  country. 
We  don't  know  what  the  mortality  from 
snake  bites  is  in  the  United  States,  but  from 
all  that  gets  into  the  prints  we  may  infer  that 
it  is  very  trifling  when  compared  with  India. 
We  have,  however,  a  tolerable  idea  of  tiie  in- 
juries sustained  by  agriculture  fr.'m  noxious 
insects  ;  but  we  cannot  even  guess  what  it 
might  be  if  none  of  the  natural  antidotes  ex- 
isted; and  yet  because  these  often  operate 
against  the  interests  of  certain  individuals, 
they  would  have  them  all  destroyed.  Birds 
in  our  own  country,  as  well  as  in  India,  are 
the  natural  enemies  of  insects,  and  to  a 
greater  extent,  too,  than  we  may  be  aware 
of;  and  yet  many  people  are  restive  and  im- 
patient under  the  presence  of  birds,  because 


they  also  appiopriate  a  little  fruit,  or  other 
substance  of  human  production. 

Death  from  Wild  Animals   in  India. 

The  total  number  of  persons  killed  by 
snakes  and  wild  beasts  in  the  several  Provin- 
ces of  India  during  1R80  has  gradually  in- 
creased from  19,273  in  1877  to  21,V)r0.in  1880. 
The  largest  number  of  deaths  occurred  in 
Bengal  and  the  Northwestern  Provinces  and 
Oudh,  in  which  Provinces  the  deaths  during 
the  year  aggregated  11, .359  and  5,284,  respecti- 
ively.  In  Bengal  10,004  deaths  were  caused  by 
snake  bites,  3,i9  persons  were  killed  by  tigers, 
while  in  the  aSTorthwestern  Provinces  and 
Oudh,  4,723  persons  died  from  snakebites  and 
265  were  killed  by  wolves.  The  total  number 
(rf  persons  killed  by  wild  beasts  and  venomous 
snakes  during  the  year  1880  was  21,990.  The 
increase  was  common  to  all  Provinces,  except 
British  Burmah.  The  number  of  cattle  killed 
increased  from  54,830  in  1S7G,  to  55,914  in 
1879,  and  58,386  in  1880,  (exclusive  of  the 
figures  for  Mj'sorc,  where  the  deaths  in  the 
previous  year  amounted  to  5,899.)  The  in- 
crease compared  with  1879  is  common  to  all 
Provinces  except  the  Northwestern  Provinces 
and  Oudh,  the  Punjab,  and  Ajmere-Merwara. 
In  the  Northwestern  Provinces  and  Oudh  the 
totals  for  the  two  years  are  nearly  the  same, 
aud  iu  the  Punjab  there  was  a  decrease  of 
about  1,200  in  the  number  of  cattle  killed. 
The  total  number  of  wild  animals  destroyed 
has  fallen  year  by  year  from  23,459  in  1876  to 
18,641  in  1879,  and  l'l-,8S6  in  1880.  As  com- 
pared with  the  previous  year  the  falling  off 
was  common  to  all  Provinces,  except  the  Cen- 
tral Provinces,  Coorg,  and  Berar.  The  most 
remarkable  decrease  occurred  under  the  head- 
ing "other  animals"  in  the  Madias  Presiden- 
cy, the  figures  for  1879  and  1880  having  been 
2,956  and  139,  respectively.  The  number  of 
snakes  shown  as  destroyed  was  211,775,  as 
compared  with  131,927  in  the  previous  year, 
the  increase  being  mainly  due  to  the  very 
large  number  (177,070)  of  snakes  wliich  were 
killed  in  the  Bombay  Presidency.  The  total 
amount  of  rewards  paid  for  the  destruction  of 
snakes  was  11,663  rupees,  as  compared  with 
6,663  rupees  tlie  previous  year.  It  is  chiefly 
in  towns  and  villages  that  the  destruction  of 
snakes  is  desirable,  and  for  this  reason  it  is 
satisfactory  to  observe  that  so  many  munici- 
palities are  now  beginning  to  offer  rewards. 
These  results  are  not  regarded  as  satisfixctory, 
because  the  falling  ofl'  in  the  number  of  wild 
animals  killed  has  been  accompanied  by  an 
increase  in  the  destruction  of.men  and  cattle. 
Tlie  government  of  India  attributes  this  to 
the  operation  of  the  Arms  act,  although  the 
reports  assert  that  licenses  are  freely  granted 
in  tracts  where  wild  animals  abound. — iicknce 
Oossip. 

Snake  Destroyers. 

Birds  are,  perhaps,  the  greatest  snake  de- 
stroyers, especially  certain  families  of  them. 
Even  small  insectivorous  birds  will  dev(nir  a 
tiny  serpent  as  readily  as  a  worm  when  they 
flnd  one,  and  storl's,  falcons,  pelicans,  cranes 
and  some  vultures  are  always  on  the  lookout 
for  this  special  delicacy.  The  secretary  bird, 
Serjjentarius  rcptilivorous,  owes  its  scientific 
name  to  this  habit ;  tlie  ca.ssowary  and  sun- 
bittern  are  said  to  I'uter'.ain  a  similar  par- 
tiality ;  while  peacocks  are  so  fond  of  snakes 
that  tliey  will  actually  desert  the  home  where 
they  are  fed  for  a  district  where  these  reptiles 
are  ijlcntiful.  A  well-known  London  banker 
purchased  a  small  island  on  the  west  coast  of 
.Scotland  some  time  ago;  no  attempt  at  culti- 
vation had  been  made  there,  and  it  was  unin- 
habited save  by  sea-birds  and  vipers.  That 
the  latter  should  have  swarmed  in  such  abun- 
dance in  a  situation  so  far  north  and  i.solated 
from  the  mainland  is  ceitainly  remarkable; 
but  there  they  were  in  force  so  strong  that  the 
b;inker  found  his  newly  acquired  territory 
quite  unavailable  for  the  purpose  he  had  in- 
tended it — »  shooting  and  fishing  .station  in 
summer.  Acting  under  advice,  he  procured 
six  pairs  of  pea-fowl  and  turned  them  loose 
on   the  island,  which  they  very  soon   cleared 


of  its  imwelcome  tenants,  or  at  any  rate  re- 
duced their  luimbers  to  such  an  extent  that 
the  remainder  could  be  evicted  without  much 
danger  or  difliculty.  Almost  any  bird  will 
attack  a  snake  of  suitable  size  (of  .course  it  is 
not  to  be  expected  that  a  lark  will  swallow  a 
boa-constrictor)  ;  and  it  is  a  ciirious  thing 
that  thev  eat  venomous  or  non  venomous 
species  indiscriminately.  They  appear  to  first 
disable  it  by  a  .sharp  blow  with  the  beak  on 
the  spine,  then  kill  it  by  successive  pecks  and 
shakings  which  dislocate  the  vertebrne,  and 
finallv  transfix  the  head  ;  then  gobble  itdown. 
The  presence  of  the  venom  in  the  bird's  unin- 
jured stomach  would  do  it  no  harm,  but  one 
would  have  supposed  that  the  sharp  fangs  or 
broken  bones  projecting  through  the  mangled 
skin  in  its  passage  down  must  sometimes 
cause  excoriations  of  the  mucous  membrane, 
and  thus  provide  a  means  of  inoculation,  even 
if  the  aggressor  did  not  get  bitten  in  the  com- 
bat. Neither  accident,  however,  has  been 
observed  to  occur  liy  those  who  have  re- 
peatedly watched  the  operations.  Pigs  are 
tremendous  fellows  on  snakes,  too.  They,  as 
well  as  peacocks,  have  done  good  service  in 
ridding  entire  islands  of  these  dangerous 
pests  ;  and  it  is  said  that  Maritius  was  cleared 
of  poisonous  reptiles  by  the  wild  hogs  which 
were  imported  there  in  the  first  instance,  and 
have  now  spread  over  the  island. — All  the 
Year  Bound. 


"REVISED  FRUIT  LIST." 
We  insert  the  following  from  the  German- 
town  Telegraph,  not  because  we  feel  confident 
that  it  will  accord  with  the  preferences  of  all 
horticulturists — even  in  the  same  latitude — 
but  because  it  has  been  compiled,  and  at  vari- 
ous periods  revised,  by  a  veteran  experienced 
in  horticultural,  as  well  as  editorial  lore  ;  and, 
also,  because  it  may  be  more  reliable  and 
more  general  in  its  practical  application  than 
catalogues  embracing  the  fruit  stock  of  the 
entire  Union,  if  not  the  entire  world.  Of 
com-se  individual  fruit  growers  will  also  have 
their  preferences  based  upon  their  own  ex- 
periences. Moreover,  it  has  not  only  been 
demonstrated  that  one  particular  farm  is  bet- 
ter adapted  to  the  thrift  of  some  particular 
fruits  than  another  one  near  it,  but  that  even 
on  the  same  farm,  to  a  great  extent,  these 
diverities  of  adaptation  exist.  If  a  man  pos- 
sesses only  a  small  fariii,  or  desires  to  restrict 
his  cultivation  to  only  a  few  varieties,  other 
things  being  equal,  it  would  perliaps  be  most 
judicious  in  him  to  make  his  selections  in  the 
numerical  order  that  they  appear  on  the  list, 
unless  he  is  positive  a  variation  from  this 
would  be  better  for  him  individually.  Under 
any  circumstances,  that  should  be  selected 
which  is  best  adapted  to  the  special  locality. 
Every  fruit  season  we  still  see  a  great  quantity 
of  "trash"  in  the  way  of  fruit  and  vegetables 
exposed  to  sale  iu  our  markets,  and  we  have 
often  wondered  whether  people  will  ever  dis- 
cover that  the  best  is  the  most  profitable  and 
finds  a  more  ready  sale,  and  can  also  be  culti- 
vated with  as  little  labor  as  the  inferior  varie- 
ties ;  and  even  if  it  cannot,  it  is  quite  certain 
that  the  gathering  and  bringing  to  market  is 
the  same,  but  when  tliere  tlie  compensation  is 
always  favorable  to  the  suiierior  kinds.  It 
would  not  do  to  say  that  farmers  keep  the 
best  of  their  produce  for  their  own  u.se,  and 
only  sell  the  worst  to  others  ;  for,  nine  times 
ill  ten,  the  converse  is  the  case.  Doubtless  it 
is  altogether  owing  to  indiflerence  to  the  sub- 
ject of  fruit  culture,  or  devotion  to  some  other 
more  absorbing  iuteresit  or  prejudice  again.st 
"Book-farming."    But  it  is  never  too  late  to 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


35 


learn,  nor  is  tliere  any  rational  source  from 
wliicli  wp  cannot  learn  sonvthliig,  anil  those 
wlu)  think  thus,  wc  fed  cunlijciit,  nia}-  glean 
thai  ".something"  from  the  following  li.st : 

Since  the  last  publication  of  our  fruit  list, 
wc  liavi'  for  Patisfaetory  reasons  .-hansjed  our 
opinion  with  rcs]iecl  to  a  few  nl'  the  fruits 
whirh  it  contaiiu'il.  But  in  regard  lo  the  list 
as  a  whdle  we  ean  see  no  just '^riiuiuls  for  dis- 
tui'biuji  it.  Indeed,  we  do  not  see  how  it  can 
be  iui))roved  for  this  -ectiou  of  the  country, 
or  as  a  general  list  for  all  the  Middle  Slates. 
.Some  of  each  of  Ihc  sei)arate  sdeetious  may 
not  do  well  upon  one  premises  that  will  suc- 
ceed admirably  uu  amither.  Each  ijrower 
must  liiidout  for  himself  the  particular  apples, 
pears,  &c.,  especially  adapted  to  his  soil  and 
location.  This  can  be  easily  done  by  iucpiirii's 
(if  those  who  are  successfid  fruit-growers, 
whose  soil  is  somewhat  similar  to  their  own. 

Accordiiij;  to  our  present  preference,  we 
should  select  the  fullowiui:  for  our  own  plant- 
ing, and  nearly  all  (if  which  We  are  now  sxrow- 
iug  UKU'e  or  less  successfully  :  Standard 
Pears— 1.  Gillard;  2.  Doyenne  D'Ete;  :i. 
Early  Catharine;  4.  Kirtlaud;  5.  Bloedi,'o(id; 
6.  Summer  Julienne;  7.  Tyson;  8.  Brandy- 
wine;  ».  Barll.tt;  10.  Belle  Lucrativ(>;  I'l. 
Manning's  Elizabeth;  12.  Seekel;  fi.  Howell; 
14.  Anjou;  1.5.  Shelden;  1(>.  St.  Ghislan;  17. 
Lawience;  18.  Reading;  19.   Kielfer. 

For  those  who  may  desire  a  smaller  number 
we  should  select:  1.  Gilfard:  2.  Earlv  Catha- 
rine; :i.  BlgiHla;o(Kl;  4.  Tyson;  5.  Bartlett;  6. 
Belle  Lucrative;  7.  Seekel;  8.  Lawrence;  !). 
Readiiit;;  10.  Kielfer.  They  ripen  in  about 
the  order  they  are  arranged,  except  as  to  the 
three  latter.  The  Lawrence,  which  begins  to 
ripen,  or  can  be  made  lo  ripen,  early  in  No- 
vember, will  keep  until  March,  it  being  the 
only  pear  of  our  entire  slock  still  in  our  fruit 
vault. 

In  tlie  above  list,  from  No.  1  to  8,  are  suin- 
mer  varieties;  from  9  to  IG  autumn  (early  and 
late),  and  17,  18  and  1!)  winter,  thus  afford- 
ing a  sufficient  numb(U'  for  each  of  the  periods 
of  the  best  known  sorts  for  Ibis  region. 

Dwart  Pears.  —  1.  St.  Michael  d'Arohange; 
2.   Birllett;  3.  Cornice;  4.    Rosliezer:  .5.  Diel; 

6.  Tyson;  7.  Belle  Lucrative;  8.  Lawrence;  9. 
Ott;"lO  Louise  Bonne;  11.  Bosc;  12.  Bous- 
sock;  13.  Glout  M  irceau. 

Apple-s.— 1.  Maiden's  Blush;  2.  Baldwin;  3. 
Smokeliouse;  4.  N(u-thein  Spy;  o.  Smitli's 
Cider;  6.  Fallawater;  7.  Cornell's  Faiu'y;  8. 
Red  Astrachan;  '.).  Wagoner;  10.  P(n-ter;  11. 
Graveiisteiu;  12.  Tompkins  King;  13.  Hox- 
bury  lius.set.  We  add  to  the  foregoing  lisL 
Tompkins  King  and  lloxbury*  Russet,  both 
most  excelUnt  varieties  ;  indeed  the  King  is 
regarded  by  some  as  uusurpassed.  Northern 
Spy  is  als()  restored. 

Peaches— 1.  Crawford's  Early;  2.  Hale's 
Early;  3.  Troth's  Early;  4.  Old  Mixon;  5. 
Crawford's  Late;  6.  Ward's  Late;  7.  Smock's 
Late;  8.  Admirable,  late. 

We  have  substituted  in  the  peach  list 
Troth's  Early  for  York'  Early,  and  Admira- 
ble for  Susiptehanna.  The  former  seems  to 
h.ive  seen  its  best  days,  and  the  latter  is  too 
shy  a  tiearer  for  profit. 

Grapes— 1.  Telegraph;  2.  Concord;  3.  Hart- 
ford; 4.  Clinton;. 5.  Salem;  0.  Rogers'  No.  32; 

7.  Brighton;  8.  Ir'rentiss. 

We  have  added  t  >  the  list  Rogers'  No.  32, 
which,  should  it  mauitain  its  present  charac- 
ter will  be  ttie  very  best  out-door  variety 
cultivated.  It  is  a  beautiful  pink,  or  rather 
maroon  colored  grape,  and  at  times  is  trans- 
parent. It  Ijears  regular  crop?  yearly  with  us. 
Clinton,  in  the  foregoing  list,  is  only  for  wine, 
and  hi  probably  the  very  best  for  that  purpose. 
We  add  the  JirUjIilon.  a  maroon  color,  as 
promising  well.  It  is,  however,  a  small  berry 
and  rather  straggling  hunches,  but  almost 
pulpless,  and  of  excellent  quality.  Tlie  Pn-n- 
tiss  is  also  added.  It  is  a  new  white  grape, 
somewhat  larger  than  the  Delaware,  of  goo(l 
quality  and  scarcely  a  perceptible  pulp.  It 
promises  to  take  the  lead  of  all  the  white  va- 
rieties. The  bunches  are  compact  and  of 
large  size. 


Cherries.— 1.  May  Bigarreau;  2.   Belle  de 
Choisy;  3.   Black  Tartarian;  4.    Black  Eagle; 
.").  Black  Hawk;  (i.   Elton;  7.  Downer's  Late;! 
8  Early  Richmond;  9.  KavU'  I'lU'iile  Guigne; 
10.  Delaware  Bleeding  Heart. 

The  ripening  of  the  list  will  range  from  the 
earliest  to  the  latest,  thus  carrying  one 
through  thi^  wliole  (du'riy  sea.son.  No  one  can 
go  amiss  in  adopting  this  list. 

Haspberries.  -1.  Hornet;  2.  Herstine;  3. 
Philadelphia;  4.   Brandywine. 

Slrawh(U-ries.  — 1.  Captain  Jack;  2.  Seth 
Boyden;  3.  Sharpless;  4.  Triom|)he  de  Gand. 

New  kinds  of  strawberries  are  constantly 
appearing,  but  thus  far  wc  know  of  no  im- 
provements on  the  foregoing. 

Ciu-rants. — 1.  Black  Naples;  2.  Red  Dutch; 
.3.  White  (irape.  These  three  varieties  are 
the  best  among  the  dilferent  colors.  The  Red 
Dutch  is  a  regular  bearer  and  is  of  l)etter 
f|ualily  than  any  other.  There  are  others 
larger,  but  they  arc  more  acid.  The  white 
grape  is  transparent,  of  gO(jd  ((uality,  and 
(uight  to  be  more  generally  grown,  but  it  is 
not  a  great  bearer,  and  it  is  not  prolitable  for 
market. 

Gooseberies. — 1.  Houghton  ;  2.  Downing. 

These  are  two  best  goo.sel)erries  grown  in 
this  country.  They  bear  every  year  heavy 
crops,  are  free  from  mildew,  and  are  of  ex- 
cellent (piality.  They  are  large  enough  for  all 
jiractical  piu'i)oses.  We  cannot  recommend 
the  giants  and  their  giant  prices,  aird  especial- 
ly those  of  foreign  orijiu. 

Blackberries. — 1.  New  Rochelle;  2.  Mis- 
souri C'luster;  3.  Wil.son's  Early;  4.  Snyder. 

The  Snyder,  a  new  Western  Blackberry,  is 
highly  spoken  of  at  distant  points,  and  from 
the  very  respectable  endorsers  whicli  it  has 
we  have  no  doubt  of  its  value,  at  least  in  the 
West.  Wc  shall  probably  fruit  it  this  year, 
having  failed  to  do  so  last  year. 

It  is  better  that  those  who  intend  to  culti- 
vate fruit  and  have  to  make  purchases,  to  take 
this  list  with  them  to  the  nursery,  and  adhere 
to  it  as  far  as  possible. 

In  .selecting  fruit  trees  or  any  otiier,  be 
careful  to  choose  those  with  smooth,  healtliy- 
looking  bark,  have  entirely  shed  their  leaves, 
and  have  plenty  of  small  (ibrous  roots.  Trees 
on  which  the  leaves  remain  after  frost  sets  in, 
and  stick  to  the  branches  in  the  spring,  may 
be  regarded  as  not  healthy,  and  in  some  way 
lacking  stamina. 


EATING   BEFORE  SLEEPING. 

Man  is  the  only  animal  that  can  be  taught 
to  sleei)  ""  ^"1  empty  stomach.  The  brute 
creation  resent  all  elliirtsto  coax  them  to  such 
a  violation  of  the  laws  of  natiu'e.  The  lion 
roars  in  the  forest  until  be  has  found  his  prey, 
and  when  he  has  devoured  it  he  sleeps  until 
he  needs  another  meal.  The  hor.se  will  p<iw 
all  night  in  the  stable, and  the  pigs  will  s(iueal 
iu  the  pen,  I'efusing  to  rest  or  sleep  until  they 
are  fed.  The  animals  wh'cli  chew  the  cud 
have  their  own  provisions  for  a  late  supper 
just  befor-'  dropping  off  lo  their  nightly  slum- 
bers. Man  can  train  himself  to  the  habit  of 
sleeping  without  a  preceding  meal,  but  only 
after  long  years  of  practice.  As  he  comes 
into  tlie  world  nature  is  too  strong  for  liim, 
and  he  must  be  fed  before  he  will  .sleep.  A 
child's  stomach  is  small,  and  when  perfectly 
tilled  and  when  no  sickness  disturbs  it,  sleep 
follows  naturally  and  inevitably.  As  diges- 
tion sioes  on  the  stomach  begins  to  empty.  A 
single  fold  in  it  will  make  the  little  sleeper 
restless;  two  will  weaken  it,  and  if  hushed 
again  to  reiiose  the  nap  will  be  short,  and 
three  folds  put  au  end  to  the  slumber.  Para- 
goric  or  other  narcotic  may  close  its  eyes 
again,  for  without  either  food  or  some  stupe- 
fying drug  it  will  not  sleep,  no  matter  how 
healthy  it  may  be.  Not  even  an  angel  who 
learned  the  art  of  minstrely  in  a  celestial  choir 
can  sing  a  babe  to  sUei)  on  an  on)]>ty  stomach. 
We  use  an  oft-quoted  illustration,  "sleeping 
as  quietly  as  an  infant,"  because  this  slumber 
of  a  child  follows  immediately  after  the 
stomach  is  completely  tilled  with  wholesome 
food.     The  sleep  which  comes  to  adults  long 


hours  after  partaking  of  food,  and  when  the 
stomach  is  cmi)ty,  is  not  after  the  type  of  in- 
fantile rejiose.  There  is  all  the  difl'ereiice  in 
the  world  between  the  sleep  of  refreshment 
and  the  sleep  of  exiiaustion.  To  sleep  well 
llie  blood  that  swells  the  veins  in  our  head 
during  the  busy  hours  must  How  back,  leaving 
a  greatly  diminished  (piantity  liehind  the  brow 
tliat  lately  throhljed  with  "such  vehemence. 
To  digest  well,  the  blood  is  n('ede(l  at  the 
stomach  alid  nearer  the  fountains  of  lifi;.  It 
is  a  fact  established  beyond  a  possibility  of 
contradiction  that  sleep  aids  digestion,  and 
that  the  )pidcesses  of  digcistion  are  conducive 
to  refr(!shiiig  sleep.  It  needs  no  argument  to 
convince  us  of  this  mutual  relation.  The 
drowsiness  which  always  follows  the  well- 
ordered  m(>al  is  itself  a  testimony  of  nature  to 
this  terindependence. 

The  above  paragraph  has  been  "going  the 
rounds  "  of  the  public  press  for  .some  months, 
and  tliose  persons  who  are  sulliciently  intelli- 
gent to  grasp  the  argument,  will,  of  course, 
regard  it  from  their  own  individual  stand- 
point of  ex|)erience,  and  will,  perhaiis,  also 
reach  different  conclusions  on  the  subject. 
Practically,  we  can  endorse  the  whole  of  the 
foregoing,  whatever  the  opinion  of  others 
may  be  ;  but,  in  doing  so,  we  by  means  in- 
tend to  encourage  the  abuse  of  eating  at  any 
time,  whether  noon,  night  or  morning. 

When  we  became  addicted  to  "  eating  be- 
fore sleeeping  "  must  have  been  very  long 
ago,  for  we  can  well  remember  that  when  a 
mere  boy,  working  on  a  farm,  we  on  many 
occasions  ate  from  three  to  half  a  dozen  ap- 
ples after  9  or  10  o'clock  at  night,  while  we 
were  abed  ;  then  fell  asleep  and  "slept  like  a 
top"  until  morning,  and  never  even  had  a 
dream  on  them.  Two  physical  conditions 
liave  ever  been  detrimental  to  our  complete 
repose  at  night,  and  these  are  hunger  and 
cold  feet;  hence,  for  the  last  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury, or  more,  we  have  never  retired  at  night 
without  eating  somclhing,  whether  much  or 
little,  unless  we  were  unwell  and  had  no  appe- 
tite for  fo(jd  ;  nor  have  we  gone  to  bed  during 
all  that  period  before  12,  and  often  1  o'clock 
at  night.  Reading  and  writing  at  night  ab- 
sorbs our  vitality  as  much  as  do  any  of  our 
labors  during  the  day,  and  hence  we  natural- 
ly reipiire  food  to  sustain  those  labors,  as 
much  as  a  stove  requires  fuel  to  impart  heat 
to  the.  house  it  occupies.  There  is  nothing 
irrational  or  physically  hurtful  in  this  when 
it  is  confined  within  rational  bounds,  and  at 
regular  periods.  For  instance,  say  we  get 
our  breakfast  at  8,  our  dinner  at  1  and  our 
supper  at  G  o'clock  iu  the  evening.  Here  we 
have  three  meals  within  ten  hours,  and  six 
hours  to  work  yet  before  12  o'clock,  and  then 
eight  more  before  we  get  our  morning  meal, 
which  would  be  fourteen  hours  of  fasting 
within  the  twenty-four.  We  don't  know  how 
we  would  feel  if  we  were  entirely  idle,  but 
this  we  know,  that  we  would  have  to  lie 
awake  for  hours  if  we  attempted  to  retire 
and  fall  asleep  on  an  empty  stomach.  True, 
our  night  meal  is  a  light  one,  and  never  in- 
cludes meats  of  any  kind  ;  but,  in  lying  down 
from  twenty  to  thirty  minutes  thereafter,  we 
usually  fall  asleep  within  teu  minutes,  and 
wake  up  in  the  morning  refreshed. 

We  never,  or  fit  least  rarely  ever,  eat  any- 
thiny  between  meals— not  even  an  apple,  an 
or.vnge,  or  a  nut;  and  except  the  single  cup  of 
coffee  which  we  drink  every  day  at  our  regular 
meals— four  times— we  drink  very  little,  if 


36 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[March. 


anything.  We  pass  long  summer  days  with- 
out even  drinkius  water.  But,  "what  is 
sauce  for  the  goose,"  is  not  always  "sauce  for 
the  gander;"  or  in  other  words,  "what  is  one 
man's  meat  is  another  man's  poison."  Much 
depends  on  long  continued  habit,  through 
which  a  sort  of  "second  nature"  is  cultivated; 
we  therefore  do  hot  pretend  to  set  ourself  up 
as  a  teacher  as  to  how,  when,  and  what  men 
ought  to  eat,  or  abstain  from  eating.  Much 
will  depend  upon  their  temperament,  the  tex- 
ture of  their  physical  constitutions,  their  sec- 
ular occupations,  their  private  habits,  and 
freedom  from  extremes.  There  certainly 
have  been  diverse  theories  advanced  on  the 
subject  of  eating  during  the  last  half  century; 
all  of  which  perhaps,  have  some  good  in  them, 
if  honestly  observed;  and  it  is  equally  certain 
that  men's  minds  have  undergone  a  great 
change  as  to  what  is  healthful  and  what  inju- 
rious. Perhaps  what  people  eat,  and  ^vhen 
they  eat,  is  less  essential  than  how  they  eat. 
The  appropriation  of  nutriment,  or  eating,  is 
the  great  moving  force  of  the  animal  universe 
— and  proximately  also  of  the  vegetable— and 
unless  that  all  pervading  want  is  supplied, 
everything  animate  would  hopelessly  perish; 
but  the  rationale  of  eating  depends  upon 
assimilation,  in  order  to  produce  the  most  fa- 
vorable result.  Hunger  is  a  great  leveler,  and 
has  no  respect  to  any  condition  in  life.  The 
rich  and  the  poor,  the  intelligent  and  the  ig- 
norant, the  high  and  the  low,  are  all  amena- 
ble to  its  absolute  and  universal  demands. 
Perhaps  the  greatest  mistakes,  blunders,  and 
willful  perversions  in  eating,  occur  araong^ 
the  human  family.  All  in  the  animal  world, 
below  the  genus  Homo,  "eat  to  live,"  whilst  it 
is  very  evident  that  many  people  "live  to  eat." 
Seeing  that  physical  life  is  bassed  upon  this 
primary  condition,  too  little  regard  is  paid  to 
rational  eating,  and  also  to  healthful  culinary 
preparation,  to  say  nothing  about  social  con- 
dition. The  first  thing  that  every  living  mor- 
tal craves — after  fresh  air — that  comes  into 
the  world,  is  eating  and  sleeping,  and  if  the 
first  is  not  supplied, the  second  will  not  follow, 
and  the  subject  is  liable  to'  perish.  It  cannot 
and  will  not  sleep  if  hungry,  whether  man  or 
beast. 


HOW   LONG  ARE  WE  TO   LIVE. 

It  is  not  every  one  who  asks  himself  this 
question,  because,  strangely  enough,  it  is  the 
belief  of  many  persons  that  their  lives  will 
be  exceptionally  lengthy.  However,  life  as- 
surance companies  are  aware  of  the  credulous 
weaknesses  of  those  whose  lives  they  assure, 
and  have  therefore  compiled  numerous  tables 
of  expectancy  of  life  for  their  own  guidance, 
which  are  carefully  referred  to  before  a  policy 
is  granted.  The  following  is  one  of  the  au- 
thenticated tables,  in  use  among  London  as- 
surance companies,  showing  the  length  of  life 
at  various  ages.  In  the  first  column  we  have 
the  present  ages  of  persons  of  average  health, 
and  in  the  second  column  we  arc-  enabled  to 
peep,  as  it  were,  behind  the  scenes  of  an  as- 
surance office,  and  gather  from  their  table  the 
number  of  years  they  will  give  us  to  live. 
This  table  has  been  the  result  of  careful  cal- 
culation, and  seldom  proves  misleading.  Of 
course,  sudden  and  premature  deatlis,  as  well 
as  lives  unusually  extended,  occasionally 
occur,  but  this  is  a  table  of  average  expec- 
tancy of  life  of  an  ordinary  mau  or  woman  : 

Age  Years  to  live.  Age  Years  to  live. 

1 39i50 2i 

10 31  60 U 

21. ...  41^70 9 

30        :...34[80 4 

40 2S| 


Our  readers  will  easily  gather  from  the 
above  tabulated  statement  the  number  of 
years  to  which  their  lives,  according  to  the 
law  of  averages,  may  reasonably  be  expected 
to  extend. — iJarpcr's  Bazar. 

Inasmuch  as  the  above  claims  to  be  the  basis 
upon  which  the  London  insurance  companies 
operate,  it  may  be  regarded  about  .as  reliable 
as  the  subject  could  well  be  presented,  al- 
though by  no  means  absolute  or  infalible.  If 
we  understand  the  table  rightly,  if  a  child  is 
fortunate  enough  to  attain  the  age  of  one  year 
there  is  a  reasonable  probabitity  that  it  will 
attain  the  age  of  furty  years.  Of  course  there 
is  a  possibility  that  it  may  live  longer  ;  but  in- 
surance companies  would  not  be  likely  to  deal 
in  risks  founded  upon  mere  possibilitit^s — 
probabilities  are  sufficiently  dubious.  But 
should  the  juvenile  subject  attain  the  age  of 
toi  years,  then  he  may  expect  to  reach  life's 
prime,  or  forty-one  years  ;  and  if  he  should 
score  twenty,  then  he  is  good  for  three  score  and 
one.  If  he  is  fortunate  enough  to  number 
thirty  years  he  may  entertain  a  reasonable  ex- 
pectation to  number  sixty-four.  But  every 
decade  after  thirty  the  number  of  years  still 
alloted  to  him  are  shortened,  or  supposed  to 
be  shortened.  These  calculations  are  pre- 
sumably made  upon  the  general  life  tenure  of 
men  in  health,  and  take  no  account  of  epi- 
demic's and  accidents. 

The  followingjarticle  relating  to  the  tenure 
of  human  life  is  rather  argumentative  than  a 
statement  made  upon  business  experience. 
We  do  not  think,  however,  that  either  Buffon, 
Heusler,  Voltaire  or  Flourens  could  make 
any  nearer  approximation  to  the  truth  of  the 
matter  than  persons  less  intellectually  en- 
dowed than  they  were, ^, when  they  attempted 
a  literal  explanation  of  the  ages  of  the  Bible 
patriarchs.  They  might  as  well  have  at- 
tempted to  explain  the  speeches  and  actions 
of  the  animals  in  ^sop's  fables,  on  a  literal 
basis.  The  Bible  on  this  subject  has  never 
yet  been  explained — never  tvill  be,  and  perhaps 
never  can  be — so  as  to  be  literally  comprehend- 
ed by  the  masses  of  mankind,  nor  is  it  moral- 
ly, socially  or  philosophically  essential  that  it 
should  be,  in  order  to  be  a  text- book  of  morals 
to  the  human  family.  It  may  be  regarded 
rather  as  a  system  of  sacred-symbols,  tropes, 
figures  and  parables,  having  no  special 
signification  relating  to  the  physical  universe  ; 
but,  at  the  same  time,  a  moral  instructor  to 
the  human  family  through  spiritual  corres- 
pondence, illustrating  mutual  relations  exist- 
ing between  the  Creator  and  the  created  ;  and 
the  obligations  of  the  latter  to  the  former. 

The  Extreme  Limit  of  Human  Life. 

Can  man  reach  and  pass  the  age  of  one 
hundred  years  V  is  it  question  concerning 
which  physiologists  have  difierent  opinions. 
Buffon  was  the  first  one  in  France  to  raise 
the  question  of  the  extreme  limit  of  human 
life.  In  his  opinion,  man,  becoming  adult  at 
sixteen,  ouglit  to  live  six  times  that  age,  or  to 
ninety-six  years.  Having  been  called  upon 
to  account  for  the  phenomenal  ages  attributed 
by  the  Bible  to  tbe  Patriarchs,  he  risked  the 
ibllowiiig  as  an  explanation  :  Before  the  flood 
the  earth  was  less  solid,  less  compact  than  it 
is  now.  The  law  of  gravitation  had  acted 
for  only  a  little  time  ;  the  productions  of  the 
globe  had  less  consistency,  and  the  body  of 
man,  being  more  supple,  was  more  suscepti- 
ble of  extension.  Being  able  to  grow  for  a 
longer  time,  it  should  in  consequence  live  for 
a  longer  time  than  now. 

The  German  Heusler  has  suggested  on  the 


same  point  that  the  ancients  did  not  divide  as 
we  do.  Previous  to  the  age  of  Abraham  the 
year,  among  some  people  of  the  East,iwas 
only  three  montliR,  or  a  season  ;  so  that  they 
had  a  year  of  spring,  one  of  summer,  one  of 
fall,  and  one  of  winter.  The  year  waslTex- 
tendcd  so  as  to  consist  of  eight  months  after 
Aliraham  and  of  twelve  months  after  Joseph. 
Voltaire  rejected  the  longevity  assigned  to 
the  patriarchs  of  the  Bible,  but  accepted 
without  questi(jn  the  stories  of  the  great  ages 
attained  by  some  men  in  India,  where,  he 
says,  "it  is  not  rare  to  see  old  men  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  years."  The  eminent 
French  physiologist,  Flourens,  fixing  the 
complete  development  of  man  at  twenty  years, 
teaches  that  he  should  live  five  times  as  long 
as  it  takes  him  to  become  an  adult.  Accord- 
ing to  this  author  the  moment  of  a  complete 
development  may  be  recognized  by  the  fact  of 
the  junction  of  the  bones  with  their  apopyses. 
This  junction  takes  place  in  horses  at  five 
years,  and  the  horse  does  not  live  beyond 
twenty-five  years  ;  with  the  ox  at  four  years, 
and  it  does  not  live  over  twenty  years,  with 
the  cat  at  eighteen  months,  and  that  animal 
rarely  lives  over  ten  years.  With  man  it  Is 
effected  at  twenty  years  ;  and  he  only  excep- 
tionally lives  beyond  one  hundred  years.  The 
same  physiologist  admits,  however,  that 
human  life  may  be  exceptionally  prolonged 
under  certain  conditions  of  comfort,  sobriety, 
freedom  from  care,  and  observance  of  the 
rules  of  hygiene. 

Weak  Lungs. 
Every  one  knows  that  physical  exercise  in- 
vigorates the  muscular  system  ;  that  the  con- 
stant action,  within  limits,  of  any  muscle 
enlarges  and  strengthens  that  muscle.  It  is 
the  working  of  the  same  lavv  that  gives  full- 
ness and  vigor  to  the  blacksmith's  arm.  This 
law  is  physiologically  universal,  and  therefore 
applies  to  the  lungs. 

The  one  work  of  the  lungs  is  to  inhale  and 
exhale  air:  and  this  depends  on  the  alternate 
expansion  and  contraction  of  the  chest.  Now, 
some  persons  are  born  with  thin,  narrow 
chests.  The  lungs  of  these  persons  are  gen- 
generally  weak,  and  easily  become  diseased, 
because  seldom  brought  into  full,  vigorous 
action. 

The  employmeutsof  other  people— students, 
tailors,  seamstresses,  shoemakers,  etc. — are 
such  as  do  not  call  out  the  full  actions  of  the 
lungs.  In  some  cases,  they  inteifere  with  it. 
If  such  persons  are  troubled  with  general 
weaknesses,  have  difliculty  of  breathing  after 
exercise,  and  dull  pains  in  the  sides,  the 
lungs  should  be,  looked  after,  although  there 
may  still  be  no  oraianic  disease.  What  is 
needed  is  to  strengthen  them — not  by  medicine 
— but  by  their  own  proper  action.  Tlie  Medi- 
cal and  Surgical  lieporter  gives  an  account  of 
a  young  student  whose  pulmonary  symptoms 
of  weakness  were  wholly  overcome.  It  was 
done  by  his  simply  breathing  through  a  small 
tube  the  size  of  a  quill,  a  dozen  times  every 
three  or  four  hours  eacli  day.  Every  third 
respiration  he  vvithdi-ew  the  tube,  wheu  the 
lungs  were  thoroughly  filled,  and  held  his 
breath  as  long  as  he  could  without  distress. 
Keeping  this  up  during  his  student-life,  he 
acquired  the  ability  to  enlarge  his  chest  five 
inches  by  an  inspiration,  and  to  hold  his 
breath  without  disiress  a  full  minute. 

It  is  our  belief  that  the  same  thing  may  be 
accomplished  by  breathing  as  above  through 
a  single  nostril,  closing  the  other  with  tlie 
finger —  Youtli^s  Comprtnion. 

So  far  as  the  matter  relates  to  our  own  per- 
sonal experience,  the  above  extract  contains 
sound  doctrine.  When  we  were  first  bound 
an  apprentice  to  the  tailoring  business  (1827) 
we  were  jeeriugly  admonished  that  we  would 
not  live  to  serve  out  our  term  of  five  years, 
and  we  confess  we  sometimes  felt  some  boy- 
ish anxiety  about  it;  for  our  mother  had  died 
of  consumption  when  we  were  just  twelve 
years  old,  and  since  then  our  elder  sister,  our 
two  brothers  and   one  of  our  sister's  daugh- 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


37 


ters  have  died,  and  tliice  of  tliern  uuraistaka- 
bly  of  the  same  fell  disease,  and  at  about  tlic 
same  age  as  our  mother;  moreover,  quite  a 
number  of  our  mother's  relations  have  died  of 
tlie  same  disease.  One  day  a  physician  well 
advanced  in  years,  coming  into  the  shop  in 
which  we  were  employed,  and  noticing  our 
peculiar  attitude  on  the  ''board,"  advised  us 
,to  sit  straight,  expand  our  chest  as  much  as 
possible,  and  to  cultivate  a  habit  of  breathing 
thnni^h  the  nostrils.  And  furthermore  to 
take  as  much  active  outdoor  exercise,  as  we 
could  possibly  find  opportunity  to  do,  and 
when  we  sat  at  rest,  to  throw  our  arms  back- 
ward over  the  back  of  the  chair,  or  beneh,  if 
it  had  such  a  support.  We  followed  this  ad- 
vise and  with  good  results. 

Notwithstanding,  about  forty-live  yearsago 
we  were  troubled  with  a  pressure  of  the  lungs 
and  d'fliculty  of  breathing— perhaps  a  collapse 
of  the  cells  of  the  lung — induced  by  a  too  in 
cessant  conlinement  to  the  shopboard.  One 
day  an  agent  for  the  sale  of  Dr.  Fiteli's  "  In- 
haling Tube  "  called  on  us,  and  explained 
the  nature  and  object  of  the  instrument,  and 
we  purchased  one,  at  a  cost  of  $1,75.  This 
instrument  is  hammer-shaped,  and  consists  of 
a  cylinder  three-quarters  of  an  inch  long,  and 
three-eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter;  one  end 
is  closed  and  the  other  contains  a  small  ball- 
valve.  To  this  cylinder  is  attached,  in  the 
middle,  a  shaft  or  stem  about  four  inches  long 
and  throe-sixteenths  of  an  inch  in  diameter. 

This  tube  is  taken  in  the  moutli  and  a  deep 
inspiration  is  taken,  thoroughly  tilling  the 
lungs.  After  a  moment,  or  as  long  after  as 
the  breath  can  be  conveniently  held,  when  ex- 
piration commences,  the  ball-valve  will  be 
partially  closed,  and  the  breath  will  not  escape 
as  freely  as  it  was  inhaled.  If  the  nostrils  are 
then  held  shut,  the  effort  to  force  the  breath 
through  the  diminished  aperture,  will  also 
force  it  into  the  collapsed  cells  of  the  lungs, 
and  gradually  open  and  expand  them,  and 
this  effects  their  cure. 

This  practice  we  continued,  at  intervals, 
until  1B48,  when  we  abandoned  the  shop- 
board  for  more  active  employment,  and  the 
cause  being  removed,  there  was  no  necessity 
of  continuing  the  remedy.  The  good  effects 
do  not  follow  immediately,  but  by  continuing 
the  process  the  respiration  becomes  gradually 
free  and  strong.  We  have  on  many  occasions 
been  able  to  take  a  full  inspiration  and  hold  our 
breath  long  enough  to  read  a  paragraph 
eqquivalent  to  forty  or  fifty  lines  in  the 
columns  of  the  Laxc.\steii  Farmer.  We 
by  no  means  pretend  to  say  that  lungs  in  an 
absolute  state  of  decay  could  be  cured  by  the 
aid  of  this  instrument — indeed,  we  have 
loaned  it  to  persons  so  affected,  and  they 
have  declared  that  they  could  not  use  it,  or  a 
continued  use  of  it  would  kill  them — but 
where  there  is  only  a  weakness,  or  a  compres- 
sion of  the  cells  of  the  lungs,  it,  or  any  sub- 
stitute of  it,  cannot  fail  to  be  beneficial  if 
judiciously  and  perseveringly  used.  About 
twenty-five  years  ago,  through  an  inadvertent 
exposure,  we  contracted  a  stubborn  and  pro- 
tracted cough,  which,  according  to  the  opin- 
ion of  our  medical  adviser,  terminated  in  riq)- 
ture  of  the  lungs.  It  is  only  necessary  to  say 
that  in  this  case  our  instrument  was  altogether 
u.seless,  as  we  needed  a  ditfereut  treatment ; 
and  we   were  finally   relieved — we  may  say 


totally  cured — by  the  use  of  medicated  inhala- 
tions. These  were  progressively  modified  to. 
the  pending  condition  of  the  lungs. 

The  predisposition  to  pulmonary  affections 
is  sgid  to  be  greater  than  is  generally  supposed 
by  the  thoughtless  and  unobservant;  and, 
that  the  disease  is  not  more  frequently  and 
fatally  developed,  may  be  owing  more  to 
favorable  contingencies  than  to  remedial 
agencies.  Mental  or  eraotionalcondition  may 
also  be  a  potent  factor  in  the  development  of 
pulmonary  diseases.  It  has  been  alleged  that 
every  violent  paroxysm  of  anger,  hate,  envy, 
jeealousy,  fretfulness,  anxiety,  sorrow,  cha- 
grin, obstinacy  or  grief,  adds  so  many  nails 
to  the  coffin  of  the  consumptive  ;  and  doubt- 
less this  may  also  be  said  of  violent  physical 
exposures,  dissipations,  debaucheries,  or  any 
irritating  draft  made  upon  the  passions  or  the 
material  energies.  Inllamed  lungs,  no  more 
than  an  inflamed  cuticle,  cannot  heal  as  long 
as  they  are  in  a  state  of  violent  irritation. 
We  have  now  attained  our  "  three-score  and 
ten ;"  and  although  we  claim  no  special 
merit  for  such  a  fortuitous  contingency,  yet  it 
is  none  the  less  a  commentary  upon  the  judg- 
ment of  those  who  predicted  our  demise  be- 
fore we  completed  our  apprenticeship,  more 
than  half  a  century  ago. 


THE  WILL  AND  THE.DEED. 
There  are  circumstances  under  which  chari- 
ty compels  us  to  regard  the  will  as  equivalent 
to  the  deed — in  a.  ni'iral  sense  at  least.  It  is 
very  true,  that  the  will,  or  the  wish,  unac- 
companied by  the  necessary  food,  would  never 
save  a  needy  man  from  starving;  but,  in  a 
moral  sense,  it  might  exculpate  a  destitute 
person  who  had  been  appealed  to  for  help; 
and  in  the  same  sense,  it  might  even  go  far- 
ther than  the  real  material  gift  of  another. 
All  would  depend  upon  the  motive  which  in- 
stigated the  deed.  "There,  take  it,  and  may 
it  choke  you,"  uttered  in  a  snappish  vein, 
when  importuned  for  part  of  the  loaf  you  are 
eating,  would  be  a  deed  far  inferior  to  a  gen- 
erous wish  or  will,  in  amoral  sense,  although 
the  latter  might  not  be  so  effective  in  allevi- 
ating one  suffering  from  hunger.  We  are  led 
to  these  reflections  in  considering  the  re- 
spouses  to  our  solicitations  to  "  write  for  the 
Farmer."  For  instance,  Lholine  writes 
us:  "Esteemed  friend,  I  will  now  endeavor  to 
write  you  a  few  lines.  As  my  husband  told 
you,  I  have  my  hands  full  just  now.  But,  if 
I  could  have  the  opportunity  to  write  as  often 
as  I  ivisk,  you  would  get  a  goodly  number  of 
coutributi ms  from  this  quarter."  Now,  we 
happen  to  know  that  Leohne  is  a  self- 
educated  fanner's  wife,  in  medium  circum- 
stances, and  has  a  large  family  of  children, 
just  at  that  age  when  they  most  need  a 
mother's  care,  and  that  the  general  labors  of 
the  household  devolve  upon  her.  Under  such 
circumstances  the  wish,  or  will,  becomes 
equivalent  to  the  deed,  and  yet  from  time  to 
time  she  has  contrived  to  do  more  than  merely 
indulge  in  unsubstantial  wishes  ;  and  we  feel 
eonfident  that  she,  nor  anyone  in  like  circum- 
stances, will  sustain  any  moral  injury  in  ulti- 
mating  their  wishes  in  corresponding  actions. 
The  most  eft'ective  way  to  educate  the 
"mjWwji'"  is  for  the  million  to  write  for  and 
become  the  instructors  of  the  million.  Do- 
mestic hints  and  recipes  emanating  from  the 


"upjirr  (cii,"  are  often  inaccessible  and  im- 
practicable to  the  million.  They  occupy  a 
plane  beyond  the  reach  of  the  million.  Culi- 
nary preparations  that  cost  a  dollar  are  of  no 
practical  use  to  the  person  that  can't  afford 
more  than  ten  cents  for  the  same.  Hut  the 
million  is  characteristically  timid  and  dilli- 
dent,  and  hence  practical  knowledge  is  often 
overawed  by  theoretical  assurance  ;  and  be- 
cause the  million  cannot  write  with  the 
rtuency  of  the  upper  ten  it  prefers  to  abandon 
the  field  and  continue  a  "hewer  of  wood  and 
a  carrier  of  water."  All,  within  their  spheres 
are  useful,  no  doubt,  but  the  common  people 
need  the  experiences  of  common  people;  in- 
stead of  being  spoken  at  they  need  to  be 
spoken  to. 

By  the  common  people,  we  by  no  means 
have  reference  to  the  "Tramps, ".«ini-c«;ottes, 
the  "Greasers,"  and  the  Lnzaroni  of  the 
human  family,  but  to  those  who  willfully 
labor  for  the  benefit  of  mankind,  whether 
from  necessity,  from  love,  or  for  its  emolu- 
ments. Xot  that  social  exclusiveness  or  do- 
mestic antagonism  necessarily  should  exist 
between  the  common  people  and  the  upper 
ten,  for  it  must  needs  be  that  a  diversity  of 
classes  will  exist  in  the  present  constitution 
of  society  ;  but  we  should  ever  remember  the 
"l)ots  of  earth  and  the  pots  of  brass,"  as  we 
float  down  the  stream  of  time.  If  tlie  lion 
were  famishing  with  hunger,  and  the  bull 
were  to  bring  him  a  bundle  of  hay,  the  pig  an 
ear  of  corn,  the  parrot  a  bunch  of  fruit,  and 
the  partridge  a  pint  of  seeds,  it  might  be  .all 
very  kind  in  them,  but  it  would  not  meet  the 
wants  of  the  lion.  Ilis  needs,  under  such 
circumstances,  could  best  be  supplied  by  an 
animal  that  had  a  clearer  appreciation  Of 
those  needs.  Many  books  have  been  written 
on  Domestic  Economy  by  those  who  were 
characteristically  neither  domestic  nor  eco- 
nomical, and  hence,  so  far  as  they  concerned 
the  common  people,  they  were  a  dead  letter. 
But  if  the  common  people  will  not  place  the 
results  of  their  life  experiences  on  record, 
then  society  will  have  to  appropriate  such 
domestic  literature  as  it  can  find,  whether 
adapted  to  its  wants  or  otherwise. 


EXCERPTS. 

Chester  white  pigs  have  increased  in  price 
in  the  past  two  years. 

Like  the  blackberry,  the  raspberry  bears 
the  fruit  upon  the  cane  of  the  previous  year's 
growth,  which,  after  fruitage,  dies,  the  new 
cane  coming  forward  for  the  next  year's  crop. 

Nearly,  all  kinds  of  fruits  do  well  on  a 
mixture  of  superphosphate  and  wood  ashes. 
Lime  is  not  suitable  for  strawberries,  but  ex- 
cellent around  apple,  peach  and  pear  trees. 

Grapevines  should  be  pruned  as  early  as 
the  season  will  permit.  If  deferred  too  late 
they  will  allow  an  e.scai)e  of  sap  (bleed),  even 
if  trimmed  a  little  while  before  it  V)egins  to 
ascend. 

Fixe  rtowers  require  thoroughly  rotted 
manure  and  wood  mould  mixed,  and  tomato 
or  other  early  plants  can  be  grown  in  boxes, 
and  afterward  transplanted  with  better  results 
with  such  a  mixture. 

In  cold  weather,  eggs  for  hatching  should 
be  collected  daily.  They  freeze  easily  when 
exposed,  but  will  retain  vitality  for  several 


38 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[March 


weeks  if  gathered  as  soon  as  laid  and  then 
kept  at  a  uniform  temperature. 

In  Lancaster  county,  Pa.,  last  season,  one 
farmer  sold  his  two  acres  yield  of  tobacco  for 
Sl,112;  cost  of  labor,  etc.,  S212;  net  profit, 
$900.  Another  farmer  realized  $430  an  acre 
from  three  and  a  half  acres,  and  another 
$550  an  acre  from  one  and  a  half  acres.  They 
think  it  pays. 

The  exportation  of  potatoes,  cabbages  and 
other  vegetables  from  Germany  to  this  coun- 
try has  constantly  increased  since  it  began  last 
fall.  One  steamer  in  October  took  out  8,100 
heads  of  cabbage;  four  others  have  since  left 
with  (3,000  bushels  of  potatoes,  11,000  head  of 
cabbage  and  30  bags  of  turnips.  It  is  said  in 
Germany,  that  additional  shipments  will  be 
made  during  the  winter. 

A  STRIP  of  land  bordering  on  the  Mediter- 
ranean, about  100  miles  long  and  five  or  six 
wide,  is  the  raisin-producing  territory  of 
Spain.  The  Muscatel  grapes  are  carefully 
cut  in  August,  laid  on  a  sort  of  bed  made  of 
fine  pebbles,  and  dried,  being  turned  often 
until  they  are  perfectly  cured.  Then  they 
are  taken  to  the  wine  presses,  where,  after 
being  laid  in  trays,  they  are  subjected  to 
heavy  pressure,  when  they  are  ready  for 
market. 

Our  readers  must  remember  that  only  re- 
cently has  it  been  clearly  demonstrated  that  a 
dead  branch  on  a  tree  makes  almost  as  great 
a  strain  on  the  main  plant  for  moisture  as 
does  a  living  one.  It  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant discoveries  of  modern  botanical 
science  to  the  practical  horticulturist,  as  by 
this  knowledge  he  can  save  many  a  valuable 
tree.  When  one  has  been  transplanted  some 
roots  get  injured,  and  the  supply  of  moisture 
in  the  best  cases  is  more  or  less  deficient. 
Any  dead  branch  or  any  weak  one  should, 
therefore,  be  at  once  cut  away. — Gardener's 
Monthly. 

The  Cincinnati  Tobacco  Journal,  in  order  to 
answer  the  question  of  how  much  seed  is 
necessary  to  plant  an  acre  of  tobacco,  has 
pursued  an  investigation  and  found  this  :  In 
one  grain  we  found  by  actual  count  1,494 
seeds.  This  would  make,  by  multiplying  by 
480,  the  number  of  grains  in  an  ounce, 
717,170  seeds  to  the  ounce,  and  8,605,440  seeds 
to  the  pound.  Estimating  5,000  pounds  to 
the  acre,  and  supposing  every  seed  vvfill  make 
a  plant,  every  half  ounce  will  plant  nearly  72 
acres,  an  ounce  144  acres,  and  one  pound, 
1,721  acres.  As  many  farmers  are  contem- 
plating planting  largely  this  season,  we  re- 
commend a  careful  study  of  these-figures. 

IIiKAM  Warfl,  of  Conestoga  townshii),  had 
eight  hogs  about  a  year  old,  which  weighed 
as  follows,  dressed:  Killed  two  on  November 
2,  weighing  434  and  416  pounds,  respectively; 
killed  two  on  December  12,  weighing  484  and 
443  pounds,  respectively;  killed  two  on  Janu- 
ary 2,  weighing  578  and  533  pounds,  respec- 
tively; and  killed  two  on  .January  31,  weigh- 
ing 529  and  628  pounds,  respectively. 

Queen  Elizabeth  granted  the  fiist  royal 
patent  conceded  to  players  in  1.576. 

It  takes  1920  silk  worms  to  make  a  pound 
of  cocoons. 

Buffaloes  are  common  in  Ceylon,  white 
ones  being  sometimes  found. 


Texas  sells  annually  400,000  head  of  cattle; 
at  $20  per  head  it  foots  up  a  grand  aggregate 
of  $8,000,000. 

The  amount  of  fruit  shipped  from  Califor- 
nia during  the  present  season  will  bring  about 
$1,000,000  profit  to  the  State. 

A  Wisconsin  farmer,  twenty-three  years 
ago,  planted  a  piece  of  waste  land,  unfit  for 
caltivation,  with  black  walnut  trees.  The 
trees  are  from  sixteen  to  twenty  inches  in 
diameter  and  have  been  sold  for  $27,000. 

It  costs  the  people  of  Tennessee  $1,000,000 
annually  to  sneeze  and  u.se  snuff".  This  is  a 
Nashville  merchant's  estimate  of  the  annual 
consumption  of  the  article. 

France  produced  last  year  750,000,000  gal- 
lons of  wine.  Of  these,  47,000,000  were  made 
from  sugar,  51,000,000  from  raisins,  while 
154,000,000  gallons  were  imported  from  Spain 
and  Italy,  to  "  blend"  with  their  home  pro- 
duct. No  wonder  everybody  wants  to  drink 
French  wines;  they  are  so  pure. 

In  a  small  grove  which  adjoins  the  Schcen- 
berger  residence  near  Cincinnati,  an  army  of 
crows  take  shelter  every  night.  They  assem- 
ble by  thousLinds  an  hour  before  dark,  and  an 
old  man  living  near  the  place  says  that  to  his 
personal  knowledge  the  same  grove  has  been 
their  dormitory  for  sixty  years. 

During  leisure  hours  this  month  make  a 
simple  hot-bid,  even  if  it  is  no  larger  than  a 
dry-goods  box  from  which  the  bottom  and 
top  have  been  removed.  This,  if  sawed  in  a 
diagonal  direction,  will  make  two  frames  one 
foot  in  height  on  the  front  side  and  twenty 
to  twenty-four  inches  on  the  rear  side  when 
placed  in  position  at  the  south  side  of  a  build- 
ing or  high  plank  fence.  If  no  old  sash  are 
at  hand,  cotton  cloth,  saturated  with  boiled 
linseed  oil,  will  answer  a  very  good  purpose. 
No  manure  will  be  needed  within  the  frames, 
but  fresh  stable  manure  should  extend  one 
foot  beyond  the  frames  on  each  side. 

Immense  quantities  of  wheat  straw  are 
being  shipped  to  this  city  from  New  York 
State — hundreds  of  car  loads.  It  is  used  for 
bedding  purposes,  and  afterwards  for  manure, 
and  it  is  stated  that  much  of  it  contains  the 
Canada  thistle,  which  is,  by  this  process  being 
spread  broadcast  over  the  country.  Our 
farmers  should  be  on  their  guard. 

Adaji  Beam,  of  Crernarvon  township,  this 
county,  was  very  successful  in  raising  tobacco 
last  year  upon  one  acre  of  ground,  which  was 
carefully  cultivated,  and  the  crop  has  just 
been  sold  for  $300.  The  prices  paid  were  22 
cents  per  pound  for  leaves  measuring  over 
sixteen  inches,  and  7  cents  for  the  remainder, 
the  average  being  19i  cents  per  pound.  This 
is  considered  the  best  sale  made  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. 

The  number  of  feet  of  merchantable  pine 
left  standing  in  this  country  May  31st,  1880, 
is  given  as  follows  : 

Staiuliug  pine.    Cut  census  vr.'SO. 

Feet.  Feet. 

Texas,  -----     Ii7, -508, .100,000  174,440,000 

Wisconsin,  -     -     -       41,000,000,000  2,0!I7,-.!I9,()00 

Michigan.-     -     -     -     3.5,000,000.000  4:,497,3!(0,000 

Mississippi,  -     -     -       20,97.5,000,000  11.5,77.5,000 

Alabama,  -     -     -     -     21,192,000,000  245,t;98,000 

Florida,  .     -     .     -         B,(;15,000,000  208,0.5(i,000 

iMinnesota,     -     -     -       6,100,000,000  540,977,000 

This  does  not  include  some  of  the  most  im- 
portant timber  regions— Oregon  and  Wash- 
ington Territory,  which  will  be  given  here- 
after by  the  Census  Bureau. 


Contributions. 


For  The  Lancaster  Farmer. 
FORESTRY. 

The  timber  question  involves  a  subject  that 
will  not  soon  be  exhausted;  hence  allow  me 
to  keep  it  afloat  "all  the  time,"  for,  from  all 
we  know  to  the  contrary  at  present,  the  con- 
sumption of  timber  is  likely  to  be  perpetual.. 
Therefore,  its  reproduction  must  necessarily 
become  continuous.  We  live  in  an  age  of  ab- 
solute necessity,  and  also  in  an  age  of  great 
indifference  and  negligence,  in  regard  to  the 
reproduction  of  timber.  Even  the  ancient 
Greeks  and  warlike  Goths,  were  more  careful, 
less  profligate,  and  valued  the  forests  more 
than  we  do  at  the  present  day.  The  orientals 
were  like  us  Americans,  they  made  no  pro- 
visions for  the  replenishment  of  tlieir  exhaust- 
ed forests.  They  became  so  impoverished  in 
timber  that  they  were  compelled  to  abandon 
their  country  for  the  want,  of  it,  and  migrate 
to  Eiu'ope,  where  they  learned  to  appreciate 
its  value.  Timber  was  held  in  classic  venera- 
tion in  Greece.  The  students  of  Athens  ha- 
bitually assembled  under  stately  poplar  trees 
to  recite  their  lessons,  and  declaim  before 
their  fellows.  Political  gatherings,  would  as- 
semble in  timber  groves,  reserved  for  that 
purpose. 

The  ancient  Druids  recommended,  and  even 
enacted  laws  requiring  slates  to  make  large 
reservations  fur  all  time  to  come,  in  order  to 
supply  the  people  with  timber,  and  to  avert 
it  possible  the  timber  panic  of  Asia.  They 
especially  professed  great  veneration  for  the 
oaks,  under  the  wide  expanding  branches  of 
which,  they  delivered  their  lectures,  worshiped 
their  Deity,  and  performed  their  mystic  rites; 
believing  that  majestic  tree  of  the  forest  to 
be  the  peculiar  emblem  of  the  residence  of 
the  Almighty.  They  would  leave  it  unmuti- 
lated  in  some  places  in  order  to  note  its  age, 
which  has  been  known  to  exceed  three  or  four 
hundred  years. 

It  was  through  the  example  of  the  early 
settlers  in  Europe  that  these  large  forests  were 
reserved,  and  have  been  preserved  to  the  pres- 
ent day,  and  will  continue  to  be  kept  up,  for 
all  time  to  come.  These  forests  are  generally 
owned  by  the  difterent  governments — whether 
large  or  small — who  appoint  oflicers,  exercis- 
ing a  supervisory  control  over  them.  The 
"Wald-Herr,"  or  "Forester"  is  quite  an  im- 
portant personage,  and  exercises  an  indisput- 
able authority  within  his  domain.  The  mat- 
ter of  properly  keeping  a  systematic  forest  is 
not  a  merely  hap-hazard  attair,  and  does  not 
require  all  the  trees  to  be  left  perpetually 
standing.  When  the  cutting  is  finished  at 
one  end,  then  the  6ther  end  is  in  a  fit  condi- 
tion to  begin  afresh,  and  in  this  way  they  al- 
ways have  flourishing  forests,  and  also  alwaj's 
have  timber.  A  judicious  manipulation  of  a 
forest  requires  some  science,  more  observa- 
tion, and  a  great  deal  of  experience,  acquired 
through  the  exercise  of  common  sense. 

It  appears  that  our  generation,  and  especial- 
ly "Young  America,"  is  more  bent  on  imita- 
ting our  Oriental  than  our  European  ancestry. 
There  are  a  great  many  farmers  in  the  model 
county  of  Lancaster  without  a  single  forest 
tree  upon  their  premises,  and  very  few  trees 
of  any  other  kind — even  including  fruit  trees. 
Occasionally  it  happens  that  a  corner  or  a  few 


]882. 


The  Lancaster  farmer. 


39 


acres  of  the  farm  is  preserved  ;  or  a  favorite 
oak,  a  walnut,  or  a  chestnut  is  left  standing  «8 
so  many  monuments  to  the  inenioiy  of  a  grand 
old  forest  that  has  passed  away  ;  and  per- 
chance if  those  farms  |>ass  into  otht!r  hands 
under  morbid  ideas  of  improvement,  the  lirst 
thing  done  is  to  fell  those  venerable  relics  to 
the  ground  and  utilize  them,  according  to 
modern  principles  of  economy.  Under  such 
cireumstanucs  we  sensibly  recall  the  senti- 
ment of  Morris'  immortal  lines — 


"  VVoodniuii  epai'i-  that  tree, 
Touch  not  a  single  bjugh, 
In  youth  It  sheltereil  me 
Aiid  I'll  protect  it  now." 

There  seems  to  be  but.  one  way  to  induce 
our  people  to  commence  the  planting  of  forest 
trees,  and  that  is  for  the  Governments  of  the 
the  States  and  the  nation  to  offer  premiums 
to  those  who  plant  a  given  number  of  trees, 
and  assess  an  additional  tax  on  those  who  re- 
fuse or  neglect  to  perform  that  duty. 

True,  this  might  be  construed  into   both  a 
bribe  and  a  threat,   but  it  would  not  be  the 
first  instance  in  the    world's    history,  where 
people  have  been  bribed,  or  threatened,  to  do 
that  which  was  their  plain  duty  to  do.     Eco- 
nomically, as  well  as  morally,   men  should  do 
theirduty  as  they  understand  it,or  as  it  is  made 
manifest  to  them  in  tlie   present,  and    not   be 
unnecessarily  an.xious  about  ihe future;  but,  it 
does  not  require  an  extraordinary  amount  of 
intelligence  to  perceive  that  the  2jrescnt   may 
be  so  improved  as  to  make  it  a   pleasant  and 
noble  j30s«,  and  at  the  same  time  amply   pro- 
vide for  llm  future.     Had  our  forefathers  ad- 
hered to  a  similar  rule  in  regard  to  our  primi- 
tive forests  there   would   be   no  necessity  for 
their  posterity  to  indulge  in   anxious  diseus- 
sions  on   the  subject.     But  all   tliat  is   now 
past  ;  they  needed  cleared  land ;  the  forests 
were  their  hane   and   cutting  down  the  trees 
the  antidote.     Things  now   are   becoming  re- 
versed.    Treeless,    arid   and    sun-baked  hills 
and  valleys  in  time  will  be  the  bane,  and   tree 
replenishment  the  antidote.     To  those   who 
are  now  advanced  in  life,  it  may  make  little 
difference  what  is  done  in  this  respect,  but 
then  we  should  never  forget  that   the  earth  is 
"God's  foostool."—L    S.  R.,  Oregon,  1882. 


For  Thk  Lancaster  Fakmeh. 
STRAWBERRIES. 

Among  all  the  circle  of  fruits  there  is  none 
that  is  so  easily  raised,  or  gives  so  much 
satisfaction  to  the  amateur,  as  the  strawberry. 
No  other  fruit  gives  as  quick  returns  as  it 
does.  A  bed  planted  in  July  or  August,  will, 
if  well  taken  care  of,  make  a  full  yield  in  less 
than  a  year.  Sometimes,  on*  account  of 
drought,  it  is  difficult  to  establish  a  good  bed 
at  that  season,  so  upon  the  whole  it  is  safer  to 
plant  in  the  spring  as  soon  as  the  ground  gets 
in  good  working  order.  The  yield  in  good 
soil  and  proper  conditions  is  simply  enormous. 

Last  year  on  a  plot  7  by  10  yai'ds,  there 
were  raised  over  100  quarts  of  the  Sharpless 
variety,  equal  to  7,0U0  quarts  to  the  acre. 
There  are  reports,  apparently  well  authenti- 
cated, of  twice  that  amount  of  berries  to  the 
acre.  It  can  be  seen  from  this  that  there 
should  not  be  any  difficulty  in  finding  a  plot 
of  ground  on  almost  every  home  in  the  land, 
large  enough  to  raise  a  supply  of  this  delicious 


fruit  for  family  use.  Two  or  three  rods  will 
be  sufficient.  Any  soil  that  is  rich  enough 
for  cabbage  or  corn  will  do  for  strawberries! 
It  will  be  well  tf)  avoid  a  sod,  or  ground  filled 
with  a  large  amount  of  vegetable  refuse,  for 
in  them  the  white  grub  is  to  be  found,  and 
where  it  is  plentiful  you  may  come  to  grief,  as 
it  (the  grub)  is  a  great  eater,  and  will  soon 
ruin  a  bed. 

Dig  deep,  as  you  will    thereby   prevent  the 
gnumd  from   drying  out  as  soon   as  it  will  if 
shallow.      The    drought,   by  the  by,   is  the 
greatest  hindrance  that  the  strawberry  grow- 
er has  to  contend  with.     For  some  years  past 
strawberry  growers  on  a  liirge  scale  have  been 
quite  unsuccessful  on  that  account.     But  the 
amateur,  with  his  two  or  three  rows,  need  not 
sutler.     Deep  cultivation  and  mulching  will, 
in    a    great    measure,    counteract    drought. 
These   small  beds   are  easily  irrigated.     The 
soajisuds  from  the  weekly  wash  will   be  excel- 
lent.    These   small  beds  will   need    no   alley 
ways  through  them,  for  the  work  here  can  be 
done  to  the  best  advantage  with  tiie  hoe.    Set 
the  plants  eighteen   inches   apart  every  way. 
After  the  bed  is  planted  give  it  a  good   raking 
once  a  week  with  a  steel  rake.     Let  no  weed 
or  runner  grow.     If  any   plants  are  missing 
train  a  runner  in   its   place,  and    when  well 
rooted,  cut  loose  from  its  parent.     Fifteen  or 
twenty  minutes'  work  every  week  will  do  all 
this. 

In  the  fall,  when  the  ground  is  frozen,  cover 
with  two  or  three  inches  of  coarse  manure, 
and  then  your  work  is  done  for  the  season.  In 
the  spring,  when  growing  weather  comes, 
rake  oft"  the  coarse  rubbish,  but  leave  the  fine 
stuff  on  for  a  mulch,  and  if  you  can  add  as 
much  more  as  will  keep  the  weeds  from  grow- 
ing it  will  be  all  the  better.  Care  must,  how- 
ever, be  taken  in  putting  on  this  mulch,  that 
the  crown  of  the  plant  is  not  covered.  If 
mulching  is  scarce  and  your  bed  is  inclined  to 
be  weedy,  the  weeds  near  the  plant  must  be 
pulled  bf  hand,  as  the  strawberry  roots  are 
near  the  surface  and  are  easily  injured  by  the 
hoe.  After  the  fruit  is  formed  a  little  tan- 
bark,  leaves  or  chaft'  should  be  laid  under  it 
to  keep  the  dirt  off.  If  from  a  severe  rain, 
however,  the  berries  become  dirty  wash  them. 
Some  one  has  said  you  might  as  well  try  to 
wash  sugar  as  strawberries,  but  that  is  all 
nix.  Place  a  colander,  or  better,  a  square 
box  with  wire  netting  nailed  on  the  bottom, 
in  a  tub,  and  pour  water  in  until  nearly  even 
with  the  top  of  the  box,  then  pour  your  berries 
in,  a  quart  or  two  at  a  time,  raise  up  your  box 
two  or  three  times,  and  they  are  clean.  Sjt 
them  in  a  shady  place  to  drain.  Persons  not 
seeing  you  do  this  will  never  know  that  the 
fruit  was  washed. 

After  the  fruiting  season  is  over  go  over 
your  beds  the  same  as  you  did  the  first  season. 
Beds  thus  treated  may  be  kept  productive 
for  three  or  four  years,  after  which  it  would 
be  better  to  start  a  new  bed.  Now  about 
varieties :  Buisl's  Prize,  Crimson  Cone, 
Hovey,  Longworth's  Prolific,  and  hosts  of 
others  that  were  popular  twenty  years  ago, 
are  all  superseded  by  others ;  and  even  the 
Wilson,  that  so  long  reigned  supreme,  is  being 
pushed  to  a  back  seat.  Now  we  have  Charles 
Downing,  Cumberland,  Miner's  Prolific, 
Sharpless,  &c.  These  combine  quality  and 
productiveness  in  a  greater  degree  than  the 


older  varieties.  These,  a  year  or  two  ago, 
were  .sold  at  S2.00  and  upwards  a  dozen;  now 
they  c^m  be  bought  for  a  dollar  or  less  per 
hundred.  — CdJijjer  llilter. 


For  Tnr  Lancaster  Fahmkr. 
PRACTICAL  POULTRY  NOTES. 

As  the  time  will  soon  be  here,  when  good 
Farmers'  wives  will  Ije  sitting  hens  for  early 
chicks,  I  will  tell  them  how  1  do,  though 
others  may  do  better.  I  never  give  a  hen 
more  than  eleven  eggs  if  the  weather  is  very 
cold,  and  13  if  the  weather  is  warm. 

Last  spring  I  had  a  flock  of  22  Leghorns. 
As  soon  as  I  cooped  them,  I  greased  the  old 
hen  under  the  wings,  at  the  legs  and  breast, 
and  every  chick  about  the  head;  then  I  put 
them  in  the  coop,  to  the  old  hen  ;  and  this  I 
did  every  two  weeks.  I  fed  them  the  first  two 
weeks  on  stale  bread,  dry  cheese,  and  onions 
chopped  in  the  cheese  once  a  week;  after  that 
I  feed  cracked  corn,  wheat,  rye,  thick  milk, 
pure  water  to  drink,  till  they  are  fit  to  eat  or 
take  to  market,  and  only  one  died  with  the 
pip  out  of  the  whole  flock.  I  keep  the  nioilier 
pein'd  up,  but  let  the  chicks  run  at  large, 
after  they  are  4  or  .5  days  old. 

Out  of  another  dock  of  32  (jochins,  treated 
the  .same  way,  I  raised  30,  but  do  not  like 
them  so  well,  they  lay  too  little.  We  have 
plenty  of  eggs  when  we  keep  the  Leghorns, 
summer  and  winter;  never  keep  old  ones  over 
two  years.and  never  keep  over  30  through  the 
winter;  it  does  not  pay  to  keep  too  many.  A 
few  well  fed  pay  better  than  many  ill  fed.— 
Leoline. 


For  The  Lancaster  Farusr. 
DOMESTIC   HINTS. 

To  prevent  small-jiox  [lifting  the  face,  keep 
a  damp  cloth  on  the  face,  with  holes  cut  for 
the  eyes,  nose  and  mouth.  This  has  been 
tried,  and  can  be  relied  on  ;  no  one  likes  to 
have  such  marks  on  the  face. 

To  prevent  sore  eyes,  wash  in  warm  water, 
never  cold,  as  the  cold  water  will  indame 
weak  eyes. 

To  increase  the  cream  on  milk,  strain  your 
milk  in  hot  crocks  and  set  in  a  cool  room. 
The  butter  will  come  sooner,  too,  if  milk  is 
treated  this  way. — Leoline. 


For  The  I.axcahter  Farmer. 
PRACTICAL  RECIPES. 

Fastnacut  Cakes.— Set  a  sponge,  as  for 
bread,  with  li  quarts  of  good  yeast.  When 
it  is  raised,  add  3  eggs,  beaten,  1^  pounds  of 
sugar,  i  pint  of  butter  and  lard,  mixed; 
knead  it  well  for  about  twenty  minutes;  let  it 
raise  again,  then  roll  on  a  board,  and  cut  in 
cakes  with  a  penny  roller,  with  notches  in  ; 
also  cut  through  the  cake  three  or  four  times, 
and  bake  in  hot  lard,  having  the  pan  about 
half  full.  Begin  baking  when  you  have  about 
the  half  rolled. 

Swiss  Cake. — Make  a  batter  as  you  would 
for  flannel  cake,  only  so  thick  that  it  does  not 
run;  it  should  be  pretty  stiff,  but  not  too  stiff. 
Take  3  quarts  of  flour,  3  eggs,  2  teaspoonsful 
of  saleratus,  a  large  tablespobnful  of  salt;  fry 
in  hot  lard,  same  as  the  others.  By  leaving 
out  the  salt  and  adding  a  small  teacup  of 
sugar,  you  can  have  them  sweet.  They 
should  be  very  light  when  done,  and  should 
be  draped  in  the  lard  in  small    spoonsful, 


40 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[March, 


otherwise  the  outside  will  hurn  before  the  in- 
side is  done. 

To  Purify  Dripping.— Make  it  hot  in  a 
pan,  and  then  pour  it  in  clear  water,  when 
it  is  cold  gather  it  aTid  fry  out  the  water,  and 
it  will  not  taste  much  any  more  like  dripping. 

People  who  cannot  bite  radishes  should 
grate  them,  and  season  them  as  they  eat 
them;  they  are  very  nice  in  that  way.-ieoKne. 


Essays. 


THE  GROWTH  AND  CONSUMPTION  OF 
TIMBER  TREES   IN  AMERICA.* 
When   in    a   state  of  nature,  and   before 
Europeans  penetrated  far  into  the  interior, 
this  country  was  in  all  probability  covered 
by  a  dense  forest,  for  we  find  that  \Vm.  Penn 
held  a  conference  with  the  Indians  under  the 
spreading  elm  tree  at   Kensington  ;  and   all 
other  information  that  has  been  handed  down 
since  1681  confirms  this  belief.     At  the  time 
of  the  settlement,  s  lys  a  distinguished  writer, 
in  1682  the  site  of  PliiUulelphia  was  a  dense 
forest,  a  broad  expanse  of  magnificent  and  il- 
limitable  wilderness,   almost    untrodden   by 
civilized  man.      About  the  year  1720,  thirty- 
eight  years  afterwards,  John  Bartram  laid  out 
on  the  banks  of  the  Schuylkill  below  Phila- 
delphia, a  garden  containing  a  large  propor- 
tion   of    the  vario.-s  fore.st  trees    of  iSTorth 
America.      But  even  so  early  as  the  reign 
of  Queen  Anne,  who  occupied    the  English 
throne,  from  1702  to  1714,  an  act  of  parlia- 
ment was  passed  "for  the  protection  of  forest 
trees  in  the  English  American  Colonies  ;  and 
by  an  act  passed  in  1750  prohibited  the  felling 
of  white  pine  trees  in   the  Colonies,  unless 
within  private  enclosures.    About  the  same 
time  also  some  of  the  colonists  petitioned  the 
mother  country  for  compulsory  legislation  re- 
garding the  planting  of  tree.s  by  the  farmers. 
Between  1730  and   17.50,   fnrnaces    for    the 
smelting  of  iron  had  been  erected  in  Virginia, 
Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  New  York  and  New 
Jersey,  and  great  fears  were  entertained  that 
the  fuel  would  give  out.      In  later  times,  and 
during  the  early  part  of  the  present  century, 
these  apprehensions  were  renewed    that  the 
charcoal  furnaces  would  surely  cause  a  scarcity 
of  fuel, but  the  forests  held  out  until  the  intro- 
duction of   coal  into  common  use  dispelled 
the  popular  delusion.     But  in  our  times,  not- 
withstanding that  the  domestic   consumption 
of  wood  for  fuel  has  to  a  large  extent  been 
superseded  by  coal,  other  dangers   confront 
us,  that  the  railroads  need  immense  quanti- 
ties of  white  ,oak  saplings  for  ties,  and  how 
to  meet  the  demand   has  vexed  some  minds 
greatly.   When  the  necessity  arrives  no  doubt 
a  substitute  will  be  found.      We  well  remem- 
ber similar  fears  were  entcrtaiued  twenty-five" 
years  ago  that  the  locomotives  were  eating  up 
all  the  pine  wood,  but   here  coal  again  came 
to  our  relief. 

Before  the  discovery  of  coal  mines  and 
inventions  of  cheap  means  of  working  them, 
wood  was  the  general  fuel  of  the  earth,  and 
in  many  counties  where  the  arts  have  not 
much  flouri-shed,  it  is  still  the  chief  fuel.  In 
our  country  as  in  all  other  civilized  countries 
the  consumption  of  timber  is  immense.  Its 
aptitude  to  be  shaped  into  a  thousand  various 

*Read  before  the  Lancaster  County  Agricultural   and 
Horticultural  Society,  by  C.  L.  Hunseckor. 


purposes  for  the  comforts,  ornaments,  and 
conveniences  of  society,  enhances  its  value  so 
that  we  could  not  well  conceive  how  we  could 
do  without  it. 

It  appears  by  a  hite  official  report  that  Min- 
nesota, Mississippi,  Alabama,  Florida  and 
Texas  have  an  aggregate  of  123,000,000,000 
feet  of  standing  timber,  and  that  during  the 
year  1880  there  was  cut  nearly  1,500,000,000 
feet,  showing  in  these  five  States  an  enormous 
amount  of  growing  timber  trees. 

In  other  portions  of  the  States  and  Terri- 
tories there  is  more  or  less  forest,  and  in  some 
of  the  Western  Territories  there  is  no  calcu- 
lation or  numbers  big  enough  to  measure  the 
amount  of  the  magnificent  trees  that  span 
the  horizon  of  Washington,  Oregon,  Alaska, 
and  the  Indian  Territory ;  also  of  Wash- 
ington Territory.  Governor  Newell  says  there 
are  on  tlie  borders  of  Paget  Sound  15,000,000 
acres  of  the  finest  timber  laud  in  the  world. 
Thousands  of  trees  are  upwards  of  300  feet 
in  height  and  10  feet  in  diameter  at' the  base. 
The  New  Orleans  Democrat  estimates  that 
Louisiana  contains  more  than  17,000,000  acres 
of  wooded  land,  and  the  saw  mills  have  made 
very  little  impression  upon  this  vast  supply  of 
timber,  which  comprises  a  large  variety  of 
valuable  wood,  although  by  the  late  census 
it  appears  there  are  30,000  saw  mills  in  the 
United  States,  doing  a  flourishing  business. 
There  is  an  immense  amount  of  pine  forest  in 
California,  in  the  State  of  Maine,  in  Michi- 
gan, Pennsylvania,  Wisconsin,  Virgina,  Ken- 
tucky and  the  Carolinas. 

There  are  in  this  country  760,000  square 
miles  of  timber,  of  which  the  South  owns 
400,000,  or  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  most 
valuable  timber;  whilst  there  are  States  in 
the  American  Union  that  were  forestless  a 
quarter  of  a  century  ago  that  are  becoming 
wooded  by  the  planting  of  trees,  Iowa,  Kan- 
sas, Utah,  etc.  When  the  Mormons  settled 
at  Salt  Lake,  in  1847,  the  country  was  desti- 
tute of  trees,  except  what  grew  on  the  Wah- 
satch  Mountains,  which  are  covered  with 
pine  trees.  The  Utah  valley  is  highly  produc- 
tive, but  few  farm  houses  are  found  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  towns,  which  to  a  distant 
observer  present  the  appearance  of  immense 
orchards,  with  but  here  and  there  a  chimney 
or  steeple  rising  above  the  trees,  indicating 
the  nreseuce  of  houses.  And  all  this  wooded 
appearance  of  the  towns  has  been  brought 
about  by  the  policy  of  tree  planting  in  thirty- 
three  years. 

The  broad  and  rich  prairies  afford  advan- 
tages to  the  settlers,  which  the  settlers  in  the 
wooded  districts  of  other  States  do  not  ap- 
preciate. But  it  seldom  happens  that  any 
spot  of  land  combines  all  the  gifts  of  Provi- 
dence. It  is  there  tliat  we  find  the  richest 
lands,  charged  with  the  elements  of  agricul- 
tural success.  There  is  an  absence  of  trees, 
which  has  been  considered  a  serious  drawback. 
Experience,  however,has  shown  the  contrary. 
Those  pioneers  who  weathered  the  storm  and 
settled  the  timber  lauds  of  Pennsylvania, 
Ohio  and  Indiana,  can  testify  to  the  weary 
life  time  of  labor  required  to  clear  the  breadth 
of  a  farm  tit  for  cultivation.  On  the  prairie 
it  is  entirely  ditlereiit,  the  farmer  can  go  to 
work  at  once  with  his  ox  team  and  plow  down 
the  sod  on  which  the  tall  grass  has  been  grow- 
ing uninterruptedly  for  years. 


Chicago,  in  Illinois,  and  Toledo,  in  Ohio, 
commenced  their  career  at  the  same  time;  the 
first  becoming  the  mart  of  an  extensive  prairie 
country,  was  easily  brought  under  cultivation, 
got  ten  years  the  start  of  the  latter.  Toledo, 
seated  in  the  midst  of  the  grandest  old  forest 
of  the  plain,  had  to  cut  the  trees  away  to  get 
room.  The  products  of  a  soil  of  great  fertility, 
which  were  an  incumbrance  to  the  first  set- 
tlers and  checked  the  early  growth  of  the 
town,  but  have  in  later  times  become  a  source 
of  great  profit.  It  is  even  possible  for  a  peo- 
ple to  prosper  greatly  although  they  should 
inhabit  a  country  destitute  of  forest  trees. 
Holland,  in  Europe,  during  the  seventeenth 
century  lis  foreign  commerce  and  navigation 
was  greater  than  that  of  all  Europe  besides, 
and  yet  the  country  which  was  the  seat  of 
this  vast  commerce  had  no  native  product  to 
export,  nor  even  a  piece  of  timher  fit  for  ship- 
huildiiHj. 

Iowa  was  formerly  a  treeless  country,  but 
owing  to  favorable  legislation  and  the  efforts 
of  its  enterprising  citizens,  has  by  planting 
forests  and  orchards  became  a  wooded  country. 
The  head  of  the  famous  Mississippi  river  is 
a  dense  forest  of  magnificent  pines. 

Thousands  of  acres  of  valuable  timber  are 
annually  destroyed  in  our  country  by  the 
forest  fires  and  large  quantities  of  wood  left  to 
rot  upou  the  ground,  for  want  of  a  market 
near  enough  to  pay  the  expense  of  moving  it. 
Professor  Buck,  of  Ontario,  Canada,  asserted 
lately  that  more  timber  had  been  destroyed 
in  Canada  by  forest  fires  than  had  been 
exported,  and  one  of  the  largest  lumber  opera- 
tors of  Ontario  asserted  that  there  will  be  no 
pine  left  in  Canada  at  the  end  of  twenty  years. 
The  dwellings  of  the  early  settlers  of  New 
England,  as  well  as  Pennsylvania  and  other 
States,  found  the  forests  an  incumbrance,  and 
used  them  almost  exclusively  for  building 
material.  The  houses  and  other  buildings 
were  mostly  constructed  with  hewn  logs,  some 
of  which  are  still  standing  and  occupied, 
though  brick,  stone  and  mortar  are  fast  re- 
placing them. 

Out  West  they  have  a  yearly  holiday  called 
"Arbor  Day,"  on  which  the  people  plant 
trees.  Minnesota  has  already  millions  of 
saplings  on  her  stretches  and  knobs.  Iowa 
everywhere  shows  that  her  once  bare  prairies 
are  to  have  their  horizon  broken  into  pic- 
turesqueness  and  color  by  the  maple  and  the 
elm.  Men  plant  trees,  which  is  an  emblem 
of  civilization — Na|)oleon's  willow,  Shaks- 
peare'smulberry;  and  Bryant's  beautiful  poem, 
"The  Planting  of  the  Apple  Tree,"  sheds  its 
variegated  blossoms  to  the  memory  of  the 
poet. 

In  consequence  of  the  great  consumption  by 
the  furnaces  iu  England  of  timber,  they  were 
restrained  by  act  of  Parliament  in  1581. 
Soon  after  this  Lord  Dudley  invented  the 
process  of  smelting  iron  ore  with  pit  coal  in- 
stead of  wood  fuel.  Although  of  immense 
value  to  the  country, tlie  works  were  destroyed 
by  an  ignorant  rabble,  and  the  inventor  was 
well  nigh  ruined.  But  iu  the  early  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century  the  consumption  of  timber 
was  so  great  and  the  complaint  so  well  found- 
ed that  the  wood  fuel  would  give  out,  that  in 
1740  Dudley's  process  for  using  pit  coal  in- 
stead of  wood  was  generally  adopted,  and  the 
iron  business  greatly  increased  up  to  the  pres- 


1882.J 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


41 


ent  time.     Similar  were  the  fears  in  England, 
about  the  same  time,  that  the  timber  for  ship- 
building would  fail,  but  Sir  Robert  Seiipings 
contrived  the  means  nf  substituliu':  straight 
timber  for  that  of  different  forms  and  dimen- 
siiins,  before  considered.indispensuble  in  ship- 
building.    Although  this  want  of  timber  for 
shii)-building  is  not  felt  in  the  United  Stales, 
the  busint-ss'is  not  flourishing  very '.much.     It 
may  be  said  with  truth  thatthr  eullivation  of 
forests  has  been",  greatly   neglected   in   most 
countries,  and  in  many  a  very  sensible  want 
of  "wood   is  felt.^^"]  Trees''  should   be  planted 
around  country  residences.     Houses  without 
being  sheltered  liy  trees  against  the  wind  and 
sun  liave  a  monotonous  and  lonely  appearance. 
In  regard  to  the  longevity  of  trees,  Lin- 
najus  gives  an  account  of  an  oak   tree  2G0 
years  old,  but   we  have  traditions  of  some 
that  have  arrived  to  more  tlian  double   that 
age.     An   English  writer    makes  the  Fort- 
worth    chestnut  1,100    years    old,   and    the 
cedars  of  Lebanon  are  as  old  as  the   Bible. 
The  great  tree,  Washington   Elm,  at  Cam- 
bridge, has  a  surface  of  200,000  square  feet. 
Dr.   Trimble,  of    New    York,   stated,   some 
years  ago,  that  he  once  saw  a  tree  in   the 
Dismal  Swamp  of  Virginia  that   was  1,100 
years  old  by  the  annual  rings. 

It  is  very  difticult  and  almost  impossible  to 
get  at  the  amount  of  the  timber  consumed, 
and  the  supply  of  growing  timber  remaining 
in  so  large  a  country  as  tlie  United  States  and 
Territories.  But  at  any  rate  it  is  a  favorable 
sign,  that  year  by  year  more  stone,  iron,  steel, 
tin,  slate,  &c.,  is  used  in  the  construction  of 
dwellings,  bridges,  ships,  mills,  and  less  wood, 
so  that  if  building  timber  should  much  en- 
hance in  price,  more  substantial  material 
would  be  used  to  construct  buildings,  and 
there  would  be  fewer  disastrous  eondagra- 
tions. 

Who  shall  plant  trees.  In  the  old  world 
governments  are  paternal,  and  can  decree 
and  set  apart  land  for  the  growth  and  protec- 
tion of  forests.  In  our  country  it  is  entirely 
different,  the  government  has  no  such  right; 
the  duty  of  planting  of  trees  depends  upon 
the  will  of  the  citizen. 

Mr.  Faber,  the  manufacturer  of  the  red 
cedar  lead  pencils,  bought  a  large  tract  of  land 
and  planted  it  with  cedars  In  Virginia  the 
Landrelhs,  of  Philadelphia,  have  been  plant- 
ing a  large  area  of  its  worn  out  and  aban- 
doned fields,  with  catalpa,  ailanthus,  white 
oak,  hickory,  tulip,  &c.  A  Scotch  Emigration 
Company  has  purchased  140,000  acres  of  laud 
in  Barry  co.,  Mo.  To  these  lauds  the  Com- 
pany propose  to  draw  families  and  communi- 
ties of  llicir  countrymen.  Some  have  already 
arrived  near  Purdy,  a  station  five  miles  be- 
yond the  Waldeusian  settlement.  Tliese  fam- 
ilies have  in  a  few  months  made  a  great 
change  in  the  lands  about  Purdy.  They  have 
cleaned  out  the  underbrush,  and  left  standing 
the  larger  trees.  This  clearing  off  of  the  un- 
derbrush and  the  leaves  annually  would  mate- 
rially lessen  the  risk  of  forest  fires. 

The  most  valuable  suggestions  that  I  have 
met  with  are  those  of  Mr.  Williams,  of 
Monongahela  City,  Pa.,  who  proprses  to 
plant  10,000  walnuts,  sow  them  in  rows,  after 
two  years'  growth  thin  them  out,  leaving  the 
thrifty  trees  ;  in  five  years  cut  or  thin  them 
for  table  legs ;  in  eight  years  cut  again,  al- 


ternate trees  for  newel  posts;  in  ten  years 
begin  to  harvest  nuts  by  the  thousand 
bushels.  This  system  of  raising  a  forest  is' 
somewhat  similar  to  that  ]nacticed  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  pine  forests  in  the  Ilartz 
MoMutains  of  Germany.  There  the  seed  is 
sown ;  after  growing  two  years  the  young 
shoots  arc  transplanted  into  portions  of  the 
mountains.  Five  years  later  they  are  called 
a  thicket,  because  the  branches  are  then  so 
closely  interlaced  that  it  is  diflicult  to  get 
through  tiieni.  Ten  years  later  the  forester 
thins  them  out,  leaving  the  best  stems  only 
for  future  growth.  The  growth  of  the  tree  is 
slow,  the  average  age  of  the  full-grown  tree 
being  120  years. 

"OUR  WINGED    FRIENDS."' 

Since  the  time  when  man  began  to  till  the 
soil,  he  has  called  around  him  many  assist- 
ants to  lighten  his  labors  and  help  him  earn 
the  bread  he  was  to  "  eat  in  the  sweat  of  liis 
brow." 

All  our  domestic  animals  have  at  some  time 
been  reclaimed  from  their  wild  state  by  man 
and  trained  to  a  higher  condition  of  intelli- 
gence and  usefulness. 

Of  the  manner  in  which  this  is  done  we 
have  no  particular  account.  We  can  read 
that  in  those  days  there  were  "mighty  hun- 
ters," and  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  when 
they  hunted  and  slew,  they  likewise  captured 
and  tamed  some  of  the  animals,  and  that  the 
work  of  domestication  was  gradually  brought 
about  in  that  way. 

The  latest  accession  to  the  list,  we  believe 
to  have  been  the  wild  turkey  of  the  American 
forest.  Why  the  work  should  have  stopped 
with  him,  when  other  birds  of  equal  merit,  if 
not  equal  weight,  are  left  to  roam  at  large,  is 
a  question  that  remains  unanswered. 

Besides  our  domestic  group,  there  is  an- 
other and  more  numerous  class  that,  on  ac- 
count of  the  kind  of  food  on  which  they  live, 
and  their  consequent  migratory  habits,  can- 
not be  domesticated,  but  are  in  their  wild 
state  equally  the  friends  of  man,  doing  him 
in  many  ways  incalculable  benefits,  which  by 
a  little  more  protection  and  encouragement 
might  be  greatly  increased. 

It  is  in  behalf  of  some  of  these  neglected 
and  oftentimes  persecuted  friends  of  the 
farmer  and  fruit-grower,  that  we  desire  to  en- 
list your  kind  attention  and  sympathy  for  the 
brief  space  of  time  allotted  to  us. 

AVhen  our  remote  ancestors,  emerging  from 
barbarism,  began  to  build  permanent  homes, 
and  settle  down  from  a  roving  to  a  more  civ- 
ilized life,  they  ob.served  that  many  of  the 
tenants  of  the  primitive  forests  began  to  ap- 
proach their  habitations  and  take  part  in  the 
protection  of  the  newl^-planted  fields  and 
orchards,  or  busied  themselves  in  clearing  the 
surrounding  atmosphere. 

For  instance,  one  kind  of  swallow  left  the 
hollow  forest  trees,  to  build  in  the  newly- 
erected  chimneys.  The  martin  and  rock- 
pewce  forsook  the  savage  cliffs,  to  rear  their 
young  under  the  friendly  thatch.  Kobin  and 
oriole  came  to  assist,  where  the  hand  of  the 
husbandman  proved  unequal  to  the  work  of 
keeping  the  growing  buds  and  blossoms  free 
from  destructive  insects. 

*An  essay  read  before  tlie  Pennsylvania  Fruit 
Growers'  Society,  at  Harrisburg,  January  18,  lbW2,  by  Si- 
mon P.  Eby. 


Likewise  came  others,  to  prey  upon  the 
weaker  ones,  or  to  feed  on  the  fruits  of  man's 
labor.  Tnesc  latter  had  to  be  driven  off,  and 
thus,  between  the  two  classes  and  man  there 
sprung  into  existence  a  mutual  feeling  of 
friend  and  foe.  lie  gave  protection  to  the 
one,  and  waged  war  against  the  other. 

The  one  coming  in  ethereal  shapes  with 
plcasatit  voices,  to  assume  their  labors  at  the 
time  their  services  were  needed,  and  again 
leaving  for  unknown  lands  when  the  season 
of  usefidness  was  over.  The  other,  issuing 
from  their  hiding  places,  to  commit  depreda- 
tion at  uncertain  and  unexpected  hours,  and 
again  retreating  to  the  depths  of  the  adjacent 
forest,  themselves  unseen;  they  left  behind 
them  uiunlstakable  evidence  of  their  work — 
either  friendly  or  hostile. 

We  can  readily  perceive  how  under  such 
circumstauces  tlie  untutored  but  imaginative 
minds  of  our  remote  forefathers,  actuated  by 
their  love  or  hatred,  invested  some  of  these 
creatures  witli  shapes  and  attributes  half-hu- 
man, and  in  that  way  (M'oph'd  the  streams 
and  groves  with  strange  beings  "  visible  only 
by  the  uncertain  glimpse  of  the  moon." 

"It  is  to  be  regretted,"  saith  a  writer, 
"that  the  light  of  modern  science  has  fright- 
ened away  all  our  elves  and  fairies." 

This  we  believe  to  be  a  mistake.  They  are 
still  with  us ;  perhaps  less  numerous  than 
formerly  ;  but  they  are  still  here  ;  as  in  the 
"  olden  time  "  the  whims  of  the  good  require 
to  bo  humored,  and  the  tricks  of  the  bad 
ones  to  be  guarded  against. 

In  the  days  of  JEso\)  the  beasts  were  made 
to  speak  and  the  birds  to  ren-son.  The  ancients 
accepted  the  fables  not  according  to  the  letter 
any  more  than  we  moderns  do ;  but  for  the 
lessons  they  conveyed.  Even  so  with  the 
creatures  with  which  they  were  brought  in 
contact.  They  represented  the  good  or  evil 
genii  that  haunted  the  ancient  streams  and 
groves,  or  hid  within  the  dim  recesses  of  the 
German  forests. 

Clothing  them  in  shapes  half  human  only 
served  to  bring  them  closer  to  man  himself, 
and  intensified  the  feelings  already  existing. 

The  transformation  must  have  contributed 
to  the  welfare  of  such  a.s  were  considered 
friendly  and  to  the  destruction  of  tho.se  looked 
upon  as  hostile. 

Learning  from  the  ancients  let  us  interest 
ourselves  a  little  more  in  the  creatures  by 
which  we  are  surrounded.  In  the  birds,  for 
instance — as  our  good  fairies,  if  we  choose, 
or  in  the  light  of  modern  science.  They  will 
stand  tlie  test  either  way.  Let  us  get  our 
children  and  neighbors  interested  also.  Teach 
them  bird  history,  teach  them  to  observe 
their  habits,  the  manner  of  procuring  their 
food  and  escaping  their  encn)ies  ;  the  skill 
with  which  tlicy  build  their  nests,  the  tender 
affection  they  show  towards  their  mates,  and 
the  untiring  industry  with  which  they  labor 
to  rear  their  young.  Direct  their  attention 
to  the  fine  vocal  powers  some  of  them  possess 
and  the  sweet  and  varied  songs  with  which 
they  help  to  swell  the  grand  hymn  of  Nature. 
In  short,  let  us  learn  that  bird  life  has  its 
labors,  duties,  difficulties,  joys  and  sorrows, 
calling  for  sympathy,  very  much  like  human 
life  ;  and  the  chances  are  we  will  love  and 
protect  our  "  winged  friends  "  more,  and  in 
return  reap  the  benefits  of  their  multiplied 
labors  in  orchard  and  field. 


42 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMED. 


[March, 


We  will  not  attempt  to  treat  the  subject 
scientifically,  but  iu  our  own  way — confining 
ourselves  to  birds  wholly  or  in  part  inscctivor. 
ous,  and  begin  with  those  that  take  their  food 
upon  the  wing,  lliese  constitute  the  scavengers 
of  the  air,  and  are  provided  with  long  and 
powerful  wings,  that  sustain  continuous  flight 
with  ease  and  great  rapidity  of  motion. 

Prominent  among  them  are  the  different 
kinds  of  swallows,  the  night  hawks  and  purple 
martin.  They  are  old  acquaintances  in  Penn- 
sylvania ;  some  of  them  great  favorites  with 
our  people,  and  all  of  them  deserving  our 
fullest  luKspitality  and  protection. 

They  live  altogether  on  flying  insects,  which 
they  pursue  with  great  diligence  and  de.Kteri- 
ty  from  morning  to  night. 

The  number  of  insects  a  single  iiair  of  these 
birds  destroy  in  a  season,  if  it  could  be  accu- 
rately computed,  would  be  astonishing.  Some 
faint  idea  may  be  formed  by  watching  a  nest 
of  the  young  while  the  parent  birds  are  feed- 
ing them.  From  our  own  observation  we  are 
satisfied  that  the  visits  of  a  pair  of  barn 
swallows  at  such  a  time  was  no  less  than  once 
in  every  ten  minutes  each  time,  with  their 
bills  well  filled  with  insects. 

Air.  Palmer,  of  Massachusetts,  states  that 
he  saw  a  parent  bird  visit  a  young  purple 
martin  on  a  church  spire  opposite  liis  window 
five  times  iu  as  many  minutes,  each  time  with 
an  insect. 

Tlie  barn  swallow  and  purple  martin,  by  no 
means  homely  in  dress,  are  sociable  in  habits, 
and  exceedingly  graceful  on  the  wing. 

The  first  named,  building  its  nest  in  or 
about  the  barn,  follows  the  farmer  to  the 
field,  and  keeps  him  company  while  at  work  ; 
skimming  around  and  past  him  and  his  team 
— now  close  to  the  ground— now  over  the 
loaded  hay-wagon— then  away  into  the  ad- 
joining field,  circling  among  the  grazing  cattle 
—it  snaps  up  such  insects  as  may  be  put  to 
flight  by  the  workmen  or  animals. 

We  remember  on  one  occasion  seeing  a  nest 
of  winged  ants  issuing  out  of  an  old  fence 
post.  It  was  not  long  until  a  swallow  dis- 
covered them,  and  must  have  communicated 
the  fact  to  the  others  ;  for  in  a  short  time 
quite  a  flock  of  swallows  and  martins  were 
swooping  back  and  forth  over  the  spot,  snap- 
ping up  the  insects  as  fast  as  they  took  wing, 
and  few,  if  any  of  them,  escaped. 

The  purple  martin  is  equally  a  favorite. 
Wherever  these  birds  have  once  established 
themselves,  which  is  usually  in  small  colonies, 
among  the  habitations  of  man— they  will,  it 
not  disturbed,  return  annually  to  the  same 
boxes,  and  become,  as  it  were,  a  part  of  the 
household  during  their  stay.  Their  coming  is 
anxiously  looked  for  in  the  spring,  their 
arrival  is  hailed  with  delight,  and  their  de- 
parture, iu  the  latter  part  of  summer,  more  or 
less  tinged  with  feelings  of  sadaess,  such  as 
we  experience  in  parting  with  a  friend. 

The  presence  of  these  birds,  like  the  pres- 
ence of  the  swallow,  is  by  many  persons  con- 
sidered as  an  assurance  of  continued  pros- 
perity ;  while  their  failure  to  return  would 
be  loolted  upon  as  an  omen  of  impending 
misfortune  to  the  house  they  have  deserted. 

They  are  a  lively,  garrulous  and  spirited 
bird.  Not  gifted  with  the  power  of  song,  they 
seem  to  make  up  for  this  deficiency  by  an  in- 
creased love  for  gossiping.     Their  early  morn-  | 


ing  salutations  in  front  of  their  boxes  are, 
however,  very  pleasant  to  listen  to. 

The  male  bird  makes  a  model  husband. 
During  the  time  his  mate  is  sitting,  he  be- 
comes quite  domestic,  and  spends  part  of  his 
time  in  front  of  the  box  dressing  and  arrang- 
ing his  plumage,  occasionally  passing  to  the 
door  of  the  apartment  as  if  to  inquire  how 
she  does.  His  notes,  at  this  time,  liave  as- 
sumed a  peculiar  softness,  expressive  of  much 
tenderness.  And  yet  he  is  a  courageous  bird, 
and  will  unhesitatingly  attack  with  great 
spirit  and  audacity  hawks,  crows  and  other 
large  birds,  and  even  cats,  if  they  show  them- 
selves in  the  vicinity  of  his  home.  Thus  re- 
calling to  mind  the  closing  lines  of  Bayard 
Taylor's  "Song  of  the  Camp:" 

"  The  bravest  are  the  tenderest, 
The  lo\ing:  are  the  daring.'' 

"  Conjugal  fidelity,  even  where  there  is  a 
number  together,"  says  Mr.  Wilson,  "seems 
to  be  faithfully  preserved  by  these  birds." 

The  martin  feeds  upon  the  larger  kind  of 
insects;  wasps  and  beetles  forming  his  princi- 
pal food.  We  are  aware  tliat  he  has  been  ac- 
used  of  a  failure  to  discriminate  between 
sui  h  legitimate  prey  and  the  honey  bee,  and 
that  neigboring  swarms  have  sometimes  suf- 
fered iu  consequence.  Be  this  as  it  may,  for 
our  part  we  shall  find  no  fault  with  him  on 
that  account.  Since  its  cross  with  the  Italian 
our  honey  bee  has  become  such  a  pest  to 
fruit-growers  that  we  might  well  be  rid  of  it 
altogether. 

There  are  two  other  well-known  members 
of  this  group  with  which  we  could  not  well 
dispense. 

Our  summer  sky  could  hardly  be  considered 
perfect  without  at  least  a  pair  of  long-winged 
night-hawks  sporting  lazily  through  it,  and 
descending  occasionally  with  a  sounding 
swoop. 

Neither  would  our  summer  evenings  be 
properly  rounded  off  without  a  flock  of  twit- 
termg  chimney  swallows  circling  over  our 
heads  and  dropping  successively  out  of  sight, 
as  parting  daylight  is  fading  into  darkness. 

In  the  second  group  we  will  speak  of  those 
that  watch  for  their  prey  from  the  perch,  but 
take  it  while  flying.  These  are  called  the  fly 
catchers. 

Prominent  among  them  are  the  king  bird, 
rock  pewee  and  wood  pewee. 

"  It  seems  a  provision  of  nature,"  writes 
Mr.  Samuels,  "  that  all  fly  catchers  shall 
only  take  those  insects  that  have  taken  fliglit 
from  the  foliage  of  trees  and  shrubs,  at  the 
same  time  making  the  warblers  and  other 
birds  capture  those  which  remain  concealed 
in  such  places." 

"  The  king  bird,  iu  seizing  a  flying  insect, 
flies  in  a  sort  of  half-ftitting  hover  and  seizes 
it  with  a  snap  of  the  bill.  Sometimes  he  de- 
scends from  his  peich  and  captures  a  grass- 
hopper that  has  just  taken  a  short  flight  and 
occasionally  seizes  one  that  is  crawling  up 
some  tall  stalk  of  grass." 

"Those  farmers  who  keep  bees  dislike  this 
bird  because  of  his  bad  habit  of  eating  as 
many  of  those  insects  as  show  themselves  in 
the  neighborhood  of  his  nest,  but  they  should 
remember  that  the  general  interests  of  agri- 
culture are  greater  than  those  of  a  hive  of 
bees." 
He  is  possessed  of  great  courage  and  is 


more  than  a  match  for  hawk  or  crow,  which 
he  attacks  and  drives  off  wiienever  they  ven- 
ture into  his  neighborhood. 

The  rock  pewee,  or  liouse  pewee,  comes  to 
us  in  the  early  days  of  spring,  and  announces 
his  arrival  by  uttering  the  notes  from  which 
he  derives  his  name. 

Like  the  swallow,  he  generally  seeks  his 
last  year's  nest  and  makes  such  repairs  as  he 
fancies  necessary;  perhaps  a  small  addition  to 
strengthen  the  outside  or  a  new  lining. 

The  foundation  of  the  nest  is  composed  of 
pellets  of  mud  mixed  with  fine  roots  and 
grasses,  plastered  to  the  wall  or  other  object 
against  which  it  is  built,  and  lined  with  soft 
grasses,  wool  or  feathers. 

His  favorite  liaunts  is  under  arch  of  a 
bridge,  or  under  the  eave  of  a  mill  or  dwell- 
ing. Here  he  can  be  seen  during  tlie  breed- 
ing season,  perched  on  the  branch  of  some 
over-hanging  tree,  or  upon  the  rail  of  the 
bridge,  or  neighboring  fence  post,  flirting  his 
tail,  uttering  his. plaintive  notes  and  darting 
about  in  all  directions  snapping  up  the  insects 
which  generally  swarm  plentifully  in  the  lo- 
cality he  has  chosen  for  his  home. 

The  wood  pewee  is  generally  found  forag- 
ing along  the  edge  of  the  woods  that  hides  his 
nest,  or  among  the  lower  branches  of  the 
fruit  trees  near  the  gardens,  and  even  among 
the  trees  growing  on  the  city  lots. 

Here,  like  his  less  shy  cousin,  he  can  be 
seen  perched  on  some  projecting  twig  always 
on  the  alert,  darting  quickly  forward  and 
back,  catching  the  flying  insects  that  come 
within  sight  of  his  ever  watchful  eye.  His 
notes,  uttered  while  thus  employed,  are  simi- 
lar to  the  rock  pewee  only  more  plaintive  and 
longer  drawn  out. 

The  next  group,  embraces  those  birds,  fchat 
seek  and  capture  their  food  among  the  foli- 
age, buds  and  blossoms  of  the  trees  and 
shrubs. 

Prominent  among  them  rank  tlie  Baltimore 
oriole,  orchard  oriole,  wood  or  song  thrush, 
the  vireoes  and  some  of  the  warblers. 

"  The  food  of  the  oriole  is  almost  entirely 
insectivorous,  young  peas  and  stamens  of 
cherry  and  plum  flowers  forming  the  only  ex- 
ceptions. These  small  robberies  are  but  a 
slight  compensation  for  the  invaluable  ser- 
vices he  renders  the  gardener  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  hosts  of  noxious  insects.  At  first 
beetles  and  hyraenopterous  insects  form  his 
diet  and  he  seeks  them  vrith  restless  agility 
among  the  opening  buds.  As  the  season  pro- 
gresses, and  the  caterpillai's  begin  to  appear, 
he  forsakes  the  tough  beetle  and  rejoices  in 
their  juicy  bodies.  Even  the  hairy  kind  he 
does  not  refuse,  and  is  almost  the  only  bird 
that  will  eat  the  disgusting  tent  caterpillar  of 
the  apple  trees." 

To  its  usefulness  it  adds  a  plumage  of  rare 
beauty  and  brilliancy,  a  song  of  great  cheer- 
fulness and  a  nest  wonderfully  construcied. 

"There  is  in  his  song,"  says  Mr.  Wilson,  a 
certain  wild  plaintiveness,  extremely  inter- 
esting ;  that  is  uttered  with  the  pleasing 
tranquillity  of  a  careless  plow  boy,  whistling 
for  his  own  amusement." 

"It  is  a  joyous,  contented  song,"  says  a 
v/rilcr  in  Harper^ s  Magazine,  "standing  out 
from  the  chorus  that  greets  our  half  awakened 
ears  at  daylight,  as  brightly  as  its  author 
shines  against  the  dewy  foliage." 


1882.] 


tHE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


45 


T.  W.  HiEtfjinsnii  exclaims,  "  Yonder  oriole 
fills  with  light  and  melody  tlie  tliousand 
brandies  of  a  neighborhood." 

He  is  a  social  bird — a  bird  of  sunlight.  His 
haminock-like  nest  is  never  found  in  tiie  deep 
woods.  His  haunts  are  those  grand  old  trees 
which  the  farmer  leaves  here  and  there  in  liis 
fields  as  shade  for  his  cattle,  that  lean  over 
the  brier-tangled  fence  of  the  lane,  or  droo|) 
toward  the  dancing  waters  of  some  rural 
river. 

We  are  now  among  a  host  of  feathered 
choristers,  to  which  the  song  of  the  oriole  is 
like  the  bugle  notes  for  the  opening  of  the 
grand  winged  orchestra. 

Where  all  possess  .so  much  merit  it  is  dilli- 
cult  to  assign  precedence.  Out  of  the  deep 
woods,  however,  conies  a  beautiful  melan- 
choly strain,  which  is  not  very  common,  but 
when  iieard  cannot  fail  to  arrest  the  attention. 

"  The  prelude  to  this  song,"  says  Nuttall, 
"resembles  almost  tlie  double-tonguing  of 
the  tlute,  blended  with  a  tinkling,  shrill  and 
solemn  warble,  which  re-echoes  from  his  soli- 
tary retreat  like  the  dirge  of  some  sad  recluse, 
who  shuns  the  busy  haunts  of  life." 

"The  whole  air  consists  usually  of  four 
parts,  or  bars,  which  succeed  in  deliberate 
time  and  finally  blend  together  in  impressive 
and  soothing  harmony, becoming  more  mellow 
and  sweet  at  every  repetition.  It  is  nearly 
impossible  by  words  to  convey  any  idea  of  the 
peculiar  waible  of  the  vocal  hermit ;  but 
among  his  phrases  the  sound  of  "a'l-iofc," 
peculiarly  liquid  and  followed  by  a  trill,  re- 
peated in  two  separate  bars,  is  readily  recog- 
nizable." 

We  have  followed  this  song,  which  seemed 
to  recede  before  us  deeper  into  the  woods  as 
we  advanced,  without  getting  a  sight  of  the 
bird,  until  brought  to  a  sudden  halt  by  a  sharp 
"chuck  ;"  when  for  the  first  time  we  saw  the 
object  of  our  search  perched  upon  a  twig  of  a 
neighl)oring  tree  and  eyiug  us  sharply.  It  was 
the  "song  thrush"  or  "wood  thrush  ;"  a  bird 
in  size  between  the  blue  bird  and  robin  ;  cin- 
namon brown  on  the  back  and  whitish  breast 
marked  with  well-defined  dark  triangular 
spots. 

Its  notes  are  uttered  while  engaged  in  hunt- 
ing for  in.sects  among  the  foliage. 

Next  we  have  the  "Vireoes,"  of  which 
there  are  four  reported  as  visiting  this  part  of 
our  country.  Th'e  red-eyed  warbling,  white- 
eyed  and  blue-headed— all  useful  birds,  that 
feed  on  insects, which,  like  the  two  preceding, 
they  hunt  among  the  foliage.  They  are  in 
size  about  like  the  canary,  of  a  grayish  olive 
green,  and  variously  marked  as  their  names 
indicate.  Their  nests  are  pensile— or  hang- 
ing— generally  fastened  to  the  fork  of  a  hori- 
zontal tW'ig,  shaped  not  unlike  a  shallow, 
open-mouthed  purse. 

Mr.  Samuels  writes  of  the  Red-eyed  Vireo 
in  the  following  commendatory  manner  :  "  I 
feel  that  no  description  of  mine  can  do  justice 
to  the  genial,  happy,  industrious  disposition 
of  this,  one  of  our  most  common,  and,  per- 
haps, best-loved  birds.  From  the  time  of  its 
arrival,  about  the  first  week  in  May,  until  its 
departure,  about  the  first  week  in  October,  it 
is  seen  in  the  foliage  of  elms  and  other  shade 
trees,  in  the  midst  of  our  villages  and  cities, 
in  the  apple  trees  near  the  farm-houses,  and 
in  the  tall  oaks  and  chestnuts,  in  the  deep 


forests — everywhere,  at  all  hours  of  the  day, 
from  early  dawn  until  evening  twiliglil,  his. 
sweet,  half  plaintive,  half  meditative  carol  is 
heard  ;  and  whenever  we  see  him,  we  notice 
that  he  is  busily  searchiug  in  the  foliage  of 
trees  for  caterpillars  and  noxious  larviu,  or 
liursuing  winged  insects  tliat  have  taken 
Higlit  from  the  trees. 

"Of  this  beautiful  and  favorite  family  I 
feel  that  it  is  impossible  to  say  too  much  in 
their  ftivor  ;  their  neat  and  delicate  plumage 
and  sweet  song,  their  engaging  and  interesting 
habits,  and  their  well-known  insect-destroying 
proclivities,  have  justly  rendered  them  great 
favorites  ;  and  the  farmer  iu  protecting  them 
and  encouraging  them  them  to  take  up  homes 
near  his  orchard  and  gardens,  but  extends  a 
care  and  welcome  to  his  best  friends." 

The  wren  and  blue-bird  may  be  considered 
together  ;  both  being  insectivorous,  capturing 
their  food  alike  upon  the  trees  and  on  the 
ground,  and  building  in  crevices  and  boxes. 

These  birds  seem  to  be  getting  more  scarce 
in  late  years.  In  our  school-boy  days  there 
was  uo  season  that  we  did  not  know  of  a  wren 
or  blue-bird's  nest.  We  recollect  instances 
when  the  wren  contended  for  quarters  with 
the  martin  and  out-witted  him  by  narrowing 
the  entrance  of  the  box  with  sticks,  strongly 
and  skillfully  placed,  so  as  to  admit  himself, 
but  keep  his  larger  antagonist  out. 

The  wood-pecker  family  have  been  voted 
great  scamps — fruit-stealing,  sap-sucking  ras- 
cals— a  proper  target  for  every  idle  boy,  who 
could  handle  an  old  rusty  gun,  to  blaze  away 
at.  Of  late  years  their  usefulness  has  become 
better  understood,  and  a  law  enacted  to  save 
them  from  total  extermination.  They  are 
the  police  of  the  trunk  and  woody  part  of  our 
timber,  fruit  and  shade  trees.  In  fact,  to  us, 
the  red-headed  wood-pecker  does  not  seem 
unlike  a  liveried  policeman  patroling  his  beat, 
up  and  down  and  around  the  trunk,  and  out 
along  the  limbs  of  some  old  tr  e,  tapping  and 
rattling  for  concealed  marauding  insects,  and 
dragging  them  from  their  hiding-places  with- 
out mercy  when  discovered. 

AVe  have  frequently  noticed  the  trunks  of 
old  apple  trees  punctured  in  a  regular  succes- 
sion of  circles  ;  or  have  seen  spots  as  large  as 
a  hand  where  the  bark  seemed  dead,  riddled 
like  the  bottom  of  a  colander,  all  the  work  of 
this  or  a  smaller  speckled  wood-pecker,  known 
as  the  sap-sucker,  iu  their  efforts  to  dislodge 
the  insects  under  the  bark. 

Shall  these  faithful  servants  be  denied  a 
few  of  the  fruit  of  the  trees  they  help  to  save  ? 

A  few  years  ago  we  observed  several  Scotch 
pines  in  one  of  our  cemeteries  treated  in  this 
manner,  and  the  resinous  sap  exuding  and 
filling  the  punctured  circles.  Surely,  we 
thought,  this  time  the  bird  could  have  been 
after  no  honest  purpose,  and  deserved  the  bad 
name  it  bore.  Behold,  in  the  following  spring 
one  of  the  pines  was  dead;  and  taking  a  friend 
with  us,  we  examined  into  the  cause  and 
found  the  inner  bark  of  the  upper  part  of  the 
trunk  and  of  some  of  the  larger  limbs  reduced 
to  the  condition  of  fine  sawdust,  having  been 
entirely  eaten  by  worms.  Here  the  borers  had 
been  too  numerous  or  the  trees  too  far  gone. 
The  other  pines  were  no  doubt  saved  by  the 
timely  interference  of  this  much-slandered 
bird. 

Closely  allied  in  habits  of  life  to  the  wood- 


pecker arc  the  titmice  and  chickadees,  of 
which  ornithologists  report  three  as  visitants 
to  this  country.  They  feed  on  insects  and 
the  eggs  of  moths  deiiosited  on  and  in  the 
crevices  of  the  bark  and  in  the  buds  of  trees 
and  shrubs. 

During  breeding  sesison  they  are  busy 
througli  the  whole  day  in  capturing  va.st 
(luanlities  of  caterpillars,  files  au<l  grubs.  "It 
has  hceii  calculated,"  says  Mr.  Samuels, 
"  that  a  pair  of  these  birds  destroy  on  the 
average  not  less  than  five  hundred  ot  these 
pests  daily." 

"The  chickadee  trips  along  the  branches, 
trips  under  every  leaf,  swings  round  upon  his 
perch,  spies  out  every  insect  and  secures  it 
with  a  peck  so  rapid  that  it  is  hardly  percepti- 
ble." 

Last  but  not  least  in  our  lisl  come  some  of 
our  best  known  and  most  reliable  friends. 
I'rominent  among  which  are  the  brown 
thrush,  or  mocking  bird,  robin,  cat-bird, 
black-bird,  meadow-lark,  chipping-siianow, 
song-sparrow  and  indigo-bird. 

These  feed  on  small  fruit,  seeds  and  ber- 
ries, as  well  as  on  insects,  grubs  and  worms. 
They  help  themselves  to  some  of  our  early 
fruit,  and  in  that  way  sometimes  annoy  us. 
Still  if  an  account  could  be  made  up  of  what 
they  take,  and  the  good  Ihey  do,  the  balance 
would  show  largely  in  their  favor. 

They  compensate  us  in  still  another  way; 
they  cheer  us  witli  their  presence  and  songs  ; 
for  amongst  them  are  some  ot  the  most  talent- 
ed musicians.  Unlike  the  oriole  and  viero, 
which  carol  while  they  labor,  this  class  lay 
aside  other  duties  when  they  addres.sed  them- 
selves to  song.  Ascending  some  elevated 
perch  and  concentrating  all  their  vocal  powers, 
they  pour  forth  their  strains  of  melody,  as  if 
it  wei"o  to  a  listening  audience. 

Mounted  on  the  topmost  spray  of  a  neigh- 
boring tree  or  bush,  the  brown  thrush  w'el- 
comes  the  farmer  planting  seed  at  early 
morning  with  cries  of  "drop  it,  drop  it,  cover 
it  up,  cover  it  up.  Pull  it  up,  pull  it  up  ;  see, 
see,  see ;  there  you  have  it ;  work  away, 
work  away  ;  cover  it  up." 

This  bird,  although  often  seen  in  the  or- 
chard and  pasture  field,  generally  builds  his 
nest  in  the  neighboring  thicket  and  seems 
partial  to  sprout  land,  or  woods  having  un- 
dergrowth. 

A  few  years  ago  we  considered  ourselves 
highly  favored  when  a  pair  selected  a  small 
evergreen  upon  the  lawn  for  their  nesting 
place,  and  we  gave  strict  orders  for  no  one  to 
go  near  while  the  work  was  progressing,  but 
unfortunately  some  unknown  enemy  must 
have  discovered  them,  for  one  day  we  found 
the  eggs  broken  and  the  nest  deserted. 

Of  the  robin  a  writer  in  the  Atlantic  Month- 
hj  says  :  "I  shall  not  ask  pardon  for  assigning 
to  him  the  highest  rank  as  a  singing  bird, 
while  others  may  surpass  him  in  some  par- 
ticular qualities  ;  the  notes  of  the  robin  are 
ah  melodious,  all  delightful— loud  without 
vociferation,  mellow  without  monotony,  fer- 
vent without  ecstasy,  and  combining  more 
mellowness  of  tone,  plaintiveness,  cheerful- 
ness and  proi)riety  of  execution  than  those  of 
any  other  bifd.  Without  his  sweet  notes  the 
mornings  would  be  like  a  vernal  landscape 
without  fiowers,  or  a  summer  evening  sky 
without  tints." 


44 


THE  LANCASTER   FARMER. 


[March, 


After  the  noon-day  heat  has  silenced  the 
earl}'  performers,  the  song  sparrow,  chipping 
sparrow  and  indigo  bird  continue  to  sing  at 
intervfils  during  the  greater  part  of  the  day. 
The  song  sparrow  has  been  assigned  a  high 
place  among  singing  birds.  IJis  song  is  cer- 
tainly ver\'  soft  and  sweet,  without  a  harsh 
note  in  it.  We  hear  it  mostly  from  the  hedge 
row.s,  and  along  the  edges  of  tlie  grain  or  pas- 
ture fields. 

Tbe  sprightly  little  indigo  bird  selects  the 
highest  twig  of  some  tall  tree  in  the  vicinity 
of  his  nest  to  pour  out  his  noon-day  song. 

Last  and  least  is  the  chipping  sparrow, 
greeting  us  from  the  fence  posts,  along  the 
highways  and  country  lanes,  with  its  peculiar 
but  pleasant  little  song  not  unlike  that  of  a 
summer  locust. 

Having  thus  spoken  in  behalf  of  some  of 
our  •' winged  friends  "  as  time  would  allow, 
leaving,  however,  many  of  them  unmentioned, 
and  many  of  the  good  things  which  might  be 
said"  in  their  favor  unsaid,  the  next  question 
naturally  suggests  itself :  How  can  we  best 
preserve  these  winged  institutions,  whieh 
have  become  interwoven  with  some  of  our 
earliest  and  happiest  recollections  of  rural 
life,  and  hand  thein  down  to  posterity  unim- 
paired ? 

The  woods,  of  course,  have  ever  been  the 
great  nursery  for  birds.  We  do  not  mean 
the  endless  forests,  which  at  one  time  covered 
this  country,  but  belts  of  timber  with  plenty 
of  undergrowth  lying  between  farms,  adjoin- 
ing the  cultivated  laud,  and  along  the  streams. 
These  gave  plenty  of  room  and  material  for 
nests,  were  within  convenient  reach  of  the 
sunlight,of  the  fields  and  the  food  there  found ; 
at  the  same  time  there  was  some  protection 
from  man  against  birds  of  prey. 

As  our  woods  are  cleared  away  we  should 
endeavor  to  provide  other  shelter,  by  saving 
the  trees,  wherever  possible,  upon  the  farm; 
by  planting  thickets  of  young  timber  in  such 
places  where  the  land  cannot  be  profitably 
cultivated.  Hedge-rows  become  good  nest- 
ing places  for  the  smaller. kinds  of  birds,  and 
afford  protection  when  pursued  by  hawks. 
Evergreens  planted  for  ornament  or  protection 
oftentimes  attract  birds.  The  summer-house 
or  open  building  on  the  lawn  or  in  the  orchard 
is  generally  selected  by  the  robin  for  a  nest- 
ing-place. So  the  shrubbery  and  climbing 
vines  around  the  house  should  be  at  the-  ser- 
vice of  the  chipping  sparrow  and  warblers. 
The  orchard,  of  course,  we  expect  to  have  its 
full  share  of  nests,  and  the  elm,  or  weeping 
willow,  or  the  old  pear  tree,  to  have  one  of  its 
drooping  limbs  graced  with  an  oriole's  ham- 
mock. A  row  of  boxes  should  be  put  up 
against  the  south  or  east  side  of  the  house  for 
the  martins;  shelvings  under  the  forebay  for 
the  swallow,  and  an  opening  iu  the  upper  i)art 
of  the  barn  for  them  to  pass  in  a'nd  out  freely, 
should  they  fancy  that  part  of  tbe  building. 
Such  chimneys  as  are  not  used  in  the  summer 
should  be  left  uncovered  for  the  chimney 
swallows.  Boxes  should  be  put  up  against 
the  outbuildings,  and  on  the  sheltered  side  of 
trees,  for  the  blue-bird  and  wren;  so  that  the 
whims  of  tliese  our  good  fairies  may  be  prop- 
erly humored. 

When  these  accommodations  are  provided 
and  the  birds  happily  do  come  to  occupy 
them,  or  some  of  them,  do  not  interfere  with 


their  housekeeping  nor  sufler  anyone  else  to 
molest  them,  whether  it  be  thoughtless  man 
or  sneaking  cat.  Do  not  approach  their  nests 
unnecessarily  nor  allow  anyone  else  to  do  so  ; 
remember  tliis  is  a  tender  point  with  all  birds, 
and  will  cause  tliem  to  change  residence  very 
soon.  Do  not  allow  the  English  sparrow  to 
take  possession  of  the  boxes  and  drive  the 
others  out. 

One  more  suggestion  and  I  am  done.  If 
th^re  is  no  running  water  on  your  farm  or  in 
the  vicinity,  provide  a  place  for  the  birds  to 
drink,  and  where  they  can  get  soft  material 
to  build  nests.  Swallows  and  martins  Iqve  to 
skim  near  the  surface  of  the  water  and  take 
an  occasional  dip.  Robins  and  cat-birds  will 
help  themselves  at  the  water  trough  in  the 
barn-yard,  but  the  more  shy  birds,  like  the 
brown  thrush,  will  not  venture  that  far. 
Water  should  be  kept  for  their  use  in  a  more 
secluded  place. 

A  clieap  bird  fountain  can  be  made  with  an 
old  demijohn  or  carboy,  which  can  be  had  at 
a  drug  or  liquor  store  for  a  trifle. 

Select  a  suitable  shady  spot  frequented  by 
the  birds  and  where  they  will  not  be  disturb- 
ed. Place  a  trough  or  other  shallow  vessel  on 
the  gronud;  drive  stakes  for  the  demijohn  to 
rest  upon  in  an  inverted  position  so  thatit  s 
mouth  will  nearly  touch  the  bottom  of  the 
trough  and  hold  it  in  that  ,'position,  tnen  fill 
the  demijohn  and  turn  it  upside  down  upon 
the  stakes.  Tlie  water  will  run  out  and  keep 
the  trough  partly  filled  until  the  supply  in  the 
demijohn  is  all  used;  on  the  some  principle  as 
a  small  bird  fountain. 

We  had  a  fountain  made  in  this  manner 
with  a  five  gallon  demijohn,  which  answered 
the  purpose  admirably,  and  required  refilling 
about  once  a  week.  Tlie  depth  of  the  water 
can  be  regulated  by  raising  or  lowering  the 
mouth  of  the  demijohn. 

And  now  with  your  "  winged  friends'' 
properly  carea  for,  yourselves  cheered  and 
comforted  by  their  presence  and  gratefui 
song,  your  orchards  saved  from  the  ravages  of 
insects  and  their  golden  fruit  safely  stored 
away  for  winter  use,  you  may  live  as  content- 
ed and  happy  as  it  is  possible  for  mortals  to 
be. 


SEEDLING   FRUITS.» 

_This  question  may  be  answered  in  a  general 
way  In  a  few  woids,  viz.:  Sow  seeds  and  raise 
plants,  shrubs,  vines  and  trees.  And  further, 
does  not  nature  attend  to  this  matter  without 
the  aid  of  man  ?  Are  not  a  large  proportion 
if  not  the  largest,  of  the  most  valuable  fruits 
accidental  seedlings. 

I  will  not  for  a   moment  dispute   the  said 
assertion,  but  at   the  same  time   I  hold  tha 
many  valuable  varieties  of  fruits  are  the  re- 
sult of  seeds  planted  by  the  hand  of  man,  for 
which  he  has  received  no  credit. 

Many  trees  have  been  planted  throughout 
our  country  since  its  settlement,  by  mission- 
aries, travelers  and  others,  the  result  of  which 
we  can  form  no  accurate  estimate. 

Within  the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  how- 
ever, many  new  fruits  have  been  produced  by 
more  intelligent  methods,  viz.  :  by  hybridiza- 
tion and  by  cress  fertilization  by  design,  which 


*Essay  read  before  the   Pennsylvania  State   Ilorticul 
tural  Association  at  Harrisburg,  by  Henry  M.  Engle,  o 


i 


Have  produced  the  most  gratifying  results,  we 
must  be  surprised  at  the  result. 

With  the  grape  greater  success  has  been 
attained  than  vpith  any  other  kind  of  fruit. 
Of  the  value  of  grapes  produced  by  design  it 
is  now  impossi'de  to  estimate,  when  we 
compare  the  time  when  the  Isabella  and  Ca- 
tawba were  the  only  popular  grapes,  with  the 
present  day,  when  scores  of  improved  and 
superior  varieties  are  being  disseminated 
through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land. 

Tlianks  to  Messrs.  Rogers,  Ricketts,  Wiley 
and  others  for  the  choice  we  may  now  make 
in  our  selection  for  planting  ;  and  from  pre- 
sent indications  we  are  just  on  the  threshold 
of  what  we  may  expect,  and,  unless  the  fu- 
ture shall  belie  the  past,  this  country  will,  in 
the  near  future,  be  enabled  to  claim  as  great 
a  variety  of  fine  native  grapes  as  any  other. 

The  number  of  new  and  improved  varieties 
of  strawberries,  raspben-ies,  blackberries, 
cherries,  pears  and  otlier  fruits  have  of  late 
years  been  multiplied  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
almost  confuse  the  planter  with  limited  room 
or  means.  This,  however,  should  not  deter 
any  from  raising  new  seedling  fruits,  as  time 
and  testing  will  eventually  decide  so  as  to 
lead  to  the  "survival  of  the  fittest."  The 
venerable  President  of  the  American  Pomo- 
logical  Society  has  in  almost  every  annual 
address  urged  the  production  of  new  fruits 
by  hybridization  and  cross  fertilization,  and 
is  in  his  advanced  years  lending  a  helping 
hand  in  this  laudable  aause. 

Tne  only  serious  drawback  in  the  multipli- 
cation of  new  fruits  is  the  disposition  to  make 
too  great  a  speculation  of  new  things,  and  too 
many  make  extravagant  claims  for  their  pet 
[iroducts  and  cling  tenaciously  to  those  claims 
whether  worthy  or  not,  simply  because  it  is 
their  own  production.  May  this,  as  well  as 
other  horticultural  and  pomological  societies, 
be  slow  to  recommend  any  new  fruit  or  vege- 
table for  general  cultivation  unless  thoroughly 
and  extensively  tested  ;  no  new  fruit  slioald 
be  added  to  our  catalogues  unless  it  has  special 
merit  not  possessed  by  any  already  on  the  list. 
But  to  the  question.  Prior  to  the  forma- 
tion of  the  flower  and  period  of  inflorescence, 
nature  seems  to  work  in  the  dai'k,  but  during 
and  from  this  time  until  the  fruit  is  perfected, 
her  operations  are  intensely  interesting  to  the 
close  observer.  Let  us  follow  her  progress  in 
the  development  of  the  bud,  the  expansion  of 
the  corolla,  the  spreading  of  the  petals,  ex- 
hibiting the  stamens  and  pistils — a  perfect 
flower  in  all  its  beauty  and  fragrance.  The 
most  important  parts,  however,  are  the  repro- 
ductive organs — the  stamens  and  pistils  ;  the 
former  are  termed  male  and  the  latter 
female  organs.  When  the  anther  of  the 
stamen  is  ripe  it  casts  off  its  pollen  in  very 
minute  particles  which  falls  upon  the  stigma 
of  the  pistil,  which  when  in  a  condition  to 
receive"  the  pollen  is  of  a  glutinous  nature,  to 
which  the  same  adheres  ;  thence  it  passes 
down  through  the  style  of  the  pistil  into  the 
ovary,  when  the  fertilization  is  complete. 

Some  plants,  shrubs  and  trees  have  flowers 
purely  staminate  and  others  purely  pistillate 
on  the  same  plant  or  tree,  while  others  have 
staminate  flowers  on  one  plant  or  tree  and 
pistillate  on  the  other.  The  latter  are  termed 
diu;cious,  the  former  monoecious  ;  but  what- 
soever the  nature  of  the  plant  may  be,  unless 


1882.J 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


45 


the  pollen  rcaclips  the  ovary  of  the  pistil' 
there  can  be  no  t'ertilizalioii,  and  consequent- 
ly no  seed  or  fruit. 

It  is  well  known  that  seeds  do  not  always 
produce  the  same  fruit  as  their  parent,  show- 
ing that  pollen  is  carried  from  other  trees,  by 
insects  or  by  the  wind,  or  both. 

It  is  not  at  all  straage,  therefore,  that  by 
planting  seeds  that  have  been  fertilized  by  na- 
ture the  chances  will  be  few  and  far  between 
of  the  .seedling  being  superior  to  its  parent, 
although  such  cases  have  occurred.  Stoue 
fruits  reiiroduce  their  kind  truly,  more  com- 
monly than  pip  fruits. 

The  object  in  producing  new  varieties  is  to 
combine  desirable  qualities  of  both  parents  in 
the  progeny,  on  the  same  principle  on  which 
stock-breeders  operate,  and  we  must  admit 
that  they  have  more  nearly  attained  their 
ideal  in  that  particular  than  horticulturists 
have  theirs. 

The  former,  however,  have  followed  their 
object  i^ractically  for  a  longer  period  than  the 
latter,  who  will,  iu  my  opinion,  eventually, 
by  judicious  selection,  breed  out  objectionable 
and  breed  in  desirable  qualities  in  fruit,  as 
breeders  of  animals  do  in  livestock.  Let  us 
not  be  surprised  some  day  to  hear  of  thorough- 
bred apples,  pears,  peaches,  grapes,  and  other 
fruits ;  and  that  books  of  fruits,  with  iheir 
pedigrees,  will  be  kept  as  well  as  herd  books. 
The  new  and  improved  varieties  of  fruit  pro- 
duced by  design  by  hybridization  and  cross- 
fertilization  are  too  recent  to  prove  the  above 
assertions,  for  very  few,  if  any,  have  been  re- 
crossed  to  test  the  theory  of  transmission. 

Is  it  not  reasonable  that  laws  which  govern 
the  vegetable  kingdom  are  as  immutable  as 
those  that  govern  the  animal  kingdom,  how- 
ever limited  our  present  knowledge  of  the 
subject  may  be  ? 

In  crossing  a  sweet  fruit  with  an  acid  one, 
we  would  reasonably  expect  the  new  seedling 
to  be  sub-acid,  but  such  will  not  certainly  fol- 
low. It  is  therefore  of  the  highest  importance 
tliat  those  who  propose  to  follow,  or  who  are 
now  following,  this  very  interesting  business, 
should  search  diligently  ihe  laws  which  govern 
its  proces.ses  in  all  its  details. 

For  instance,  the  question  may  arise 
whether  the  more  vigorous  plant  or  tree  will 
transmit  more  of  its  nature  than  the  weaker 
one;  or,  what  will  be  the  effect 'of  applying  the 
pollen  to  the  pistil  as  early  as  it  can  be  made 
effective,  or  as  late  as  the  nature  of  the  case 
will  admit,  or  by  applying  the  pollen  in  its 
earliest  available  condition  to  the  stigma  as 
late  as  it  will  admit,  and  vice  versa;  the  results 
of  applying  the  pollen  by  sunshine  or  under  a 
cloud;  the  effect  of  wet  or  dry  weather  follow- 
ing fertilization;  also,  whether  the  application 
of  fertilizers  to  the  plant  or  tree  while  the 
fruits,  or  the  young  seedling  is  growing,  will 
produce  different  results.  Whether  it  will 
ever  fall  to  the  lot  of  man  to  fully  understand 
the  laws  which  govern  this  delicate  process  or 
not,  one  thing  is  reasonably  certain:  that  by 
crossing  two  varieties  of  fruit  of  great  excel- 
lence, the  resulting  fruit  will  be  superior  to  the 
product  of  two  inferior  varieties.  But  how  to 
obtain  the  (pialities  we  may  desire,  by  cross- 
ing, is  yet  a  hidden  mystery. 

If,  however,  stockmen  could  breed  oU"  horns, 
and  almost  reach  their  ideal  in  breeding  beef, 
milk,  and  butter  strains  into  fixed  types,  may 


not  fruit-growers  attain  similar  results  in  the 
vegetable  kingdom  by  taking  a  thorough 
course  in  Nature's  school  of  experience  V 

But  whatever  we  may  achieve,  our  calling 
is  a  noble  one  ;  and,  with  what  hastwen  done 
in  the  past,  and  the  progress  being  made  at 
present,  our  future  looks  bright.  Let  us 
thank  a  Divine  Providence  that  we  were  born 
in  the  Xincleenth  Century  ! 

Our  Local  Organizations. 

LANCASTER     COUNTY      AGRICULTU- 
RAL AND   HORTICULTURAL 
SOCIETY. 

Tlie  Lnupasler  County  Aiiiicullunil  Society  met 
statedly  on  Monday  afternoon,  March  6tli,  in  their 
rooms  in  the  City  Hall. 

The  following  members  were  in  attendance  ;    Jos. 

F.  Wilmer,  Paraditse  ;  M.  U.  Kendig,  Creswell  ;  PI. 
M.  Ku^le,  Marietta  ;  Calvin  Cooper,  BIrd-in-Hand  ; 
8.  P.  Eby,  Esq.,  J.  M,  Johnston,  city  ;  Casper  Ililler, 
Conestoga  ;  C.  L.  Ilunseeker,  .Manheiin  ;  F.  R.  Dif- 
fenderlTer,  city ;  Ephraim  Hoover,  Manheim  ;  J.  C. 
Linville,  Salisbury;  W.  \V.  Griest,  city  ;  Enos  H. 
Weaver,  Strasbur;;-  ;  John  II.  Landis,    Manor  ;  John 

G.  Kesh,  West  Will® .v. 

On  motion,  the  reading  of  the  minutes  of  the  pre- 
vious meeting  was  dispensed  with. 
Crop    Reports. 

H.  M.  Eugle  said  winter  wheat  and  grass  look 
well.    The  prospect  for  fruit  is  good. 

E.  H.  Weaver  reported  old  clover  as  frozen  out  in 
some  places,  but  the  young  clover  looks  well. 

M.  U.  Kendig  reported  a  good  many  sales  of  to- 
bacco in  his  township  at  fair  prices. 

Mr.  Witmer  thought  the  young  clover  was  lifted 
considerably;  whether  it  will  take  hold  again  was 
the  question. 

H.  M.  Engle  said  this  was  generally  the  case  when 
young  clover  lields  are  pastured  late  and  the  follow- 
ing winter  is  an  open  one. 

Apples — Local  vs.  Foreign. 

Calvin  Cooper  read  the  following  essay  on  the 
above  subject  : 

By  the  term  foreign.  I  do  not  intend  to  convey  the 
idea  that  I  allude  to  fruits  brought  from  "  foreign 
countries,"  but  varieties  from  other  sections  of  our 
OKU  country.  It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  every 
country  has  its  native  fruits,  adapted  to  its  own  par- 
tic'ilat'  climjites,  and  w  hen  renioveil  elsewhere,  are 
often  so  materially  changed  in  appearance,  Havor 
and  haliit,  as  to  be  almost  unrecognizable,  and  in- 
deed often  (|Uite  worthless.  So  changed,  that  rnanv 
persons  would  as.sert  they  were  entirely  dilferent. 
Although  the  change  in  location  may  not  he  very 
great,  yet  there  is  a  certain  something  in  soil  and 
clitnatic  inlluence  so  unsuited  to  its  natural  element 
that  nmii  eaimot  supply,  and  which  we  are  unable 
to  account  for. 

It  will  doubtless  be  asserted  that  continual  changes 
are  taking  place  in  all  newly  settled  neighborhoods. 
The  removal  of  forests  will,  in  itsell,  bring  about 
changes  not  perceptible  at  the  time.  But  as  years 
of  time  intervene  we  are  enabled  in  our  eoruparisons 
of  the  seasons  of  former  years  witli  those  of  the 
later  to  percive  such  a  material  ditference  as  to 
lead  us  to  pause  and  query  what  has  been  the  cause. 
This  may  atTect,,  to  some  extent,  tlie  local  fruit  of 
each  section.  Nevertheless,  I  believe  it  isso  gradual 
as  to  be  of  little  importance,  as  the  power  of  the  tree 
to  adapt  itself  to  the  surrounding  circumstances  of 
its  native  place. 

The  idea  that  I  more  particularly  wish  to  impress 
is  the  common  error  in  brin.ing  varieties  of  ai)ples 
from  distant  parts  of  the  same  eonntry,  or  even  the 
same  t>tate,  and,  I  iniLrht  assert,  of  the  same  county, 
for,  indeed,  what  might  Ije  considered  first  quality  in 
tlie  higher  altitudes  of  Xorthern  Lancaster  county 
would  be  of  little  value  in  the  southern  section,  and 
vice  versa.  Althouirh  they  miglit  be  upon  the  same 
degree  of  latitude,  the  natural  elements  of  soil  would 
not  supply  there<piisite6  of  its  native  locality.  Then, 
too,  what  would  ll(»urish  in  the  eastern  section,  along 
the  Mine  Hill  and  Welsh  .Mountain  ridges,  might  not  | 
be  worthy  of  cultivation  in  the  fertile  valleys  of  the 
western  end.  It  does  not  necessarily  follow  that  a  i 
single  variety  will  produce  well  and  retain  all  its 
good  qualities  in  every  part  of  its  own  locality.  But 
we  have  good  reason  to  believe  there  is  more  cer- 
tainty of  receiving  a  good  reward  lor  the  labor  in  re- 
moving  sorts  native  tu  each  particular  section,  pro- 


vided,  the   same    al'llude,   degree  of  latitude  and 
natural  asp<'ets  he  maintained,  and  even  then  excep- 
■  tioiis  will  oe<Mir. 

The  grave  error  of  our  own  vicinity  might  be 
attributed  to  several  causes.  The  high  price  of  land 
and  a  want  of  Interest  by  our  agriculturists  In 
horlieulnne  has  cansed  many  to  neglect  their  apple 
orchards,  as  unprolitable,  anil  let  the  trees  perish  for 
the  want  of  proper  nourishment  and  care  ;  some,  loo, 
have  become  victims  "of  the  woodman's  axe,  and 
what  was  onre  the  pride  and  crimfort  of  the  iius- 
liandinan,  supplying  health-civing  luxuries  to  the 
honsehohl,  has  been  supplanted  to  the  growth  of  a 
noxious  and  poisonous  weed.  In  conversation  with 
a  neiirhbor  who  had  cut  down  a  nourishing  orchard, 
he  said  he  could  "  buy  his  apples  much  cheaper  than 
he  coiilil  raise  them;"  an<I  this  was  doublless  true 
in  his  case,  and  why?  Because  in  the  selection  of 
varieties  he  did  as  thousands  of  others  have  done, 
was  enthusiastic  in  his  estimation  and  value  of  the 
fine  fruits  that  were  then  put  in  our  markets,  from 
the  northern  part  of  (his  State  and  central  and  west- 
ern New  York,  where  Baldwins,  SpltzenheriiB, 
Twenty  Ounce,  Tompkins  King,  (Jillyfiower,  North- 
ern Spy,  K.  I.  (ireenings  and  dozens  of  others 
nourished  to  [x-rfeilion,  and  idantcd  mostly  of  such 
sorts,  doubtless  thinking  that  they  would  produce 
here  equally  well,  never  for  a  moment  pausing  to 
'piery  whether  they  might  beunsuitiMl  to  this  locality, 
and  1  am  not  surprised  from  the  results  that  you  per- 
haps have  all  oliserved  that  a  lukewarrnness  hag 
been  created  in  the  interest  of  the  orchardlst,  and 
since  the  transportation  facilities  are  such  that  apples 
of  superior  excellence  can  be  brought  cheaiily  to  our 
markets  from  sections  less  valuable  in  agricultural 
wealth,  and  find  a  ready  market  at  reasonable  prices 
in  the  cities,  while  the  poorer  classes  of  the  rural 
districts  are  nbt  supplied  and  often  sulTer  for  lli". 
health-giving  juices  of  a  well-ripened  Smokehouse  or 
l\aml>o. 

I  might  enter  an  apology  here  for  aiding  In  the 
dissemination  of  varieties  unsuited  to  our  locality, 
but  the  nurseryman,  like  all  business  men,  is  not  ex- 
empt fn>m  occasionally  dealing  in  humbugs,  especi- 
ally when  the  demand  was  for  the  varieties  brought 
to  our  markets  from  the  northern  districts  above  re- 
ferred to.  So  great  was  the  inquiry  for  the  then 
newer  sorts  that  our  usual  supplies  of  some  of  the 
older  reliable  stand-bys  were  left  in  the  nursery  rows 
to  be  dug  and  burned  by  the  thousand  to  make  room 
for  other  stock. 

This  experimental  mania  has  brought  its  accora 
panying  evil,  and  created  a  demand  for  new  varie- 
ties, generally  following  in  the  wake  of  their  prede- 
cessors, alter  years  of  care  and  expectation,  to  be 
cast  aside  for  other  novelties  that  in  all  probability 
would  meet  witli  the  same  fate.  Thus  from  lists  of 
from  twenty  to  thirty  .it  most,  they  are  counted  now 
t)y  the  scores  and  hundreds  to  suit  the  varied  fancy 
oi' customers.  Hence  failures  have  become  so  numer- 
ous iliat  some  look  with  distrust  upon  all,  and  aban- 
don the  enterprise  as  discouraging  and  unprofitable. 

Is  there  no  remedy  ?  Can  we  not  crow  apples  as 
heretofore?  I  believe  we  can.  Trees  grow  and 
nourish  as  of  yore,  and  we  have  many  instances  of 
success  iu  all  .sections  when^  the  proper  cire  has 
been  taken  In  the  selection  of  varieties,  and  due  at- 
tention to  cultivation,  pruning  and  the  application  of 
necessary  fertilizers.  I  am  fully  convinced  that  every 
planter  in  .■ieli^eting  an  apple  orchard  should  first 
consult  some  I'ruit  irrower  In  his  immediate  neightjor 
hood  and  ascertain  what  varieties  arc  doing  best  in 
that  section,  and  tlien  plant  nine-tenths  of  his 
orchard  with  those  known  to  do  well  (here.  Kaihiret 
would  be  the  exception;  the  balance  might  bean 
experimental  plot  of  those  promisiuL'  well  and  not 
fully 'ested.  I  do  not,  however,  wisli  to  be  under- 
stood as  disapproving  of  the  introduction  of  new  sorts. 

But  I  do  protest  against  them  being  planted  to 
supersede  old  relial)le  kinds,  until  thoroughly  tested. 
The  prevailing  liabit  of  planting  a  long  list  for  the 
siike  (d'  variety  is  not  only  vexatious  to  the  nursery- 
man, but  brings  disappointments  after  years  of  wait- 
ing. I  have  frequei.tly  supplied  orders  of  fifteen  or 
twenty  ti-ees  with  as  many  varieties,  while  a  lesscT 
number  would  doubtless  have  been  much  more  satis- 
factory after  the  trees  had  begun  to  hear,  and  the 
planter  learutd  to  his  sorrow  that  the  one  half  were 
almost  worthless.  Not  that  there  could  not  be  that 
many  varieties  selected  as  reliable.  Bui  the  lists  are 
often  taken  from  some  distant  nurseryman's  cata- 
logue whose  glowing  descriplions  please  the  fancy  of 
the  prospective  fruit  grower. 

To  conclude,  [  would  most  emphatically  <liscour- 
age  the  experimental  mania  lor  varieties  grown  in 
remote  districts,  e.Kcepl  to  a  very  limited  extent,  and 
plant  of  those  native  to  each  particular  section  iu 
connection  with  a  few  doiiiir  well  :renerally  ;  and  I 
would  also  caution  all  from  bringing  itort/iern  apples 
into  xow/Zicr/t  districts,  expecting  to  gel  a  tate  winter 
keeper,  uotwitlistandiiiir  the  fruit  can  be  brought  and 
kept  through  llie  winter.  When  grown  where  the 
season  is  lunger,  and  the  latter  part  of  it  often  quite 
warm,  the  fruit  ripens  too  e.irly  and  begins  to  decay 
before  the  cool  weather  sets  iu. 
Remarks. 

Casper  Uiller  said  it  was  a  fact  that  we  can  no 
longer  keep  apples  as  we  once  could.     What  the 


4b 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[March, 


cause  is  be  was  not  prepared  to  say,  but  the  fact  is 
indisputable.  He  was  inclined  to  attribute  it  to  a 
change  in  the  seasons.  But  for  all  this  we  must  not 
do  away  with  the  apple  orchard.  An  acre  of  orchard 
is  worth  more  than  any  other  on  the  farm.  Not  in 
the  money  value,  perhaps,  but  in  other  ways.  He 
believed  the  warm  dry  summers  are  the  reason  we 
have  not  large  crops  of  apples  for  winter  use. 

Ephraim  H.  Hoover  thought  the  increase  of  in 
sects  had  much  to  do  with  our  poor  apple  crops  and 
their  non-keeping  qualities.  When  we  put  the  crop 
away  it  is  imperfect,  and  therefore  will  not  keep. 
He  has  tried  turning  in  hogs  when  the  apples  begin 
to  fall  and  keeping  them  there  all  the  season.  This 
keeps  down  the  insects  and  preserves  the  crop.  In 
sects  are  one  of  the  causes  that  make  our  apples 
poor  keepers.  We  must  dispose  of  the  insects  be- 
fore we  can  hope  to  increase  the  quality  of  our  ap- 
ples. 

M.  D.  Kendig  believed  with  the  essayist  in  his 
theory  of  planting  native  varieties.  He  thought  it 
was  better  and  safer  to  buy  either  fruit  or  ornamen- 
tal trees  of  home  grown  origin  than  to  get  them 
elsewhere. 

C.  L.  Hunsecker  spoke  of  tha  fine  apple  crop  of 
1855;  we  have  had  none  like  it  since.  How  long 
will  apple  trees  continue  to  bear;  he  gave  some  in- 
formation on  this  subject.  He  mentioned  a  tree  in 
Maine  that  lived  130  years  and  bore  good  crops 
yearly.  He  also  believed  that  certain  climatic 
changes  had  something  to  do  with  the  failure  of  our 
apple  crops.  If  trees  could  be  protected  against 
high  winds  it  might  be  beneticial.  He  believed  the 
insects  had  something  to  do  with  this,  but  we  do  not 
take  enough  care  of  our  orchards. 

Mr.  Cooper  said  hot  weather  makes  apples  drop 
prematurely.  If  the  temperature  in  September  and 
October  was  not  so  high  we  would  be  able  to  grow 
as  much  fruit  as  ever  and  as  good. 

H.  M.  Engle  concurred  with  nearly  all  the  essayist 
had  said.  The  question  is,  Are  there  any  remedies 
to  overcome  the  evils  that  are  upon  us?  If  we  select 
better  varieties  our  chances  will  improve.  An  im- 
portant matter  is  at  the  will  of  the  orchardist.  The 
curculio  and  codling  moth  can  be  controled.  But 
this  can  best  be  done  by  co-operation.  There  are 
good  apple  crops  even  when  there  are  many  insects, 
but  the  following  year  is  generally  a  failure,  because 
a  large  apple  crop  is  the  cause  of  a  large  crop  of  in- 
sects. The  codling  moth  is  our  greatest  enemy ;  it 
does  more  damage  than  all  the  rest  combined.  But 
wc  can  control  this  by  using  the  banding  system, 
using  straw,  canvas,  paper  or  any  other  article.  By 
selecting  varieties  adapted  to  the  locality  and  attend- 
ing to  the  moths  we  can  do  much  to  help  along  our 
orchards. 

S.  P.  Eby  thought  there  were  some  means  at  our 
command  we  have  not  yet  used.  Plant  orchards 
where  they  can  be  irrigated ;  plant  shelter  trees ; 
leave  the  tree  a  large  tap  root  when  it  is  removed  for 
transplanting.  Trees  that  spring  up  of  themselves 
and  are  grafted  where  they  grow  without  removal 
are  less  liable,  perhaps,  to  diseases  and  failures. 

H.  M.  Engle  also  directed  attention  tothe  fact  that 
orchards  must  have  as  much  manure  as  other  lields. 
We  expect  full  crops,  but  make  no  effort  to  secure 
them  by  putting  as  much  manure  as  we  do  when  we 
grow  wheat  or  corn.  The  orchard  must  be  fed. 
Aliritude  has  much  to  do  with  full  crops.  He  lately 
saw  a  line  crop  of  apples  grown  in  Virginia,  at  an 
elevation  of  1,100  feet.  They  were  northern  varieties. 
Is  Sub-Soiling  Beneficial  ? 

John  C.  Linville  said  : 

When  I  was  quite  a  small  hoy  my  father  made 
himself  a  sub  soil  plow.  The  late  Jesse  Buell  was  at 
that  time  editor  of  the  Albany  Cultivator,  and  intliat 
excellent  journal  proved  by  irrelulable  and  convinc- 
ing argument  that  the  sure  road  to  successful  farm 
ing  lay  through  sub-soil  ploughing.  The  tirst  trial 
of  the  new  method  was  made  in  corn  ground.  The 
surface  plow  turned  the  sod  to  the  depth  of  about  six 
inches,  and  the  sub  soil  plow  followed  in  the  bottom 
of  the  lurrow  and  loosened  up  the  clay  from  lour  to 
six  inches  deep.  This  plow  did  not  throw  the  sub- 
soil on  top,  but  merely  lifted  it  up  two  or  three 
inches  and  let  it  fall  back  toils  former  position.  Two 
teams  were  used— a  span  of  horses  to  each  plow.    It 


made  it  very  laborious  for  the  lead  horse  of  the  sur- 
face plow  to  walk  in  the  loose  furrow.  The  field  of 
ten  acres  was  sub  soiled  in  alternate  strips,  the 
other  strips  left  in  the  usual  way.  The  sub  soil  in 
this  field  is  rather  stiff,  red  clay,  and  the  land  is 
limestone. 

1  do  not  know  whether  the  season  was  wet  or  dry, 
but  there  was  no  perceptible  difference  in  the  corn 
nor  in  the  succeeding  crop  of  oats,  wheat  or  grass. 
It  was  observed,  however,  that  the  sub  soil  in  the 
strips  that  had  been  double  ploughed  retaiued  its 
mellowness  the  following  season  when  broken  for 
oats  anil  wheat.  Of  course,  sub  soiling  doubles  the 
cost  of  ploughing.  This  and  its  signal  failure  to  in 
crease  the  crops  condemned  the  sub-soil  plow,  and  it 
lay  for  years  in  the  lumber  loft. 

At  length  there  came  another  "boom"  in  sub-soil 
ing.  The  lamented  Prof.  Mapes  was  at  that  time 
editor  of  the  Working  Farmer,  and  showed  by  in- 
vincible logic  that  a  loose  sub  soil  would  let  the  sur- 
plus water  down  in  a  wet  season  and  be  equally 
beneficial  to  retain  moisture  in  a  dry  one.  The  old 
long-legged  sub-soil  plow  was  brought  out  out  from 
its  long  hiding  place,  the  dust  and  cobwebs  swept 
off,  and  the  share  sharpened  for  action.  The  corn 
Held  was  subsoiled  in  alternate  strips,  as  on  the 
former  occasion.  The  season  was  rather  favorable 
for  corn  and  there  was  no  perceptible  difference  in 
favor  of  the  subsoil  ploughing  either  on  the  corn  or 
succeeding  crops.  The  subsoil  plough  was  again 
consigned  to  the  lumlier  loft  and  oblivion,  where  it 
remained  until  the  sale  of  my  father's  personal 
effects,  when  it  was  bought  by  an  enterprising  farmer 
on  the  border  of  Chester  county.  I  have  no  knowl- 
edge of  its  subsequent  history. 

These  two  cxiieriments  do  not  prove  anything.  If 
the  seasons  had  been  different  or  the  soil  different, 
the  results  might  have  been  other  than  they  were. 
Had  the  crops  been  roots,  or  vegetables,  or  orchard, 
or  nursery,  the  sub-soiling  might  have  been  bene 
Seial.  There  is,  however,  one  eonvincinsr  argument 
against  sub-soiling.  The  system  has  been  advo- 
cated time  and  again  for  a  great  many  years  and  yet 
nobody  uses  the  sub-soil  plow  now.  If  it  has  all,  or 
even  a  few  of  the  advantages  claimed  for  it,  farmers 
surely  would  not  be  so  slow  to  discover  its  merits. 

H.  .M.  Engle  has  tried  sub-soiling  and  has  not  de- 
rived any  benefit  from  it.  Our  soil  does  not  seem  to 
require  this  method. 

Can  We   Dispense  with  Division    Fences    on 
Farms  .' 

Ephraim  S.  Hoover  gave  his  views  of  this  question 
as  follows  : 

This  is  a  question  which  at  this  time,  when  lum 
ber  is  getting  scarce  and  valuable,  is  well  worth  tlie 
consideration  of  all  who  are  owners  of  aralile  land. 
How  may  we  avoid  the  expenses  of  division  fences 
profitably?  This  may,  we  think,  be  done  by  the 
soiling  system,  which  does  away  with  inside  or  divi- 
sion fences  except  a  large  cattle  yard  in  front  of  the 
barn  surrounded  with  shade  tree.",  and  well  sujiplied 
with  an  abundance  of  water  for  the  use  of  stock.  An 
average  of  the  whole  farm  land  of  the  State  shows 
us  that  the  fences  cos;  us  at  the  rate  of  SI, 124.1^5  per 
one  hundred  acres,  and  in  some  localities'where  tim- 
ber is  scarce,  the  cost  may  be  more.  At  this  rate, 
the  interest  on  the  amount  invested  per  farm  of  one 
hundred  acres  at  six  per  cent,  is  $(r.45  annually,  to 
which  add,  as  it  is  estimated  that  the  repairs  cost 
$().'.'3  per  lOU  rods  or  $t)0.35  annually  per  one  hun- 
dred acres,  making  a  total  of  $1'-I7.I^0  for  fences 
alone,  not  includins;  the  value  of  space  occupied  l)y 
the  feiices,  which  would  be  valuable  in  adding  to  the 
land  under  cultivation.  Besides  the  lo.-s  of  this 
space  of  land  occupied  by  fences,  it  creates  a  harbor 
for  weeiis,  which  would  not  e.xist  if  properly  culti- 
vated . 

From  five  to  six  months  of  the  year  our  cattle  in 
this  latitude  are  fed  in  stalls  on  products  of  the 
farm  anil  are  not  allowed  to  roam  over  the  fields  of 
the  prudent  farmer.  Hence,  we  claim  that  in  view 
of  the  above  facts  it  does  not  pay,  all  things  being 
considered,  to  fence  a  larm  for  grazing  cattle  the  re- 
maining six  or  seven  nronths  of  the  year,  when  it  is 
an  admitted  fact  that  cattle  will  sutisist  on  less  acre- 
age under  the  soiling  system  than  under  the  present 
system  of  grazing,  where  much  pasture  is  trodden 
down  and  becomes  unfit  as  food  for  cattle. 

Another  way  of  doing  away  with  division  fences  is 
to  have  portable  fences  sufficient  to  enclose  a  few 
acres  of  pasture  at  one  lime,  which  could  be  done  at 
a  small  expense  and  at  such  a  time  as  not  to  inter- 
fere much  with  the  other  operations  of  the  larm. 
The  cost  of  such  fences  would  be  compai'atively 
small  and  feed  more  stock  than  when  allowed  to  run 
over  many  acres  at  once.  We  were  convinced  of 
this  some  years  ago  in  our  own  experience,  when  a 
field  lying  in  permanent  pasture,  well  supplied  with 
water,  was  divided  into  two  parts  by  a  temporary 
fence,  changing  the  stock  from  one  to  the  other;  we 
found  the  same  piece  of  ground  fed  more  stock  than 
when  the  whole  field  was  pastured  at  once. 

Another  way  by  which  we  can  in  part  do  away 
with  division  fences  is  to  remove  division  fences  be- 
tween certain  fields  so  situated  that  they  may  be 
formed  in  pairs,  or  we  may  very  much  decrease  the 


amount  of  fences  by  altering  the  shape  of  a  field  or 
fields.  If  our  farm  is  of  such  a  nature  that  we  can 
turn  a  portion  of  it  into  permanent  pasture  land,  we 
believe  this  system  to  work  well. 

The  object  of  every  farmer  should  be  to  have  as 
few  fences  as  practicable,  and  of  this  every  owner  of 
a  farm  should  he  the  best  judge— in  other  words,  he 
should  adapt  himself  to  natural  advantages,  such  as 
water,  soil,  locality,  etc.;  whether  best' adapted  to 
grain  growing  or  grazing— ail  of  which  must  be 
taken  into  consideration,  for  while  some  particular 
system  would  do  very  well  for  some  localities,  it 
would  not  be  practicable  in  some  others.  But,  in  short, 
to  have  the  least  capital  invested  in  fences  possible, 
and  yet  to  be  so  arranged  as  to  bring  the  best  re- 
sults, should  be  the  object  c  f  every  wideawake  and 
progressive  farmer. 

Remarks. 

J.  C.  Linville  thought  there  was  no  doubt  we 
could  dispose  with  most  of  our  division  fences,  and 
will  have  to  do  so  before  long,  fie  has  found  no. 
thing  so  good  for  temporary  fencing  as  barbed  wire 
fencing.  He  used  only  one  wire,  and  it  was  suffi- 
cient, although  the  cattle  were  very  tame.  Such  a 
fence  is  cheap  and  lasts  a  long  time.  The  wire  used 
was  about  three  feet  from  the  ground.  Unless  the 
barbs  are  close  together  they  will  not  turn  sheep,  no 
matter  how  close  the  wires  are. 

Mr.  Eby  thought  the  fence  question  was  a  very 
important  one.  The  law  as  it  is  at  present  is  imper- 
fect. VVe  must  make  fences  to  keep  out  our  neigh- 
bors' cattle.  If  we  could  have  a  cattle  law  passed 
for  this  county  it  would  be  advantageous,  and  he 
suggested  that  the  members  should  make  an  effort  to 
this  cfi'ect. 

Casper  Hiller  had  no  doubt  it  was  possible  to  dis- 
pense with  division  fences.  The  expense  of  keeping 
them  up  was  greater  than  to  hire  a  man  to  look 
after  the  cattle.  We  are,  however,  so  wedded  to  old 
customs  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  bring  about  a 
change.  He  did  not  see  how  we  could  get  around 
this  question. 

H.  M.  Engle  thought  by  showing  the  farmers  that 
it  was  putting  money  into  their  pockets,  they  could 
be  induced  to  make  the  desired  change.  The  law 
should  make  every  man  take  care  of  his  ovu  cattle, 
instead  of  compelling  him  to  protect  himself  against 
those  of  his  neighbors.  He  was  in  favor  of  a  law 
that  would  change  the  present  cumbersome  law. 

H.  M.  Engle  made  a  motion  that  a  committee  be 
appointed  to  examine  into  this  question  and  report 
at  the  next  meeting. 

The  Chair   appointed    S.    P.   Eby,    Esq.,    Calvin 
Cooper  and  F.  11.  DilfenderH'er  as  the  committee. 
When  is  the  Best  Time  to  Sow  Clover  Seed  ? 

E.  H.  Weaver  responded  in  answer  that  no  par- 
ticular day  or  week  can  be  specified  as  the  best  time 
to  sow  clover  seed,  lor  that  depends  upon  the  weather 
and  condition  of  the  s(jil.  From  tlic  middle  of  .March 
to  the  first  of  April  might  be  set  down  as  the  |n'oper 
pei'iod,  the  farmer  exercising  judirrnent  in  selecting 
the  best  time  in  this  interval.  Earlier  sowing  is 
useless  and  attended  with  risk.  VVhen  sown  on 
fi'ozen  ground,  as  some  do  in  February,  a  sudden 
thaw  or  heavy  rain  Hood  may  wash  the  seeds  from 
the  slopes  into  the  low  lauds,  or  a  warm  spell  may 
spi'Out  the  seed  and  a  following  cold  snap  may  freeze 
the  germs,  which  has  been  tlie  experience  of  some 
farmers.  If  the  wheat  ground  is  not  previously 
harrowed,  comparatively  early  sowing  is  best,  as  al- 
ternate freezing  and  thawing  will  more  effectually 
cover  the  seed.  The  farmer  cannot  afford  to  run  auy 
known  I'isk  in  sowing  clover  seed.  A  failure  of  the 
the  crop  is  a  serious  loss  to  him  and  his  land,  as  it  is 
the  great  restorer  of  exhausted  soil.  The  Hon. Geo. 
Geddes  reports  a  field  on  his  farm  upon  which  bad 
been  grown  crops  of  wheat,  corn,  oats,  barley  and 
grass,  which  has  had  no  oilier  manure  but  clover  for 
seventy-four  years,  and  the  land  shows  no  diminu- 
tion of  fertility. 

S.  P.  Eby  believed  late  sowing  of  cloverseed  was, 
all  things  considered,  the  best. 

H.  M.  Engle  said  there  was  a  difference  of  opinion 
on  this  question.     Many  believe   it  cannot  be  sowed 
too  early.     Tliere  is  much  in  having  a  good  start. 
More  About  Apples. 

An  answer  to  the  question,  "  Should  we  encourage 
new  varieties  of  apples?"  was  sent  in  by  Levi  S. 
Keist,  who  was  not  present.  It  was  read.  Whether 
we  should  encourage  new  varieties  depended  on  cir- 
cumstances to  a  great  extent ;  but  the  referee  would 
at  least  recommend  the  cultivation  of  Smith's  Cider, 
Imperial,  Dominie,  VVine  Sap,  Seek  no  Farther, 
Sheepnose,  Baldwin  and  others. 


18S2  ] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


47 


Questions  to  be  Answered   at  Next  Meeting. 

What  is  the  licst  niPtlini]  to  raise  a  gooJ  crop  of 
corn  ?    Referred  to  Jolin  J.  lUisli. 

Slioulil  wheat  he  harrowed  in  tlic  sprhig?  lie- 
ferred  to  John  H.  Landis. 

Can  commercial  fertilizers  be  profitably  used  on 
the  potato  cr  p,  and  how  can  they  he  applied  ?  He- 
ferJed  to  II.  M.   Engle. 

How  should  lime  be  applied  ;  on  tlie  surface  or 
plowed  under?     Referred  to  J.  C.  Linville. 

Tliere  lieing  no  further  business  before  tlie  society, 
a  motion  to  adjourn  was  made  and  carried. 


THE  POULTRY  SOCIETY. 

At  the  niop.tlily  meeting  of  the  Lancaster  County 
Poultry  Association  on  Monday  morning,  Marcli  (Jth 
the  following  were  present  :  Secretary,  J.  B.  Liehty, 
city;  Charles  Lippold,  city;  John  Schuni,  city;  F. 
K.  UillVnderdcr,  city;  W.  W.  Griest,  city;  A.  S.^ 
Flowers,  Spring  Garden  ;  J.  M.  Johnston,  city;  J. 
B.Long,  city;  Henry  M.  Engle,  ilariella;  li.  S 
Garber,  Mount  .Joy. 

In  the  absence  of  President  Geyer,  Charles  Lip- 
pold presided. 

Amendments  to  the  constitution,  authorizing  the 
aniuuil  election  to  be  held  in  February  instead  of 
January,  and  requiring  the  treasurer  to  report  in 
February  and  August  the  money  in  his  hands  and 
at  the  February  meeting  make  a  detailed  written  re 
port  of  receipts  and  expenditures,  wtra  adopted. 

A  communication  IVom  T.  Frank  Evans  tendering 
his  resignation  as  treasurer  was  read.  The  matter 
was  postponed  until  the  next  meeting. 

Fifty-nine  members  were  reported  in  good  stand- 
ing. 


FULTON   FARMERS'  CLUB. 

The  Fulton  Farmers'  Club  met  on  Saturday, 
March  11th,  at  the  residence  of  Joseph  P.  Griest,  in 
Fulton  township. 

Mr.  S.  L.  Gregg  asked  the  question,  "  Which  is 
the  best  paying  crop  for  farmers  in  this  section, 
wheat  or  corn  ?" 

Joseph  P.  Griest  said  that  considering  that  wheat 
was  not  60  hard  on  the  land  as  corn,  and  as  it  re- 
quired less  labor  and  brought  more  per  bushel,  he 
thought  it  was  the  better  payingcrop  of  the  two. 

Day  Wood  :  We  generally  put  on  more  fertilizers 
for  wheat  than  for  corn,  but  if  we  would  manure 
them  alike,  corn  is  the  more  certain  crop,  and  while 
it  is  seventy  cents  per  bushel  and  wheat  one  dollar 
and  twenty-five,  corn  pays  much  the  best.  .Montil- 
lion  Blown  and  some  others  coincided  with  Day 
Wood. 

Day  Wood  asked  :  "  Is  wheat  going  to  advance  in 
price  soon,  or  would  it  be  as  well  to  sell  now  ?" 

S.  L.  Gregg  said  he  could  not  see  what  would 
make  it  advance,  unless  there  should  come  a  I'oreign 
ilemand.  There  is  novv  a  prospect  of  a  large  crop. 
The  winter  wheat  looks  well  and  they  are  already 
sowing  spring  wheal  in  the  West,  where  they  are 
likely  to  put  in  an  unusual  amount  in  consequence 
of  the  early  spring. 

Several  others  spoke  of  the  reports  being  favor- 
able to  a  large  crop,  and  could  see  no  reason  for  any 
permanent  advance  in  price. 

Montillion  Brown  asked  :  '•  What  kind  of  fertil- 
izers are  those  present  going  to  apply  for  corn?" 
Nearly  all  answered,  Sjuth  Carolina  rock.  Thomas 
Stubbs  said  he  had  good  reports  of  the  result  of 
using  Orchilla  guano  in  York  county,  and  he  would 
try  it. 

Melissa  Gregg  inquired  :  "  Is  a  soap  or  meat  vessel 
built  of  brick  or  stone  and  cemented,  satisfactory  ?" 
Joseph  P  Griest  and  Mary  A.  Stubbs,  both  reported 
having  them  in  use  ior  soap  and  they  answered  very 
well.  C.  S.  Gatchell  said  he  had  seen  meat  salted  in 
such  a  vesse   and  it  answered  well. 

Kebecca  D  King  :  "  How  many  tomatoes  can  be 
raised  on  an  acre?"  None  of  those  present  had  had 
any  experience  in  field  culture  of  this  plant  and 
therefore  could  only  guess  at  the  amount,  and  the 
guesses  ranged  all  the  way  from  100  to  1,000  bushels. 


E.  IT.  Haines:  "Do  seedling  peach  trees  live 
longer  than  grafted  ones?"  Wm.  P.Haines  had  not 
found  any  ditTerenee.  S.L.Gregg  said  he  had  not 
noticed  much  dilTerenee,  hut  a  neighbor  of  liis  had 
found  the  natural  fruit  to  live  longer  and  bear  liettor 
than  the  grafted. 

Joseph  C.  Stubbs  plants  his  peach  trees  in  the 
fence  corners  and  allows  the  cattle  to  keep  the  tops 
eaten  oti  for  two  or  three  years.  He  thinks  that  by 
keeping  the  tops  back  until  the  trees  are  well  rooted 
they  do  better.  He  is  opposed  to  cultivating  peach 
trees,  and  cited  an  instance  where  the  trees  in  an 
orchard  had  been  cultivated,  and  they  did  not  Uveas 
long  nor  do  as  well  as  some  that  were  planted  along 
the  fence  at  the  same  time. 

Thomas  Stubbs  said  he  had  not  noticed  any  dil'- 
fercnce  between  seedling  and  grafted  trees  under 
similar  treatment,  but  trees  that  come  up  alongthe 
fences  do  better  than  cultivated  ones.  C.  S.  Gatcli. 
ell  had  found  seedlings  to  do  much  better  for  him 
than  the  grafted  ones. 

Priscilla  Coatee  said  her  husband  had  planted  ten 
acres  in  grafted  peach  trees  and  they  bore  five  gooil 
crops  and  one  inferior  crop,  and  then  died.  He  look 
the  worms  out  of  the  roots  twice  each  season,  the 
first  time  about  the  first  of  June  and  then  in  the  fall 
again  and  scattered  some  salt  around  the  trees  once 
a  year. 

After  dinner  the  male  portion  of  the  meeting  took 
a  look  at  things  in  and  around  the  barn,  where  the> 
found  quite  a  ditference  made  in  the  stock  since  the 
meeting  here  a  year  ago.  The  host  was  then  feed- 
ing cattle  and  his  stables  contained  some  very  fine 
fat  steers,  now  he  is  dealing  in  horses  and  mules, 
and  this  kind  of  stock  has  taken  the  place  of  the 
former.  We  were  shown  a  pair  of  gray  mules,  well 
matched,  and  weighing  2,400  pounds,  and  several 
smaller  pairs,  besides  several  horses,  the  good  quali- 
ties of  which  I  leave  the  owner  to  tell  to  his  custom- 
ers when  they  call  to  see  him. 

After  reassembling  at  the  house  some  criticisms 
were  made,  generally  favorable  to  the  host.  The 
shed  over  the  barnyard  had  been  improved  and  a 
field  of  wheat  sown  about  the  first  of  October  had 
made  an  extraordinary  growth. 

Joseph  P.  Griest  read  from  the  Century  Magaziu 
a  description  of  a  machine  which  had  been  on  ex.« 
hitjiiion  at  the  Atlanta  Exposition,  and  which  is  in 
tended  to  destroy  potato  bugs  and  other  insects  by 
sprinkling  poisons  mixed  with  water  on  the  plants 
infested.  It  consists  of  a  barrel,  mounted  on  a  cart 
and  having  several  elastic  tubes  attached,  to  the 
ends  of  which  are  fastened  muzzles  of  peculiar  con 
struetion  for  delivering  the  poisoned  w..ter  to  the 
under  side  ol  the  leaves  of  the  plants. 

Montillion  Brown  read  an  article  on  protecting 
o-rapes  I'rom  insects  and  also  from  the  sun,  in  w'lieh 
the  writer  recommends  placing  small  paper  bags, 
such  as  are  used  by  grocerymen,  over  the  bunches  as 
soon  as  they  are  of  the  size  of  peas  and  tying  them 
around  the  stems.  This  led  to  some  discussion  on 
the  question  of  shading  grapes  from  the  sun. 

Joseph  C.  Stubbs  said  he  knew  of  a  vine  that  did 
no  good  until  it  was  allowed  to  grow  under  the  eaves 
of  the  house  and  then  it  yielded  perfect  fruit  ;  and 
also  of  a  Catawba  vine  that  did  much  better  after 
being  taken  from  a  trellis  and  allowed  to  grow  on  a 
tree. 

Priscilla  Coates  recited  "  Some  Day." 

The  following  list  of  oiricers  were  selected  to  scrvg 
the  club  for  one  year  :  President,  Wm.  King;  Secre 
tary,  E.  H.  Haines;  Treasurer,  Lindley  King;  Li- 
brarian, Day  Wood. 

The  next  meeting  will  be  held  at  the  residence  of 
Lindley  King,  on  '.he  second  Saturday  in  April. 


THE   L1NN./EAN   SOCIETY. 

Twentieth  Anniversary  of  the  Founding  of  the 
Society. 

The  society  met  in  the  room  of  the  Mechanics' 
Library,  on  Friday  evening,  February  'H,  1S<3.  In 
the  absence  of  the  President  and  both  Vice  Presi- 
dents, Dr.  Knight  was  called  to  the  chair ;  Dr.  Davis 


in  place  as  Secretary.  After  formal  opening  and 
collection  of  monthly  dues,  the  following  donations 
were  recorded  : 

Museum. 

A  very  superior  specimen  of  Sulphurct  of  Iron,  as 
It  occurs  in  coal  beds.  This  specimen  Is  a  transverse 
section  of  an  oblong  mass  live  Inches  In  diameter, 
and  exhibited  a  brilliant  fracture.  Obtained  and 
donated  l)y  the  ctirator^.  • 

Library. 

"Statutesof  the  United  Slates,"  In  three  volumes, 
Imperial  octavo,  61)0  pages,  exclusive  of  copious  In- 
dices to  each  volume. 

"  Messages  and  Documents,"  foi-  18S0  and  1881, 
pp.  10.59.  Uoyal  octavo,  from  Deparlment  of  In- 
terior. Also  from  the  same,  "  Circulars  4  and  a,"  of 
the  Bureau  of  Education.     Koyal  8vo.  of  2-')0  pages. 

Report  of  Silver  Commission,  vol.  2,  pp.  .511. 

Proceedings  of  American  Philosophical  Society, 
from  June  to  Drcenibor,  18S1,  from  the  society. 

Report  of  the  Departnunt  of  Agriculture  for  1880 
67.3  8vo.  p.iges,  copiously  illustrated. 

Report  of  the  Silver  Commission,  vol.  1,  pp  511, 
octavo.     Hon.  A.  Ilerr  Smith. 

Bulletin   of  St.  Louis  Public   School  Library,  and 
Sunday  Book  Caialoiriie  and  Circulars. 
Historical. 

Two  envelopes  containing  24  biographical,  histori- 
cal and  scienliQc  scraps. 

Anniversary. 

This  was  the  twentieth  anniversary  meeting  of  the 
society,  and  it  is  lamented  that  it  was  so  |X)orly  at 
tended,  especially  since  evening  meetings  were 
adopted  in  order  to  suit  the  convenience  of  those  who 
alleged  that  they  could  not  attend  a  meeting  held 
during  the  day.  Dr.  Kathvon  read  a  paper  on  the 
arigin  and  histo'-y  of  the  society,  which,  on  vote 
was  requested  to  be  pul)lished. 

Science  Gossip. 

After  half  an  hour's  pleasant  intercourse  under 
this  rule  of  order,  the  society  adjourned  to  meet  on 
the  last  Saturday  in  March,  of  which  notice  will  be 
given  by  the  Secretary. 

History  of  tho  Society. 

Dr.  Rathvon's  paper  was  as  follows: 

Mr.  Pkf.sidest:  The  first  stated  meeting  of  the 
l,inns?an  Society  was  held  in  February,  186.',  just 
twenty  years  ago.  Prelimin.iry  meetings  had  been 
held  in  January,  but  on  the  Sth  of  February  its 
organic  laws  were  adopted,  its  first  board  of  ollicers 
elected,  and  the  days  and  hours  of  its  meetings 
fixed.  It  p.i.ssessed  nothing  save  the  unmanifestcd 
intents  and  purposes  of  its  members,  aud  these  con- 
sisted exclusively  of  the  Committee  on  Natural 
Science,  of  the  ''  Athen.xnni  and  Historical  Society." 
orthut  nucleus  but  three  now  reside  in  Lancaster — 
namely.  Prof.  Wickersliani,  J.  B.  Kevinski,  and  the 
narrator.  Prof  T.  C.  Porter  was  the  first  president, 
and  continued  in  otli "C  until  his  removal  Irom  Lan- 
caster in  1>> — .  J.ieob  SMulfer  was  the  first  record 
ing secretary,  and  continued  in  olHec  until  his  death, 
in' March,  i8*i0,  and  1  have  t)een  its  first  and  only 
treasurer.  Those  who  seemed  to  be  most  earnest  in 
its  organization,  have  cither  removed  to  other  locali- 
ties, have  died,  or  have  become  lukewarm.  Among 
those  who  have  died,  were  some  of  its  most  active 
members  and  correspondents.  Although  I  was  a 
member  of  the  original  committee  which  finally  cul- 
minated in  the  orga.'izilion  of  the  Liunvan,  I  must 
confess  that  I  was  little  more  than  passive  in  il,  for 
1  had  a  lortaste  that  It  meant  labor,  and  would  in 
terfere  with  the  complete  unity  of  my  specialty  in 
natural  science.  I  had  been  a  member  of  the 
"  .Marietta  Lyceum,"  as  early  as  1-H7,  and  of  the 
"  Lancaster  Conservatory  of  krXs  and  Sciences"  in 
1810,  and  I  had  seen  both  of  these  institutions  dis- 
banded for  the  want  of  working  members. 

Institutions  of  this  kind  need  a  goodly  number  of 
wealthy  patrons,  who  are  lit»eral  men  of  leisure,  as  a 
sustaining  element,  as  it  is  in  England,  France  aud 
Germany,  and  to  some  extent  in  our  larger  towns 
and  cities,  especially  in  .Massachusetts  — notably, 
men  like  Peabody,  Thayer  and  Dr.  Morton. 

As  it  is,  in  this  country,  they  are  generally  com- 
posed of  mm  who  are  compelled  to  earn  their  bread 
bv  the  sweat  of  their  faces,  and  hence  they  are 
obliged  to  abate  their  energies,  to  meet  their  secuUr 
obligations. 

When  the  LinntEan  Society  was  first  organized,  its 
object  was  the.development  of  the  natural  history  of 
Lancaster  county  and  adjacent  territory.  This 
seemed  to  tie  theobject  at  least  of  the  few  original 
members  who  participated  in  its  organization.  I 
hardly  think  they  fully   comprehend  the  magnitude 


48 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[March,  1882. 


of  the  undertaking  ;  for,  from  the  very  bcffinning:  it 
seemed  more  intent  on  a  species  of  seienlific  pic- 
nicliing  or  recreation. ^Possessins;  no  peculiar  eiijovv 
ment,  it  was  compelled  to  sustain  itself  liy  monthly 
contributions,  and  even  these,  merely  nominal  as 
they  were,  came  forth  in  a  too  feeble  streams  to  irri- 
gate the  ground  it  proposed  to  cultivate  to  a  prolific 
fruitaffe.  This  was  not  owing  to  the  absence  of  ma- 
terial, for  this  has  continucil  ,to  increas  gradually 
from  its  infancy  down  to  the  present  moment.  The 
great  drawback  mm,  and  still  is,  the  ))ropcr  digestion 
of  the  material  it  possesses,  a  matter,'  tliat  reciiiires 
time  for  its  development  more  than  money.  The 
early  summer  seasons  of  the  society  were  mainly  de- 
voted to  limited  scienlitic  excursions,  mostly  within 
the  county  of  Lancaster,  on  which  occasion  large 
amounts  of  material  were  collected,  hut  much  of  it 
was  neither  scientifically  nor  systematically  utilized. 
Out  of  these  field  meetings  grew  the  "Tuenuan"  ex 
eursions,  and  these  were  composed  mainly  of  men 
who  had  little  sympathy  with  the  original  objects 
of  the  society.  They  were  too  larse,  unwieldy  and 
expensive,  and  much  of  the  material  collected  on 
those  occasions  was  almost  a  "dead  litter"  in  the 
museum,  lor  the  want  of  the  necessary  time  to 
classify,  arrange  and  label  them.  At  first  an  attempt 
was  made  to  catalogue  and  number  them  ;  but  this 
work  nominally  devolved  on  the  secretary,  and  hi: 
finally  became  discouraged,  on  account  of  the  rapid 
accumulation.  Had  each  specimen  been  numbered, 
labeled  and  catalogued,  as  it  was  presented,  and  by 
the  individual  or  member  who  donated  or  presented 
it,  the  result  would  have  been  more  satisfactory  to 
all  concerned,  and  the  general  usefulness  of  the 
society  as  a  scicntifle  object  educator  would  have 
been  far  in  advance  of  its  present  condition  in  that 
respect. 

From  the  records  of  the  society  kept  by  the  secre- 
tary, it  appears  that  over  one  hundred  aud  thirty  ac- 
tive members,  and  over  one  hundred  and  ten  corres- 
pondents of  the  society  have  been  elected,  from  its 
organization  iu  February,  18t)2,  down  to  the  present 
time.  Had  the  one  hundred  and  thirty  odd  who 
ffere  elected  active  members  paid  their  initiation  ices 
of  one  dollar  each,  and  the  small  dues  of  ten  cents 
per  month  ;  aud  become  irierely  contributing  mem- 
bers, from  the  organization  of  tlie  society  down  to 
the  present  date,  their  contributions  would  have 
amounted  to  over  twenty  fire  hundred  doUays.  From 
the  treasurer's  report  at  the  last  annual  meeting,  it 
appeared  that  the  total  income  of  the  society  i'rom 
all  sources,  during  the  twenty  years  of  its  existence, 
only  amounted  to  about  twelve  hundred  doUara,  aud 
this  included  the  amounts  received  from  sale  of 
stock,  extra  contributions  of  a  few  members,  a  few 
outside  donations,  and  the  monthly  "i.5  cent  dues, 
whicti  prevailed  for  about  three  years,  during  the  re- 
bellion. Therefore,  regarding  these  dues  as  legal 
obligations  there  are  faUy  fifteen  hnudred  dollars  due 
the  society  from  those  wlio  have  been,  from  time  to 
time,  elected  members  of  it.  It  is  not  generally  ex 
j)ected  that  all  the  members  r>f  any  association  will 
become  active  to  the  same  extent,  or  in  the  same 
sense  ;  and  they  are  no  special  hindrance  to  its  pro- 
gress if  they  are  not  so.  But  all  who  have  volun- 
tarily become  such  members,  should  at  least  contrib- 
ute to  its  fecuuiary  support.  Otherwise,  it  must  lan- 
guish, become  inetl'ectrve,  or  fail. 

Notwithstaning  these  hindrances  to  the  prosress  of 
the  society,  whether  they  may  be  regarded  as  real  or 
only  apparent,  it  has  tor  twenty  years  continued  to 
aceuntulate  a  large  amount  of  material  at  least ; 
indeed,  a  larger  and  a  more  valuable  amount  thau 
the  members  themselves  have  a  correct  knowledge 
of.  When  in  the  winter  of  18:i7  a  natur.il  history 
society,  under  the  auspices  of  Josiah  Hollirook,  was 
organized  at  Marietta,  in  this  county,  the  said  Ilol 
brook  stated,  in  an  introductory,  that  the  most  es- 
sential element  in  developing  a  practical  knowledge 
of  natural  science  was  a  well  ordered  inasturn  of 
natural  objects  ;  and  that,  however  essential  it  was 
to  possess  a  library  of  scientific  books,  a  museum  was 
of  primary  importance,  lor  it  brins^s  the  subject  prac- 
tically down  to  the  comprehension  even  of  tlie  illiter- 
ate ;  lor,  said  he,  in  elleet,  1  hold  in  my  hand  a 
rhombic  crystal  of  calcareous  spar,  which,  after  see- 
ing and  handling  it,  with  ten  minutes'  instruction  as 
to  its  chemical  composition,  its  lustre,  form  and  ac- 
tion under  acids,  the  amateur  may  recognize  as  soon 
as  he  sees  it  again,  whether  he  can  read  a  descrip- 
tion of  it  or  not ;  and  even  if  he  can,  there  is  no  de- 
scription, however  scientific  it  may  be,  that  will  con- 
vey as  correct  an  idea  of  what  calcareous  spar  is, 
externally,  as  the  object  itself.  Not  any  of  the 
members  knew  anything  about  mineralogy,  and  little 
more  about  auy  other  branch  of  natural  science. 
Mr.  H.  furnished  tlie  society  with  a  suit  of  minerals 
and  metals,  each  specimen  being  about  the  size  of  a 
chestnut,  for  which,  I  think,  lie  charged  S-0,  and  we 
thought  them  cheap.  I  could  go  into  our  storeroom 
and  carry  away  a  larger  and  better  collection  in  my 
pantaloons  pockets, and  yet  you  would  not  know  that 
any  were  missing.  At  the  same  rates  our  collection 
of  minerals  alone  would  he  worth  S'J0,O0O.  It  is 
true,  that  the  prices  of  minerals  have  depreciated, 
but  fine  specimens,  especially  if  rare,  are  as  expen- 
sive now  as  they  were  I'orty  years  ago,  simply  be 
cause   there  is   a  greater  demand  for  them.    If  the 


Linnaean  Society  could  command  the  leisure  and  the 
pecuniary  means  to  select  from  its  duplicates,  suits 
of  minerals  properly  classified  and  labeled,  and  pre- 
sent them  to  every  village  or  school  district  in  the 
county  of  I.,ancaster,  it  would  approximate  its  legiti- 
mate function  as  a  central  scientific  organization 
and  medium,  of  development. 

Wo  hardly  comprehend  the  real  value  of  any  de- 
partment of  our  museum.  We  have  the  life-labors  of 
two  working  botanists.  A  large  collection  of  rep- 
tilia,  and  much  more  in  undetermined  paleontology 
aud  archLcoloiry  than  appears  to  the  superficial  ob- 
server— the  largest  collection  in  entomology  in  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania,  outside  of  Philadelphia.  In- 
deed, this  collection  is  remarkable,  in  that  it  in- 
cludes the  collections  (or  what  remains  of  them)  of 
Professors  Heutz  and  Haldeman,  the  former  of 
which  was  cotemporary  with  the  Melsheimers,  Say, 
and  Harris,  the  fathers  of  American  entomology.  In 
this  collection  may  be  recognized  specimens  collect- 
ed by  Prof.  Hentz,  nearly  seventy  years  ago.  Per- 
haps no  larger  and  more  diversified  collection  of 
local  mineralogy  thau  ours  exists  in  Pennsylvania.  In 
ichthyology  and  ornithology,  of  a  local  character,  it 
is  no  mean  representatiou  of  Lancaster  county.  Its 
historical  collection  could  be  very  much  augmtnted, 
if  it  possessed  tlie  facilities  for  a  permanent  and 
secure  preservation.  The  collection  in  oology  could 
be  very  much  increased  through  exchange  of  dupli- 
cates, if  we  had  any  one  to  take  au  active  hold  of 
that  department.  Perhaps  it  lacks  more  in  mam- 
luology  thau  in  auy  other  of  the  conspicuous 
branches,  but  even  in  that  department,  it  possesses 
as  much  as  it  has  any  room  for  illustration. 

On  the  whole,  so  far  as  the  matter  relates  to  the 
rough  material,  the  aceumulations  of  the  Linn<ean 
Society  during  the  twenty  years  of  its  existeuce, 
and  under  the  peculiar  circumstances  in  which  the 
society  has  almost  single-handed  labored,  has  been 
progressing..  What  it  needs  most  is  more  space  lor 
the  proper  classification  and  arrangement  of  its  col- 
lections, a  publishing  fund,  and  a  few  more  earnest 
workers,  in  order  to  make  its  collection  useful  and 
accessible  to  the  public.  If  I  had  nothing  else  to  do 
it  would  be  the  delight  of  my  life  to  devote  the  re- 
mainder of  my  days  on  earth  to  making  our  museum 
a  credit  to  the  county  of  Lancaster  and  an  auxiliary 
to  our  educational  institutions. 

Allow  me  to  congratulate  the  society  on  the 
twentieth  return  of  its  anniversary,  as  being  endowed 
with  a  longevity  that  was  hardly  anticipated  when  it 
was  first  organized,  and  at  a  period,  too,  that  seemed 
inauspicious  to  the  perpetuity  of  the  Federal   Union. 


Literary  and  Personal. 


Two  Things  Worth  Re.^ding. —  We  have  re- 
ceived from  Ehrich  Bros.,  of  New  York,  a  brace  of 
interesting  pamphlets,  wliich  are  sent  out  as  the 
avant  couriers  of  the  spring  number  of  that  well- 
known  magazine  of  fashion,  Ehrich,s'  Fashion 
Quarterly. 

The  first  is  the  "Premium, List"  of  the  Quarterly, 
and  tells  its  readers  what  good  things  they  may  se- 
cure by  subscribing  to  the  Fashion  Qwirterly  them- 
selves, and  inducing  others  to  do  the  like.  Among 
other  novelties  in  the  way  of  premiums,  we  notice 
a  choice  selection  of  vocal  and  instrumental  music, 
issued  at  forty  cents  per  piece, one  piece  of  which  (as 
selected)  is  sent  to  every  subscriber  without  excep 
tion.  Among  the  premiums  for  clubs  are  some 
really  beautiful  sets  of  jewelry,  which  will  lie  sent 
in  return  for  four,  six,  or  eight  subscribers.  Of 
course,  the  jewelry  is  not  pure  gold,  but  the  Ehrichs 
say  it  looks  just  as  j.retty  as  if  it  were,  and  they 
ought  to  know. 

The  second  pamphlet  is  entitled  "ShoppiuLr  in 
New  York,"  aud  is  intended  to  convey  an  idea  of 
tlie  plan  and  scope  of  the  Fashion  Quarterly,  and  \ve 
must  say  that  if  the  spring  number  of  the  Quarterly 
only  carries  out  the  promises  made  for  it  by  its  fore- 
ruDuer,  it  will  be  a  very  complete  magazine  indeed. 
It  this  pamphlet  of  sixteen  ([uarto  pages,  almost 
every  department  of  a  laige  New  York  retail  store 
is  represented  to  a  limited  extent.  The  careful 
mother  finds  iu  it  a  few  standard  styles  of  under 
wear  ;  of  children's  clothing  for  both  boys  aud  girls  ; 
of  wonderfully  cheap  embroideries;  of  hosieries;  of 
window  curtains,  and  a  dozen  other  necessities  of 
housekeeping  :  while  the  less  thoughtful  daughter 
will  enjoy  the  jewelry,  the  laces,  and  the  knick- 
knacks  for  room  adornment  which  are  spread  before 
her.  A  blank  form  for  sending  orders  occupies  the 
last  page,  and  fittingly  completes  the  little  book. 

The  Fashion  Quarterly  ought  to  have  a  large  cir- 


culation, and  we  think  it  will.  For  only  fifty  cents  a 
year  the  publishers  offer  four  beautiful  fashion  books, 
issued  at  the  beginning  of  the  successive  seasons, 
and  give  to  each  subscriber,  as  well,  the  privilege  of 
making  a  selection  from  a  list  of  choice  music,  every 
piece  of  which  is  retailed  by  the  music  dealers  all 
over  the  country,  at  forty  cents. 

The  Fashion  Quarterly  is  published  by  Ehrich 
Bros  ,  of  Fitihth  Avenue,  New  York,  who  will  si  nd 
the  pamphlets  referred  to,  free,  on  application. 

Tni?  SOUTIIEIIN  CULTIVATOK  AND  DiXIE  FARMER. 

— The  February  number  of  this  splendid  and  de 
servedly  popular  farm,  plantation  aud  family  journal 
is  before  us.  For  many  years  the  leading  agricultu- 
ral journal  in  the  South,  it  not  only  maintains  its 
former  high  reputation  uuder  the  new  management, 
but  augments  it  with  every  successive  number.  A 
glance  at  the  broad,  beautifully  printed  and  illustrat- 
ed pages,  its  numerous  and  harmoniously  arranged 
departments,  and  its  choice  original  and  selected 
readins,  will  convince  any  one  that  the  South  has  at 
last  a  truly  representative  agricultural  periodical  of 
which  our  people  may  well  feel  proud.  Dr.  W.  L. 
Jones,  the  veteran  editor  and  writer,  continues  to 
occupy  the  editorial  chair,  ably  assisted  by  Dr.  J.S. 
Lawton  and  a  host  of  prominent  writers  in  every  de- 
partment, among  whom  we  notice,  in  this  number. 
Prof.  Win.  Browne,  of  the  University  of  Georgia; 
Prof.  Allen  Curr,  of  Scotland;  Col.  D.  T.  T.  Moore, 
iounder  of  the  Rural  Xcw  Yorker,  and  the  inimita- 
ble "Bill  Arp,"  who  is  a  regular  contributor.  Really 
no  intelligent  and  progressive  farmer  or  planter  iu 
the  South  can  do  witliout  The  Southern  Cultivator 
without  serious  harm  to  his  own  interests.  Sub- 
scribe for  it  ar,  once.  The  price  is  only  SI. .50  a  year  . 
Jas.  P.  Harrison  ct  Co.,  Atlanta,  Ga.,  are  the  pub 
Ushers.     Club  with  exchanges,  $1.25. 

The  SuciAR  Beet.  Devoted  to  the  cultivatiou 
and  utilization  of  the  Sugar  Beet.  Philadelphia, 
February,  1^83,  No.  1  of  the  third  volume  (or  third 
year)  of  this  royal  quarterly  has  appeared,  and  fully 
sustains  the  reputation  acquired  by  its  predecessors. 
Published,  as  it  is,  at  the  low  price  of  50  cents  a 
year,  it  ought  to  be  accorded  au  extraordinary  sup- 
port, in  order  to  sustain  it  in  the  noble  work  to 
which  it  is  devoted.  We  not  only  comiueud  the 
superor  equality  of  the  paper,  the  finely  executed  il- 
lustrations, and  the  literary  ability  of  its  letter  press, 
but  the  "grit"  and  indomitable  perseverance  of  the 
editor,  in  so  ably  advocating  an  interest  so  nearly  al- 
lied to  the  health,  the  domestic  comfort,  and  the 
pecuniarj  prosperity  of  the  nation.  The  universal 
use  of  sugar,  and  tlie  fcasability  of  its  production, 
all  over  our  country,  must  ultimately  result  in  the 
success  of  the  enterprise  in  the  near  future,  what- 
ever may  occur  seemingly  aiiverse  to  such  a  con- 
tingency in  the  present.  There  is  no  great  interest 
of  which  our  country  is  now  reapiuir  the  advantages, 
that  has  not  been  "pooh  poolied"  and  otiierwise 
discouraged,  at  its  initiation— notably,  the  steam- 
boat, the  locomotive,  ami  the  telegraph.  So  long  as 
1.600,000  acres  of  land  in  Europe  are  devoted  to 
the  cultivatiou  of  the  sugar  beet  there  ought  to  be 
no  api>rchensions  in  this  country  that  it  will  not 
ultimately  pay;  and,  if  cold  Canada  anil  Kussia 
are  atile  lo  make  it  a  success  how  much  greater 
the  prospect  on  the  generous  soil  of  Lancaster 
county. 

The  .Miller's  Review.—"  DevoteJ  to  milling, 
millwrigliting,  and  inill-i'urnisliiug  ;"  a  royal  quarto 
of  I(j  pages.  Published  inonthly  by  Henry  L.  Ever- 
ett, 70:^  Walnut  street,  Philade'lphia,  Pa.,  at  §1.00 
per  year.  The  first  number  of  the  first  volume  of 
this  able  journal  has  reached  our  sanctum, 'And  we 
i'eel  compliinenleil  that  we  have  been  deemed  worthy 
of  it,  for  it  certainly  "  fills  the  measure  of  its  depart- 
ment's glory,"  and  not  its  glory  only,  but  its  sub- 
stantial -use.  In  his  salutatory  the  editor  says  :  "  It 
has  become  a  custom  or  rather  a  necessity  to  have 
each  of  the  trades  represented  by  its  journal  in  that 
part  of  the  country  where  such  trades  are  carried 
OQ,"  and  this  is  the  case  in  nearly  all  occupations, 
professions,  institutions,  ttc,  whether  civil,  social, 
scientific  or  religious  ;  and  those  who  are  in  a  condi- 
tion to  compensate  such  journals  are  usually  in  ad- 
vance of  alll  others.  As  farming  and  the  produc- 
tions of  the  fai'Hi  constitute  the  foundation  stones 
upon  which  all  other  occupations  are  erected,  it 
necessarily  ought  to  have  the  largest  number,  and 
the  most  liberally  compensated  journals.  From  the 
contents  of  this  first  number  of  the  Miller's  Heviciii, 
we  feel  assured  that  it  will  be  an  able  and  faithful 
representative  of  its  industrial  interest,  and  ought  to 
elicit  a  cerrespondiug  rc'ivard.  If  there  is  auy  trade 
that  is  second  to  airriculture,  that  position  may  be 
legitimately  accorded  to  milling,  for  its  object  is  to 
reduce  the  staple  productions  of  agriculture  to  prac- 
tical use.  On  the  first  page  of  this  journal  is  a  de 
scriptiou  and  a  fine  illustration  of  .Malvern  Mills, 
located  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  about  twenty 
miles  west  of  Pniladelphia.  Tliese  are  not  the  largest  ' 
mills  in  Pennsylvania,  only  having  the  capacity  to 
turn  out  L'.50  barrels  of  flour  per  day,  but  they  are 
well  ordered,  and  produce  Hour  of  the  highest 
quality.  But  still,  how  insignificant,  when  compared 
with  the  mill  that  went  into  operation  on  the  'lA  of 
January  last  at  Winona,  Minn.,  which  has  the  ca 
pacity  of  1.500  barrels  per  day. 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER 


III 


Important  to  Grocers,  Packers,  Hucksters,  and  the 

General  Public. 

THE  KING  FORTUNE-MAKER. 

^^^  ■■■  ^"^  IW  I  ^^'^  -^  New  Process  for  Preservinq  all 
f  J  ^^  €  J  1^^  f""  rerishahle  Articles,  Animal  and 
^^^  ^HH  ^^^  I  ^  I^BB  Vegetable  froin  Fertnentation  and 
Putrefaction,  lietaining  their  Odor  and  Flavor. 

'*  OZONE— Purified  air,  active  state  of  Oxygen."—  ifebsttr. 

This' preservative  is  not  a  liquid  pickle,  or  any  of  the  old  and  exploded  processes,  but  is  simply  and  purely 
OZONE,  as  produced  and  applied  by  an  entirely  new  process.  Ozone  is  the  antiseptic  principle  of  every 
substance,  and  possesses  the  power  to  preserve  animal  and  vegetable  structures  from  decay. 

Thereisnothinff  onthe  faee  of  the  earth  liable  to  decajf  or  spoil  trhirh  Ozone^the 
new  I^reservativef  tvill  not  2>r€serve  for  all  time  in  n  perfectit/  fresh  and  palatable 
condition. 

The  value  of  Ozone  aa  a  natural  preserver  baa  been  known  to  our  abler  chcmi»t8  for  ycar.t,  but,  until  now,  no 
meaiiH  of  prodneintj  it  in  a  practical,  inexpenaive,  and  simple  manner  have  been  discovered. 

Microscopic  observations  pri>ve  that  decay  is  due  to  septic  matter  or  minute  K^'miy.  tliat  develop  and  feed  upon 
animal  and  vcKCtable  atructurea.  Ozone,  applied  by  the  Prentice  method,  aeizea  and  dcatroys  theac  Kfrms  'it  once, 
and  thus  preserves  At  our  oflice  in  Cincinnati  can  be  seen  almost  every  article  that  can  be  tliouKlitoC,  preserved  by 
this  process,  and  every  visitor  ia  welcomed  to  come  in.  taste,  smell,  take  away  with  hnn,  and  test  in  every  way  the 
merits  of  Ozone  as  a  preaervative.  We.  will  alao  preserve,  free  of  chargre.  any  article  that  ia  brouy;ht  or  sent  prepaid 
to  us,  and  return  it  to  the  sender,  lor  liim  to  keep  and  test. 

FKESII  HIK.l'l'N.  such  as  beef,  mutton,  veal,  pork,  poultry,  prame,  fish,  A:c.,  preserved  by  this  method,  can  be 
fibipjjcd   to  Eurojjc,  subjected  to  atmospheric  changes  and  return  to  this  cuunlry  in  a  stale  of  perfect  preservation 

K4j)<iJS  can  be  treited  at  a  cost  of  les.sthan  one  dollar  a  thousand  dozen,  arul  be  kept  in  an  ordinary  room  six  niontlis 
or  more,  tboroiij?lily  preserved ;  the  yolk  held  in  its  nornud  condition,  and  the  cgKs  lus  fresh  and  perfect  as  on  the 
day  they  were  treated,  and  will  sell  as  strictly  "choice."  The  advantage  in  preserving  eggs  is  readily  seen;  there 
are  seasons  wlien  they  can  be  bought  for  8  or  10  cents  a  dozen,  and  by  holding  them,  can  be  sold  for  an  ativance  of 
from  one  hundred  to  three  hundred  jjcr  ce  t.    One  man,  witli  this  metliod.  can  preserve  5,000  dozen  a  day. 

FKlUT^i  may  be  permiited  to  ripeti  in  their  native  climate,  and  Ciin  be  transported  to  any  part  of  the  world. 

The  juice  expressed  from  fruits  can  be  held  for  an  indefinite  period  without  fermentation — hence  the  great  value 
■of  this  process  for  producing  atemjterance  beverage.    Cider  can  be  held  perfectly  sweet  for  any  length  of  time. 

VKiJ  K'i'Altl.KN  can  be  kept  for  an  indefinite  period  in  their  natural  condition,  retaining  tiieir  odor  and  flavor, 
treated  in  their  original  packages  at  a  small  expense.  All  grains,  flour,  meal,  etc.,  are  held  in  their  normal  condition. 

mi'I"l"K>t.  lifter  being  treated  by  this  process,  will  not  become  rancid. 

Dead  human  bodies,  treated  before  decomposition  sets  in,  can  be  held  in  a  natural  condition  for  weeks,  without 
puncturing  the  skin  or  mutilating  the  boiiy  in  any  way.     Hence  the  great  value  of  Ozone  to  undertakers. 

There  is  no  change  in  the  slightest  particular  in  the  appearance  of  any  article  thus  preserved,  and  no  trace  of  any 
foreign  or  unnatural  odor  or  taste. 

The  process  is  so  simjile  that  a  ehiid  can  operate  as  well  and  as  successfully  as  a  man.  There  ia  no  expensive 
apparatus  or  machinery  required. 

A  room  filled  with  dilfercnt  articles,  such  as  eggs,  meat,  fish,  etc.,  can  be  treated  at  one  time,  without  additional 
trouble  or  expense. 

^et^-lii  tai't,  lliore  is  iiolliiiie:  Ibnt Ozone  will  not  iiroHorvo.    Think  of  everything  you  Civti  that  is 

liable  to  sour,  decay,  or  sjjoil.  and  then   remember   that  we  guarantee   that  Ozone  will  j)reserve   it   in  exactly  the 

<.*ondilion  you  want  it  for  any  length  of  lime.     If  you  will  remeinber  this  it  will  sa\e  asking  questions  as  to  whether 

■   will  preservethisortiiat  article— il  will  iireNerve  anylliin^'  and  every  thin;;'  >ou  can  tliilik.  ol'. 

There  i.**  not  a  township  in  the  Uinted  States  in  which  a  live  man  cannot  make  any  amount  of  money,  from 
Sl,OiX»  lo  SIO,000  a  year,  that  he  please**.  We  desire  to  gel  a  live  man  interested  in  each  county  in  the  Unitcd'stales, 
in  whose  hands  we  can  place  this  Preservative,  and  through  him  secure  the  business  which  every  county  ought  to 
reduce. 

AlFr^RT'I  TNTP    Awaits  any  Mau  who  Secures  Control  of   OZONE  in  any 
r  Kjn   1    KJ  i\  IL,  Township  or  County. 

A.  C.  Fowen.  Marion,  Ohio,  has  cleared  $2,000  in  two  months.    £2  lor  a  test  imekagc  was  his  first  investment. 

Woods  Brothers.  Lebanon,  M'arren  (,'ounty,  Ohio,  made  €0,000  on  eggs  purchased  iu  August  and  sold  November 
let.    S2  for  a  test  package  was  their  first  investment. 

F.  K.  Raymond.  Mornslown.  Belmont  Co.,  Ohio,  is  clearing  $2,000  a  month  in  handling  and  selling  Ozone.  $2  for 
a  test  package  was  his  liist  investment. 

I)  F.  Webber,  Chnrlotte,  Eaton  Co.,  Mich.,  has  cleared  Sl.OOO  a  month  since  August.  82  for  a  test  package  was  his 
first  investment. 

J.  B.  Uaylord,  80  La  Salle  St.,  Chicago,  is  preset  ving  eggs,  fruit,  etc.,  for  the  commission  men  of  Chicago,  charging 
lj.<c.  i>cr  dozen  for  eggs,  and  other  articles  in  proportion.  He  is  preserving  5.(k;0  dozen  eggs  per  day,  and  on  his 
business  is  making  &3.(KI0  a  montli  clear.    S2  for  a  test  package  was  his  first  investment. 

The  Cincinnati  Feed  Co..  West  49s  Seventh  Street,  is  making  $5,00  a  month  in  handling  brewers'  malt,  preserving 
and  shipping  it  as  feed  to  all  i>artsof  the  country.  Malt  unpreserved  sours  in  24  hours.  Preserved  by  Ozone  it  keens 
perfectly  sweet  for  months. 

These  are  instances  which  we  have  asked  in  the  privilege  of  publishing.  There  are  scores  of  others.  Write  to  any 
of  tlie  above  |>arties  and  get  the  evidence  direct. 

Now,  to  prove  the  absolute  truth  of  every  thing  we  have  said  in  this  i>aper,  we  propose  to  plnec  in  your 
haiidM  tlie  nionns  ol'  pr4»vin;:  lor  yoiirNeli' tiiat  ue  liavo  not  olainieil  liall'  oiioii;;li.  To  any 
person  who  doubts  any  of  these  statements,  and  who  is  interested  sufiiciently  to  nuike  the  trip,  we  will  pay  all 
traveling  and  hotel  expenses  for  a  visit  to  this  city,  if  we  fail  to  prove  any  statement  that  we  have  made. 

How  to  Secure  a  Fortune  with  Ozone. 

A  tetjt  pftckape  of  O/.oiie,  containing  a  sufticient  quantity  to  preserve  one  thousand  dozen  epK^,  or  other  urtielcs 
in  proportion,  will  be  sent  to  any  applicant  on  receipt  of  $2.  Ttiis  packaRC  will  enable  the  a|>plicant  to  jiunue  any 
line  of  teats  and  experunent.s  he  desires,  and  thus  satisfy  himself  as  to  the  extraordinary  merits  of  Ozone  as  a 
Preservative.  After  having  thus  satisfied  himself.  aiLd  had  time  lo  look  the  lielil  ove  to  determine  what  he  wishes 
to  do  in  the  futm-e— whether  to  sell  the  article  to  others  or  to  confine  it  to  his  own  use,  or  any  other  line  of  policy 
whicli  is  best  suited  lo  him  and  to  his  township  or  county— we  will  enter  into  an  arranKcinent  with  hiui  that  wiil 
make  a  fortune  for  him  and  give  us  good  prolits.  We  will  give  exclusive  township  or  county  privileges  lo  the  lirsl 
lespousiblc  ap]>licanl  who  onlers  a  lest  package  and  desireslo  control  the  business  in  his  localitv.  'I'lie  man  who 
KeriircMfiMiii-ol  »!'  Ozone  l»rnny  speciHl  territory,  will  enjoy  a  monopoly  w'lilrli  will  nureiy 
•cnricli  liini. 

Don't  let  a  day  Pass  until  you  have  ordered  a  Test  Package,  and  if  you  desire  to  .secure  an  exclusive  privilcRe  we 
assure  you  that  delay  may  dcjirive  you  of  it,  for  the  applications  come  iu  lo  us  by  scores  every  mail— many  by 
telegraph.     "  First  come  first  served  "  is  our  rule. 

If  you  do  not  care  to  send  money  iu  advance  for  Die  test  package  we  will  send  it  C.  O.  D.,  but  this  will  put  vou  to 
the  expense  of  charges  lor  return  money.  Our  eorrespoiulence  ia  very  large;  we  have  all  we  can  do  lo  Httend'lo  the 
shipping  of  orders  and  giving  attention  to  our  working  agents.  Therclorc  we  can  not  give  any  attention  to  letters 
which  do  not  order  Ozone.  If  you  think  of  any  article  that  you  are  doubtful  about  Ozone  presernng  remember  we 
guaruntee  that  li -wiiipteservi  it,  no  matter  ivhat  il  is.  .    /   .,       .      ,        .,       (    .,     .       -i        .  '      'i\'\       <     •' 

'We  deare"to'crtrtyAuf'Att^n1iidtit<S'A  class  of  references  which  no  entcriuise  or  firm  based  on  anything  but  the 
sofrnd^st  busihe^ success  and' hif^lictt  commercial  merit  could  secure. 

iW'e  wftr,  by  permission,  ap  lo  our  inlegriiy  and  t«  the  value  of  Uie  l^rsntiasL Prf acryalhe.  t»_lliejCiJioa:iuK_ 
centlemen:  Edward  C   Hoyce,  IMember  B<Kird  of  Pitblic  Works;  E.  <).  Eshelbv.  filv  ('omi>lroller;  Amor  Smith.  .Ir., 
Colleetor  Inttmat   HevcHue;  WulSiii'  &  ATorthinglon,  Attorucys;  Martin  U,  Unrrell  and   U.  Jj".  HoplaHi*.  <I'onnt.y 
Commissioners;  W.  S.  Cappellcr, County  Auditor;  all  of  finchmuti,  Huuifllon  Omiity.  tUno.     Thesu  gelitlHnksri  are' 
each  familiar  with  the  merits  ol  our  Preservative, and  know  front  actual   oljs4-rvati.>ii  that  we  have  without  questionj 

,fr/jrh,el\/los1]. Valuable  Article  in  the  World^JilHa    Y^ 

you  16- £ecure  a  township  or  county,  and  then  Vour  way  (»-; 


Thc82ypiiinves^in  a  tost,  package,  will  surply  le;id 
absolutely  clear  to  iriake  Ifom  S'2,(fO(i  to  il6,()(Xl  a  year. 


rfnil  addrcj<s  in  every  Icflcr    aUlLscuiLy OUT JcUer  lo^ 


NoiU«tii^' 


PRENTISS  PRESERVING  COMPANY.    Limited,)  ^  ^ 

...i-u;,'l.  ,  '  :.*-:-t.'T 


THE 


OFFICE 

0  Hortli  Queen  Stfeet, 

LANCASTER,  PA. 


THE  OLDEST  AND  BEST. 


THE  WEEKLY 

LANCASTER  EXAMINER 

One  of  the  largest  Weekly  Papers  in 

the  State. 
Published  Eveiy.Weddncsay  Horning, 

Is  an  old,  well-establlBhed  newspaper,  and  cODtslna  Juat  tb* 
news  desirable    to  make    il  an   iutcrcstlng  and   vuluabla 
Family    Newspiper.     The  poatage  lo  nubcribera  rcsidUif 
outside  of  Lanciisler  couuty  is  paid  by  tbe  pubUsller. 
Send  for  a  specimen  copy. 

Two  Dollars  per  Annum. 


THE  DAILY 


LANCASTER  EXAMINER 

The  Largest  Daily  Paper  in  the 
county. 

Pablislicd  Daily  Except  .S   nday. 

The  dull.  Is  published  every  evinlug  during  the  week. 
Ills  delUered  in  llie  t;ity  .iiid  lo  surrounding  T"WU8  ao- 
eessilile  by  railroad  and  djiily  stage  Ilues,  for  10  cents 
H  week. 

Mill  Subscription,  free  of  postage— One  montb,  00 
cents;  one  year,   85.00. 


■  111 


THE  JOB  ROOMS. 

The    Job    rooms    of    Thk    Lancaster   Exahimeb  are 
filled  with  t^e  lutCHt  slylei*  of  j>rw»8e8,  nioteri:!!,  etc.,  aud 
weuro  prepand  to  do  all    kindu  of  Book   iiiid  Job   PrintlQ 
at  b<t  low  rntea  and    ohort  uotice  as  aay  eatabUaUmeuL  i. 
theState.    .    .      .  ,  ,_-  .       ,,.        .  .j,;...  ..,.4      ,  ' 

j    .  iin.  1    /.  i-i|.'l    .In;  .((  »LJ  ii.;r    ^-mOhI.**!!     i'  i 

I  :,■-;.:  iv'Sj^E^  Bxiirjs  'A  spEmLTT;.".",;;  ;v ,;:'; 

:  WUh  a   fall  BBBOrtinenl  of  new  cuts  iliat  ve  bftTS- jnaftid 
purchased,  we  are  ]>rwpared  to-iu-iot  the  finest  and  mott 
attractive  aale  bllla  ib  thli  Slatfe: 

^•1.;.'..    y. 

.TIUHI  inTDTr3TAHO«=[/iVa 

JOHN  A.  HIESTAND.  Proprietor, 

No.  9  North  Queen  St.,    '  '^'  '^ 


IV 


THE   LANCASTER   FARMER 


[March.  1882. 


WHERE  TO  BUY  GOODS 

IN 

LANCASTER. 


BOOTS  AND   SHOES. 


MAKSIlAl^r  A  SOX,  No.  12  Centre  Square,  Lan- 
caster, Dealers  in  Boots,  Slioes  and  Rubbers.    Re- 
pairing i)romptly  attended  to. 

MI^KVY.  No.  :i  East  King  street.     For  the   bes 
•     Dollar  Shoes  in  Lancaster  go  to  M.  Levy,   No.   3 
Kast  King  stre»'t. 

BOOKS  AND   STATIONERY. 

JOH^  BAKR'H  M»^'\«*,  Nos.  15  and  ITNorth  Queen 
Street,  liave  the  hirgest  and  best  assorted  Book  and 
Paper  Store  in  tJie  City. 


FURNITURE. 


HKIXITSll'S.  No.  15'..  Kast  King  st..   (over  China 
Hall)  is  the  cbeapesf  place  in  Lancaster  to   buy 
Furniture.     Picture  Frames  a  specialty. 

^  CHINA  AND  GLASSWARE. 

HIOH  A  MAKTIX.  No.  15  East  King  st.,  dealers 
in  China,  Glass  and  Queensware,   Fancy  Goods, 
Lamps,  Burners,  Chimneys,  etc. 


CLOTHING. 


MVr.HS  &  KATIIF4IX,  Centre  Hall,  No.  12  East 
King  St.    Largest  Clothing  House  in  Pennsylvania 
outside  of  Philadelphia 

DRUGS  AND   MEDICINES. 

GW.  lff(JI.<L>,  Dealer  in  Pure  Drugsand  Medicines 
«    Chemicals,  Patent  Medicines.  Trusses,  Shoulde 
Braces,  Supporters,  &c.,  15  West  King  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa 

J4»HX  F.  LONti  A  RON,  Druggists,  No.  12  North 
Queen  St.    Drugs.   Medicines,   Perfumery,    Spices, 
Dye  Stufl's,  Etc.     Prescriptions  carefully  compounded. 

DRY  GOODS. 

GIVLKK,  BOWKK»  A-  IIUKST,  No.  25  E.  King 
St.,  Lancaster,  Pa.,  Dealers  in  Dry  Goods,  Carpets 
and  Merchant  Tailoring.    Prices  as  low  as  the  lowest. 

HATS  AND  CAPS.  

ClI    AiUKK,  No.  39  West  King  Street,   Dealer  in 
•     Hats,  Caps,  Furs,  Robes,  etc.    Assortment  Large. 
Prices  I^iow. 

JEWELRY  AND  WATCHES. 

HZ.  KHOAO.S  A  BRO  ,    No.  4  West  King  St. 
•    Watches,   Clock  and  Musical  Boxes.      Watches 
and  Jewelry  Manufactured  to  order. 


PRINTING. 


JOH.\    A.    HIKS'rANI>.   9   North  Queen   st.,  Sale 
Bills,   Circulars,  Posters,  Cards,    Invitations,    Letter 
and  Bill  Headsand  Envelopes  neatly  printed.    Prices  low. 


Thirty-Six  "Varieties  of  Cabbage;  26  of  Corn;  28  of  Cu- 
umber;  41  of  Melon;  ;i3  of  Peas;  28  of  Beans;  17  of 
Squash;  23  of  Beet  and  40  of  Tomato,  with  other  varieties 
in  proportion,  a  large  portion  of  which  were  grown  on 
my  live  seed  farms,  will  be  found  in  my  Vegetable 
aiHl  Fl4»iver  S4*ed  <'rttalos;ii<»  for  IHJ*2.  Sent  free 
to  all  wlio  apply.  Customers  of  last  Se  -son  need  not 
write  for  it.  All  Seed  sold  Ironi  my  establishment  war- 
ranteil  to  be  fresh  ami  true  to  name,  so  far,  that  should 
it  prove  otherwi.ie,  I  will  retlU  tbe  order  gratis.  The 
ori;finni  inlr"iluoer  of  Kartj'  Ohio  and 
Btirhaiik  PotatooN.  Marbloliea^l.  Karly  <'orii, 
the  Htibbar<l  SqiiaNh,  iVIarblelie.^fl  Cabba;;*^, 
l*hiiiii<*>'s  Melon,  and  a  score  of  other  New  Vegeta- 
bles, I  invite  the  patronage  of  the  public.  New  Vegeta- 
bles a  specialty. 

JAMES  J.  H.  GREGORY, 

Marblehead,  Mass. 
Nov-6mo] 

EVAPORATE  YOUR  ERUIT. 

ILLUSTRATED    CATALOGUH: 

FREE  TO  ALL. 

AMERICAN  DRIER  COMPANY, 

Cbambcrsburg;,  Pa. 

Apl-tf 


FARMING  FOR  PROFIT. 

It  is  conceded  that  this  large  and  comprehensive  book, 
(advertised  in  another  column  by  J.  C.  McCurdy  &  Co., 
of  Philadelphia,  the  well-known  publishers  of  Standard 
works,)  is  not  only  the  newest  and  handsomest,  but  alto- 
gether the  BEST  work  of  the  kind  w^hich  has  ever  been 
published.  Thoroughly  treating  the  great  subjects  of 
general  Agriculture,  I^ive-Stock,  Fruit-Growing,  Busi- 
ness Principles,  and  Home  Life;  telling  just  what  the 
farmer  and  the  farmer's  boys  want  to  know,  c^ombining 
Science  and  Practice,  stiniidating  thought,  awakening 
inquiry,  and  interesting  every  member  of  the  family, 
this  book  must  exert  a  mighty  influence  for  good.  It  is 
highly  recommended  by  the  best  agricultural  writers 
and  the  leading  papers,  and  is  destined  to  have  an  ex- 
tensive sale.     Agents  are  wanted  everywhere.  jan-lt 

CIDER  MILLS! 


Wine  Presses! 


Fruit  Presses,  Apple  Slicers, 
Fodder    and    Ensillage    Cutters, 
Grain  Fans, 
Graiu  and  Fertilizer  Drills, 

Broad-cast  Seed  Sowers, 
Corn  Shellers,  Corn  Mills, 

Grain  Mills,  etc.,  etc. 

FOR  SALE  BY 

D.    LANDRETH   &  SONS, 

AGRICULTURAL  AND  HORTICULTURAL  IM- 
PLEMENT 

AND 

SEED    WAREHOUSE, 

Nos.  21  and  23  South  Sixth  Street, 

Between  Market  and  Chestnot  Sts., 

—  and  — 

No.  4  ARCH  STREET, 


apr-bm 


PHILADELPHIA. 


MERCHANT  TAILORING. 

1848     (The  Oldest  of  All.)     1881 

RATHVON  &  FISHER, 

MERCHAMT  TAILORS  AND  DRAPERS, 

respectfully  inform  tlie  public  that  having  disposed  of 
their  entire  stock  of  Heady-Made  Cluhing,  they  now  do, 
and  for  the  future  shall,  aevote  their  whole  attention  to 
the  (;i'STOM  TKADE. 

All  the  desirable  etvles  of  CLOTHS.  CASSIMERE-*. 
WORSTED-?,  (BOATINGS.  sUITINGS  and  VESTINGS 
coustantly  on  hand,  iind  made  to  order  in  plain  or  fash- 
ionable sly'e  prompty.  and  warranted  satisfactory. 

All-Wnol  Suit  from  810  00  to  830.00. 
All-Wool  Pants  from  3.00  to  10,00. 
All-Wool  Vests  from  2  00  to      6.U0. 

Union  and  f  otton  Good.^  rroportionately  less, 

Cuttii'K.  Repairi-g,  Trimming  and  Makiog,  at  reason- 
able pri  es. 

Goods  rft-'iled  by  theyar  I  to  those  who  desire  to  have 
ihem  nude  elsewhere. 

\  full  supply  of  Spring  and  Summer  Goods  just 
opced  ami  o  >  hand.  * 

Thank.'ul  to  agenero"S  public  for  p:ist  patronage  they 
liope  to  merit  its  continued  rec  gniliouin  their  "new  de- 
parture." 

RATHVON  &  FISHER. 

■*  PIIATI  lALTMI^ORS, 

No.  lOl  North  Qvieen  Street, 

LANCASTER,  PA. 

1848  1881 


c/) 

I— I 

M 

w 

■79- 


GLOVES,  SHIRTS,  UNDERWEAR. 
SHIKTS  MAdFtO  OKDER, 

AND  WARRANTED  TO  IIT. 

£.  J.  ERISMAN , 

56  North  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

1-12] 


A  HOME  ORGAN  FOR  FARMERS. 


A  MONTHLY  JOURNAL, 

Devoted  to  Agriculture,  Horticulture,  Do- 
mestic Economy  and  Miscellany. 


Founded  Under  the  Auspices  of  the   Lancas- 
ter County  Agricultural  and  Horti- 
cultural Society. 


EDITED  BY  DR.  S.  S.  RATHVON. 


TERMS  OF  SUBSCRIPTION  : 


ONE  DOLLP  PER  mm% 

POSTAGE  PREPAID  BY  TBE  PROPBIETOR. 

All    subscriptions    will    commence   with    the 
January  number,  unless  otherwise  ordered. 


Dr.  S,  S.  Rathvon,  who  has  so  ably  managed  the  editorial 
department  in  the  past,  will  continue  in  the  position  of 
editor.  His  coutributious  on  subjects  connected  with  the 
science  of  farming,  and  particularly  that  specialty  of  which 
he  is  ao  thorouhly  a  master — eutomological  science— some 
knowledge  of  whicU  has  become  a  necessity  to  the  success- 
fill  farmer,  are  alone  wortb  much  more  than  the  price  of 
this  publication.  He  is  determined  to  make  **The  Farmer' 
a  necessity  to  all  households. 

A  county  that  has  so  wide  a  reputation  as  Lancaster 
connty  for  its  agricultural  products  should  certitiuly  be 
able  to  support  an  agricidtural  paper  of  Its  own,  for  the 
exchange  of  the  opinions  of  farmers  Interested  in  this  mat- 
oter.  We  ask  the  co-oporation  of  all  farmers  in..erested  in 
this  matter.  Work  among  your  frieuds.  The  "Farmer"  i 
only  one  dollar  per  year.  Show  them  your  copy.  Try  and 
induce  them  to  subscribe.  It  is  not  much  for  each  sub- 
scriber to  do  but  it  will  greatly  assist  us. 

All  communications  in  regard  tothe  editorial  management 
should  be  addressed  to  Dr.  S.  S.  Rathvon,  Lancaster,  Pa., 
and  all  business  letters  in  regard  to  subscriptions  and  ad- 
vertising should  be  addressed  to  the  publisher.  Rates  of 
adveitising  can  be  had  on  application  at  the  office. 


lOHN  A.  HIESTAND. 

No.  9  North  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 


!|)0     I  (J   tpZUAddress 


at  ho'ue.     Samples  worth  $5  free, 
SxinsoN  &  Co.,  Portland,  Maine. 


jun-lyr* 


ONE  DOLLAR  PER  ANNUM-SINGLE  COPIES  10  CENTS. 


EATHVON,  Editor, 


LANCASTER,  PA.    APRIL,  1882. 


JOHN  A.  HIESTAND,  Publisher. 


Entered  nt  the    HoNt  OlUee  at  Lancaster  as 
!>erond  C'Ihks  Mntter. 

CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER. 


EDITORIAL. 

EnBilage, -        .        . 

April  Meeting,      ---.-.. 
Soails  in  Gardens,     ...... 

Kitchen  Garden  for  April,     -      .        -        .        . 
Phenomenal,     -         -  -  .        .         .       . 

Eating  Between  Meals,     ..... 

Excerpts,      -•--..-. 

ESSAYS. 
Fruit  and  Vegetables — their  Culture, 
The  Bright  Side  of  Horticulture,         .        .        - 
Horticultural  Fertilizers,  -        .        -        . 

What  are  Best  and  Cheapest  and  How  Applied. 
SELECTIONS. 
The  New  Wheat  Kegion,      ..... 
How  to  Deodorize  Stables,        .... 
Utilizing  Rough  Ground,     -        -        .        .        . 
The  Building  of  Homes,  ..... 
When  to  Cut  Grass,      -.--.. 
Feeding  Poultry  and  Raising  Chicks, 
Vegetable  condiments,  .        -        -        .        . 

Trichinosis,       ---.... 
Testing  Cream,     ---...- 
Application  of  Liquid  Manure,         ... 
Early  Price  of  PennsylTania  Lands,     -        -        - 
A  Home  Fruit  Canning  Factory,      ... 

OUR  LOCAL  ORGANIZATIONS. 
Fulton  Farmers'  Club,  -        .        -        .         . 

Mftrch  Meeting— April  Meeting. 
Linnaean  Society,       ---... 

Museum  -  Library — New  Business. 
ENTOMOLOGICAL. 

Swarming  Ants  and  Allied  Phenomena, 
Curculio  in  Plum  Culture,         -        -        .        . 
Birds  and  Canker  Worms,  -        -        -        -        . 
AGRICULTURE. 


49 
49 
50 
50 
51 
51 
53 

53 
54 
55 


55 
56 
06 
56 
57 
57 
57 
57 
58 
68 
58 
59 

59 
60 


Sowing  the  Seed,       -        .        .        - 
Clover  and  Grass,  -        -        -        ■ 

Clover,     ...---. 
Ploughing,         .        .         -        .        - 
Potatoes,       ---..- 
Onions,     -..--. 
HORTICULTURE. 
The  Rhubarb  Plant,     .... 
The  Mulberry  Trees, 
An  Excellent  Old  Apple, 
An  Experiment  in  Potato  Planting,  - 

HOUSEHOLD    RECIPES. 
To  make  a  Cheap  Wash  or  Paint, 
Rice,  Milanaise  Style.       -        -        . 
Macaroni  and  Ham,     -        -        -        . 
Poor  Man's  Plum  Pudding 
Fig  Pudding,         -        .        .         .         _ 
Yorkshire  Pudding,  - 
Warm  Slaw,  ----- 

Cold  Slaw,        -        -        .        .        . 
Lincoln  Cake,       ..... 
Pastry,       -.--.. 
To  Clean  Marble,  -        -        -        . 

Valuable  Hints,         .... 
Cocoanut  Cookies,        .... 
To  Renovate  Black  Grenadine,        ; 
To  Wash  Silk  Stockings,      - 
Corn-Starch  Cake,    .        .        .        .        . 
Black  Bean  Soup,        .        .        .      •  . 
To  Clean  Musty  Barrels,  -        -        .        ■ 
Cottage  Gingerbread,  -        J        . 

Household  Weights  and  Measures, 
Scotch  Butter  Candy,  ... 


60 
61 
61 

61 
01 
61 
61 
61 
61 

61 
61 

62 

62 
62 
62 
62 
62 
63 
62 
82 
02 
63 
62 
63 
62 
62 
02 
62 
03 
63 
62 
62 
62 


LIVE  STOCK. 

Sawdust  for  Bedding,        .        .        -        .        -  62 

Salting  Stock,       - 02 

Floors  for  Horse  Stables,  -        ...        -  63 

Charcoal  for  Sick  Animals, 63 

The  Hog  Crop, ...----  63 

Tying  Up  Calves,       ......  63 

Ma»'s  Treatment  of  the  Horse,     .        -        -        .63 

Advantages  of  Small  Flocks,   ...        -  63 

'•Loss  of  Cud,"    .-.-...  63 


Training  Heifers  to  Milk, 

Bedding  for  Cows,        .         .        .         - 

Inoculation  of  Animals,    - 

POULTRY. 
Sunflower  Seed  for  Poultry, 
Grain  and  Vegetables, 
Poultry  Upon  the  Farm, 
Dressing  and  Keeping  Poultry. 
Common  Sense  in  the  Poultry  Yard,  - 
The  Roup  in  Fowls,  -        -        .         - 

Poultry, 

Literary  and  Personal, 


63 
63 
63 

64 
64 
64 
64 
64 
64 
64 
64 


SEND  IN  YOUR    SUBSCRIPTIONS 
— roR — 

FOR  1SS2. 

The  cheapest  and  one  of  the  best  Agricultural  pape" 
in  the  country. 

Only  $I,00  per  year. 

JOHN  A.  lUF-STAND,  Publisher, 

No.  9  North  (iuecn  si.,  Lancaster.  Pa. 

From  all  the  leading  varieties  of  pure  bred  Poultry 
Bramahs,  Cochin,  Hamburgs,  Polish  Game,  Dorking 
and  French  Fowls,  Plymouth  Rocks  and  Bantoms, 
Rouen  and  Pekins  Ducks.  Send  for  Illustrated  Cir- 
cular. 

T.  SMITH,  P.  M.,  Fresh  Pond,  N.  Y. 


WE  W'AKT  Ol.ll  lt4»OIiS. 

We  Want  Gehman  Books. 

WE  WANT  BOOKS    PKINTED  IN  LANCASTER  CO. 

We  Want  All  Kinds  of  Old  Books. 

LIBRAUIES,  ENGLISH  OK  GKKMAN    HOUGHT. 

Cash  paid  for  Books  in  any  <iunnti(y.    .Sriul  your  address 

au<l  we  will  call. 

REEN  WELSH  A  CO., 

2.3  .South  Ninth  Slrcil.  Philadi-lpliiu. 

LIGHT   BRAHMA   EGGS 


BSii 


•NNUAIL 

;Fon  1882 

WUI  b«  uialUd  FKBi  to  *11  BppllciBU,  and  toei.tif.infri  wttbout 
ordfrlni  iL  It  conUici  fiv«  col<.r(d  plaUt,  Ci-0  cnrrsTlnn 
»boot  300  p»rii.  KDd  full  d«cr.ptinai.  pH«,  .nd  dlrtcUoni  for 
Plinlinj  l500  YiTletk.  of  \Vctut.lt  Aai  FIo-*r  S««di,  PUnU. 
Fnilt  Tnai,  ate.     lovAtukbia  to  «lt.     Sand  for  U      A44r*a« 

D.  M.  FEBET  ft  CO..  Detroit,  Mich. 

Jan-4m 

(h/?Ca  w(wk  in  your  own  town.     Terms  aud  tf.  outfit  free 
vpUUAddress  H.  Hallett  &  Co.,  Portland,  Maine, 
jun-lyr* 


■  kllOIUraO  widows,  fatticrs.  motfaen  or 


children.  1  h>-usaiidi  yet  entitled.  IVoiioDS  riven 

ftfrloBSt.f  tiii^-er,   toe.  eye  or  rupture,  vaneoM 

oriiny  DIscAftc.  Thousaudsofp 


UIQS  '. 


— J .  ..,>usauds  orneDiioD'- 

;;A.-i'il.'"''^'^"  «"tiil*d  to  1NCUEA8E  and 
BOUNTV.  PATENTS  rrocupcd  for  iDTtnt- 
OFH.  Soldiers  luii<l  warrantB  procured,  ti^uffht 
and  sold.  Soldiers  and  h<-ir»  apply  for  your 
rights  lit  once.  Scud  8  staaips  for  Pcdsiod  and 
Bounty  laws.  blanlCHand  inatruotioDs.  Ke«s  fixed 
by  law.  Wo  can  refer  to  thoiiiirandH  of  Pvnsionen 
and  Chi-nts. ,  Addrt-sa  £.  H,  CelStOn  &  CO., 


LIGHT  BRAHMA  EGGS 

For  hnlcliinc,   now   reuily— from   the   hcst   Mriiin  in  the 
county— lit  the  niodenitc  price  of 

$l,SO  for  n. letting  of  X  3  Xlggs. 
I,.  HATHVO.V, 
Ne.  9  North  Queen  St..  Examiner  Ofllee.  I.iinejti.ler,  Pa. 

W ANTED. -•■ANVASSKIt.s  f^.r  the 
LANCASTER  WEEKLY  EXAMINER 


In  Every  Townt^hip  in  the  Coinit 
made.     Inquire  at 

THE  EXAMINER  OFFICE, 


$1 


FOR     HATCHING, 

.50  FOR  SLTTING^OFI 3. 


ALSO, 


Three  Barrels  of  Chicken  Manure 

FOR  SALE. 

L.  RATHVON, 

Examiner  Office  No,  9  N.  Quccn-st.,  LAnoaster,  Pa. 


$66 


a  week  in  your  own  town.     Terms  and  S5  oultit 
free.  Address  H.  Hallktt  A  Co.,  Portland,  Maine. 


(iood  Wanes  cati  be 

iMlNER  OFFICE, 

Xo.  9  N'orth  (ineen  .'Street,  I,Mn(ii.«ler,  Pa 

(PyOA  WEEK.  $12  a  day  «t  home  easily  made.  Cosily 
iP  I  ^Outfit  free.     Address  Tkuk  &  Co.,  Augusta,  Malue. 

juii-tyr' 

S£ND  FOR 

On  ("oncor.l  GrjtpeViueH,  Triiiifi'laiile*!  Ever^reeiiH,  'I'ullp, 
Poplar,  Linden  Maple,  etc.  Tree  Seedlings  uud  Trees  for 
timber  plantations  liy  the  lO'i.onii 

J.  JK.NKINS'  XTRNERY, 
S-2-79  WINdNA.  OOl  I'MlilANA' CO.,  OHIO. 

MARBLEHEAD 

Early  Sxreet  Corn 

Is  the  most  protiuible  of  all,  heeausc  it  nniturCH  before 
any  other  kind,  KivinK  fsrincr!*  eomplete  ctmlrol  of  the 
early  market.  I  warrant  it  to  be  at  len.-tt  a  week  earlier 
than  Minnetiota,  NarniRansett  or  Crosby,  and  deeidedly 
earlier  thiin  Dolly  Dutt<m,  Tom  Thunili  or  Kiirly  Ifoyn- 
ton.  Of  size  of  Minnesota,  and  very  sweet.  The  orif^nal 
introducer,  I  send  pure  stoek.  postpaid,  per  paekaire  I.S 
eents;  per  quart,  70  cents;  per  peck,  by  expreaa,  1.3.00. 
In  my  eataloKue,  (free  to  all,)  are  emphatic  reeommen. 
dations  from  famiera  and  Kardcners. 

JAME.S  J.  H.  GREGORY, 
apr-3t  MarbleUead,  Mas*. 


THE  LANCASTER   FARMER. 


lErVXKTrVANIA  RAILROAD  S^'HEDULE. 

Trains  leave  the  Depot  iij  Ibis  citj",  as  follows  : 


WE  TWARD. 

Pacific  Expreas"* 

Way  PaHsengert   

Niaga  ra  Express 

Hanover  Accommodatiou, 

Mail  train  via  Mt.  Joy 

No.  2  via  Columbia 

Sunday  Mail 

Fast  Line*.  

Frederick  Accomraodation 

Hanisburg  Accom 

Columbia  Accommodation.. 
Harrisburg  Express.... 
Pittsburg  Express.     ... 
Cincinnati  Express* , 


EASTWARD. 

Cincinnuti  Express 

Fast  Liue* , 

Harrisburg  Express , 

Columbia  Accommodatiou. 

Pacific  Express* , 

Sunday  Mail 

Johnstown  Express 

Day  ExpreBs" 

Harrisburg  Accom. 


I  eave 
Lancaster. 

2:40  a.  m. 

5:00  a.  m. 
11:00  a.  m. 
11:05  p.m. 
10:20  a.  m. 
11.25  a.  m. 
10:50  a.  m. 

2;30p.  m. 

2;:i5  p.  m , 

5:45  p.  m. 

T:20  p.  m. 

7:30  p.  m. 

8:50  p.m. 
11:30  p.m. 

Lancaster. 
2.55  a.  m. 
5:08  a.  m. 
8:05  a.  m. 
9.10  p.  m. 
:40  p  m. 
2:00  p.  m. 
3:0.'i  p.  m. 
5:35  p.m. 
6:2.3  p.  m. 


Arrive 

Harrisburg. 

4:05  a.  m. 

7:50  a.  ra. 

11:20  a.m. 

Col.  10:40  a.  m. 

12:40  p.  m. 

12:55  p.  m. 

12:40  p,  m. 

3:25  p.  m. 

Col.  2:45  p.  m, 

7:40  p.  m. 

Col.  8:20  p.  m. 

3:40  p.  m. 

10:10  p.  m. 

12:45  a.  ra. 

Philadelphia 

3:00  a.  m. 

7:40  a.  m. 
10:00  a.  m. 
12:0    p.  m. 

3:40  p.m. 

5:00  p.m. 

5:30  p.  m. 

7:20  p.  m. 

9:30  p.  m. 


The  Hauover  Accommodation,  west,  connects  at  Lancaster 
with  Niagara  Express,  west,  at  9:35  a.  m.,  and  will  run 
through  to  Hanover. 

The  Frederick  Accommodation,  west,  connectsat  Lancas- 
ter with  Fast  Liue,  west,  at  2:10  p.  m..  and  runs  to  Frederick, 

The  Pacific  Express,  east,  ou  Sunday,  when  flagged,  will 
stop  at  M-idletown,  Elizabethtowu,  Mount  Joy  and  Laudis- 
ville. 

•The  only  trains  which  run  daily. 

tRuns  daily,  except  Monday. 

NORBECK  SMILEY, 


PRACTICAL 


CaFfiage  Mikn, 

m  &  CO'S  OLB  STA\D, 

Corner  of  Duke  M  Vine  Streets, 

LANCASTER,  PA. 


THE  LATEST  IMPROVED 

SIDE-BAR  BUGGIES, 

PHAETONS, 

Carriages,  Etc, 


EDW.  J.  ZAHM, 


Prices  to  Suit  the  Times. 

REPAIRING  promptly  attended  to.     All  work 
guaranteed. 

Manufacturer  of 

C  images,  Buggies,  Phaetons,  etc. 

CHURCH  ST.,  NEAR  DUKE,      LANCASTER,  PA. 

Large  Stock  of  New  and  Secon-hand  Work  on  hand 
very  cheap.  Carriages  Made  to  Order  Work  Warrauted 
.or  one  year,  [T  •  -9-ia 


DEALKR    IN 


AMERICAN  AND   FOREIGN 

WATCHES, 

SOLID  SILVER  &  SILVER  PLATED  WARE, 
CT^OCKS. 

JEWELRY ITABLE  CUTLERY. 

Sole  Ageut  for  the  Arundel  Tinted 

SPECTACLES. 

Rei>airiug  strictly  attended  to. 

North  Queen-st.  and  Centre  Square,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

79-1-12 

AT  LOWEST  POSSIBI.E  PUICE8, 

Fully   guaranteed. 

No.   106  EAST  KING  STREET, 

79-1-12]  Opposite  Leoptird  JlotrU 


ESTABLISHED  1832. 


G.  SENER  &  SONS, 

Manufacturers  and  dealers  in  all  kinds  of  rough  and 
liiiished 

LXJIVIBEFI, 

The  best  Sawed  SHI^'GliES  in  the  country.     Also  Sash, 
Doors,  Blinds,  Mouldings,  &c. 

PATENT  0.  G.  WEATHERBOARDING 

aud  PATENT  BLIND.S,  which  are  tar  surerior  to  any 
other.    Al80  best  COAIv  constantly  ou  hand. 

OFFICE  AND  YARD  : 

Northeast  Corner  of  Prince  and  Walnut-sts., 

LANCA.STKR,,  FA.. 

79-1-12] 

PRACTICAL  ESSAYS  ON  ENTOMOLOGY, 

Embracing  the  history  and  habits  uf 

NOXIOUS  AND  INNOXIOUS 


INSECTS, 


and  the  best  remedies  for  their  expulsion  or  extermination. 

By  S.  S.  RATHVON,  Ph.  D. 

LANCASTER,  PA. 

This  work  will  be  Highly  lUuetrated,  and  will  be  put  in 
press  (as  soon  after  a  sufficient  number  of  subscribers  cau 
be  obtained  to  cover  the  cost)  as  the  work  can  possibly  be 
accomplished. 
79-2- 


^C   i       ^AA  per  day  at  home.  Samples  worth  S5  fr 
4>il  10   4)61/  Address  Stinson  &  Co.,  Portland,  Mai 


free 


Fruit,  Shade  and  Ornamental  Trees. 

Plant  Trees  raised  in  this  cuunly  and  suited  to  this  climate  . 
Write  for  prices  to 

LOUISC.LYTE 

Bird-in-Hand  P.  C,  Lancaster  co.,Pa. 

Nursery  at  Smoket^wn,  six  miles  east  of  Lancaster. 
79-1-12 

WIDMYER  &  RICKSECKER, 

UPHOLSTERERS, 

And  Manufacturers  of 

FURNITURE  PD  CHAIRS, 

WAREROOIIS: 

102  East  King  St.,  Oor.  of  Dake  St. 

LANCASTER,  PA. 

79-1-12] 

Special  Inducements  at  the 

NEW  FURNITURE   STORE 

\A/.  A.  HEINITSH, 

(over  Bursk's  Grocery  Store),  Lancaster,  Pa. 
A  general  assor'nient  of  furniture  of  all  kinds  constantly 
on  hand.     Don't  forget  the  uumber. 

Nov-ly]  (over  Bursk's  Giocery  Store.) 

For  Good  and  Cheap  Work  go  to 
F    VQT^T^TVf'E'R.^S 

FURNITURE  WARE   ROOMS, 

No    309  NORTH  QUEEN  ST., 

(Opposite  Northern  Market), 

Also,  all  kinds  of  picture  frames.  nov-ly 

GREAT  BARGAINS. 

A  large  assortment  of  all  kinds  of  Carpets  are  at  ill  sold  at 
lower  rates  than  ever  at  the 

CARPET  HALL  OF  H.  S.  SHIRK, 

No.  202   West  Kinij  SU 

Call  and  examine  our  stock  and  satisfy  yourself  that  we 
can  show  the  lai'gest  assortment  of  these  Brussels,  three 
plies  aud  ingrain  at  all  prices — at  the  lowtjst  Philadelphia 
prices. 

Also  OQ  hand  a  large  and  complete  assortment  of  Rag 
Carpet. 

Satisfaction  guaranteed  bath  as  to  price  and  quality. 

You  are  iuvited  to  cjU  and  see  my  goods.  No  trouble  in 
showing  them  even  if  you  do  not  want  to  purchase. 

Don't  forget  this  notice.  You  can  save  money  here  if  you 
want  to  buy. 

Particular  attention  given  to  customer  v  ork 

Also  on  hand  a  full  assortment  of  Counterpanes,  Oil 
Cloths  and  Blankets  of  every  variety.  fnov-Iyr. 


PHILIP  SCHUM,  SON  &  CO., 

38  and  40  West  King  Street. 

We  keep  ou  liaud  of  our  own  manufacture, 

QUILTS,  COVERLETS, 

COUNTERPANES,  CARPETS, 

Bureau  aud  Tidy  Covers.  Ladies'  Furnishing  Goods,  No- 
tions, etc. 

Particular  attentiou  paid  to  customer  Rag  Carpet,  and 
scoweriug  and  dyeing  of  all  kinds. 

PHILIP  SCHUM,  SON  &  CO.. 

Nov-ly  Lanc:ister,  Pa. 

THE  HOLMAN  LIVER  PADl 

Cures  by  absorptioii  without  medicine. 

Now  is  the  time  io  apply  these  remedies.  They  will  do 
for  you  what  nothing  else  on  earth  cau.  Hundreds  of  citi- 
zens of  Lancaster  s-y  so.     Get  the  genuine  at 

LANCASTER  OFFICE  AND  SALESROOM, 

22  East  Orange  Street. 

Nov-lyr 

C.  R.  KLINE 
)\TTOF(NEY-AT-fjAW, 

OFFICE :    15  NORTH  DUKE  STREET, 

Nov-ly 


The  Lancaster  Farmer. 


Dr.  3.  S.  RATHVON,  Editor. 


LANCASTER,  PA.,  APRIL,  1882. 


Vol.  XI7.  No.  4. 


Editorial. 


ENSILAGE. 

•'  Whatever  is  worth  doing  ;il  all,  is  worth 
doing  well,"  and  this  rule  aiiplies  in  a  very 
>|ii_'eial  sense  to  the  silo  and  ensilaj^e.  It  is 
line,  the  Hubjeet  niaj'  have  been  overestinnit- 
cil,  or  excessively  lauded;  and  it  may  also 
have  been  underesliuialed,  and  needlessly  dis- 
laraged;  but  these  circumstances  ougiit  not  to 
niilitato  against  the  subject  as  a  fundamental 
lirinciple  that  is  capable  of  practical  illustra- 
tion. There  is  a  vast  dillerence  between  aaw- 
kraul  and  ruttoi  cahbufje,  practically;  although 
theoretically,  they  may  be  synonymous. 
Well-made  and  w'ell-preserved  saur-kraut,  is 
healthful  and  nutritious,  and  millions  in  the 
world  subsist  upon  it  during  a  great  part  oi 
the  year,  and  would  experience  a  great  de- 
privation, if  not  a  great  distress,  if  Ihcy  could 
not  obtain  it.  But  rotten  cabbage  is  un- 
healthful,  enervating,  and  the  source  of  stom- 
ach cramps,  inflammation  of  the  bowels, 
diarrha-a,  and  possibly  death.  Doubtless,  for 
lack  i)f  skill,  there  is  a  vast  deal  of  this  spuri- 
ous saur-kraut  made  and  consumed.  Now, 
practically,  ensilage  is  nothing  more  nor  le.SE 
than  a  sort  of  saur-kraut,  made  on  a  large 
scale,  as  food  for  cattle.  If  skillfully  mani- 
pulated, and  systematically  preserved,  cattle 
will  eagerly  appropriate  it,  and  thrive  upon 
it.  The  maker  of  good  and  nutritious  saur- 
kraut,  is  careful  to  exclude  it  from  the  corrod- 
ing and  corrupting  action  of  the  air,  and  in 
proportion  as  he  succeeds  in  this,  in  that  de- 
gree will  he  have  good  and  healthful  saur 
kraut.  The  same  rule  obtains  in  ensilage. 
The  mere  opinions  of  men,  either  ^j/'o  or  con 
on  this  subject,  must  go  for  just  what  they  are 
worth,  whatever  may  be  their  standard  of  in- 
telligence; and  even  where  ensilage  has  been 
tried  and  succeeded,  or  failed,  in  its  results,  it 
may  not  be  sutlicient  to  establish  the  system 
as  a  fixed  fact  in  the  domain  of  domestic 
economy;  much  less  when  such  failure  is  the 
result  of  an  insutticient  or  illy  constructed  .silo. 

It  has  been  alleged  that  caltlc — or  at  least 
some  cattle — will  not  voluntarily  appropriate 
the  contents  of  the  silo,  and  thrive  upon  it, 
unless  it  is  mixed  with  other  kinds  of  food,  as 
a  sort  of  condiment;  but,  admitting  this  to  be 
the  case,  it  does  not  'settle  the  question.'' 
No  one  eais  his  saur-kraut  "naked,"  but  on 
the  contrary,  he  always  accompanies  it  with 
pork,  or  bacon;  but  this  does  not  prove  that 
saur-kraut  is  not  nutritious.  We  presume 
that  the  gastronomical  faculty  in  all  animated 
natiue  is  subject  to  cultivaliou — indeed  we  see 
it  in  many  animals,  (including even  insects)  as 
well  as  in  niiin.  And  esi)ecially  in  ensilage 
has  it  been  demonstrated  during  the  pastyear, 
that  cattle,  which  at  first  rejected  it,  ulti- 
mately became  the  most  lond  of  it.  This  is 
nothing  new. 

Mr.  .S.  S.  Spencer,  whose  model  farm  and 
dairy  is  in  near  proximity  to  the  western 
suburbs  ot  the  City  of  Lancaster,  thoroughly 
tested  the  silo  last  year,  and  ju  every  respect 


the  results  were  satisfactory— indeed,  more 
than  realizing  all  he  anticipated.  But  his  .silo 
was  ineclianically  con.structed,  and  on  philoso- 
phical principles.  His  cattle  consumed  every 
shred  of  its  contents,  and  looked,  and  longed 
for  more;  and  this  year  his  silo  will  be  in- 
creased, at  least  ten-fold.  He  considers  that 
there  is  no  risk  whatever  in  it,  if  the  silo  is 
properly  constructed  and  intelligently  mani- 
pulated. But  this  is  not  all:  his  cattle  thrived 
upon  it,  and  produced  more  and  better  milk, 
cream,  and  butter,  than  on  any  other  kimi  of 
food.  Had  we  heard  or  read  such  testimony 
coming  from  an  unknown  source,  in  view  of 
the  conflicting  experiences  and  oiiinions  pub- 
lished on  the  subject,  possibly  we  might  have 
received  it  with  a  huge  margin  of  doubt;  but 
we  have  it  from  Mr.  Spencer  hiin.self,  and  we 
know  him  to  be  an  intelligent  witness,  and 
one  not  likely  to  continue  long  in  self-decep- 
tion True,  it  might  not  just  suit  every  man 
to  have  a  silo,  nor  might  it  in  every  case  be 
profitable.  Perhaps  to  a  man  possessing  only 
a  single  cow  it  might  not  be  as  profitable  as  it 
would  be  to  the  man  who  owns  a  dozen  cows; 
and  yet  if  a  ([uarter  or  a  half  barrel  of  saur- 
kraut  can  be  preserved  in  a. sound  and  healtiiy 
condition,  there  seems  to  be  no  good  reason 
why  the  same  quantity  of  ensilaged  fodder 
could  not  be  equally  as  easily  ke|)t.  When 
canned  fruits  and  vegetables  were  lirst  intro- 
duced as  an  adjunct  to  domestic  house- 
keeping, innnense  (luantities  were  utterly 
spoiled  and  had  to  be  thrown  away  every 
year,  because  of  the  inexperience  of  tho.se 
who  manipulated  it.  But  this  is  not  the  case 
now;  and  hence,  we  find  the  shelves  of  every 
grocery  filled  with  a  great  variety  of  that 
which  in  the  beginning  was  deemed  impracti- 
cable to  preserve.  Experience  will  doubtless 
work  the  same  results  in  regard  to  ensilage 
and  the  silo. 


APRIL    MEETING. 

For  aught  that  we  know,  and  for  aught  that 
the  Daily  and  Weekly  papers  knew — at  least, 
for  aught  tiat  they  uttered  in  their  columns, 
there  was  no  meeting  of  the  AgriciiUurul  and 
nijrticulturul  Society,  on  the  first  ^Monday  (:5d 
day)  in  April.  True,  there  is  a  law  of  the  So- 
ciety, that  when  New  Year's  day.  First  of 
Ajiril,  Fourth  of  July,  and  any  other  public 
holiday,  occurs  on  the  first  Monday  in  the 
month,  then  the  stated  meeting  of  that  month 
shall  be  held  on  the  second  Monday  in  that 
month,  and  it  shall  be  so  stated,  or  proclaimed, 
at  the  preceding  meeting;  and,  the  object  of 
said  proclamation  was  for  the  purpose  of 
making  a  record  of  it  in  the  proceedings  of 
the  Society,  and  published  with  the  other  pro- 
ceedings, in  order  to  enable  the  members  to 
act  intelligently  on  the  subject.  But,  no 
such  statement  or  proclamation  was  made  at 
the  meeting  held  in  March  last,  unless  it  was 
^^supj:ir(ss(d"  by  the  Reporters,  or  omitted  in 
the  proceedings. 

This  may  have  been  neglect,  forgetfulness, 
or  inadvertence— we  do  iiot  think  it  was  the 


result  of  indifference— but,  under  any  circum- 
stances, it  was  contrary  to  that  good  order 
which  should  di.stinguisli  such  a  society,  or 
any  living  .society. 

When  it  is  necessary  to  omit,  or  dispense 
with  a  meeting  in  any  society,  and  especially 
in  one  which  is  a  "body  politic  in  law,"  a 
record  should  be  made  of  such  omission  or 
dispensation,  to  complete  the  chain  of  its  ex- 
istence; otherwise,  it  will  only  add  to  tlie  apa- 
thy, indifference,  or  lukewarmness,  into  which 
societies  are  liable  to  lapse,  when  no  attention 
is  paid  to  their  organic  laws. 

Attending  the  stated  meetings  of  the  socie- 
ty, and  an  active  iiarticipation  in  its  proceed- 
ings, are  twin  relatives  to  contributing  to  the 
literary  columns  of  its  representative  journal; 
neither  of  which  should  be  neglected  or  ig- 
nored. There  are  societies  and  journals  in 
this  country  which  have  been  in  existence  for 
more  than  half  a  century,  and  it  is  doubtful 
whether  any  one  who  had  ever  been  connected 
with  them,  had  ever  been  socially,  morally,  or 
intellectually  injured  by  such  connections. 
They  may  have  had  onerous  duties  imposed 
upon  them,  or  may  even  have  sustained  pecu- 
niary loss,  but  they  have  been  compen.sated 
by  a  conciousness  of  having  done  .something— 
or  having  endeavored  to  do  something— for  the 
benefit  of  mankind. 

Man,  in  his  normal  condition,isessentiaIIy  a 
gregarious— or;  perhaps  more  properly— a  so- 
cial  creature,  and  when  any  number  of  men  are 
banded  together  under  organic  laws,  for  the 
advancement  of  legitimate  objects  hv  legiti- 
mate means,  they  will  only  be  ultimating  ou 
earth  those  (lualities  which  will  lit  them  for  a 
more  useful  hereafter:  for,  it  seems  totally  at 
variance  with  all  Ave  know  of  the  word  and 
the  works  of  God,  that  that  rest  which  all  seem 
to  covet  in  the  hereafter,  is  a  state  of  inactiv- 
ity, or  .slothful  indolence.  When  a  man  pre- 
fers  haliitual  solitude— all  other  things  being 
equal— depend  upon  it,  there  is  something  de- 
ranged in  his  mental  or  moral  organization. 
He  can  work  out  his  moral  salvation  more 
cfl'ectually  through  .social  intercour.se,  than  he 
can  through  .solitary  seclusion.  Those  who 
are  incapacitated  for  social  intercourse,  through 
physical  or  mental  infirmaties,  arc  more  to  be 
commiserated,  than  enters  into  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  general  run  of  men.  Therefore, 
all  institutions  founded  upon  principles  of 
e(iuity  and  usefulness,  should  keep  their 
organization  intact. 

Another  great  hindrance  to  the  progress 
and  the  thrift  of  societies  is,  that  so  few  enter 
their  inner  temples;  the  larger  number  are 
content  to  hang  on  the  "  ragged  edges"  of 
their  outer  borders.  They  take  a  merely 
temporary  and  irresponsible  view  of  them  in- 
stead of  regarding  them  as  permanent  fixtures. 
A  half-willed  membership  can  only  make  a 
half-hearted  organiziition,  whatever  the  ob- 
jecc  of  the  .so.ciety  muy  be.  "  Whatever  is 
worth  doing  at  all,  is  worth  doing  well,"  ap- 
plies as  forcibly  to  social  organization,  as  it 
does  to  any  other  human  vocation.     Take 


50 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


'[April,  1 


away  all  our  social  and  organic  institutions 
and  we  shall  have  a  poor,  miserable  and  sel- 
fish state  of  society. 

It  is  true,  there  are  many  social  evils  in  the 
world,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  these  will 
bear  the  least  comparison  with  solitary  evils. 
Moral  influence  is  as  likely  to  obtain  through 
social  proximity,  as  immoral.  It  is  certain 
that  no  great  interest  can  be  as  effectually 
advanced  by  individual  effort,  as  it  can  by  a 
unity  of  action. 

"  United  we  stand — divided  we  fall." 


SNAILS  IN   GARDENS. 

Dr.  Rathton  ; — Please  tell  us  in  your  able 
monthly,  The  Lancaster  Farmer,  what  can  be 
done  to  prevent  snails  from  destroyint:  vegetation  iu 
gardens.  I  have  a  garden,  and  in  some  places  they 
destroy  the  vegetation.  Our  cellar  is  also  infested 
with  them,  where  they  destroy  articles  of  food, 
flowers  put  there  for  wintering,  the  labels  on  fruit 
jars,  and  now  they  are  making  their  slimy  trails 
upon  the  kitchen  floor.  We  had  heard  that  salt 
strewed  over  the  ground  would  di.°solve  them,  but  it 
has  been  tried  by  my  wife,  and  did  not  remedy  the 
evil.  .She  is  every  few  days  asking,  "What  shall  I 
do  to  prevent  the  destruction  of  my  plants,  and  the 
cellar  contents,  by  the  nasty,  slimy  snails  ?"  I  hope 
you  will  be  able  to  tell  her  in  your  next  number  of 
The  Farmer  what  to  do.  They  are  beginning  to 
eat  off  the  flower  stalks  in  the  garden  now  already, 
SB  fast  as  they  peep  out  of  the  ground. — /.  F.    Vi'., 

Lancaster,  March  24,  1S82. 

Salt  is  a  very  ancient,  and  generally  con- 
sidered a  sovereign  remedy  for  the  extinction 
of  snails  ;  but  its  power  is  no  more  effectual 
in  snails  than  as  a  means  to  catch  birds,  un- 
less it  is  actually  "dropped  on  their  tails."  We 
never  knew  an  instance  in  which  a  snail  sur- 
vived a  copious  application  of  salt.  Of  course, 
one  grain,  or  a  dozen  grains  of  salt  might  not 
hurt  them  much,  but  under  a  generous  appli- 
cation of  the  saline  mineral  they  invariably 
yield  ;  but  the  salt,  to  be  effectual  at  all,  must 
come  in  actual  and  free  contract  with  them. 
They  will  not  cross  a  trail  of  salt,  but  they 
will  "flank  it,"  if  they  can. 

Snails  are  not  very  rapid  in  their  locomo- 
tion, and  hence  are  easily  surprised,  and 
ic/ie?i  surprised,  they  make  no  attempt  to 
escape.  They  move  cautiously,  protruding 
their  tentaculse,  and  feeling  their  way. 

Snails  are  great  night  prowlers  ;  "they  love 
darkness  rather  than  light :"  that,  is  their 
great  advantage,  and  they  freely  avail  them- 
selves of  it;  but  if,  in  their  peregrinations, 
their  tentaculae  come  in  contact  with  salt, 
they  quickly  draw  them  in,  and  that  is  the 
only  quick  motion  they  are  capable  of.  Make 
a  solid  circle  of  salt  around  any  plant  you 
wish  to  preserve,  and  no  snail  will  approach 
it.  That  is,  however,  only  a  preventive;  if 
you  wish  to  kill  a  snail  outright,  you  must 
put  the  salt  on  its  body  in  sufficient  quantity. 
But  salt  does  not  dissolve  them.  They  are 
very  sensitive,  and  secrete  a  great  deal  of 
mucus  or  slime;  that  is  their  life-function. 
The  salt  contracts  their  pores,  or  organs  of 
secretion,  and  hence  they  die,  but  the  con- 
tracted body  of  the  animal  is  still  there,  al- 
thouifh  greatly  diminished  in  size. 

"Salt-peter  and  burnt  brandy;"  ammonia; 
common  lye;  a  strong  infusion  of  tobacco,  or  a 
solutionof  whale-oil  soap,  will  answer  as  well  as 
salt,  in  destroying  snails.  Pulverized  tobacco, 
(snuff)  coal  oil ;  spirits  of  turpentine;  pulver- 
ized lime,  and  many  other  substances,  includ- 
ing London-purple,  Paris-green  and  Pyre- 
thrum — we  doubt  not,  would  be  equally  effi- 
cacious, but  they  must  be  brought  into  actual 


contact    with     the    body  of     the  offending 
animal. 

Some  species  of  snails  are  very  prolific;  on 
one  occasion  we  counted  one  hundred  and 
fifteen  under  a  flat  stone,  not  more  than  six 
inches  square.  These  were  from  a  grain  of 
powder  to  a  buckshot  in  size — one  of  the 
many  species  belonging  to  the  genus  Helix, 
and  we  have  found  the  common  shelless  spe- 
cies almost  as  numerous. 

Our  premises  were  at  one  time  seriously  in- 
fested with  snails,  and,  we  think,  we  finally  ex- 
tinguished them  by  starvation  and  salt.  Snails 
must  eat  "for  a  living,"  and  if  they  can  get 
nothing  to  eat  they  die.  In  the  house  we 
closed  every  aperture  from  which  a  snail  could 
possibly  emerge,  and  those  that  could  not 
conveniently  be  closed  we  salted,  and  if  they 
issued  from  their  cover  at  night  at  all,  it 
must  have  been  owJside  and  not  inside  of 
the  house. 

Snaile  in  gardens,  may  be  taken  in  various 
kinds  of  traps,  and  then  destroyed  with  hot 
water. 

If  pieces  of  board,  say  a  foet  square,  are  dis- 
tributed through  the  garden,  not  pressed 
down  too  closely  into  the  soil,  the  snails  will 
gather  under  them  before  the  sun  begins  to 
shine  on  them  in  the  morning.  They  do  not 
like  sunshine.  Any  other  object  that  will  af- 
ford a  hiding  place  may  be  as  good  as  a  board. 
If  these  are  carefully  examined  during  the  day 
and  the  snails  killed  there  will  eventually  be 
an  end  of  them.  This  should  be  vigilantly 
continued  as  long  as  any  snails  are  captured. 

Cellars,  with  rough  walls  and  numerous  re- 
cesses, afford  many  hiding  places  for  snails. 
Cellars  should  receive  at  lea.st  one  good  coat  of 
plaster,  to  prevent  the  harboring  ot  rats,  mice, 
and  snails  in  their  walls.  Old  neglected  cellars 
are  prolific  breeding  places  for  snails,  and 
other  nocturnal  species  of  vermin.  One  person 
may  be  greatly  annoyed  by  snails,  and  his 
next  door  neighbor  may  have  none  of  them, 
because  he  may  have  no  harboring  places  for 
them. 

Snails  have  many  natural  enemies  that 
feed  on  them;  chickens,  birds,  ducks,  skunks 
and  pigs,  are  very  fond  of  them.  They  are 
al.so  destroyed  by  nighi-roviug  beetles,  and 
their  larvae..  Both  the  imago  and  the  lurvce  of 
the  Lampyrid^  or  "Fire-fly"  family. — 
(Lightning-bugs)  prey  upon  them.  We  have 
known  a  species  of  Telephorus  to  attack  the 
common  Helix,  and  "clean  out"  the  whole 
shell.  Mr.  Hensel  informs  me  that  he  saw 
nearly  one  hundred  of  these  insects  attack  a 
large  species  of  Helix  in  his  garden,  and  they 
did  not  abandon  it  until  they  had  eaten  out 
the  whole  animal,  and  left  nothing  but  the 
empty  shell. 

In  mentioning  the  word  shell,  be  it  under- 
stood, that  there  are  some  species  of  snails 
that  never  have  a  shell,  or  if  they  have,  it  is 
too  small  to  be  readily  seen.  Others  have  a 
small  scale-like  shell,  that  does  not  seem  to 
be  of  any  use,  as  a  protection  to  the  animal  ; 
but  others  again  have  an  ample  and  well  de- 
veloped shell,  and  into  which  they  retire, 
whenever  they  are  molested.  Finally,  in 
France  and  Germany,  they  breed,  feed  and 
rear  snails  for  the  table,  and  they  esteem 
them  as  much  as  we  do  oysters.  Why  not 
take  a  hint  from  this  ?  one  is  as  much  of  a 
iiwllusk  as  the  other. 


KITCHEN-GARDEN   FOR  APRIL. 

In  the  Middle  States,  now  is  the  time  to 
plant  and  sow,  if  we  would  hope  to  reap. 
Those  of  us  who  do  not  avail  of  the  present, 
need  not  expect  to  profit  in  the  future. 

The  exact  time,  however,  in  which  certain 
seeds  should  be  sown  must  depend  not  only  ' 
on  location  in  respect  to  latitude,  but  also  on 
the  nature  of  the  soil ;  if  it  be  heavy,  a  little 
delay  will  rather  promote  than  retard  our  ob- 
ject. It  is  impracticable,  under  any  circum- 
stances, to  always  give  undeviating  directions 
— the  common  sense  of  each  one  must  be 
brought  in  requisition. 

Asparagus  sow  ;  or  plant  roots,  if  not  at- 
tended to  last  month.  This  vegetable  is  now 
coming  into  season.  Wherever  practicable,  a 
bed  of  sufficient  size  should  be  permitted  to 
afford  an  ample  supply  without  cutting  every 
feeble  root  which  peeps  above  the  surface  ; 
indeed,  wherever  space  and  means  admit,  two 
beds  should  be  maintained,  and  cut  alternate 
seasons.  The  colossal  asparagus  appears  to 
sustain  its  reputation.  Beans,  bush  or  bunch, 
sow.  Broccoli,  "Large  Early  White,"  is  very 
fine.  Beets,  early  and  long,  sow.  Cabbage, 
Drumhead  and  Flat  Dutch,  sow  freely,  that 
there  be  enough  for  the  fly  and  to  plant ;  also 
other  sorts  described  in  catalogues,  which  will 
afford  an  uninterrupted  succession,  so  desira- 
ble in  every  country  family.  Carrots,  Early 
Horn,  and  Long  Orange,  sow.  Caulifiowcr, 
late,  sow.  Celery,  sow,  if  not  sown  last 
month.  Cress,  sow.  Cucumber,  Early  Frame, 
sow,  in  warm  spot.  Horse-radish,  plant,  if 
not  done.  Hot-beds  attend  to.  Leek,  sow. 
Lettuce  sow  in  drills,  also  plant  from  beds  of 
last  autumn's  sowing.  Marjorum,  sweet,  sow. 
Mustard,  for  salad,  sow.  Nasturtiums,  sow. 
Onions,  Buttons,  for  table  use,  plant,  and  sow 
thickly  for  sets.  Parsley,  sow.  Parsnips, 
sugar,  sow.  Peas,  early  and  late,  for  a  suc- 
cession, sow.  Potatoes,  plant  plenty  of  the 
Early  Rose  for  the  main  supply  during  sum- 
mer and  autumn.  Badish,  I^ong  .Scarlet,  and 
white  and  red  turnip,  sow,  if  not  already 
sown  ;  also  the  Golden  Globe  and  White 
Summer,  for  succession.  Salisfy,  sow.  Sage, 
sow  or  plant.  Tomato,  sow,  to  succeed  those 
sown  in  hot-beds.  Spinach,  Bloomsdale,  sow 
at  short  intervals.     Thyme,  sow  or  plant. 

Turnips  sow,  if  not  sown  last  month — they 
may  succeed.  In  short,  this  is  the  season  for 
the  main  sowing  and  planting  in  the  middle 
States.  A  small  exiienditure  of  time  will 
yield  large  results. — Landreth''s  Bural  Beg- 
ister. 

The  next  thing  in  importance  to  timely 
sowing  and  planting,  is  good  seeds,  if  it  is  net 
an  absolute  jjre-requisite:  for,  we  cannot  rea- 
sonably expect  to  reap  aught  except  that  we 
sow.  It  is  also  a  matter  of  some  importance 
to  sow  such  seeds  as  are  adapted  to  the  soil 
and  the  latitude  of  the  locality  where  they 
are  sown.  No  prudent  man  would  plant 
leuions,  oranges  and  bananas  iu  the  Arctic 
regions. 

Landreth's  '■"nriejinal  sealed  packages''''  of 
seeds, are  perhaps  the  most  reliable  and  conve- 
nient form  in  which  they  could  possibly  be 
presented  to  the  public,  and  these  can  be  ob" 
tained  not  only  of  Landretlis  them.selves,  but 
at  almost  every  .seed  store  in  the  Union. 
Of  course,  there  are  also  other  good  seedsmen 
and  good  seeds  iu  the  country,but  it  would  ap- 


1882,] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


51 


pear  natural  tliat  Pennsylvaiiians,  and  espe- 
cially Lancaster  count ians,  sliould  (iblaiii 
soeils  firowu  within  their  own  belt  of  latitude. 
Tliose  living  in  a  district  where  certain  seeds, 
fruits,  roots  and  tubers  are  cultivated  and 
matured,  would  bo  more  likely  to  succeed 
with  such,  than  with  those  grown  and  matur- 
ed in  a  (liffercnl  latituile  ;  and  this  relates  not 
only  to  htlitiuh,  but  also  in  a  greater  or  lesser 
degree  to  hiiijitude.  There  are  still  some 
people  who  have  an  aversion  (o— if  not  a  pre- 
judice cujaiunt  "Book-farming,"  and  "Book- 
gardening  ;"  and  those  people  will  condescend 
to  follow  the  directions  on  a  package  of  seeds 
(just  as  they  follow  the  directions  on  a  pack- 
age or  bottle  of  patent  medicine)  who  would 
not  go  to  the  trouble  of  looking  into  a  book  ; 
and  these  "sealed  packages"  may  furnish 
about  all  the  garden  literature  that  such 
people  will  patronize. 

But,  that  is  not  all  there  is  of  it.  There  are 
many  people  who  absolutely  have  not  the 
time  to  pore  over  a  book,  even  if  they  possess- 
ed one:  or,  if  in  the  form  of  a  periodical,  it 
may  not  have  been  bound,  and  the  particular 
number  wanted  may  not  just  be  at  hand- 
hence  when  the  season  is  at  hand,  and  they 
possess  a  sealed  package  of  seeds,  with  special 
directions  for  its  use,  they  will  know  exactly 
what  to  do  with  it. 


PHENOMENAL. 


White  Spotted   Tobacco. 

Mr.  Morris  C4erschel  rc-cenllv  left  at  the 
Lancaster  Intelligencer  ollice  a  leaf  of  tobacco 
that  was  very  peculiarly  marked  witli  white 
spot*  and  tracings,  some  of  the  lines  being  as 
beantit'ully  ciuved  and  zigzagL'ed  as  if  they 
had  bi  en  worked  by  some  deft  embroiderer. 
We  handed  the  leaf  to  Dr.  S.  S.  Rathvon,  of  the 
I>.\NC.\sTEK  Faumeh,  with  a  request  that  he 
would  examine  and  report  u|)on  it.  He 
kindly  furnishes  the  following  paper  : — Ed. 
Intilli(j(ncer. 

White-Spotted  Tobacco. 

White- spotted,  like  white-veined  tobacco,  is 
a  phenomenon  that  comes  distinctly  within 
the  scope  of  vegetable  physiology  ;  and  is  the 
eft'ect  of  a  subtle  cause  or  causes,  about  which 
there  aie  various  theories  and  opinions,  even 
among  intelligent  and  experienced  tobacco 
growers.  I  sm  sure  I  noticed  white-spotted 
cigars  more  than  fifty  years  ago,  and  they 
were  generally  esteemed  the  best  of  cigars.  I 
sujiposed  then,  that  the  si)ots  had  been  pro- 
duced by  artilicial  means,  because  there  were 
pecidiar  brands  and  boxes  of  them,  all  of 
wliich  were  more  or  less  spotted — if,  indeed, 
they  were  not  fashionable.  Perhaps,  before 
the  tobacco  grower  deplores  the  ])resence  of 
white  spots,  he  should  submit  his  leaf  to  com- 
petent manufacturers,  in  order  to  learn  to 
what  e.Klent  the  woed  is  injured  by  the  pres- 
ence of  white  spots.  Perhaps,  after  all,  the 
spots  may  be  as  conventional  as  those  which 
sometimes  occur  on  Berkshire  pigs;  which,  al- 
though depreciating  the  extrinsic  value  of  the 
animal,  cannot  possibly  injure  the  quality  of 
the  pmk. 

Neither  white-spotted,  nor  white-veined  to- 
bacco is  therefore  anything  new,  and  may  be 
present  every  year  in  some  part  of  the  country 
where  tobacco  is  grown,  although  there  may 
be  certain  years  in  which  it  may  be  more 
abundant  than  in  other  years. 

It    would    be    fortunate    for    the  tobacco 


grower  if  spotted  tobacco  and  spotted  cigars 
could  be  raised  to  the  dignity  of  fashion,  i)ro- 
viiled  the  spotted  crop  and  the  fa.shion  were 
coincidental  events  ;  it  would  afford  the  deal- 
ers less  opportunity  to  get  the  goods  at  prices 
below  their  real  value,  merely  on  account  o*^ 
the  spots. 

Being  a  iihysiological  question  then,  the 
subject  can  only  be  elucidated  through  physio- 
logical laws  and  principles,  and  this  being 
the  case,  I  confess  the  subject  is  "too  high 
for  me  ;"  because,  having  no  practical  ex- 
perience in  vegetable  i)hysiology,  I  could,  at 
best,  only  advance  the  experiences  and  tlieo- 
reti('al  deductions  of  others,  with  very  limited 
corroborations  of  my  own.  I  may  be  jier- 
raitted  to  say,  however,  that  the  difference 
between  white  spots  and  white  veins  may  not 
be  so  great  as  appears  from  a  superficial  view 
of  the  subject. 

For  instance,  we  cainiot  prick  our  Ijodies 
anywhere  with  a  flue  needle,  but  whatasmall 
globule  of  blood  will  exude  from  the  woimd; 
and  this  is  also  the  case  with  succulent  vege- 
tation. If  we  closely  examine  a  skeletonizeil 
leaf  or  plant,  we  will  lind  that  the  whole  disk 
is  penetrated  l)y  innumerable  nerves,  nerviires 
and  nervelets,  all  of  which  have  their  absorb- 
ing and  secreting  functions  ;  so  that  we  could 
hardly  puncture  it  anywhere  without  ruptur- 
ing one  or  more  of  these  delicate  organs  ; 
hence,  if  the  phenomenon  is  the  effect  of  en- 
ervated circulation,  which  has  been  brought 
a!>out  by  drouth  or  other  weather  contingen- 
cies, or  by  soil  conditions,  as  is  alleged,  it  is 
as  likely  to  manifest  itself  among  the  smaller 
nervures  as  among  the  larger  ones. 

I  have  now  before  me  a  tobacco  leaf  from 
Mr.  Morris  Gerscliel,  of  the  firm  of  Ger.schel 
&  Bro.,  tobacco  packers,  also  three  leaves 
from  Mr.  William  Roeting,  of  Elizabethtown, 
all  of  which  are  singularly  marked  with  white, 
leathery  spots,  dots,  rings  and  zigzag  lines  ; 
some  of  them  like  miniature  streaks  of  "chain 
lightning,"  or  Egyptian  hieroglyphics;  and 
there  does  not  seem  to  be  any  visible  connec- 
tion between  these  markings  and  the  "mid 
rib,"  the  lateral  ribs,  or  any  of  the  prominent 
veins  or  nervures  ;  hence  it  cannot  be  classed 
with  white-veined  tobacco. 

Whilst  manipulating  these  leaves  in  a  moist 
condition,  in  order  to  expand  thcra,  I  was 
particularly  impressed  with  their  peculiar 
fragrance,  especially  those  from  ^Ir.  Roeting, 
which  arc  also  smaller  in  size  and  darker  in 
color  than  that  from  Mr.  Gerschel.  and  I  can- 
not conceive  that  they  are  really  injured  by 
these  peculiar  markings,  although  they  may 
affect  their  market  value.  On  one  of  the 
leaves  from  Mr.  Roeting  the  markings  are 
much  bolder,  broader  and  more  emphatic 
than  the  markings  of  any  of  the  other  leaves 
— indeed,  no  two  of  them  arealike,  the  whole 
presenting  an  almost  kaleidoscoi)ic  variety, 
and,  if  such  effects  could  be  produced  artifi- 
cially, I  don't  see  why  tobacco  might  not  be 
cidtivated  as  an  ornamental  plant,  the  same 
as  the  colias,  calladimus  and  begonias,  or  the 
variegated  grasses,  and  such  like. 

By  the  introduction  of  certain  chemical 
substances  into  the  soil,  botanical  exi>erimen- 
ters  have  been  able  to  produce  visible  effects 
upon  the  leaves  and  flowers  of  plants  ;  and,  it 
is  very  probable  that  these  markings  have 
been  produced  through  a  diversion,  or  wrong 


direction  of  the  sap-flow.  A  similar  diver- 
sion or  misdirection  of  the  flidd  circulation  of 
plants,  including  trees  and  shrubbery,  often 
develops  discoloration  of  the  leaves,  protuber- 
ances, concavities,  curled  leaf,  wrinkles,  ex- 
crescences and  numerous  other  outward  mani- 
festations. Analogous  effects  are  produced 
by  minute  insects,  in  the  form  of  an  endless 
variety  of  galls,  and  also  by  bacteriaiue  fungi. 
As  already  intimated,  I  cannot  hazard  a 
theory  of  even  suflieient  outline  to  embrace 
this  subject  in  a  specific  sense,  and  probably 
it  will  never  be  understood  until  some  pro- 
gressive tobacco  cidturist  or  vegelat)le  physi- 
ologist discovers  how  to  produce  these  mark- 
ings by  artificial  cultivation,  or  chemical  ap- 
plications. 

In  conclusion  allow  me  to  refer  the  reader 
to  page  20  (.January  number)  of  the  Lancas- 
TKH  Fahmkk  for  1882,  where  may  be  found  a 
paper  by  E.  K.  Ilershey,  of  C'reswell,  Lan- 
caster county,  on  the  causes  of  "white  veins  in 
tobacco,"  which  Mr.  II.  very  plausibly  re- 
gards as  a  disease  engendered  by  meteorolo- 
gical conditions,  operating  upon  the  soil,  or  a 
sort  of  starvation  of  tlie  plants  through  the 
I)revailing  droughts.  In  the  same  number  of 
the  Farmer,  page  29,  is  a  pai)er  on  the  same 
subject,  read  by  Mr.  Hebron  Ilcrr  before  the 
Lancaster  County  Agricultural  and  Horti- 
cultural Society  at  its  .January  meeting,  1882, 
in  which  Mr.  Ilerr  takes  ground  similar  to 
that  of  Mr.  Ilershey,  and  nearly  all  who  par- 
ticipated in  the  discussion  coincided  in  senti- 
ment with  the  es.say.  Of  course  both  papers 
present  maiidy  theories  with  such  shadows  of 
fact  as  their  experiences  have  been  able  to  re- 
flect upou  the  subject,  but  I  think  both  papers 
point  in  the  right  direetiin  )(]■  tie  caiee 
the  phenomenon,  and  J  am  pietty  sure  that 
can  pcint  no  nearer  specifi  cal  y.  fiom  nil  th 
has  come  under  my  observation  on  such  a 
complicated  subject.     The  three   city  dailies 

of  that  date  all  contain  Mr.  Herr's  paper. 

^ 

EATING  BETWEEN  MEALS. 

If  your  children  are  dispo.sed  to  be  greedy 
and  desire  food  between  meals,  reason  with 
them  on  the  subject.  A  woman  who  has  even 
a  very  supirlicial  knowledge  of  the  working 
of  the  stomach,  can  explain  it  to  Inr  child  in 
such  a  way  that  it  will  make  a  strong  impres- 
sion upon  liis  mind.  To  represent  to  an  im- 
aginative chdd  that  the  stomach  is  like  a  man 
who,  when  he  has  eaten  his  breakfast,  goes  to 
work  upon  that  with  all  his  might,  and  who 
docs  not  rest  till  he  has  ground  the  food  up, 
and  given  the  good  )iart  to  the  blood,  so  feed- 
ing each  portion  of  the  body,  not  forgetting 
the  fingers  and  toes  even,  and  who  rejects  afl 
the  bad,  keeping  you  from  sickness  and  pain 
will  awaken  intense  interest  in  the  child's 
mind  and  be  a  great  aid  to  obedience.  Put  it 
before  him,  and  ask  him  if  it  is  not  inikind 
and  c>'cn  cruel  to  <;ive  out  another  task  be- 
fore the  first  is  finished  and  a  little  time  for 
rest  been  given.  It  will  help  you  greatly  in 
enforcinsr  it  upon  his  mind  that  he  must  not 
eat  at  irregular  intervals.  A  diild's  diges- 
tive organs  may  be  weak  ;  he  may  need  to 
eat  more  frecpienfly  than  a  grown  person,  but 
it  should  invariably  be  at  some  stated  time. 
Cake  or  i»astry  should  be  given  him  but  sel- 
dom, if  at  all  ;  there  is  nothing  which  is  more 
ruinous  to  the  digestive  organs. 

We  have  often  been  "poo  jioo'd"  for  enter- 
taining, and  acting,  on  jirinciples  akin  to 
those  expressed  in  the  above  paragraph,  by 
pereons  of  acknowledged  toisdom,  on  all  other 
subjects — persons  of  no  mean  moral  and  in- 
tellectual standing,  either.     We  were  in  har- 


52 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[April, 


mouy  with  them  on  pretty  much  all  subjects 
save  eatiug.  No  man,  no  matter  how  healthy, 
robust  or  physicall}'  strong  he  is,  can  afford  to 
impose  upon  his  organization  by  forming  a 
habit  of  indiscriminate  eating.  Nor  can  he 
do  so  with  impunity,  for  he  will  be  drawing 
drafts  upon  his  physical  constitution  that 
must  some  day  be  paid,  whether  that  day 
matures  "sooner  or  later."  True,  he  may 
claim  that  "he  knows  himself" — that  he 
knows  exactly  what  to  do,  and  what  to  leave 
undone — in  which  he  is  liable  to  be  mistaken 
— and  that  with  him  it  makes  no  difference  at 
all  when,  where,  what  and  how  he  eats.  As 
a  nation,  it  is  said  that  Americans  eat  too 
rapidly ;  do  not  sufficiently  masticate  their  food ; 
eat  too  irregular,  and  too  large  a  quantity  at 
a  time.  Be  this  as  it  may.  It  is  not  the  quan- 
tity, nor  yet  always  the  quality  of  the  food  we 
eat,  that  furnishes  the  greatest  nourishment 
to  the  human  system  ;  but  the  amount  that  is 
assimilated  ;  and  assimilation  is  a  process 
that  is  subordinate  to  physiological  laws  ; 
and,  whatever  hinders,  retards,  or  subverts 
the  proper  execution  of  those  laws,  in  a  de- 
gree defeats  assimilation;  and,  instead  of 
food  being  a  physical  support,  it  becomes  a 
physical  burden.  Man  may  accustom  himself 
to  eat  but  one  meal  a  day  (although  we  hardly 
think  it  advisable)  or  two,  three,  four,  or 
even  five  meals  in  a  day ;  provided  he  eats 
them  at  regular  periods,  in  reasonable  quantity, 
and  properly  masticated,  and  also  eats  noth- 
ing between  meals,  the  diflferent  number  of 
daily  meals  may  not  materially  affect  the 
general  health  of  the  man.  In  other  words, 
if  it  requires  ten  pounds  of  food,  daily,  to 
support  a  man,  it  perhaps  would  be  little 
matter  whether  he  ate  it  in  one  meal,  or  five 
meals,  provided  he  ate  it  at  regular  periods, 
and  did  not  exceed  the  daily  amount  of  ten 
pounds.  But  if  he  ate  ten  pounds  twice, 
thrice,  four  times,  or  five  times  a  day,  when 
he  really  only  required  ten  i)ounds  in  all,  it 
seems  clear  that  he  could  not  possibly  assimi- 
late it,  and  hence  all  over  the  ten  pounds 
would  be  a  "dead  weight,"  and  hence  an  in- 
jury. 

.Judging  from  outward  appearances  alone,  it 
would  seem  that  there  are  many  people  in  the 
world  who  do  not  recognize,  or  are  perfectly 
oblivious  to  the  fact,  that  the  human  body  is 
governed  by  fixed  laws— that  it  is,  as  it  were, 
a  niaclmie,  which  will  endure  for  a  longer 
period,  and  more  efficiently,  when  inoperly 
used,  than  it  will  when  improperly  abused ; 
and  perhaps  the  haliit  of  eating  hetwem 
meals  is  more  injurious  than  "gormandiz- 
ing" at  meals.  If  the  human  stomach  was 
endowed  with  speech,  it  doubtless  would 
make  many  "awful  complaint.s"  against  ty- 
rannical masters,  for  the  heavy  burdens  im- 
posed upon  it.  If  it  were  a  copper-lined  tub, 
into  whicli  all  manner  of  food-substances  were 
thrown— Dutch  cheese,  bologna  sausages, 
salted  herring,  mince  pies,  orange  peal,  fat 
pork,  cocoa  crumbs,  raw  onions,  saur-kraut, 
and  a  hundred  other  things— almost  every 
moment  during  the  day,  expecting  to  form 
healthy  food  out  of  it,  there  would  be  as  lit- 
tle good  to  hope  from  it,  as  there  is  from  the 
heterogeneous  mass  of  "all  sorts"  that  is 
forced  into  the  human  stomach  every  hour  of 
the  day,  by  many  untimely  and  indiscriminate 
eaters.     Perhaps  the  health,   happiness  and 


prosperity  of  all  animated  nature,  including 
the  human  family,  depends  more  upon  eating 
than  upon  any  one  other  thing  in  life's  opera- 
tions, and  perhaps,  also,  man  is  the  only  be- 
ing that  does  not  eat  habitually,  "in  decency 
and  in  order  "  ;  and  yet,  it  is  a  self-evident 
faet,  that  he  cannot  long  exist  usefully  witli- 
out  eating.  We  are  admonished  that  we 
should  "eat  and  drink  to  the  glory  of  God," 
and  it  is,  perhaps,  the  only  thing  in  which  we 
are  the  least  subordinate  to  the  laws  of  God. 
We  are  not  willing  to  allow  the  stomach  rest, 
or  time  for  digestion  and  assimilation,  but 
continue  to  impose  upon  it  one  burden  after 
another  in  rapid  succession,  before  it  has  had 
time  to  dispose  of  its  first  burden. 

Of  course,  something  depends  upon  human 
exercise  and  occupation.  The  man  who  has 
much  rugged,  active  and  wearing  exercise,  is 
likely  to  have  a  better  appetite,  better  diges- 
tion and  assimilation  than  the  man  of  seden- 
tary or  indiscriminate  habits,  and  what  might 
affect  the  latter  injuriously,  would  have  a  dif- 
ferent efl'ect  upon  the  former  ;  but  we  cannot 
always  know  the  evil  effects  of  abusive  eating, 
or  any  other  debauch,  immediately  after  in- 
dulgence in  it.  These  evil  eftects  sometimes 
only  manifest  themselves  long  after  the  wan- 
ton indulgence,  when  the  physical  energies 
become  weakened  by  age.  Then,  when  we 
have  learned  through  stern  experience,  wo 
wonder  we  could  not  have  seen  the  folly  while 
we  were  yet  in  the  prime  of  life. 

EXCERPTS. 

Dr.  M.  S.  Leslie,  of  Lexington,  Ky.,  says 
that  the  best  remedy  in  ordinary  hiccoughs  is 
about  twenty-flve  grains  of  common  table  salt 
placed  in  the  mouth  and  swallowed  with  a 
sip  of  water. 

The  pine  forests  discovered  lately  in  the 
Province  of  Ontario  are  now  estimated  to 
yield  24,000,000,000  feet  of  timber,  which  can 
easily  be  brought  to  market. 

A  few  drops  of  ammonia  added  to  a  gallon 
of  water  and  applied  once  a  week  to  all  pots 
of  flowers  will  do  much  good  and  keep  the 
pots  and  earth  from  souring. 

Never  wear  a  good  woolen  dress  into  the 
kitchen  without  the  protection  of  a  large 
apron. 

No  flannel  that  has  not  been  carefully 
washed,  and  is  not  perfectly  soft  and  fleecy, 
should  ever  touch  the  skin  of  an  infant. 

Your  fat  must  be  boiling  when  you  put 
your  meat  in  it  to  fry. 

"Middlings"  flour  contain  the  best  elements 
of  wheat. 

Slow  and  long  cooking  will  make  tough 
meat  tender. 

There  were  zoological  gardens  in  China 
lyore  than  two  thousand  years  ago. 

The  use  of  green  or  damp  fuel  'of  any  sort 
is  very  unprofitable.  A  large  amount  of  the 
heat  wliicli  it  would  yield,  if  dry,  is  absorbed 
and  lost  in  the  evaporation  of  the  sap  or 
moisture. 

Dr.  Luton,  of  Rheims,  reports  that  he  has 
discovered  that  the  ergot  of  rye  associated 
with  phosphate  of  soda  produces  on  those  to 
whom  it  is  administered  a  hilarious  excite- 
ment similar  to  that  which  is  brought  on  by 
laughing  gas, 


When  oil  is  heated  sufficiently  in  a  closed 
vessel,  from  which  the  air  is  excluded,  it 
turns  to  gas,  which  occupies  many  times  the 
bulk  that  the  oil  did.  This  is  the  philosophy 
of  pop-corn  and  explains  its  tendency  to  burst 
into  curious  forms  on  being  roasted. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  American  Association 
of  Window  Glass  Manufacturers  lately,  in 
Washington,  the  product  of  the  past  year  was 
reported  to  have  been  nearly  2,250.000  boxes, 
valued  at  about  $6,000,000.  Tlie  demand  for 
consumption  has  taken  the  entire  product. 

The  Prefetti  of  Italy  have  been  Instructed 
to  use  all  their  influence  to  prevent  laborers 
from  going  out  to  Panama.  There  are  more 
men  on  the  isthmus  already  than  can  be  em- 
ployed and  it  is  the  intention  of  those  in 
charge  of  the  canal  excavation  to  depend 
mainly  on  Chinamen. 

Chloral  hydrate  has  proved  an  efficient  anti- 
dote in  several  recently  reported  cases  of  se- 
vere poisoning  by  belladona  in  England. 

Charred  corn  is  one  of  the  best  things  which 
can  be  fed  to  hens  to  make  them  lay,  not  as  a 
regular  diet,  but  in  limited  quantities  each 
day. 

It  costs  but  very  little  per  head  to  raise 
sheep.  Not  only  will  they  pay  as  farm  stock, 
but  as  is  commonly  known,  sheep  restore  fer- 
tility to  land. 

Anybody  can  have  grape  vines  by  cutting 
them  properly.  Trim  off  a  portion  of  the  old 
vine  and  leave  a  bud  at  each  end.  Stick  one 
end  in  the  ground  and  it  will  take  root. 

Strawberry  plants  should  be  set  out  as  early 
in  the  season  as  possible  in  order  to  avoid  a 
dry  spell.  Nothing  is  so  fatal  to  young  plants 
as  lack  of  moisture  after  being  transplanted. 

In  breeding  fowls  for  eggs,  use  the  Leghorns, 
Houdans,  Black  Spanish  and  Hamburgs — non- 
setters.  For  market  chicks,  the  Plymouth 
Rocks,  Brahmas  and  Cochins  should  be  tried. 

Those  feeding  bran  should  not  lose  sight  of 
the  fact  that  wheat  ground  by  the  "new  pro- 
cess" converts  the  best  part  of  the  bran  into 
flour,  and  what  is  left  is  of  but  little  value  as 
cattle  food. 

One  cow  well  fed  and  comfortably  cared  for 
will  produce  quite  as  much  milk  and  butter  as 
two  that  are  allowed  to  run  at  large,  lie  on 
the  wet  ground  and  be  subject  to  the  expos- 
ure of  the  weather. 

An  application  of  100  pounds  of  nitrate  of 
soda  to  an  acre  of  wheat,  where  the  crop  looks 
weak,  will  show  its  benefit  in  a  few  days,  not 
only  improving  it  in  growth  but  largely  in- 
creasing the  yield. 

Ensilage  is  nothing  new,  as  far  as  preserva- 
tion is  concerned.  It  is  simply  keejting  gi'een 
food  through  the  winter  by  the  exclusion  of 
air.  It  is  on  the  same  principle  as  cauning, 
only  on  a  larger  scale. 

Onions  are  the  first  vegetables  that  get  in 
the  ground.  Tlie  land  should  be  very  rich. 
Tliey  can  be  grown  in  tlie  same  place  every 
year,  as  they  are  very  nearly  equally  propor- 
tioned in  the  constituent  elements  derived 
from  the  soil. 

Alum  water  is  recommended  for  preventing 
bugs  and  worms  from  infesting  flour  mills. 
Dissolve  two  pounds  of  alum  in  three  quarts 
of  warm  water  and  supply  with  a  brush  to 
crevices  where  insects  m^y  be  concealed. 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


53 


The  best  disinfecting  agents,  according  to 
Mr.  W.  M.  Ilatnlet,  are  in  general  those  ca- 
pable of  exerting  an  immediate  and  powerful 
oxidizing  .action,  and  that  it  is  active  oxygen, 
whether  from  the  action  of  chlorine,  nitric 
oxide,  or  hydrogen  peroxide,  which  must  be 
regarded  as  the  greatest  known  enemy  to 
bacterial  life. 

Gas-fitters  have  recently  made  a  most  use- 
ful application  of  photography.  They  photo- 
graph the  gas  llames  given  by  dill'erent  burn- 
ers or  jets  so  that  a  customer  can  see  if  the 
shape  and  form  of  a  light  will  suit  him  before 
he  gives  his  order.  As  the  flames  are  more- 
over depicted  "life-size"  the  purcliaser  can 
always  tell  whether  his  jet  is  up  to  the  stand- 
ard. 

It  is  suggested,  with  a  view  of  avoiding  the 
bursting  of  water-pipes  by  freezing,  to  make 
tliem  elliptical  in  section.  As  the  water  ex- 
pands to  form  ice,  it  will  alter  the  shape  of 
the  pipe,  causing  it  to  become  circular  in  sec- 
tion, and  therefore  giving  more  room  for  tlie 
ice.  It  is  proposed  to  sqeeze  the  pipes  into 
their  original  shape,  when,  by  a  succession  of 
frosts,  they  have  been  rounded. 

Lcs  Miindcs  reports  that  M.  Bufoureet  has 
in  the  exposed  court  of  his  house  two  bars  of 
iron  planted  in  the  earth,  to  each  of  which  is 
fixed  a  conductor  of  coaled  wire  terminating 
in  a  telephonic  receiver.  He  consults  the  ap- 
paratus twice  or  thrice  every  day,  and  it 
never  fails  through  its  indications  of  earth 
currents  to  give  notice  of  the  approach  of  a 
storm  twelve  or  fifteen  hours  before  it  actually 
arrives. 

In  Reiraann's  process  for  rendering  cloth 
water  proof  the  fabric  is  passed  slowly  by 
machinery  through  a  tank  divided  into  three 
compartments,  the  fiyst  containing  a  warm 
solution  of  alum,  the  second  a  warm  solution 
of  lead  acetate,  and  the  third  pure  water, 
which  is  constantly  renewed.  The  cloth  on 
passing  from  the  latter  is  brushed  and  beaten 
to  remove  the  salt  adhering  to  the  surface, 
and  finally  hot-pressed  and  brushed.  In  this 
«ase  lead  sulphate  is  deposited  on  the  fibres. 

Steel  tools  should  never  be  heated  either 
for  forging  or  tempering,  in  a  fresh  fire,  unless 
dt  be  charcoal.  If  coke  is  not  at  hand  the 
fire  should  be  allowed  to  burn  until  all  the 
gas  is  burned  out  of  the  coal  before  the  steel 
is  introduced. 

Some  farmers  think  that  a  cow  must  eat  all 
the  time  when  confined  in  the  stall.  It  is  a 
poor  economy  which  puts  fresh  hay  into  a 
manger  on  the  top  of  older  hay.  A  little 
tossing  ol'  the  hay  left  in  the  manger  will  dry 
it  and  make  it  seem  of  renewed  niceness  to 
cows  or  horses. 

Occasional  sowing  of  little  patches  of  ground 
with  mustard,  green  peas,  oats,  etc.,  will  do 
much  to  assist  in  keeping  a  cow  on  a  small 
farm.  They  grow  quickly  and  the  same  land 
will  give  several  crops.  A  little  discretion  in 
tills  way  will  save  much  expense  as  to  keep  as 
well  as  furnishing  early  green  feed. 

Green  peas  are  early  crops.  Most  persons 
prefer  the  dwarfs,  but  the  tall  varieties  yield 
better.  A  fault  with  the  dwarfs  is  that  they 
furnish  families  growing  them  with  such  few 
pickings.  This  is  because  they  ripen  nearly 
all  at  once.     The  better  plan  is  to  pnt  them 


in  the  ground  at  intervals  for  a  succession  of 
crops. 

What  a  Railroad  Car  will  Hold. 
Taking  2(5,000  pounds  as  a  fair  average 
load  the  ordinary  railroad  freight  car  will 
hold:  Corn,  4.")0  bushels  ;  barley,  400  bushels  ; 
oats,  H0(»  bushels;  rye,  400  bushels;  wheat,  42.'! 
bushels;  bran,  1,000  bushels;  flaxseed,  000 
bushels;  apples,  360  bushels;  potatoes,  480 
whisky,  fiO  barrels;  salt,  70  barrels;  Hour,  90 
barrels;  llour,  200  sacks;  cattle,  KJ  liead;hogs, 
")(!  head;  sneep,  30  head;  hard  wood,  G  cords; 
.soft  wood,  7  cords  ;  solid  boards,  0,000  feet  ; 
shingles,  40,000;  hard  lumber,  20,000  feet; 
green  lumber,  l.'>,000  feet ;  joist,  scattering 
and  large  lumber,  4,000  feet. 


Essays. 


P'RUIT  AND   VEGETABLES.- 
CULTURE.* 


-THEIR 


Mr.  President: — As  we  have  met  once 
more  to  have  a  friendly  talk  on  fruit,  its 
([ualities  and  cultivation,  I  will  give  some  of 
my  experience.  With  persons  of  experience 
as  well  as  with  beginners,  it  is  very  dilticult  to 
know  what  to  select,  as  there  are  so  many 
kinds  ill  the  market  and  each  person  thinks  he 
he  has  the  best  varieties.  There  is  also  such 
a  quantity  of  fine  fruit  brought  in  for  sale  as 
to  surprise  one  into  wondering  where  it  all 
conies  from;  but,  considering  the  thousands  of 
persons  that  are  in  the  business  the  <iuantity 
of  each  kind  is  not  so  great  after  all.  There 
is  too  much  tliat  is  only  passable  winch  spoils 
the  sale  of  the  finest  quality,  for  in  twenty 
years  experience  I  found  about  only  ten  per 
cent  of  my  customers  were  willing  to  pay  a 
fair  price  for  fine  fruit;  they  all  preferred  it,  at 
tlie  same  time  a  cheaper  fruit  sold  best.  It  is 
tlie  common  and  poor  fruit  that  is  the  most 
expensive,  but  most  persons  will  not  believe 
it.  It  is  the  quiuditij  they  want,  not  the 
quality.  Now  if  we  did  not  have  to  pay  so 
dear,  for  our  experience,  we  could  afford  to 
sell  fine  fruit  cheaper  with  a  profit,  but  when 
one  must  wait  years  for  the  trees  to  bear  and 
then  be  disappointed  with  the  fruit,  it  is  poor 
encouragement.  Many  pers(ms  will  sell  their 
fruit  for  just  what  they  can  get  while  others 
top  and  graft  their  trees,  which  has  been  my 
way  with  most  of  tlie  trees  I  have  bouglit.  I 
was  often  discouraged  and  thought  I  was  the 
only  one  cheated  by  ireei  agents,  but  find 
others  were  in  the  same  boat  as  myself.  Some 
years  ago  a  nur.seryman  in  our  town  received 
several  hundred  trees  from  a  New  York  firm 
with  most  of  the  laljels  lost,  he  sold  them  as 
they  were.  I  bought  a  dozen  and  grafted  all 
but  one  (the  finest  in  the  lot)  and  that  turned 
out  to  be  nothing  but  the  poorest  kind  nf  a 
seedling.  The  worst  of  it  was,  tliere  were 
others  heard  that  he  was  selling  them  cheap, 
who  bought  tlieln  all  just  as  he  sold  them,  and 
when  persons  asked  tlieni  for  certain  trees  "O 
yes,  they  had  them  in  the  nursery,"  they 
would  label  them  as  they  wanted  tliem  for 
their  customers.  I  have  seen  at  l.;ast  fifty  of 
them  come  into  bearing  and  nearly  all  worth- 
less. The  trouble  is  we  have  too  many  tree 
agents;  all  anxious  to  sell  and  not  at  all  con- 
scientious about  what  they  sell;  for,  as  one 
told  me,  "that  before  the  trees  came  into 
bearing,  the  labels  would  be  lost,  or  the  pro- 
perty cliange  owners  and  no  one  would  know 
where  they  came  from  or  what  they  were 
bought  for.  I  have  bdught  more  i>oor  frees 
than  good,  but  as  I  said  before  when  the  fruit 
is  not  good,  I  eitlier  plant  oilier  trees  or  graft 
them.  When  I  have  small  fruit  that  does  not 
suit  my  soil  I  drop  them  out  of  cultivation  and 
keep  up  with  those  that  do.  (Jut  of  fifteen  or 
twenty  kinds  of  strawberries  I  have  laid  aside 
all  hut  three,  nanielv:  "Charles  Uowning," 
"Wilson's  Seedling"  and  the   "Sharpless," 

♦Essay  read  before  tlie  Pennsylvania  State  Hortieiiltii- 
ral  Afisuciation,  at  Harrisburg,  i>y  Joint  C.  liepler,  Heatl- 
ing.  Pa. 


which  beats  all  I  ever  had  for  size,  but  not  for 
quantili/.  I  have  also  discarded  all  raspber- 
ries but  the  "Philadelphia,"  "Clarke"  and 
the  old  "Antwerp."  Tlie  two  last  named 
went  back  on  mo  last  summer,  whether  on  ac- 
count of  th(!  drought  or  not  I  c;innot  say.  In 
regaid  to  currants,  I  have  very  few  beside  the 
(Jherry  currant  which  hear  i-xceedingly  well 
and  .Sell  for  two  cents  a  ([uart  more  than  the 
smaller  (uies,  to  those  of  my  customers  who 
ajiprecnate  good  fruit.  One  of  them  (a  gentle- 
man) was  persuaded  to  buy  some  grape  vines 
which  were  to  be  something  extra.  I  planted 
with  great  care  and  watched  them  until  last 
summer,  when  the  one  that  should  have  been 
the  Lady  grape,  was  one  of  Rogers'  light 
graiies,  and  the  others  were  only  common 
dark  grapes,  not  to  be  compared  with  the 
Concord  or  I'nion  Village.  The  latter  in  my 
estimation  is  a  No.  I  grape  as  it  will  remain 
on  the  vines  longer  than  the  (concord  without 
dropping.  Among  apples,  the  Haldwin, 
Spilzcnberg,  Smoke-house  Kroiiser,  Northern 
Spy,  (rreeniiigaiid  Golden  Pippin  are  the  best 
for  winter  marketing,  as  they  always  sell  and 
give  entire  satisfaction.  I  would  not  advise 
the  keeping  of  too  many  varieties  as  they  need 
considcralile  attention.  As  a  general  rule 
Unnnt  farmers  pay  too  little  attention  to  their 
fruit.  Instead  of  studying  its  nature  and 
trying  to  improve  it,  they  allow  it  to  take  its 
own  course,  whether  from  carele&sness  or 
ignorance  I  know  not.  I  frequently  see 
ai)pl(^s  for  sale  that  are  quite  out  of  season  and 
would  pay  the  owners  much  better  if  they 
kept  them  a  while  longer,  even  at  the  risk  of 
.some  decaying.  In  our  section  hvst  year  the 
apple  crop  was  a  failure.  Jiulging  from  the 
display  at  our  County  Fair,  what  few  trees 
did  bear,  produced  fine  fruit.  I  have  observ- 
ed that  when  we  have  an  extra  heavy  crop  of 
apples  and  pears  one  year,  the  next  is  very 
light,  for  then  the  trees  do  not  produce  the 
bearing  spurs  but  reMuire  all  their  strength  for 
the  fruit.  The  "yiTar  olf"  as  we  call  it,  is 
their  rest ;  and  tlien  the  bearing  spurs  are 
made  for  the  following  year.  This  you  will 
notice  holds  good  in  all  cases,'unless  we  have 
too  much  heavy  rain  in  the  blossom  season, 
which  will  destroy  the  crop. 

We  had  no  peaches  in  our  neighborhood. 
Instead  of  the  blossom  being  frozen,  I 
think  the  trees  were  exhausted  from  over- 
bearing the  year  before.  Having  two  or  three 
trees  exposed  to  the  northern  winds  and 
storms,  which  bore  a  few  peaches,  iiroves  that 
the  blossoms  were  not  frozen.  Although  we 
are  in  the  coldest  place  in  the  neighborhood,  I 
never  saw  the  peach  trees  make  such  a  vigor- 
ous growth,  and  I  think  simply  because  they 
had  rested  froin  fruit-bearing  last  year.  It  is 
my  belief  that  we  will  have  a  plentiful  crop 
this  year.  If  not  out  of  place  I  would  like 
to  recommend  our  farmer  frieiiils  to  plant 
trees  along  the  road  and  at  intervals  along 
their  line  and  iiartition  fences.  Fruit  trees 
have  been  suggested,  but  I  would  not  recom- 
mend them,  as  our  boys,  and  even  men,  do 
not  rcsiiect  personal  rights  to  such  property 
and  a  man  would  be  worried  more  tlian  the 
fruit  would  be  worth.  Walnut  trees,  if 
planted  at  a  distance  of  fifty  feet  and  a  little 
attention  given  them  at  first  to  start  them 
straight,  in  six  or  eight  years  they  will  bear, 
and  the  nuts  will  pay  for  the  gathering.  In 
fifty  years  the  trees  will  be  worth  as  much  as 
the  farm,  providing  they  have  been  trained  to 
grow  straight.  1  am  sure,  he  that  can  imag- 
ine a  fine  row  of  trees  around  his  farm,  will 
start  to  planting  this  winter  ;  as  the  nut  must 
be  plaiitetl  in  tin;  fall,  so  that  the  shell  will 
burst  by  the  action  of  the  frost  to  give  the 
germ  a  chance  to  grow.  To  him  who  has  low 
or  bottom  land  I  would  advise  the  planting  of 
shellbark  hickory,  as  it  is  becoming  very 
scarce,  and  is  in  good  demand.  I  was  told  by  a 
man,  when  in  the  spoke  manufacturing  busi- 
ness, he  used  on  an  average  two  hundred 
acres  of  hickory  wood  a  year,  and  that  he 
bought  treep  worth  ten  dollars  each  ;  which 
proves  they  are  worth  the  little  attention 
they  need  in  the  outset.  There  is  one  more 
tree  I  would  like  to  bring  to  the  notice  of 


54 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[April, 


those  who  do  not  fancy  the  walnut.  The 
tulip  poplar,  tliat  flue,  majestic  tree  which 
naturally  towers  to  the  skies  and  is  the  admi- 
ration of  all,  especially  when  in  blossom. 
Tliey  are  fast  growers  and  will  repay  the 
planter.  Most  of  our  nurserymen  have  them 
for  sale,  from  ten  to  twenty-five  dollars  per 
hundred.  The  larger  size  are  the  best  to 
plant,  as  it  is  so  much  time  gained.  I  have 
bought  some  very  fine  trees  of  Hoopes  Bros, 
and  Thomas,  whom  I  know  will  be  pleased  to 
serve  any  who  may  call  on  them.  If  the  wal- 
nut alone  is  not  preferred,  it  may  be  used  al- 
ternately with  the  poplar,  wliii.-h  will  make  a 
novel  appearance,  and  provide  a  chance  for 
observing  the  difference  in  the  growth  and 
habits  01  both.  There  is  so  much  to  say  about 
forest  trees  ;  but  as  that  is  not  niy  subject, 
and  I  have  already  trespassed  on  time,  1  will 
hasten  on. 

In  the  vegetable  kingdom,  we  do  not  have 
so  many  improvements  as  in  fruit,  and  there- 
fore there  is  not  so  much  to  say  on  this  sub- 
ject. "We  have  many  varieties  of  vegetables 
of  the  same  kind  ;  siill,  a  cabbage  is  a  cab- 
bage, and  so  a  radish  is  a  i-adish  ;  but  there 
are  the  early  and  the  late  varieties,  the  .strong 
and  the  mild,  the  large  and  the  small,  tlie 
sweet  and  the  sharp.  To  take  each  one  sep- 
erately  would  be  tedious,  so  I  will  only  say 
that  during  my  experience  I  have  found  more 
in  the  name  than  in  the  reality  ;  also,  that 
good,  fresh  vegetables  are  a  luxury.  Most  of 
them  when  brought  to  our  markets  are  too 
stale  for  use,  especially  those  brought  from 
abroad.  As  a  general  thing  our  home  gar- 
deners (who  do  bring  us  fresh  vegetable.'!)  are 
not  sufficiently  paid  for  their  labor,  as  itcosts 
too  much  to  raise  them  ;  besides  being  some 
weeks  later  than  those  brought  from  a  dis- 
tance, and  prices  by  that  time  are  low.  Every 
Berks  county  farmer  has  a  garden,  some  a 
very  large  one,  and  all  eztra  vegetables  they 
sell,  is  so  much  gained  ;  but  whether  the  soil 
is  adapted  to  gardening  is  seldom  considered, 
if  only  their  vegetables  grow,  it  matters  not 
hoii}.  I  do  think  two-thirds  of  our  market 
gardens  are  out  of  place.  In  my  observation 
I  find  that  most  per.sons  will  take  any  place 
they  can  get,  regardless  of  soil,  location  or 
water,  and  embark  in  raising  vegetables;  con- 
sequently, after  several  years'  trial  they  fail 
and  become  discouraged  in-  their  work  and 
seek  some  other  occupation.  Were  we  de- 
pendent on  the  market  gardeners  alone,  we 
would  often  fall  short.  But  than.ks  to  those 
farmers  wh  1  always  have  what  they  call  "luck, " 
we  do  not  fall  short.  I  think  a  person  wish- 
ing to  engage  in  the  truck  Ijusiness  should  se- 
lect lovv  ground  near  running  vv'ater,  for  then 
the  sunnner  drought  would  not  afiect  them  so 
much,  as  the  night  air  is  damp  and  the  mist 
from  the  water  all  help  to  dispel  the  dry  at- 
mosphere and  assist  vegetation.  After  loca- 
tion comes  the  selection  of  seeds,  which  is  a 
very  important  part.  If  you  want  early  vege- 
tables, it  would  not  do  to  buy  and  jilant  late 
kinds  that  take  nearly  all  sinnmer  to  grow.  I 
have  planted  to  try  the  difference  of  seed  in 
red  beets,  and  have  found  that  the  early  beet 
could  be  taken  up  at  the  end  of  eight  or  ten 
weeks,  while  the  "Long  Late"  require  five 
months,  and  when  the  late  variety  were  in 
their  prime,  the  e.arly  variety  were  tough  and 
stringy.  So  with  cabljage,  what  is  intended 
for  eai-ly  must  be  iilanted  early  or  it  is  a  fail- 
ure. Many  persons  think  a  bean  is  a  bean,  as 
far  as  planting  is  concerned,  but  that  is  a  mis- 
take ;  all  have  their  time,  quality  and  hardi- 
ness. Some  will  stand  a  frost,  .while  others 
by  their  side  will  be  killed  by  it.  As  above 
mentioned,  I  think  the  selection  of  the  seed 
quite  as  important  as  the  ground.  To  be 
succes.'iful  it  is  necessary  to  be  well  posted  on 
the  time  of  planting  and  wliat  kind  to  plant 
first.  I  do  not  wish  to  adverti.se,  but  would 
say  that  Mr.  P.  Hender.soii's  book  on  "Gar- 
dening for  Profit,"  is  the  best  I  have  ever 
seen  and  read  ;  even  then  one  must  take  one's 
own  soil  and  location  into  considertion,  for 
his  location  does  not  suit  all  ;  at  the  same 
time  I  would  advise  any  person  wishing  to 
raise  vegetables  for  profit  to  get  the  book,  as 


it  is  a  good  guide.  This  having  been  a  poor 
season  and  vegetables  at  a  high  price,  many 
may  be  teraiHed  into  the  business,  but  unless 
they  are  well  acquainted  with  their  soil,  seed 
and  location,  they  will  fail.  At  the  present 
time  [  can  count  at  least  twenty-five  per.sons 
who  starteil  the  farm  and  truck  business  when 
I  did,  and  all  but  one  or  two  have  left  it  for 
want  of  success,  simply  because  their  soil  did 
not  suit  and  their  experience  was  not  suffi- 
cient to  see  them  through.  I  would  just  ad- 
vise any  one  going  into  the  business  to  select 
the  proper  soil,  location  and  seed,  making  fre- 
quent use  of  the  fertilizer,  working  the  ground 
to  its  best  condition  befoi-e  sowing  the  seed, 
and  I  do  not  think  he  will  fail.  Many  are 
afraid  if  they  use  too  much  manure  the 
strength  all  goes  in  the  tops  and  not  in  the 
vegetable,  but  they  are  mistaken.  If  the 
ground  is  too  poor  to  make  tops  it  is  too  poor 
to  produce  vegetables.  The  better  fed  the 
better  will  be  the  profit  for  its  owner,and  the 
earlier  they  are  taken  to  market  the  better 
they  will  ])ay.  I  have  sold  tomatoes  for  five 
cents  a  piece  in  March  and  April,  when  I 
could  not  get  that  for  a  quarter  peck  in  July 
and  August ;  the  same  with  lettuce,  radishes 
and  all  other  vegetables.  He  who  wishes  to 
profit  by  raising  vegetables  must  be  wide 
awake  to  his  interests,  and  without  hot-beds 
he  will  be  left  far  in  the  rear  of  his  neighbor 
who  has  them.  They  must  be  made  to  pi-o- 
duce  from  two  to  three  crops  a  season  or  they 
will  not  i)ay.  I  hope  the  advice  here  given 
will  be  of  benefit  to  some  who  are  interested 
in  "Fruit  and  Vegetables  and  their  Culture." 


THE     BRIGHT     SIDE    OF    HORTICUL- 
TURE.* 

Mr.  President  :— You  have  had  "Horti- 
culture for  Profit,"  and  discussed  the  subject 
in  almost  every  form  ;  as  well  the  bright,  and 
also  the  "Dark  side  of  Fruit  Culture.'"  But  1 
have  not  observed  that  any  of  your  contribu- 
tors have  spoken  of  "Horticulture  for  Pleas- 
ure." Notwithstanding  the  trials,  disappoint- 
ments, vexations  and  discouragements  that 
every  season  brings,  there  is,  nevertheless,  a 
charm  connected  with  the  occupation,  that 
we  all  embrace  for  the  love  of  it,  to  a  greater 
or  lesser  extent. 

How  do  plants  grow,  is  a  query  that  meets 
us  in  the  beginning,  and  is  a  problem  that 
cannot  be  solved.  The  spontaneous  action  of 
the  plant,  the  self-determined  sliapes  it  as- 
sumes, its  vitality,  are  subjects  for  thought 
beyond  the  conception  of  the  most  learned 
botanist.  Is  it  not  a  direct  emanation  from 
the  Supreme  Will,  the  fountain  of  all  life. 

Vegetation  is  doubtless  the  lower  order  of 
life.  It  springs  directly  from  inorganic  mat- 
ter, and  is  the  first  step  in  the  formation  of 
plant  life.  To  see  the  tender  germ  as  it  peeps 
through  the  eartli,  a  real  thing  of  life,  and 
Wdtch  its  development  from  day  to  day,  has  a 
fascination  for  all  who  have  an  eye  for  the 
beautiful.  How  many  of  us  pause  to  think 
of  the  transformations  taking  place,  when  we 
drop  tl)e  little  seeds  in  the  bed,  (some  of  them 
so  diminutive  as  to  be  almost  invisible)  and  in 
a  few  days  find  a  living  plant  ready  to  battle 
with  the  enemies  of  vegetable  life.  Its  pro- 
gress day  after  day  is  a  food  for  thought  that 
the  learned  and  the  ^lost  ignorant  may  em- 
brace, aiid  yet  be  unaijle  to  conceive  from 
whence  the  matter  is  brought  for  its  develop- 
ment. 

I  propose,  in  the  few  remarks  I  shall  make, 
to  take  the  "Bright  Side  of  Horticulture. "  Did 
we  always  weigli  the  cost,  and  take  into  con- 
sidi-ration  the  trials  of  every  undertaking, 
few  would  launch  out  into  the  sea  of  experi- 
ments, and  new  plants,  and  new  ideas,  would 
then  be  the  exception.  Our  life,  our  joys, 
are  in  part  derived  from  horticidture. 

I  believe  a  large  proportion  of  those  who 
plant,  do  it  as  much  for  amusement,  comfort, 
and  home  adornment,  as  they  do  for  profit. 
One  of  the  first  requisites  of  a  home  are  trees 

*Essav  read  before  the  Pennsylvania  Plate  Horticul- 
tural Association,  at,  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  by  Calvin  Cooper, 
of  Lancaster  county,  Pa. 


and  plants  to  diversify  the  appearance,  and 
add  comfort  and  attraction  acquired  in  no 
other  way.  How  welcome  is  the  shade  of  a 
well-formed  cherry  tree  on  a  hot  summer's  day. 
Then,  too,  its  fruit  (if  the  robins  have  not 
been  there  first)  will  add  food  as  well  as  drink, 
while  the  husbandman  tarries  beneath  its 
branches. 

Well  do  I  remember  the  favorite  tree  se- 
lected by  the  harvest  hands  at  the  old  home- 
stead, under  which  they  took  their  noonday 
rest.  This  was  a  fine  large  "Roberts  Red 
Heart"  cherry,  planted  in  front  of  the  house, 
with  shapely  top  and  s))readin2  branches,  add- 
ing a  charm  to  the  spot  during  the  whole 
summer.  The  planting,  training  and  care  of 
which  was  all  the  work  of  a  fond  mother, 
now  peacefully  resting  in  a  home  that  knows 
no  waking. 

Then,  too,  the  quick-growing  peach,  with 
its  bright,  luxurious  foliage,  soon  fills  a  va- 
cant spot  that  well  repays  the  trifling  cost, 
labor  and  lime  required  to  make  a  tree. 

We  will  not  pass  the  plum  and  apricot,  for 
here  is  a  little  nook  and  there  a  recess  that 
needs  filling.  Then,  too,  they  might  furnish 
a  few  "Curculio"  for  the  fowls  of  the  yard 
while  they  are  in  search  for  the  early  worm. 

The  apple,  too,  has  its  claims,  with  broad 
spreading  branches  inviting  comfort  to  its 
cooling  shade  as  the  yeoman  (as  well  as  his 
stock)  pass  in  their  routine  to  and  from  the 
toils  of  the  day.  All  this  usually  is  a  work 
of  love,  and  their  training  to  recreate  during 
the  hours  of  leisure,  affords  an  amusement 
that  diverts  rather  than  tires.  The  cutting 
out  of  a  branch  here  and  there,  and  shorten- 
ing another  that  is  likely  to  outgrow  the  rest, 
and  the  observation  of  the  habits  and  growth, 
will  afford  food  for  thought,  always  pleasing 
and  of  a  tendency  to  quiet  the  nerves  and 
strengthen  the  body  for  the  duties  of  the 
hour. 

And  should  an  occasional  crop  of  cherries, 
peaches,  plums,  apricots,  ajiples,  etc.,  be  the 
fruit  of  our  labor  we  are  doubly  paid.  First 
by  the  attractive  appearance  given  to  the 
home,  and  the  pleasure  derived  Ijy  the  cool- 
ing influence  of  the  shade  during  the  hot 
summer  months  ;  and  also  the  deliciously  fla- 
vored fruit  with  its  health-giving  properties, 
contribute  wonderfully  towards  supplying  the 
household  with  the  daily  requisites  to  sustain 
life. 

Mark  the  busy  merchant  with  his  modern 
suburban  home,  how  he  delights  in  the  at- 
tractions of  his  handsome,  well-kept  grounds, 
as  he  meanders  from  bush  to  plant,  here  and 
there  training  a  vine  or  a  tree,  to  suit  his 
cultivated  taste,  and  varying  the  systemati- 
cally laid-out  grounds,  adding  a  charm  to  the 
spot,  to  divert  liis  thoughts  from  the  perplex- 
ing trials  of  his  business  hours  ;  this  surely  is 
not  a  work  of  necessity  nor  profit,  for  those 
who  know  will  say  it  is  quite  a  drain  on  the 
pur.se,  according  to  the  magnitude  of  the 
grounds.  Such  is  the  fascination  connected 
with  the  planting  and  training,  that  the  labor 
and  care  is  rather  a  vi'oik  of  amusement,  be- 
cause of  its  pleasing  attractions,  and  its 
power  to  divert  rather  than  tire  an  over- 
worked brain. 

The  industrious  mechanic,  too,  has  taken 
the  infatuation,  and  often  found  during  his 
leisure  hours,  in  beautifying  his  home  with 
beauteous  gifts,  the  plants  of  the  eartli.  Who 
but  will  halt  and  admire  in  passing  a  hand- 
somely laid-out  yard,  with  its  gorgeous  beds 
of  bloom,  interspersed  with  choice  shrubs 
and  trees,  and  the  well-kept  walks  with  gen- 
tle curves  leading  now  to  a  shady  nook,  thence 
by  a  beautiful  border  of  variegated  foliage 
plants,  and  not  give  a  praise  of  gratitude  to 
the  Giver  of  all  good  works  ? 

In  conclusion  I  cannot  but  aflSrra  there  is  a 
charm,  an  attraction,  a  fascination  in  the 
work  of  the  horticulturist,  that  will  far  over- 
balance the  labor  connected  therewith,  and 
supply  a  heartfelt  recreation  to  all  who  will 
embrace  it.  The  comparison  of  the  wonder- 
ful works  of  nature  are  sufiicient  of  them- 
selves to  awaken  thoughts  of  praise.  Instance 
if  you  will  the  stately  oak  with  its  spreading 


1SS2.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


55 


l)ranclies,  and  the  erect  form  of  the  Lombardy 

pnplar :  the  weeping  willow,  with  its  ever 
pendant  brandies,  and  the  pyramidal  form  of 
a  siipar  maple  ;  the  uncouth  weepiiii;  ash, 
and  the  symmetrical  form  of  the  European 
lareh  ;  the  graceful  birch,  and  the  straggling 
latalpa  ;  Ihe  giant  form  of  the  common  i)op- 
lar,  and  tlie  trailing  kilmarnock  ;  and  yet  all 
spring  from  a  tender  germ,  and  assume  the 
liirm  common  to  its  kind.  The  juiwer  of  tlie 
I  ree  to  reproduce  itself  is  even  more  forcibly 
sliown  in  fruits.  Top-graft  an  apple,  and 
I  hough  there  may  be  as  many  varieties  as 
lliere  are  limbs  on  the  tree,  each  will  produce 
its  color:  red,  yellow  and  striped,  and  in  fla- 
vor its  peculiar  taste  :  acid,  subacid  or  sweet, 
and  yet  all  is  supplied  from  the  same  root. 
The  floral  kingdom  has  its  endless  attractions 
in  tlie  various  forms  of  its  \)lants  ;  the  beau- 
tiful and  harmonious  blending  of  foliage  and 
flowers,  ever  has  its  charms  for  old  and  young; 
the  nobleman  and  his  servant  ;  the  princely 
aristocrat  and  the  lowest  menial;  all  jianse  to 
admire  the  wondrons  productions  of  the  vege- 
table kingdom. 


HORTICULTURAL  FERTILIZERS.* 


What  are  Best  and  Cheapest  and  How  Ap- 
plied. 

When  your  worthy  Secretary  referred  the 
above  subject  to  me,  I  presume  it  was  expect- 
ed that  I  should  be  able  to  suggest  with  some 
degree  of  authority. some  special  fertilizers  es- 
pecially adapted  to  our  wants  as  horticultu- 
rists. If  such  was  the  case,  I  fear  I  shall  dis- 
appoint him ;  for  though  the  theory  of  a 
.  special  fertilizer  for  each  particular  crop,  is  a 
very  plausible  and  comfortable  one — yet  in 
my  experience,  it  is  not  al  all  reliable. 

Fast  experience  witli  our  teachers  of  Agri- 
cultural Chemistry,  somewhat  verifies  the  old 
adage  "That  a  little  learning  is  a  dangerous 
thing,"  as  shown  by  the  amount  of  money 
wasted  by  farmers  in  following  their  specious 
theory  of  soil-analysis,  as  a  reliable  guide  for 
the  selection  of  fertilizers;  and  their  still  later 
teachings  that  a  special  fertilizer  can  be  formu- 
lated upon  the  chemical  analysis  of  a  growing 
crop  or  plant !  As  tillers  of  the  soil,  we  are 
greatly  indebted  to  scientists  for  he!p  in  many 
ways — but  there  are  yet  many  unrevealed 
mysteries  in  the  bosom  of  mother  earth,  that 
defy  the  wisest  of  our  scientists,  and,  that 
often  mar  the  practical  proof  of  their  fine  spun 
theories.  For  instance,  we  may  determine 
very  accurately,  the  amount  of  nitrogen, 
potash  and  phosphate,  in  the  grain  and  straw 
of  a  forty  bushel  crop  of  wheat,  and  with  some 
degree  of  certainty  the  apparent  amounts  of 
these  ingredients  in  the  soil.  But  we  have 
seen  a  difl'erence  of  15  or  20  bushels  of  grain 
and  a  ton  or  so  of  straw,  made  by  an  applica- 
tion of  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of 
guano  per  acre — the  guano  containing  only 
two  pounds  each  of  ammonia  and  phosphate, 
and  distributed  through  six  inches  depth  of 
soil — making  a  quantity  so  infinitesimally 
small,  compared  with  the  bulk  of  soil  witii 
which  it  is  mixed,  that  the  nicest  of  tests 
would  fail  to  detect  it  at  all.  Hence  we  mwst 
naturally  conclude  that  there  are  other  agen- 
cies at  work  in  the  soil,  that  h;lve  not  entered 
into  the  calculation,  and  that  with  our  pre- 
sent light  cannot  be  accounted  for.  Again  we 
might  ascertain  with  rea.sonable  certaintv, 
that  an  acre  of  apple  trees  would  take  from 
the  soil  in  its  growth  of  wood  and  apjiles,  a 
certain  number  of  pounds  of  potash;  yet 
notliing  but  a  practical  trial,  after  all,  will  de- 
termine whether  it  is  necessary  to  apply  potash 
to  each  individual  orchard.  There  may  be 
plenty  of  it  in  the  soil.  It  may  be  active  or 
latent.  Individual  experiments  only  can  solve 
these  questions.  While  I  had  charge  of  the 
Experimental  Farm  in  Chester  county,  I  made 
several  thousand  experiments  with  fertilizers 
upon  all  the  crops  usually  grown  upon  a  farm, 
including  horticultural  crops — and  in  a  large 
majority  of   cases,   the  fertilizer  richest    in 

•Essay  read  before  the  Pennsylvania  Sta'e  Horticultu- 
ral Association  at  Harrisburg,  by  John  I.  Carter,  Chester 
county,  Pa. 


soluble  phosphate  of  lime,  gave  the  best  re- 
sults. And  it  was  also  shown  that  the  fertili- 
zer that  did  the  best  for  corn,  was  likely  to  do 
best  for  all  other  crops,  if  applied  in  a  manner 
to  suit  the  especial  cases. 

The  soil,  then,  evidently  stood  in  most  need 
of  phosphoric  acid  -and  hence  the  applica- 
tion of  that  manurial  element  really  enriched 
the  soil,  by  establishing  a  jiroiier  balance 
among  the  plant-foods — and  thus  aided  all 
kinds  of  iilant-growtli.  Dill'ereut  crops  re- 
quire different  modes  of  application. 

Growing  trecH,  or  small  IVuils,  should  have 
the  mineral  fertilizer  applied  in  the  spring 
and  |)lowed  down,  where  plowing  is  possible. 
It  is  thus  prevented  from  being  washed  away; 
has  a  good  opportunity  to  he  thoroughly  dis- 
solved by  the  action  of  the  moisture  and  sol- 
vents in  the  soil,  and  is  ready  to  start  a  vigo- 
rous spring  growth  that  will  be  healthy  ;  and 
mature  even  if  it  is  luxuriant,  because  it  has 
the  whole  Season  to  perfect  itself.  What  we 
call  immature  wood-growth,  is  more  frequent- 
ly the  result  of  a  late  or  unseasaniMe  growth, 
than  because  it  was  too  luxuriant !  But 
heavy  applications  of  nitrogenous  manures 
are  sometimes  dangerous, not  so  much  because 
of  the  rapid  or  .strong  growth  made,  so  much 
as  the  temporary  nature  of  this  kind  of  ma- 
nuring; the  stimulating  supply  is  exhausted 
before  the  plant  is  perfected.  The  safest  gen- 
eral recommendation  of  a  fertilizer  for 
orchards  and  small  fruits,  would  be  a  well 
di.ssolved  raw  bone,  or  a  good  acid  phosphate, 
those  being  likely  to  meet  the  wants  of  a  ma- 
jority of  cases. 

In  the  bone  we  usually  have  from  3  to  4  per 
cent,  of  ammonia,  which  might  be  useful  in 
some  cases,  as  an  excitant  to  early  growth. 
But  the  acid  phosphate,  or  dissolved  South 
Carolina  rock,  furnislies  the  phosphate  in  a 
cheaper  form  than  we  can  find  it  in  a  pure 
bone  fertilizer. 

I  feel  safe  in  making  tlie  above  recommen- 
dation because,  to  a  certain  extent,  it  involves 
the  use  of  the  plow,  which,  in  itself,  in  most 
cases,  is  a  judicious  thing  to  use.  A  well 
cultivated  orchard  or  fruit  garden,  where  the 
soil  is  made  loose  and  fine,  freely  admitting 
the  rays  of  light  and  heat,  absorbing  moisture 
and  ammonia  from  the  atmosphere,  the  whole 
strength  of  the  soil  going  to  the  trees  and 
shrubs,  and  not  to  weeds  and  other  crops — is 
certainly  standing  a  better  chance  than  one 
standing  in  grass,  waiting  for  the  very  uncer- 
tain prospect  for  the  few  loads  of  barn-yard 
manure  the  farmer  may  have  left  from  his 
regular  crops.  We  do  not  mean  to  discourage 
the  use  of  barn-yard  manure  by  any  means. 
It  can  seldom  come  amiss,  particularly  if  ap- 
[ilied  in  the  late  fall  or  early  winter.  Any 
covering  of  vegetable  matter,  sods  or  com- 
posts, that  will  smother  the  grass,  or  shade 
the  ground,  will  mellow  it,  and  by  increasing 
its  absorbing  power,  be  benefited  by  the  air 
and  light. 

Potash  would  naturally  suggest  itself  as  a 
special  tree  food,  and  it  would  certainly  be 
wise  to  give  it  a  thorough  trial— esi)eciaHy  as 
potash  is  now  not  only  cheap  but  easily  ob- 
tained. The  muriate  of  potash  showing  a  per 
centage  of  90  per  cent,  of  the  pure  salt,  can 
be  bought  for  about  $00, or  Kainit,  the  German 
dung  salt,  showinur  30  to  40  per  cent,  potash, 
can  be  bought  for  .f  10.  Either  of  these  goods 
are  furnished  by  the  trade,  and  can  readily  be 
got.  I  think,  sometimes,  that  the  value  of 
ashes  is  often  over  estimated,  particularly 
when  we  judge  l^y  the  effects  of  burned  brush 
heaps:  the  good  results  are  as  often  due  to 
heating  the  earth,  as  from  the  deposit  of  ashes. 
In  summing  up  all  I  have  to  say  on  this  sub- 
ject, I  would  give  this  advice  :  "Stand  not  on 
the  order  of  your  manuring,  but  indnure." 
You  are  more  likely  to  err  "  In  the  breach, 
than  in  the  compliance."  The  farmers' or- 
chards and  fruit  gardens,  though  highly  im- 
portmit  adjuncts  to  the  farm,  are  too  often 
made  entirely  secondary,  when  the  annual 
distribution  of  the  manure- pile  takes  place. 
We  seem  to  expect  from  our  fruit  trees  what 
we  could  not  from  any  other  crop- — a  persis- 
tent yield  without  adequate  manure.    An  at- 


tempt to  raise  succe.ssive  crops  of  grain  upon 
the  same  field  without  mamire,  would  be 
deemed  the  height  of  foolishness.  Yet  we 
.seem  to  expect  our  ajiple  tn'es  to  yield  ten 
times  the  weight  of  fruit  that  our  fields  do  of 
grain — and  do  it  too,  with  very  infreiiucnt 
manuring.  I  regret  ray  inability  to  treat  this 
subject  in  the  manner  expected,  and  failing  to 
tell  you  Ikiw  to  manure,  or  with  what,  must 
content  myself  with  commending  you  to  put 
on  plenty  of  aumclhinij. 


Selections. 


THE   NEW  WHEAT  REGION. 

The  rapid  settlement  of  the  wheat  lands  of 
Dakota  is  perhaps  the  most  striking  feature 
of  recent  Western  dovelopiuent.  It  is  estima- 
ted that  tlie  farming  population  of  the  Terri- 
tory has  been  increased  fully  30,000  since 
the  census  of  1880  was  taken,  and  the 
immigration  of  1882  promises  to  be  much 
greater  than  that  of  any  previous  year.  A 
majority  of  tlie  new  comers  are  no  doubt  at- 
tracted by  the  profits  of  wheat-raising.  Mak- 
ing due  allowance  for  the  enthusiasm  of  new 
settlers  and  of  the  local  journals,  it  appeara 
from  the  census  returns  and  from  the  pulv 
lislied  statements  of  farmers  that  a  yield  of 
not  less  than  twenty  bushels  to  the  acre  can 
be  depended  on  year  after  year,  and  that 
twenty-five  bushels  is  not  an  extraordinary 
crop.  The  cost  of  breaking  new  land  is  said 
to  average  SI, 75  anacre,  of  "backsetting,"  aa 
the  second  or  spring  plowing  is  called,  SI, 50; 
of  seeding  $2,50;  of  harvesting  $2,  and  of 
threshing  $1;  making  §8,75  per  acre.  After 
the  lirst  year  only  one  plowing  is  necessary. 
Some  statements  place  the  cost  of  the  grain 
thrashed  and  ready  for  market  at  S9  for  each 
acre's  yield;  others  give  it  as  low  as  S6 — the 
difference  being  mainly  due,  no  doubt,  to  vari- 
ations in  the  price  of  labor.  Taking  the 
highest  estimate  as  a  basis  for  calculation, 
with  wheat  at  .$1  a  bushel,  the  profit  of  the 
farmer  on  each  acre  of  ground  cultivated, 
after  all  expenses  of  raising  and  marketing 
his  crop  are  paid,  cannot  well  fall  below  SIO 
an  acre. 

The  enterprise  of  railroad  companies  eager 
to  occupy  a  field  of  future  profitable  business 
makes  transportation  fiicilities  in  Dakota 
keep  pace  with  settlement.  In  the  southern 
part  of  the  Territory  the  Chicago  and  North- 
western and  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St. 
Paul  Companies  have  built  trunk  lines  to  the 
Missouri  river,  which  are  being  pushed  on  to 
tne  Black  Hills,  and  have  constructed  numer- 
ous branches  as  feeders.  The  Red  River  Val- 
ley is  traversed  for  nearly  its  entire  length 
by  two  roads,  one  on  each  bank  of  the 
stream.  Across  the  northern  part  of  the  Ter- 
ritory, from  east  to  west,  runs  the  Xorthern 
Pacific  Railroad,  which  is  liuilding  branches 
nortli  and  scnitli  to  widen  the  area  of  wheat 
culture.  Thus  in  most  of  the  new  wheat  re- 
gion the  farmer  finds  a  station  within  a  few 
miles  of  his  fields  and  a  freight  train  ready  to 
haul  his  grain  to  market. 

The  work  on  a  wheat  farm  occupies  only  a 
a  few  weeks  of  the  year,  and  the  business  is 
attractive  on  that  account  apart  from  its 
profits.  After  the  plowing  and  sowing  are 
finished  the  farmer  can  look  on  and  see  Na- 
ture grow  and  ripen  his  crop  until  the  harvest 
time  comes.    By  the  end  of  August  the  year' 


56 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


tApril, 


work  is  done.  Expensive  farm  buildings  are 
not  required,  for  the  grain  is  threslied  in  the 
fields  and  handed  immediately  to  the  nearest 
railway  station.  Very  little  fencing  is  need- 
ed on  a  wheat  farm.  Frequently  the  cultivat- 
ed portion  is  left  uninelosed,  and  a  barbed 
wire  fence  put  around  the  pasture  lot  to  con- 
fine the  cattle.  Thus  the  outlay  for  improve- 
ments is  comparatively  light,  and  as  the 
country  is  open  and  ready  for  the  plow,  the 
iiew  settler  makes  a  crop  for  the  first  season, 
and  is  tolerably  independent  from  the  start. 
A  village,  with  school,  postofflce,  stores  and 
churches,  springs  up  as  if  by  magic  in  the 
neighborhood  of  his  home,  and  he  suffers  few 
of  the  privations  which  used  to  attend  fron- 
tier life. 

The  extent  of  the  new  Northwestern  wheat 
region  cannot  now  be  estimated,  nor  its  fu- 
ture production  foreseen.  It  appears  to  in- 
clude nearly  the  whole  of  Dakota  east  of  the 
Missouri  Kiver,  and  a  ronsiderable  portion  of 
the  western  half  of  the  Territory.  IIow  far 
north  and  west  in  Manitoba  it  reaches,  will 
only  be  determined  as  settlement  advances  in 
that  little-known  Province.  One  thing  is  to 
be  borne  in  mind  about  this  region — it  is  the 
ultimate  and  permanent  wheat-field  of  the 
continent.  The  wheat-growing  industry 
has  been  steadily  moving  west  for  more  than 
half  a  century.  Western  New  York  and 
Eastern  Pennsylvania  were  once  the  great 
wheat  sections.  Then  Ohio  had  its  turn.  Now 
the  counties  of  that  State  which  forty  years 
ago  shipped  large  quantities  of  wheat  to  the 
East  do  not  raise  wheat  enough  to  supply 
their  own  population  with  bread.  Afterward 
Indiana,  Southern  Michigan,  Northern  Illi- 
nois and  Wisconsin  made  wheat  the  chief 
crop,  to  be  succeeded  by  Iowa,  and  now  by 
Minnesota,  Nebraska  and  Dakota.  The  wheat 
belt  cannot  move  much  farther  west.  It  will 
soon  reach  the  great  grassy  plains  where  there 
is  not  sufficient  rain  fall  for  successful  agricul- 
tiu'e.  Beyond  the  Rocky  Montains,  in  Oregon 
and  Washington  Territory,  a  new  wheat 
country  of  immense  extent  is  being  slowly 
developed,  but  on  the  Atlantic  side  of  the 
continent  the  area  where  wheat-farming  is 
the  chief  industry  will  not  be  pushed  much 
beyond  the  pre.sent  limits  of  Dakota.  The 
rich  lands  in  the  valley  of  the  Red  River  of 
the  North  and  the  vast  rolling  plains  of  Da- 
kota and  Manitoba  are  evidently  destined  to 
be  a  permanent  granary,  like  Hungary  and 
Southern  Russia. 

Their  product,  it  is  interesting  to  .note, 
seeks  the  markets  of  the  world  by  way  of  the 
harbor  of  New  York.  A  glance  at  a  map 
will  show  that  the  water  route  from  the  head 
of  Lake  Superior  to  Buffalo  and  thence  to 
this  city  by  the  Erie  canal  and  the  Hudson 
river  is  almost  a  direct  line  from  the  new 
wheat  country  of  Nortlicrn  Dakota.  A  short 
stretch  of  rail  transportation  brings  the  wheat 
produced  on  the  vast  Northwestern  plains  to 
cheap  water  transportation  extending  to  the 
seaboard.  The  commerce  of  New  York  can- 
not fail  to  profit  directly  and  largely  by  the 
development  of  the  new  wheat  region  of  the 
Far  Northwest.— JV.  F.  Trihune. 


horses  and  the  pits  adjoining  holding  the  ex- 
creta so  close  to  the  house,  and  have  hostlers 
and  coachmen  to  come  there,  to  kitchen  and 
dining-rooms,  with  rank-smelling  person  and 
clothing.  When  yellow  corn,  mixed  with 
mill  feed  is  fed  to  horses  generally,  or  hard- 
husked  old  oats  given  to  old  horses  that  can- 
not duly  masticate  and  consequently  fully  di- 
gest them,  the  droppings  and  urine  are  un- 
usually acrid,  and  will  badly  scent  whatever 
absorbents  are  about.  All  this  injurious  un- 
savoriness  may  be  avoided  by  simple  and 
iheap  means.  Very  dry,  waste  plaster  of 
Paris,  or  fine  powdered  land  plaster  dusted  on 
stable  floors  where  said  voidings  generally  ac- 
cumulate, will  cover  or  coat  them  and  pre- 
clude the  escape  of  ammonia. 

When  the  bottom  and  sides  of  the  vaults 
are  dusted,  and  the  ordure  nicely  leveled 
therein,  then  firmed  by  treading  them  down 
with  the  feet  of  stablemen  standing  on  a  thick 
board  ;  finally,  having  a  moderate  coat  of 
plaster  scattered  over,  as  painters  sand-coat 
oiled  walls,  no  effluvia  will  issue,  because  the 
ammonia  is  bound.  On  emptying  these  vaults 
the  contents  may  be  properly 'called  manurial 
matter  unless  too  much  salt  hay  or  long  straw, 
not  fully  soaked,  or  badly  carbonized  litter  be 
there.  The  wagon  loads  might  likewise  profit- 
ably be  dusted,  top  and  flanks,  ere  starting, 
and  so  further  obviate  the  ungrateful  sight 
and  odor  of  offal  openly  passing  through  the 
streets.  We  have  read  of  a  prominent  livery- 
man in  Manchester,  England,  disinfecting 
his  stables  with  Douglas'  powder,  made  for 
that  pyrpose.  This  did  not  only  prove  bene- 
ficial to  man  and  beast,  precluding  sore  eyes 
and  coughs,  etc.,  but  the  voidings  were 
eagerly  bought  by  truckers,  for  these  got  the 
full  value  of  their  money. 

The  rubbish  so  generally  bought  for  manur- 
ing is  almost  worthless — hardly  worth  hauling 
— for  the  substance  has  largely  evaporaied, 
either  before  or  diu'ing  transit,  and  more  yet, 
ere  said  stuff"  is  covered  with  soil  enough  to 
prevent  still  more  exposure.  It  might  be  well 
for  the  horse-car  companies  to  try  this  process 
on  a  small  scale. 


HOW  TO   DEODORIZE  STABLES. 
We  often  wonder  why   the  occupants  of 
large    costly    dwellings    permit    stables    for 


UTILIZING  ROUGH  GROUND. 
On  many  farms  there  are  portions  of  land 
that  cannot  be  plowed  without  great  difficul- 
ty on  account  of  ravines  or  stones.  They 
may  be  seeded  to  grass  and  used  for  pastur- 
age, but  it  is  hard  to  cut  the  grass  that  grows 
on  them.  This  broken  land  may  generally  be 
utilized  to  excellent  advantage  by  planting  it 
to  crops  that  require  considerable  room. 
Grapes  do  well  on  rocky  and  broken  land,  if 
sufficient  pains  be  taken  to  prepare  the  places 
where  the  vines  are  to  stand.  Quite  a  large 
hole  should  be  excavated  and  partially  filled 
with  manure  and  loose  earth.  A  rocky  soil  is 
ordinarily  warm  and  well  drained  by  the 
SQaces  between  the  stones.  Many  of  the  best 
vineyards  in  Europe  are  located  on  land  so 
broken  and  rocky  that  it  cannot  be  made  to 
produce  paying  crops  of  grain,  grass,  or  po- 
tatoes. Tomatoes  can  also  be  profitably  raised 
on  broken  land.  The  vines  reipiire  conside- 
rable space  in  which  to  spread  their  branches. 
There  is  some  trouble  in  preparing  the  hills, 
but  the  warm  location  and  good  drainage  will 
generally  insiu'e  large  crops  that  ripen  early 
in  the  season.  Pumpkins,  melons  and  squash- 


es may  be  planted  on  broken  and  rocky  land 
to  most  excellent  advantage.  As  the  hills 
should  be  about  ten  feet  apart,  but  little  dif- 
ficulty will  be  found  in  making  them.  Ex- 
cavations can  be  made  with  the  spade 
or  pick  if  necessary,  and  filled  with  suita- 
ble manure  and  fine  earth.  The  large 
space  between  the  hills  will  require  little  at- 
tention except  to  remove  the  weeds,  which 
will  not  be  very  troublesome  in  a  poor  soil. 
If  a  farmer  has  large  tracts  of  broken  and 
rocky  land  he  can  scarcely  do  better  than  to 
plant  it  to  forest  trees,  giving  a  preference  to 
those  that  will  produce  nuts. 

THE  BUILDING  OF  HOMES. 
Doulile  doors— folding  or  sliding— are  a  great 
social  "institution.'''  By  them  two  rooms 
may  be  thrown  into  one.  A  good  broad  hall 
becomes  in  summer  an  extra  room.  The  air 
circulates.  There  is  a  freedom,  an  openness 
about  the  house,  which  gives  an  air  of  su- 
periority to  even  very  humble  dwellings.  The 
superiority  is  real,  too.  If  we  invite  a  few 
friends  for  the  evening,  it  is  not  necessary  to 
confine  them  to  the  "parlor,"  but  the  doors 
are  thrown  wide  open,  our  guests  will  .111 
parlor,  and  hall,  and  sitting-room  and  kitchen, 
perhaps,  and  yet  all  are  one  company,  for  the 
broad  doors  being  open  the  whole  house  is 
thrown  together.  Music  sounds  through  such 
a  house  delightfully,  and  people  have  a  good 
time  and  love  to  come,  because  it  is  so  cheer- 
ful and  social.  Another  point  in  our  home 
building  which  we  too  often  overlook  is  the 
exposure  of  the  principal  living  and  sleeping- 
rooms  to  the  direct  influence  of  the  sun.  The 
effect  of  the  sunlight  is  best  gained  when  the 
house  stands  with  its  corners  toward  the  car- 
dinal points,  tor  thus  the  sun  shines  with  con- 
siderable power  on  all  sides  of  the  house 
every  clear  day  in  the  summer,  and  yet  its 
power  is  broken,  because  at  noonday  the  rays 
strike  two  sides  obliquely,  and  very  soon 
leaves  the  southeastern  side  in  the  shade.  We 
should  not  forget  that  the  sunshine  is  health- 
giving  ;  dampness  and  shade,  if  slightly  in 
excess,  injure  the  health  of  both  men  and 
animals. 

One  thing  more  is  the  importance  of  hav- 
ing some  provision  for  fire  in  the  chambers. 
We  build  for  health  and  not  for  sickness,  and 
I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  many  a  family 
mourns  the  loss  of  a  member  simply  because 
the  sleeping-room  could  not  be  easily  heated. 
The  best  mode  of  heating  no  doubt  is  by  an 
open  fire  of  some  kind.  It  is  very  easy  in 
building  to  make  open  fire-places  in  at  least 
three  chambers  through  which  the  chimney 
passes. 

Of  coiu-se,  open  fire-places  are  not  economi- 
cal of  fuel,  but  in  the  chambers  fire  is  seldom 
wanted,  and  stoves  may  be  used,  if  preferred. 
As  to  economy  of  fuel,  builders,  as  well  as 
architects  and  proprietors,  either  frequently 
overlook  one  important  fact,  or  they  do  not 
look  at  it,  that  is,  that  the  warmest  part  of 
any  room  is  farthest  from  the  floor ; 
so  if  we  make  our  rooms  ten  or  eleven  feet 
high  we  must  heat  the  air  in  all  that  upper 
part  before  a  person  sitting  at  a  table  begins 
to  feel  at  all  warm,  unless  he  is  where  he  gets 
radiation  from  the  stove  or  open  fire.  Low 
ceilings  effect  the  greatest  economy  of  fuel, 
and  even  make  open  fires  economical  as  com- 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


57 


pared  with  stoves  and  high  ceilings.  Nine 
feet  is,  I  think,  an  extreme  height  for  the 
ceiling  of  an  ordinary  country  hou.se,  say  one 
in  wliich  the  largest  room  is  not  more  tliun 
twenty  feet  square,  or  of  equivalent  area. 

Besides,  there  are  other  numerous  consider- 
ations which  tend  to  the  saving  of  fuel  and  at 
the  same  time  increase  the  healthfulness  and 
comfort  of  a  home.  Some  of  these  are  the 
material  of  tlie  walls,  their  impenetrability  to 
air  and  moisture,  "deafening"  of  the  lloors, 
which  adds  greatly  to  their  warmth,  good 
joiner  work  aliCHit  windows  and  doors,  etc. — 
A  Farmer,  in  Arfierican  Agriculturist. 

WHEN  TO  CUT  GRASS. 
Tlie  method  of  curing  gra.ss  among  farmers 
varies,  some  drying  it  more  than  others.  Too 
much  drying  impairs  the  feeding  quality  of 
the  liay.  In  curing  some  put  hay  into  the 
mow  while  green  in  color,  but  not  so  green  in 
condition  as  to  lieat.  This  method  was  deem- 
ed the  best.  One  day  of  curing  of  grass  that 
had  been  cut  free  from  dew  was  ordinarily 
enough  to  cure  the  grass.  When  or  at  what 
stage  of  growth  should  grass  be-  cut  for  hay 
was  a  question  often  discussed.  It  was  gene- 
rally conceded  tliat  early-cut  grass  made  hay 
of  a  better  quality  than  that  cut  late. 
Early  cut  fodder  was  more  digestible  than 
late  cut,  the  digestible  nutriment  being 
the  measure  of  value.  Young  plants  were 
richer  in  proteine  than  \ater  cut,  and  there- 
fore more  nutritious,  but  no  only  the 
quality  but  the  quantity  from  a  given  area 
had  to  be  considered,  which  complicated  the 
problem.  The  proteine  after  the  grass  blo.ss- 
oms  was  transferred  to  forming  seeds,  the 
stem,  or  stalk.  As  the  woody  fibre  was  form- 
ing, the  proteine  decreased  in  both  leaves  and 
stalks.  The  older  the  plant  tlie  less  digesti- 
ble it  was.  The  increase  of  quantity  was  at 
the  expense  of  quality.  Seeds  were  not  mas- 
ticable,  and  for  practical  purposes  hay  that 
was  fully  ripe  was  little,  if  any,  better  than 
straw.  If  but  one  crop  had  to  be  cut  the 
cutting  ouglit  to  be  done  when  the  plants  be- 
gin to  bloom.  The  lecturer  then  went  on  to 
give  the  results  of  experiments  calculated  to 
show  that  it  was  more  profitable  to  cut  two  or 
three  crops  of  young  grass  than  one  crop  of 
ripe  grass  ;  in  practice,  however,  it  had  to  be 
remembered  that  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  the 
length  of  the  season  and  the  cost  of  labor 
were  all  elements  that  must  enter  into  the 
calculation.  No  general  and  inflexible  rules 
cotdd  be  laid  down  in  these  matters.  Early 
cutting  favored  quality,  while  late  cutting  fa- 
vored quanty.  The  quality  of  rowen  on  sec- 
ond crop  varied  in  quality  according  to  the 
richness  of  the  soil  and  the  time  of  cutting 
the  first  crop.  If  cut  at  a  compara- 
tively early  date  of  its  growth,  and  properly 
cured,  it  is  a  valuable  fodder  for  milch  cows 
and  sheep.  It  requires  more  skill  and  care  in 
curing  than  the  first  crop,  or  it  suffers  loss  in 
quality. 

FEEDING  POULTRY   AND  RAISING 
CHICKS. 

One  of  the  secrets  of  successful  poultry 
raising  is  the  art  of  feeding  properly,  not 
merely  at  regular  intervals,  but  on  the  most 
suitable  food,  and  keeping  the  chicks  growing 
as  rapidly  as  possible  from  the  very  start.    It 


is  very  poor  economy  to  stint  the  poultry,  es- 
pecially young  growing  stock,  for  when  once 
stunted,  it  takes  a  long  while  to  recover,  if  it 
does  occur  at  all.  For  the  first  twenty-four 
hours  after  the  chicks  eniorgc  from  the  shell, 
they  shiiuld  remain  under  the  hen  unmolest- 
ed, both  to  dry  and  gain  strength  and  hardi- 
ness. They  do  not  recpiire  any  food,  as  the 
store  nature  provides  will  last  over  this  time. 
As  the  chicks  hatch  sometimes  irregularly.the 
older  ones  can  be  cared  for  in  the  Imuse  until 
the  others  are  ready  to  be  taken  away,  when 
the  hen  and  her  brood  can  be  removed  to  a 
roomy  coop,  with  a  tight-board  bottom  and  a 
rain-proof  roof.  They  should  be  fed  five 
times  daily,  but  only  just  what  they  will  eat 
eat  u])  clean.  The  first  food  should  (U)nsist  of 
stale  bread  m< listened  in  water  or  in  fresh  milk 
— the  milk  is  decidedly  i)re(erable.  Do  not 
icet  the  food,  as  very  moist  or  sloppy  food  will 
cause  sickness  and  a  high  rate  of  mortality 
among  young,  tender  birds.  Keep  the  water 
(for  drinking)  away  from  them  until  they  are 
six  to  eight  weeks  old,  but  if  milk  can  l)c 
spared,  give  them  occasional  drinks  of  it. 
The  too  lavish  use  of  corn  meal  has  caused 
more  death  among  young  chicks  than  has 
cholera  among  grown  fowls.  Until  the  chicks 
are  half-grown,  corn  meal  should  be  liut  spar- 
ingly fed,  but  after  that  time,  when  judicious- 
ly used,  is  one  of  the  very  best  and  cheapest 
foods  for  fowls  and  chicks.  Nine-tenths  of 
the  young  turkey  and  guinea-fowls,  which 
die  when  in  the  "down"  state,  get  their 
death-blow  from  corn  meal,  as  it  is  a  very 
common  practice  (because  it  is  so  "handy," 
and  suits  lazy  people  so  well)  to  merely  moist- 
en, with  cold  water,  some  raw  corn  meal  and 
then  feed  it  in  that  way.  Young  chi('ks 
relish  occassional  seeds  of  cracked  wheat  and 
wheat  screenings,  while  rice,  well  boiled,  is 
not  only  greedily  eaten  by  the  chicks,  but  is 
one  of  the  very  best  things  that  can  be  given. 
It  frequently  happens  that  damaged  lots  of 
rice,  or  low  grades  of  it,  can  be  bought,  at 
low  figures,  in  the  cities.  As  it  increases  so 
much  bulk  in  cooking,  it  is  not  an  expensive 
food  for  young  chicks,  even  at  the  regular  re- 
tail price,  though  it  would  not,  ordinarily,pay 
to  feed  it  to  full-grown  fowls  very  liberally  or 
very  frequently.  In  the  absence  of  worms, 
bugs,  etc.,  during  early  spring,  cheat)  parts 
of  fresh  beef  can  be  well  boiled  and  shreded 
up  for  the  little  chicks,  but  care  mu.st  be  taken 
not  to  feed  more  frequently  than  once  in  two 
days,  and  only  then  in  moderation.  This 
feeding  cm  meat  shreds  is  very  beneficial  to 
young  turkey  and  guinea  chicks  when  they 
are  "shooting''  their  first  quill  feathers,  as 
then  they  require  extra  nourishment  to  re- 
pair the  drain  on  immature  bodies. — Ameri- 
can Ayricidturist. 


VEGETABLE  CONDIMENTS. 
The  best  of  all  is  watercress,  and  consider- 
ing how  easy  it  can  be  grown  it  seems  aston- 
ishing how  few  people  raise  it,  and  how  few 
have  it  on  their  tables.  It  can  be  produced 
o  the  best  advantage  on  the  banks  of  a  spring, 
brook,  as  a  supply  may  then  be  obtained  at 
almost  any  season  in  the  year.  Grown  on 
the  banks  of  a  stream  of  this  kind  it  will  be 
crisp  and  firm  and  require  no  care.  It  may 
also  be  grown  on  the  banks  of  lakes  or  of 
streams  of  tolerably   clear   water.    Experi- 


ments recently  made  in  England  show  that  it 
can  be  produced  in  any  garden  if  pains  be 
taken  to  apply  considerable  water  to  the 
plants  whenever  the  ground  becomes  dry  from 
lack  of  rain.  It  may  be  propagate<l  by  plants, 
which  are  easily  transplanted  if  kept  moist, 
or  by  planting  the  seed,  wliich  is  kept  by 
nearly  all  large  dealers.  The  flavor  of  the 
leaves  aiul  stalk  is  pungent  and  very  agreea- 
ble. The  plant  is  promotive  of  health,  and 
is  recommended  for  curing  impurities  of  the 
blood.  It  requires  no  preparation  for  the 
table,  and  is  eaten  with  the  addition  of  a 
little  salt.  The  common  garden  cress,  or 
"pepper  grass"  which  resembles  watercress 
in  flavor,  but  is  more  pungent,  is  a  desirable 
con<liincnt  early  in  the  spring,  when  the  leaves 
and  stalks  are  (juite  tender.  Celery  is  in  most 
respects  the  favorite  of  all  the  vegetable  con- 
diments. It  requires,  however,  more  skill 
and  care  to  raise,  blanch  and  store  it  than 
most  people  are  willing  to  bestow.  Lately 
great  iniproV(^ments  have  been  made  in  its 
cultivation.  It  is  no  longer  found  necessary 
to  .set  the  plants  in  deep  trenches,  which  are 
gradually  filled  up  as  the  leaves  extend. 
I^evel  culture  is  now  generally  adopted  and 
dwarf  varieties  grown,  which  require  very  lit- 
tle banking  up.  Onions  may  be  classed  with 
condiments,  although  they  are  generally 
ranked  among  food  plants.  Radishesare  very 
desirable  condiments  and  are  very  easily  pro- 
duced by  any  one  who  has  only  a  very  small_ 
amount  of  land  to  cultivate.  The  quicker 
they  are  grown  the  more  brittle  they  are.  It 
is  desirable  to  have  a  succession  of  them  from 
early  spring  till  winter.  The  first  crop  can 
be  raised  in  hot-beds.  Subsequently  a  few 
seeds  should  be  sown  every  week.  Tliey  may 
be  dropiied  a  few  inches  apart  in  rows  when 
flower  and  vegetable  seeds  are  planted.  The 
seeds  germinate  quickly,  and  the  roots  are 
large  enough  to  pull  before  the  other  plants 
attain  much  size. 

TRICHINOSIS. 

Few  diseases  have  created  more  alarm  both 
in  this  country  and  in  Europe  than  the  one 
caused  by  that  insinuating  parasite,  the 
Trichina  Spiralis.  Although  its  ravages  were 
little  known,  or  at  all  events  attracted  little 
attention  until  a  comparatively  recent  period, 
the  people  of  both  hemispheres  have  taken 
the  alarm,  and  half  the  nations  of  Europe 
have  legislated  against  the  importation  of 
that  food  which  is  generally  suppo.sed  to  be 
the  medium  of  its  introduction.  How  long 
the  "pork  worm,"  as  it  has  been  called  by 
way  of  distinction,  has  infected  the  swine  of 
this  and  other  countries  will  probably  never 
be  known.  It  may  have  existed  for  many 
years,  unsuspected  and  undetected  ;  but  a 
dread  of  its  efl'ccts  has  been  aroused  which  it 
is  to  be  hoped  will  not  abate  until  men  shall 
cease  to  subject  themselves  to  its  insidious  at- 
tacks, or  discover  an  eflectual  remedy  to 
overcome  its  deadly  effects. 

Up  to  the  present  time  the  trichina  spiralis, 
we  believe,  has  been  found  exclusively  among 
the  animals  used  for  food — in  the  flesh  of 
swine.  Inasmuch  as  this  meat  is  more  or  less 
freely  eaten  by  a  large  majority  of  the  people 
this  country,  it  would  seem  to  follow  that 
most  persons  are  liable  to  be  attacked  by 
trichinosis.      Fortunately    there    is   an  un- 


58 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[April, 


doubted  remedy  in   the  Iiands  of  every  one 
who  choses  to  avail  himself  of  it.     The  para- 
site can  exist  only  in  the  living  animal  or  in 
pork  while  in  its  raw  condition.     The  flesh  of 
of  an  infected  animal  will,  of  course,  convey 
the  disease  to  all  who  eat  it  unless  the  para- 
site is  destroyed.     This  can  be  easily  and  ef- 
fectually done  by  first  thoroughly  boiling  it. 
If  this  precaution  was  observed,  the  disease 
among  the  human  family  would  be  unknown. 
It  is  only  when  ignorant  or  thoughtless  people 
indulge  in  eating  raw  pork  that  the   insidious 
enemy  finds  a  lodgment  in  the  human  system. 
Kuraerous  undoubted  cases  of  this  terrible 
disease  have  occurred  in  this  country.     The 
investigation  of  Dr.  Belfield  and  Mr.  Atwood 
show    that  eight  per  cent,   of  all  the  hogs 
slaughtered   in  Chicago  were   infected   with 
this  parasite.     This  fact  shows  how  important 
it  is  that  every  one  should  know  how  to  avoid 
infection.     The  parasite  is  exceedingly  tena- 
cious of   life,   often   resisting  the   effects  of 
powerful  chemical  agents,  and  the  influence 
of  putrefaction.     Ordinary  smoking  or  salting 
of   infected   meat    does    not    destroy    them. 
Thorough  boiUng  is  the  only  remedy  that  has 
been  found  at  once  easy  and  efl'ectual.      Pork 
may  be  boiled  sufficient  to  kill  those  nearest 
the  surface,  while  those  in  the  interior  may 
escape  unharmed.      If  ordinary  precautions 
are  adopted  there  is  no  danger,   but  without 
them  the  danger  is  constant  and  great.     It 
would  be  well  if  some  feasible  remedy  could 
be  discovered  for  its  prevention  in  the  animals 
themselves,  but  as  this  can  only  be  done  by  a 
series    of  precautions  which  are  impossible 
under  ordinary  circumstances,  our  main  reli- 
ance against  contagion  must  be  by  thoroughly 
disinfecting  the  meat.     Most  persons  are  well 
aware  that  tliorough  boiling  will  prevent  any 
serious  results,  and  cases  of  trichnosis  ought 
to  be  e.xcessively  rare  instead  of  numerous. 
There  is  really  bo  excuse  for  people  eating 
raw  pork.     It  is  a  barbarous  habit,   and   we 
are  almost  tempted  to  say  the  person  who  is 
guilty  of  it  hardly  deserves  a  better  fate.— 
Ifexo  Era. 


TESTING  CREAM. 
The  test  adopted  by  creamery  men  to  find 
the  butter  value  of  cream  collected  from  the 
dairy  farms,  consists  in  churning  each  batch 
of  cream  separately,  and  if  it  does  not  pro- 
duce one  pound  of  butter  from  two  inches, 
from  an  eight  inch  can,  it  is  said  to  "fall 
short"  and  the  patron  is  liable  to  the  imputa- 
tion of  dishonesty  in  skimming.  That  there 
are  dishonest  practices  resorted  to  on  some 
farms,  is  undoubtedly  true,  but  it  is  also  true 
that  the  test  adopted  by  the  creamery  is  not 
always  a  sure  indication  that  cream  has  been 
tampered  with  to  the  detriment  of  the  cream- 
ery. Where  the  patron  does  a  share  of  the 
skimming  himself,  he  may  stir  in  a  quantity 
of  milk  to  increase  the  measure,  or  stir  in 
soda  to  cause  an  efliervesence  and  thus  in- 
crease the  bulk  of  the  cream.  Besides  these 
there  are  other  devices  resorted  to  for  the 
purpose  of  defrauding  the  creamery.  But  in 
justice  to  those  who  do  not  resort  to  such 
practices,  it  should  appear  to  the  candid  mind 
that  there  are  certainly  other  causes  than  dis- 
honesty from  which  a  shortage  may  occur. 
On  many  farms  it  is  entirely  necessary  that 
some  of  the  milk  shall    be  skimmed  daily. 


There  are  young  calves  to  be  fed,  and  young 
pigs  that  ought  to  have  milk,  from  which  only 
a  portion  of  the  cream   has  been   removed. 
This  necessity    implies  the    skimming  at  a 
stage  when  the  cream  is  as  yet  unripened,  or 
has  not  had  time  to    concentrate    it.self  to 
the  thick  mass    of  butter  glubules.     Cream 
thus  prematurely  skimmed  is  watery  and  will 
not  yield  the  amount  of  butter  to  the  inch 
tliat  can  be  obtained  from  thoroughly  ripened 
cream.  This  is  also  measurably  true  of  cream 
raised   during  the  Spring   months  when   the 
young  grass  is  yet  watery;  it  will  not  produce 
the  rich  cream   that  milk  will  raise  at  a  later 
season,   when  the    grass   has    perfected    its 
growth.      Much  of  the  "falling  short"  is  also 
due  to  carelessness  in  skimming  by  the  per- 
son who  collects  the  cream,  or  carelessness  in 
handling.     It  should  also   be  noted   that  in 
taking  a  can  out  of  the  bank  to  be  skimmed 
and  setting  it  down  on  the  floor  (especially  if 
it  has  stood  a  long  time)  that  a  layer  of  ga? 
has  formed  between  the  cream  and  the  milk, 
which   by  the  jar  of  setting  the  can  on  the 
floor,   starts  this  gas    upward    through   the 
cream,  puffing  it  up  so  that  it  will  measure 
more  than  if  allowed  to  rest  a  few  moments 
to  allow  the  gas  to  escape  and   the   cream  to 
gain  its  normal  condition.     We  might  detail 
many  other  conditions  that  interfere  with  a 
true  measurement  did  space  permit.    What  is 
needed  is  that  all  milk  should  be  allowed  to 
stand   till   it  acquires  a  ripeness.     Then    it 
should  be  measured  by  a  careful  hand  who  has 
that  rare  faculty  to  do  even  handed  justice 
between  the  patron  and  the  party  who  em- 
ploys him  to  collect  the  cream. 


APPLICATION   OF   LIQUID  MANURE. 

The  comparative  advantages  of  applying 
fertilizers  to  land,  in  liquid  form,  or  after  the 
liquid  has  been  taken  up  and  made  solid  by 
absorbents,  have  not  been  fully  settled  by  in- 
telligent farmers  generally.  Liquids  have  the 
advantage  of  immediate  action  when  applied  ; 
while,  on  the  contrary  the  soluble  portions  of 
solids  must  be  first  dissolved  or  washed  out, 
requiring  a  considerable  length  of  time.  On 
the  other  hand,  liquid  manure  can  only  be 
secured  by  more  perfect  and  expensive  build- 
ings, and  the  facilities  for  conveying  it  to  the 
fields  include  pumps,  tanks  and  sprinklers.  In 
addition  to  these,  care  must  be  taken  to 
prevent  the  inconvenience  of  freezing  in 
winter. 

On  a  large  scale,  and  with  complete  tanks 
and  appliances,  the  use  of  liquids  may  be  at- 
tended with  less  labor  in  applying  than  if  they 
were  all  first  absorbed  and  then  drawn  out  in 
solid  form.  With  a  good  pump,  and  with  the 
tank  or  tub  not  much  higher  than  the  cistern, 
a  laborer  will  load  a  liquid  ton,  ready  for 
drawing,  with  less  labor  than  he  can  throw  a 
solid  ton  on  a  wagon  with  a  fork.  Through 
tlie  sprinkler  he  spreads  it  with  no  other  labor 
than  driving  the  wagon  across  the  field,  and 
it  is  more  evenly  distributed  and  finely  dif- 
fused than  by  any  spreading  with  the  fork 
and  breaking  with  the  harrow— in  which  it  is 
scarcely  equaled  by  Kemp's  spreading  cart, 
which  pulverizes  and  scatters  the  manure 
with  no  labor  to  the  driver.  This  manure 
si)reader  is  the  most  perfect  contrivance  yet 
brought  into  use  for  making  manure  available 
by  fine  pulverization  ;  and  next  to  this  is  the 


fall  spreading  of  manure  and  breaking  it  fine 
by  suitable  harrowing — the  autumn  and  win- 
ter rains  washing  out  the  soluble  parts  into 
the  soil. 

Very  few  farmers  have  barns,  stables, 
drains,  cisterns,  pumps  and  tubs  for  drawing, 
to  enable  thein  to  use  and  spread  liquid 
manure  advantageously.  Most  of  the  stable 
floors  are  not  water  tight,  and  the  liquids 
leak  through  and  are  absorbed  by  the  earth 
beneath,  or  are  lost.  On  grain  farms,  where 
there  is  an  abundance  of  straw,  enough  may 
be  used  as  litter  to  hold  all  or  nearly  all  the 
liquid,  and  largo  quantities  of  this  coarse  or 
straw  manure,  thrown  into  a  heap  and  ex- 
posed to  weather  and  rains,  will  rot  down  and 
may  be  drawn  out  in  the  following  autumn. 
A  question  here  occurs,  which  we  suggest  for 
investigation — namely,  how  much  gain  in  the 
labor  of  drawing  out  solid  manure  is  obtained 
by  the  spontaneous  evaporation  of  the  water 
of  the  liquid  manure  as  it  lies  in  such  a  heap  ? 
When  absorbents  cannot  be  had  the  liquid 
may  be  saved  by  excavating  a  shallow  cistern 
beneath  the  stable,  making  the  sides  so  slop- 
ing that  the  water- lime  mortar  may  bespread 
on  the  smooth  face  of  the  earth.  In  this  way 
the  expense  will  be  moderate.  The  contents 
of  this  cistern  are  pumped  out  as  needed  and 
drawn  to  the  fields  in  the  watercart.  There 
are  two  difficulties  with  this  method.  If  the 
cement  is  not  made  with  the  sharpest  and 
purest  saud,  and  the  best  water-lime,  the  frost 
of  cold  winters  will  crumble  it.  Tlie  fcjetid 
odor  from  the  liquid  may  interfere  with  the 
maintenance  of  the  pure  air  which  should  al- 
ways exist  about  every  good  farmer's  build- 
ings. To  prevent  these  two  difficulties  is  a 
subject  for  careful  investigation,  which  will 
be  differently  answered  according  to  circum- 
stances. A  large  use  of  absorbents  in  the 
cistern  would  defeat  the  attempt  to  carry  off 
its  contents  by  pumping. 

The  object  of  these  remarks  is  to  open  the 
question  for  examination,  ana  to  invite  the 
statements  of  those  who  have  tried  the  differ- 
ent modes  for  securing  and  applying  liquid 
manure  under  the  most  favorable  circum- 
stances. The  three  points  to  be  taken  spe- 
cially into  consideration  are  the  comparative 
advantages  of— 1.  Using  the  clear  liquid  with 
good  and  suitable  appliances  ;  2.  Employing 
an  abundance  of  straw  and  other  absorbents 
in  the  stable  ;  .3.  -Conveying  the  liquids  by 
means  of  light  floors  and  gutters  to  compost 
heaps  of  earth,  peat  or  turf,  placed  under  or 
near  the  barn. — Country  Gentleman. 


EARLY     PRICE     OF      PENNSYLVANIA 
LANDS, 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  prices  at  which 
lands  are  selling  in  Pennsylvania  to-day,  com- 
pared with  the  prices  that  prevailed  at  the 
time  of  its  settlement,  and  for  a  century 
thereafter.  From  the  transfer  of  the  colony 
to  Penn  down  to  1702,  the  price  was  $41.33 
per  hundred  acres,  except  in  the  lower 
counties,  where  it  was  only  $9..33  per  hundred. 
From  17G2  until  17G3  it  was  $24  per  hundred. 
From  1763  to  1765  it  was  put  up  to  the  earlier 
figure,  $41.33.  From  176.5  until  1784  it  stood 
at  $22.22.  Under  the  Commonwealth  the 
changes  were  as  follows  :  From  1784  to  1792 
it  was  $26.66j  per  hundred  acres.  In  the  new 
purchase,  made  in  1784,  including  the  north- 


1882.J 


THE  LANCASTER  FARME^^. 


59 


western  portion  of  the  State,  and  about  one- 
tliirtl  of  its  jiresent  area,  land  was  sold  from 
1785  to  until  1789  at  $80  per  hundred  acres. 
From  1789  until  1792  the  price  was  *53.33i  ; 
from  1792  until  1817  it  was  $13. 33 J  for  all 
cast  nf  the  Allegheny  river,  bou^jht  under  the 
1781  purchase.  Lands  secured  Iiy  the  I'enn 
heirs  under  tlie  1708  purcliase,  which  included 
the  northeastern  and  soutliwestera  portions 
of  the  colony,  sold  from  1792  until  1814  at 
$6.fi0|  per  hundred  acres  ;  these  latter  lands 
have  been  selliuf?  since  that  lime  at  $26.G0i. 
Lauds  improved  agreeably  to  the  act  of  1792 
are  sold  respectively  at  $0,601  and  $13.33J 
per  hundred  acres.  Of  course  the  lands  still 
at  the  disposal  ol  the  State  are  neitiier  very 
choice  nor  of  great  extent.  All  the  vacant 
and  unimproved  lauds  of  the  State  are  now 
sold  at  $20,005  per  hundred  acres,  except 
lands  lying  north  and  west  of  the  Ohio  and 
Allegheny  rivers  and  the  Conewago  creek, 
whicli  are  held  at  $20.  It  will  be  seen  the 
extreme  range  of  prices  under  the  proprietary 
and  the  commonwealth  for  SOU  acres  ran  all 
the  way  from  $33.33  to  $206.67,  which  in- 
cluded the  choice  lands  of  the  State.  We 
have  progressed  somewhat  since  the  early 
days,  when  Lancaster  county  lands  were  to 
be  had  at  a  little  more  than  six  cents  an  acre. 
Three  thousand  acres  jould  have  been  pur- 
chased then  at  the  cost  of  a  single  acre  to- 
day. What  is  more,  the  surveyors  didn't 
look  aft:r  the  odd  perches  quite  as  closely  as 
they  do  now.  William  Penn  and  his  heirs 
not  only  gave  full  measure,  but  threw  in  six 
percent,  additional  "forroads  and  highways." 
The  purchasers  of  real  estate  in  those  days 
certainly  got  the  worth  of  their  money  if  ever 
men  did." — New  Era. 


A   HOME  FRUIT    CANNING    FACTORY. 

Among  the  little-known  industries  in  this 
county  is  the  fruit-canning  factory  of  Messrs. 
C.  Fell  &  Son,  located  at  Kirk's  Mills,  in  Lit- 
tle Britain  towusliip.  We  had  a  visit  from 
the  senior  member  of  the  firm  recently 
who  gave  us  some  interesting  particulars  con- 
cerning this  industry  in  which  he  embarked 
so  extensively  last  year. 

The  Messrs.  Fell  were  induced  to  go  into 
the  canning  business  because  of  the  large 
amount  of  different  kinds  of  fruits  and  vege- 
tables that  went  to  waste  on  their  own  place 
and  also  among  their  neighbors.  Ths  idea  of 
utilizing  these,  and  thus  saving  what  would 
otherwise  be  lost,  led  them,  in  1881,  to  begin 
putting  up  tomatoes,  apples,  plums  and  sweet 
corn.  The  result  was  when  the  season's  work 
was  over  many  thousands  of  cans  of  these 
fruits  and  vegetables  had  been  prepared  for 
market.  They  are  put  up  in  one  and  two- 
pound  cans  and  find  a  market  in  this  city  and 
in  Philadeliihia. 

Nearly  all  the  articles  canned  are  grown  by 
the  Messrs.  Fell  themselves,  the  rest  being 
purchased  from  the  farmers  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. The  tomatoes  used  were  principally 
the  "Beefsteak"  and  "Acme"  varieties. 
The  corn  grown  was  Sloyle's  evergreen.  Some 
dirticulty  was  liad  in  procuring  a  sufliciency  of 
tin  cans  lor  their  purpose,  and  most  of  those 
used  were  made  in  Cecil  county,  Maryland. 
During  the  heiglit  of  the  season  eighteen 
hands  were  employed  in  the  various  processes 
of  canning.  The  quality  of  the  articles  put 
up  at  this  establishment  is  first-class,  and  is 
more  in  demand  as  their  excellent  qualities 
become  better  known. — New  Era. 


Our  Local  Organizations. 


FULTON   FARMERS'   CLUB. 

March   Meeting. 

The  Becond  Marcli  meeting  of  the  Club  was  held 
at  the  rcsldcnue  of  Joseph  P.  (ireist,  in  Fulton  town- 
ship. There  was  a  very  large  atti  ndanee  of  mem- 
bers and  their  families,  besides  several  visitors. 

After  the  minutes  of  the  last  meeting  liad  been 
read  and  approved,  S.  L.  CJregg  asked  :  "  Which  Is 
the  more  profitable  crop — wheal  or  corn  ?" 

Joseph  P.  (iricsl :  Wheat  takes  the  longer  season, 
but  does  not  require  lliecare  and  attention  that  corn 
does.  It  does  not  produce  as  many  bus'.iels  per  acre 
as  corn,  but  I)riug8  a  better  price.  On  the  whole,  I 
would  think  it  more  prolilable  than  corn. 

Day  Wood  :  Fifty  bushel.s  per  acre  might  be  con- 
sidered a  fair  average  yield  of  corn  and  twenty  of 
wheat.  At  present  prices — 70  cents  per  bushel  for 
corn  and  Sl.'JO  for  wheat— the  diO'erence  would  more 
than  pay  for  the  greater  attention  required  by  corn. 
He  would  say  that  If  tlie  same  amount  of  fertilizers 
was  used  corn  is  the  most  profitable  crop. 

Tliomas  Stubbs:  If  fertilized  alike,  corn  is  more 
profitable  than  wheat.  Several  others  concurred  in 
this  opinion. 

Day  Wood  :  Is  it  a  good  time  to  sell  wheat  now  ? 
,S.  L.  Gregg  did  not  see  anything  to  make  it  ad- 
vance. There  is  enough  wheat  in  the  country  to 
supply  the  demand  and  a  fine  prospect  for  a  good 
crop  next  harvest.  Reports  also  show  that  there  has 
been  a  great  deal  of  spring  wheat  sowed  in  the  West. 

Thomas  Stubbs  :  Better  sell  anything  when  you 
have  it  ready. 

E.  H.  Haines  did  not  think  it  a  good  time  to  sell. 
At  present  prices  wheat  is  not  a  paying  crop  and 
there  was  not  much  risk  in  holding  it  when  prices 
were  low. 

.VIontilion  Brown  :  What  kind  of  fertilizers  will  be 
used  this  spring  for  corn  by  those  present  ? 

S.  L.  Gregg  :  South  Carolina  rock  and  Q.  and  L. 
(quick  and  lasting)  bone  seem  to  pay  best  at  pres- 
ent prices.     For  either  wheat  or  corn  would  plow  in. 

Jos.  T.  Greist  will  use  barnyard  manure;  E.  II. 
Haines  and  Day  Wood  will  use  rock ;  Thomas 
Stubbs,  Orchilla  guano  ;  C.  S.  Gatchell  rock  and  Q. 
and  L. bone. 

Melissa  Gregg  :  Does  any  one  know  anything  about 
meat  or  .«oap  vessels  bniit  of  brisk  and  cemented  ? 

Joseph  P.  Greist  has  one  in  his  cellar.  He  uses  it 
for  a  soap  vessel,  and  it  answers  the  purpose  well. 

Thomas  Stubbs  has  one  built  partly  of  the  cellar 
wall  and  partly  of  brick.  After  drying  it  was 
washed,  cemeutedwith  a  brush,  to  fill  up  the  cracks. 
It  makes  a  good  soap  vessel,  but  he  would  be  afraid 
to  use  it  for  meat,  as  cement,  is  said  to  taint. 

C.  S.  Gatchell  said  that  one  of  bis  neighbors  had 
one  which  be  used  to  salt  meat  in.  It  answers  the 
purpose  well. 

R.  D.  King:  How  many  bushels  of  tomatoes  can 
be  raised  per  acre  ? 

William  P.  Harris  ;  It  depends  very  much  on  the 
land.  One  vine  in  his  garden  would  produce  as 
many  bushels  as  eight  would  in  his  field. 

E.  Wilson  :  If  they  grow  as  they  do  in  some 
places  a  great  many  bushels  can  be  grown  on  an 
acre.  He  had  known  six  bushels  to  he  raised  on  a 
piece  of  ground  about  ten  by  twelve  feet. 

E.  H.  Haines  :  In  Harford  county  200  bushels  are 
considered  a  good  crop. 

Day  Wood  thought  that  200  bushels  would  be  a 
large  yield  for  an  average.  One  hundred  bushels  per 
acre  for  10  acres  would  be  a  fair  average. 

E.  11.  HaincK  :  Planted  4  feet  apart,  2,700  plants 
will  stand  on  an  acre,  and  at  that  rate  it  would  take 
27  plants  to  produce  a  bushel. 

E.  H.  Haines  :  Does  the  seedling  peach  tree  live 
longer  than  the  grafted  ? 

Wm.  P.  Harris  did  not  find  much  difference; 
neither  of  them  bears  more  than  two  crops. 

S.L.  Gregg:  Not  much  difference;  if  anything, 
the  seedling  has  It. 


Joseph  C.  Stubbs  had  better  luck  when  he  planted 
in  fence  corners  and  gave  them  no  care.  He  knew 
an  old  nurseryman  that  planted  some  peach  trees  In 
fields  and  some  in  fence  corners,  and  the  ones  In  the 
fence  corners  did  the  best. 

C.  S.  Gatchel  said  that  seedlings  did  best  for  him. 
He  had  not  had  a  grafted  tree  to  do  any  good  for  the 
last  fifteen  years. 

Thomas  Stubbs  :  A  tree  that  bus  no  care  seems  to 
do  better  and  bear  longer  than  those  that  are  belter 
cared  for.  He  had  known  some  trees  to  be  brought 
to  that  were  quite  yellow  by  putting  walnUt  hulls 
around  them. 

E.  H.  Haines  said  he  made  a  garden  several  years 
ago.  He  planted  some  peach  trees,  both  grafted  and 
seedling,  Ihiiiking  that  they  would  not  live  long. 
The  grafted  trees  soon  died.  The  seedlings  are  alive 
yet. 

Priscilla  Coates  said  that  they  had,  some  years 
ago,  an  orchard  of  ten  acres.  It  bore  five  full  crops. 
The  ground  was  cultivated  in  potatoes.  Every  spring 
and  fall  the  borers  were  taken  out  and  salt  was  put 
around  the  trees— not  against  them.  The  trees  were 
all  grafted. 

After  dinner  the  usual  inspection  of  the  farm  and 
live  stock  was  made  by  the  Club,  and  after  it  had 
again  convened  in  the  house  criticisms  were  called 
for. 

S.  L.  Gregg  thought  there  was  no  improvement  In 
the  stock.  The  farm  was  looyng  fine,  and  the  shed 
over  the  barnyard  was  much  improved. 

Montillion  Brown  was  not  here  last  year.  The  farm 
looks  well  now. 

Thomas  Stubbs  ;  He  has  a  rather  remarkable  fleld 
of  wheal.  It  looks  healthier  than  any  in  the  neigh- 
borhood.    It  always  has  had  a  healthy  appearance. 

E.  H.  Haines:  His  slock  has  materially  changed 
in  kind.  It  is  good.  He  has  a  new  breed  of  bogs 
(small  Yorkshire).  There  is  not  much  wasted  In 
nose. 

Joseph  P.  Greist  read  from  Scrib7ier  an  article  de- 
cribing  an  automatic  machine  for  destroying  insects 
that  was  exhibited  at  the  Atlanta  Exposition. 

Montillion  Brown  read  an  article  from  the  New 
York  Tribune  on  covering  grapes  while  ripening  with 
paper  bags,  and  asked  if  any  one  present  had  any 
experience  with  the  method. 

Tliere  was  one  who  had  tried  tying  paper  bags 
around  the  clusters,  but  there  were  several  that  had 
noticed  that  grapes  would  ripeu  much  nicer  in  the 
shade  than  in  the  sunshine. 

A  paper  was  found  lying  on  the  floor  which  proved 
to  be  another  communication  from  the  "Old  Woman." 

She  had  been  waiting  impatiently  (or  ihe  new 
Scripture  to  come  out.  She  wanted  to  know  if  It 
would  make  Adam  to  be  so  mean  as  the  old  one  did, 
to  e.it  the  apple  himself  and  then  lay  all  the  blame 
ou  Eve..  Now  she  had  got  it  and  found  that  what 
was  published  did  not  go  back  as  far  as  Adam  by 
four  thousand  years,  so  she  would  have  to  wait  a 
good  wnile  longer  before  she  was  satisfled. 

But  she  had  been  looking  over  it  and  she  did  not 
find  any  more  comfort  for  those  who  were  in  the 
habit  of  practicing  sharp  tricks  in  their  dealings 
than  she  did  in  the  old. 

Priscilla  B   Coates  recited  "  Some  Day." 

The  Club  next  proceeded  to  elect  oflicers  for  the 
ensuing  year,  with  the  following  result :  President, 
William  King;  Secretary,  E.  H.  Haines;  Treasurer, 
Lindley  King;  Librarian,  Day  Wood. 

Mabel  H .  Greist,  Sadie  Brown,  Joel  King  and  Mon- 
tillion Brown  were  appointed  to  furnish  literary 
matter  for  the  next  meeting,  which  will  be  held  at 
the  residence  of  Lindley  King  on  the  second  Satur- 
day in  April. 

April  Meeting.  ^/ 

The  Fulton  Farmers'  Club  met  at  the  residence  of 
Lindley  King,  near  Wakefield,  April  Sth,  1882. 

Grace  A.  King  exhibited  some  apples  to  be  named 
and  they  were  pronounced  to  be  Tewkesbury  Winter 
Blush,  a  variety  of  remarkable  keeping  qualities. 

Jesss  Yocum  exhibited  a  sample  of  some  Russian 
oato  which  he  had  purchased  for  seed.  Also  a  few 
potatoes  of  an  unknown  variety  which  he  estimated 


60 


THE  LANCASTERfFARMER. 


[April, 


had  yielded  for  hira  in  a  patch  in  the  garden  at  the 
rate  of  from  350  to  40O  bushels  per  acre  and  he  con- 
sidered the  quality  good.  They  were  raised  under 
very  favorable  circumstances,  the  land  being  rich 
and  the  cultivation  thorough.  He  believes  in  plant- 
ing potatoes  in  ground  previously  made  rich  and 
then  not  to  use  any  manure  in  the  row.  He  also 
exhibited  a  few  ears  of  hominy  corn,  this  is  a  white, 
flinty,  shallow-grained  variety  well  adapted  for 
making  good  hominy  but  not  very  productive,  seldom 
yielding  more  than  40  bushels  per  acre. 

Josiah  Brown  asked  "which  way  can  we  raise 
the  most  corn,  by  drilling  or  checkering  and  plant- 
ing with  the  hoe?" 

S.  L.  Gregg  said  he  thought  that  about  as  much 
corn  could  be  raised  in  one  way  as  the  other ;  he 
drills  in  his,  but  not  because  he  thinks  it  better  but 
it  is  more  convenient. 

Montillion  Brown  prefers  to  checker  his  except 
when  the  field  is  hilly,  as  it  is  much  easier  to  keep 
the  corn  clean. 

Joseph  P.  Griest  advocated  drilling  in  rows,  four 
feet  apart,  with  two  stalks  in  a  hill  and  the  hills 
thirty-nins  inches  apart  in  the  rows.  In  this  way  he 
had  raised  seventy  five  bushels  per  acre. 

Several  others  spoke  in  favor  of  drilling.  They 
believed  they  could  raise  more  corn,  it  stood  dry 
weather  better  than  when  hilled  and  they  could 
work  close  to  it. 

James  .Smedley  saW  he  once  planted  part  of  a 
field  in  hills  SU  feet  apart  each  way  and  from  two 
to  three  stalks  in  the  hill  ;  the  rest  of  the  field  was 
planted  iu  hills  six  feet  apart  one  way  and  two  feet 
the  other  with  two  stalks  in  the  hill,  and  by  the  lat- 
ter plan  he  raised  about  one  third  more  corn  than  by 
he  former.  In  each  case  the  corn  was  worked  both 
ways. 

The  following  questions  had  been  handed  to  M. 
Brown  to  be  asked  at  the  club  :  Ist.  Would  it  be 
advisable  in  planting  a  field  of  corn  to  run  the  rows 
80  as  to  render  the  field  liable  to  wash  for  the  sake 
of  having  the  rows  run  north  and  south. 

S.  L.  Gregg  said  he  had  no  faith  in  the  benefits  tg 
be  had  from  making  the  rows  to  run  from  north  to 
south.  The  air  would  circulate  either  way,  and  If 
the  noonday  sun  did  not  shine  well  along  the  rows 
the  morning  and  evening  sun, would  which  answered 
just  as  well.  He  always  runs  the  rows  across  and 
not  up  and  down  the  hill.  These  views  seemed  to 
meet  the  approbation  of  all  present. 

2nd.  How  far  apart  should  Lima  beans  be  planted 
for  a  field  crop  ?  Nearly  all  were  in  favor  of  plant- 
ing them  about  the  same  distance  apart  as  corn.  Jos. 
P.  Griest  plants  his  in  rows;  four  feet  apart,  in  hills 
one  foot  apart  in  the  row,  in  this  way  he  makes  one 
pole  answer  for  two  hills.  He  plants  two  beans  in  a 
hill. 

Jesse  Yocum  asked,  "Where  did  tlie  bean  weevil 
come  from  and  how  can  it  be  prevented  from  injur- 
ing the  beans?"  No  one  could  tell  where  the  weevils 
came  from,  but  James  Smedley  said  he  had  found 
that  by  heating  the  beans  they  could  be  saved  from 
injury. 

Emma  King  read  a  selected  article  encouraging  all 
those  who  could  to  write  something  for  the  papers 
and  maintaining  that  it  is  the  duty  of  every  person 
to  try  to  say  or  write  something  tor  the  instruction 
and  encouragement  of  others  so  that  the  world  may 
be  the  better  for  their  having  lived  in  it. 

Mabel  A.  Haines  recited  "The  Poetry  of  House- 
work." 

The  club  having  now  been  in  existence  twelve 
years,  Montillion  Brown  read  a  history  he  had  pre- 
pered  of  it,  noting  briefly  its  rise,  progress  and 
achievements.  The  first  meeting  was  held  at  the 
residence  of  William  Brown  in  March,  1870,  and  two 
of  the  six  or  seven  persons  who  were  pri^sent  and  ef- 
fected its  organization  are  still  regufar  attenders  of 
its  meetings.  During  the  twelve  years  of  its  exist- 
ence it  has  lost  two  of  its  members  by  death,  whose 
memories  have  been  commemorated  by  appropriate 
resolutions.  It  held  two  fairs,  at  which  tbe  display 
and  attendance  exceeded  the  expectations  of  all  who 
witnessed  them.  It  has  also  held  a  public  sale  of 
stock,  etc.,  at  which  the  sale  amounted  to  many 
hundreds  of  dollars,  and  last  but  not  least  it  held  a 
public  meeting  in  the  grove  of  the  Hon.  James 
Black  at  the  now  becoming  famous  Black  Barren 
Spring. 

After  the  reading  of  this  several  others  spoke  of 
the  good  effects  of  the  club,  dwelling  more  particu- 
larly on  its  social  advantages  and  of  the  harmony 
that  had  always  characterized  its  meetings. 


Jesse  Tocum,  who  was  attending  one  of  its  meet- 
ings for  the  flrst  time,  said  he  was  much  pleusad  with 
the  exercises,  but  was  afraid  that  the  members  would 
allow  it  to  take  the  place  of  small  social  gatherings 
which  he  considered  so  essential  to  the  good  of 
society. 

The  question,  "  Should  a  farmer  make  a  specialty 
of  one  particular  kind  of  business  or  follow  what  is 
known  as  mixed  husbandry  ?''  was  adopted  for  dis- 
cussion several  mouths  ago,  but  as  the-  days  were 
short  there  never  seemed  to  be  time  for  any  discus- 
sion, and  now  most  of  the  members  had  forgotten 
what  the  question  was,  which  made  the  arguments 
come  in  rather  a  crude  shaoe. 

S.  L.  Gregg  said  that  in  this  section  of  the  country 
it  does  not  seem  possible  for  a  farmer  to  follow  rais- 
ing any  one  particular  ithing;  he  must  raise  grain, 
hay  and  keep  some  stock,  but  he  does  not  believe  it 
pays  to  raise  a  few  beans,  a  little  broomcorn,  buck- 
wheat or  sorghum  to  sell, for  if  he  does  he  will  neglect 
his  regular  crops.  Several  others  coincided  with  this 
view  of  the  subject,  yet  thought  that  some  certain 
thing  might  be  made  the  leading  feature  of  our  farm- 
ing operations,  and  only  such  other  things  raised  as 
are  necessary  to  the  carrying  out  of  the  main  object 
iu  view.  Dairying,  for  instance,  might  be  the  princi- 
pal object  in  view,  and  then  only  sucli  grains  raised 
as  furnished  straw  for  beddi[ig,  and  this  could  easily 
be  done  as  there  is  in  this  section  a  necessity  for 
breaking  up  the  land  occasionally  and  resetting  it 
with  grass  in  order  to  keep  up  a  supply  of  hay  and 
pasture. 

The  next  meeting  will  be  held  at  the  residence  of 
Montillion  Brown  on  the  first  Saturday  iu  next 
month. 


THE  LINN.ffiAN   SOCIETY. 

The  society  met  in  the  hall  of  the  T.  M.  C.  A.,  crti 
Saturday  afternoon,  March  35, 18SJ,  when,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  the  President  and  Vice  President,  Chas.  A. 
Heinitsh  was  called  to  the  chair.  After  organization 
in  due  form  the  following  donations  were  reported  by 
the  curators; 

Museum. 

Four  fine  specimens  of  minerals  and  metals,  name- 
ly: mic.  ox.  iron  from  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  by  W.  L. 
Hershey;  asbestos  from  Wilmington,  Delaware,  and 
mica  slate  and  quartz  impregnated  with  malachite, 
from  localities  unknown,  by  students  of  the  Lancas- 
ter High  school.  (A  number  of  the  students  of  the 
High  and  Secondary  schools  are  manifesting  an  active, 
working  interest  in  natural  science,  notably  in  botany 
and  mineralogy,  and  they  deserve  encouragement.) 
A  specimen  of  Triton  Jeffei'soiiii,  by  the  curators. 
This  reptile  had  been  kept  alive  in  a  globe  aquarium 
for  a  period  of  nine  months,  and  died  on  the  liud  of 
March,  1882.  As  the  animal  belongs  to  the  order 
Batrachia,  the  theory  of  its  death  is  based  upon  the 
natural  change  in  its  organization,  rather  than  upon 
its  physical  surroundings.  During  the  whole  nine 
months  it  had  been  provided  with  a  pair  of  external 
ciliated  gills,  and  was  a  water  breathing  animal,  like 
the  flshes.  But  the  period  of  its  flnal  transforma- 
tion had  arrived,  when  it  cast  off  its  gills  and  be- 
came air-breathing,  and  as  tbe  form  of  the  aquarium 
prevented  it  from  reaching  the  surface  to  inhale  the 
air,  and  the  oxygen  in  the  water  in  the  tank  being  ex 
hausted,  the  result  was  natural.  We  kiwin  now, 
however,  that  in  an  aquarium  these  animals  may 
survive,  at  least  nine  months,  whatever  the  case 
may  be  in  their  normal  condition. 
Library. 
Report  of  the  Chief  Signal  Office  for  1879,  700 
pages  octavo,  with  73  charts  and  maps.  Proceed 
ings  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  for  1881 
Messages  and  documents,  from  the  Department  of 
State,  for  1881-2.  1  vol.  8vo.,  pp.  1,000,  from  Hon. 
A.  Herr  Smith.  Congressional  Record,  two  vols., -tto 
pp.  4,041,  including  index  and  appendix,  Hon.  A. 
Herr  Smith.  Nos.l  to9,  vol.  21,  Official  Gazette  of 
the  United  States  Patent  Office.  Ten  catalogues  and 
circulars  of  rare  and  valuable  scientific  and  histori- 
cal books.  Three  envelopes,  and  thirty  historical 
and  biographical  scraps. 

New  Businsss. 
E.   K.  Hershey,  of  Creswell,   Lancaster    county, 
was  proposed  for  active  membership,  which,  under 
the  constitutional  rule,  will  receive  flnal  action  at  the 
next  stated  meeting. 

•"  J.  N.  Sloan,  of  Millville,  Clarion  county.  Pa.,  was 
unanimously  elected  a  corresjjonding  member. 

The  next  stated  meeting  will  be  held  at  the  resi- 
dence of  Dr.  Knight,  on  Thursday  evening,  April  27, 
1^82,  being  the  last  Thursday  in  the  month. 

It  was  marked  that  the  evening  meetings  had  not 
yet  been  as  proliflc  of  favorable  results  as  had  been  an- 
ticipated. It  was  thought,  however,  that  before  the 
end  of  the  year  it  would  be  demonstrated  whether  it 
would  bo  best  to  continue  them  or  not. 

The  meeting  had  about  the  average  attendance 
during  the  winter  sessions,  and  although  there  were 
no  papers  read,  and  little  special  business  brought 
before  the  society,  yet  there  were  a  number  of  visi- 
tors present,  and  on  the  whole  there  was  a  pleasant 
time  spent  in  the  Museum. 


Entomological. 


Swarming  Ants  and  Allied  Phenomena. 

March,  is  usually  a  rough,  boisterous  month,  and 
therefore  it  is  not  usual  to  flud  aiit.'i,  or  heex,  swarm- 
ing within  that  month.  But,  the  March  of  1882, 
"went  out  like  a  lamb,"  and  on  one  of  those  lamb- 
like days,  near  the  end  of  the  month,  we  were 
brought  a  bottled  swarm  of  these  busy  little  insects, 
which  issued  from  a  small  aperture  in  a  pavement 
near  "  Penn  Square,"  in  Lancaster  city.  Males, 
females  and  neuters  came  forth  in  great  numbers  ; 
the  flrst  two,  amply  provided  with  wings,  and  the 
last,  entirely  wingless.  The  phenomenon  seemed 
strange  to  those  who  were  unaware  that  ants  ever 
possessed  wings,  and  hence  they  were  supposed  to  be 
"something  new  under  the  sun."  Ants,  however, 
belong  to  the  same  natural  order  that  the  various 
honey-bees  do,  {Hymenoptera')  and  have  many  traits 
in  their  habits  that  approximate  those  of  our  com- 
mon "  hive-bees  "  {Apia  tneUiJlfa)  in  their  domestic^ 
economies.  The  colonies  are  usually  founded  by  a 
single  fertilized  female,  or  queen,  in  the  spring,  who 
deposits  three  kinds  of  eggs,  from  which  are  hatched 
male,  female,  and  neuter  ants,  in  time.  We  have 
often  found,  during  winter,  in  turning  over  an  old 
log  of  wood,  or  large  flat  stone,  or  ripping  the  bark 
from  an  old  decaying  tree,  nestled  in  small  cavities, 
a  large  ant — sometimes  two  or  more — and  some- 
times a  large  "hornet,"  a  "wasp"  or  a  "yellow- 
jacket,"  in  a  state  of  torpor,  but  which  would  revive 
on  exposure  to  the  sun,  or  to  artificial  heal.  These 
were  the  surviving  females,  or  queens,  of  the  previ- 
ous season,  and  in  their  organisms  contained  all  the 
elements  of  successive  colonies  in  and  during  the  fol- 
lowing season;  exhibiting  a  wonderful  adaptation  of 
rae^ns  to  ends  in  the  economy  of  nature.  Under 
similar  circumstances,  specimens  of  the  common 
"  bumble-bees,"  or  of  "  wood-borer-bees,"  are  found; 
and,  before  we  knew  that  the  "  white-head"  wasthe 
male  of  the  wood-borer,  we  wondered  why  those 
found  in  winter  had  black-heads.  This  bee  (Xylo- 
copa  Virglnica) ,  is  also  found  in  the  winter  occupy- 
ing their  galleries  of  the  previous  season  in  wood. 
Now,  these  insects  also  belong  to  the  Jfymenopterous 
order,  and  bridge  over  from  one  summer  to  another, 
with,  perhaps,  only  a  very  few  of  the  large  colonies 
of  a  former  season,  and  those  few  fertile  females, 
each  of  which,  will  become  the  queen,  or  mother,  of 
a  tuture  colony;  f  erpetuating  a  dynasty  that  was 
founded  "  in  the  beginning,"  and  doubtless  will  con- 
tinue "  until  the  end." 

But  the  ants,  like  the  honey-bees  andbumble-bees' 
are  "  social  "  or  gregarious  in  their  habits,  whilst 
the  wood-borers  are  "  solitary,"  and  all  the  labor  is 
performed  by  the  females.  Unlike  the  bees,  how- 
ever, ants  are  usually  wingless  until  the  swarming, 
or  nuptial  season  arrives,  and  the  wings  are  rapidly 
developed  in  the  males  and  females,  whilst  the 
neuters,  or  workers  (whether  soldier,  servant  or 
slave)  remain  apterous,  or  wingless,  throughout 
their  entire  lives.  A  case  was  reported  to  the  Lin- 
na?an  Society  in  1S81,  of  ants  swarming  on  a  warm 
day  in  November,  and  we  have  noticed  this  phe- 
nomenon in  August,  September  and  October.  (  Ter- 
mite): swarm  in  May.)  Those  that  swarm  in  August 
would,  perhaps,  have  time  enough  to  mature  a 
colony  before  the  cold  weather  sets  in,  but  this  could 
n(jt  be  sai<l  of  those  that  delay  until  the  month  of 
November.  As  soon  as  they  have  accomplished  the 
purposes  for  which  they  swarm  they  east  otf  their 
wings — and  they  do  it  quickly  too — when  the  males 
and  neuters  perish,  and  the  fertile  females  are  pre- 
served to  found  new  colonies  in  the  following  spring 
and  summer;  but  why  they  should  be  swarming  in 
the  month  of  March,  is  somewhat  aiioinaloiis.  It 
was  much  too  early  in  the  season  for  a  colony  to  have 
multiplied  from  a  fertilized  female  of  last  year,  and 
hence  must  have  been  in  active  operation  all  winter, 
and  this  suggestion  is  based  upon  the  fact  that  under 
the  pavement,  where  the  swarming  occurred,  is 
located  a  furnace  and  boiler,  which  generates  steam- 
power  for  a  number  of  printing  presses  ;  which  seems 
to  imply  that  ants  are  more  influenced  in  their  activi- 
ties by  tetnperature  than  by  signs  and  seasons.  We 
know  that  a  few  warm  days,  even  in  mid  winter  will 
develoiTthe  foliage  and  flowers  of  plants  ;  and,  if 
long  continued,  will  also  develop  tlie  fruit ;  and  this 
is  also  the  case  when  a  protracted  warm  season  oc- 
curs in  autumn,  producing  what  is  termed  a  "second 
crop."  Now,  this  may  have  been  a  continuous  or  second 
crop  of  ants,  which  matured  during  the  winter  under 
the  influence  of  artificial  heat.  The  same  phenome- 
non frequently  occurs  in  conservatories  or  warm 
"green-houses,"  and  illustrates  that,  primarily,  in- 
sects are  of  the  same  habits  in  their  procreative 
powers  all  over  the  world  ;  and  that  all  departures 
from  the  primary  habit  are  the  results  of  tempera- 
ture ;  of  course  there  may  be  other  conditions  more 
or  less  aflecting  their  development,  but  the  main  one 
is  heat  or  cold — the  one  accelerating,  the  other  re- 
tarding their  progress.  We  can  hardly  name  the 
species  referred  to  in  these  remarks,  because,  before 
we  could  find  time  to  commit  them  to  paper,  our 
specimens  were  lost  or  destroyed,  but  they  seemed  to 
be  the  "  common  brown  ant,"  {Fomica  fusca). 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


61 


Insects — and  especially  ants — are  supposed  to  be 
endowed  with  a  very  liie^li  order  ol'  iiistiiiet — niiiny 
claim  for  tlietn  reasoning  powers  ;  and  yet  thri/,  witli 
many  other  animals,  make  many  mistakes  under  the 
niisKUiding  inlluenees  of  heat  and  cold,  or  liirlit  and 
darkness.  For  instauee,  chickens  inslinetively  hie 
them  to  their  roosts  about  sunset,  wlietiier  it  "rains 
or  shines";  and  yet  it  is  on  reet)rd  tliat  eliiek(;ns 
have  retired  to  their  roosts  at  midday,  when  a  total 
eclipse  ol' the  sun  prevailed.  Triitbl'ul  as  they  are 
penerally  esteemed  as  the  heralds  of  the  "lireak  of 
day, "they  made  a  L^rave  mistake  in  this  instance, 
not  being  able  to  distinguish  between  noon  and  night. 
The  ants  under  consideration,  seemed  l(»  have  been 
in  a  similar  'Mix,"  not  being  able  to  distinguish  be- 
tween summer  and  artilieial  heat.  We  knew  of  a 
"white  cabbage  butterlly"  ( ruria  rii/nr)  to  evolve 
from  the  jjupa  in  the  month  of  February,  wln^u 
there  absolutely  was  snow  on  the  ground.  Notwith 
standing  a  snow  had  fallen,  the  weather  was  mild 
and  the  sun  came  out  strong,  and  perhai>s  the  snow- 
may  have  assisted  in  bringing  the  pupa  within  the 
fhcal  rays  of  the  sun.  Of  course  it  starved  to  ilcath, 
for  there  was  no  green  thing  for  it  to  feed  on  for 
months. 

On  one  occasion,  on  the  Sd  of  December,  we  found 
about  twenty  ''striped  cueumlter  beetles  {Dlahhotica 
vill(ita)  vigorously  feeding  on  a  plant  on 
the  sunny  side  of  a  hill,  in  proxinnty  to 
a  log,  the  plant  having  remained  verdant,  under  the 
protection  atforded  by  said  log  and  continued  warm 
weather,  without  the  instinctive  Ibrewarning,  thet 
on  the  morrow  it  would  snow,  and  then  free/,**, which 
actually  occurred.  The  fad  is  they  were  deceived  by 
the  prevailing  heat:  they  became  hungry,  and  came 
forth  from  their  place  of  inbernation  without  knowing 
wfiether  it  was  June  or  Decmber,  and  bcim/  hungry, 
they  naturally  must  have  something  to  eat.  Last 
winter  snakes  were  found  abroarl  in  Fel)ruary,  as  ac- 
tive as  in  summer,  notwithstanding  the  "(^roumi- 
hog  "  had  admonished  them  that  there  would  lie  six 
weeks  of  winter  weather  after  "candle-mas."  In- 
deed, intelligent  human  beings  themselves,  often 
commit  the  blunder  of  doOing  their  heavy  winter 
under-clothing  on  the  first  warm  dawning  of  spring, 
and  thereby  contract  many  injurious  cold.  The  re- 
animation  of  insects  during  a  period  when  they 
could  obtain  no  food,  and  lotting  them  starve  to 
death,  would  be  a  much  surer  means  of  their  destruc- 
tion than  to  depend  on  them  being  frozen  to  death 
during  a  severe  winter.  Although  the  tenure  of 
animal  life  seems  to  hang  on  a  delicate  thread,  yet 
the  vital  Ibrces  of  nature  are  often  manifested  in  a 
most  extraordinary  manner,  and  under  the,  seem 
ingly,  most  unfavorable  circumstances.  Many  years 
ago  we  noticed  the  single  stem  of  a  "wild  aster" 
that  had  fallen  across  a  much-used  foot  jnit.h,  where 
the  apex  was  trodden  oil'.  It  then  threw  out  laterals 
at  each  axil,  and  the  ends,  too,  of  these  were  soon 
trodden  off,  and  these  Laterals  threw  out  others ; 
and  this  continued  until  late  iu  autumn.  Then  it 
bloomed,  but  instead  of  a  dozen  large  flowers  like 
its  cogeners,  it  produci  d  hundreds  of  very  small 
flowers;  its  main  stem  and  root  were  twice  as  large 
as  those  near  it ;  and  instead  of  a  slender  straggling 
plant,  it  was  a  dense  green  bush,  full  of  flowers.  It 
seemed  determined  to  grow,  and  to  bloom,  notwith- 
standing the  rough  usage  it  met  with.  Fertilized 
female  insects  manifest  the  same  determination  un- 
der tlmilar  unfavorable  auspices. 


Curculio  in    Hlum   Culture. 

Mr.  Isaac  KaulTman,  Mountville,  Pa.,  is  reported 
in  the  Lancaster  Examlnci-  as  having  two  plum  trees 
of  the  same  variety  and  apparently  ei|ual  vigor,  one 
of  which  bore  nothing  this  year  while  the  other  was 
abundantly  loade<!  with  fruit  in  consequence  of  hav- 
ing been  "shaken  every  morning  for  ten  days  while 
in  blossom."  Experienced  plum-growers  well  know 
that  merely  shaking  the  trees  with  no  ellbrt  (o  de- 
stroy the  curieulio  as  they  are  thus  felled  to  the 
ground  will  do  no  possible  good.  Even  if  the  wee 
vils  are  destroyed,  either  by  chickens  kept  cooped 
under  the  trees,  or  by  catching  on  a  sheet  and  de- 
stroying them,  the  work  must  be  continued,  not 
merely  ten  days,  l)ut  five  or  six  weeks,  so  long,  iu 
fact,  as  the  curculio  are  caught.  Apropos  to  the 
above  is  a  remark  made  to  me  a  few  days  since  by 
Judge  Kamsdell,  the  most  extensive  and  successful 
plum-grower  iu  Michigan.  He  said  that  the  curculio 
was  an  advantage  to  him,  as  in  bearing  years  they 
would  so  thin  out  the  plums  as  to  make  his  crop  far 
more  valuable,  and  by  carefully  gathering  ail  the 
wormy  fruit  in  such  seasons,  as  soon  as  it  fell,  and 
burning  it,  he  so  thinned  the  insects  that  the  expense 
or  fighting  tliLin  during  the  off-year,  aud  saving  the 
small  crop,  was  quite  light.  He  placed  great  stress 
en  the  importance  of  gathering  and  destroying  all 
the  wormy  fruit  as  fast  as  it  fell  from  the  tree. — 
Profeuor  A.  J.  Cook,  Michigait  Agricultural  College. 


Birds  and  Canker  Worms. 
The  most  serious  losses  of  the  farmer  and  gard- 
ener, due  to  insects,  are  not  consequent  upon  the 
ordinary  and  uniform  dejn'edations  of  those  species 
whose  numbers  remain  nearly  constant,  year  after 
year,  but  upon  excessive  and  extraordinary  depreda 


tlons  of  those,  the  numbers  of  which  pre  subject  to 
wide  fluctuations.  Vegetation  has  become  so  far 
adjusted  to  our  crickets,  orilinary  grasshoppers,  etc., 
that  the  foliage  which  they  eat  can  be  spared  with- 
out injury  to  the  plant,  and  the  damage  done  by 
them  is  commonly  imperceptible.  It  is  far  other 
wise,  however,  with  the  vast  hordes  of  the  Kocky 
Mounrain  Locust,  the  Colorado  I'otato  Beetle, 
Chinch  Bug,  .\rmy  Worm  and  many  other  species, 
which  occasionally  swarm  prodigiously  and  then 
almost  disappear.  Tin;  injurious  species  are  there 
fore,  chiefly  the  oscillating  on(?s,  and  the  dangerous 
species  are  tiiose  which  show  a  tendency  to  oscillate. 
Anything  which  tends  to  limit  the  fluctuations  of  an 
oscillating  species,  or  to  prevent  the  oscillation  of  a 
BtabU^  species,  is  therefore  hichly  useful;  while  any- 
thing which  tends  to  intensify  an  oscillation,  or  to 
convert  a  stable  species  into  an  oscillating  one,  is  as 
highly  pernit^ious.— /'ro/.  .S'.  A.  Forbes,  in  American 
Agriculturist. 


Agriculture. 


Sowing  the  Seed. 

There  is  no  more  proliflc  source  of  disappointment 
and  failure  among  amateur  gardeners,  says  1).  M. 
Ferry,  in  his  seed  annual,  than  hasty,  careless,  or  im- 
proper sowing  of  the  seed.  A  seed  consists  of 
a  minute  plant  minus  the  roots,  with  a  sufllcient 
amount  of  food  stowed  in  or  around  it  to  sustain  it 
until  it  can  expand  its  leaves,  form  roots  and  pro 
viile  for  itself,  the  whole  inclosed  in  a  hard  and 
mere  or  less  impervious  shell.  To  secure  germina- 
tion, moisture,  heat,  aud  a  certain  amount  of  air  are 
necessary.  The  first  steps,  are  the  softening  of  the 
har*l,  outer  shell,  the  developing  of  the  leaves  of  the 
plant  from  the  absorption  of  water,  and  the 
changing  of  the  plant  food  from  the  form  of 
starch  to  that  of  sugar.  In  the  first  condition  the 
food  was  easily  preserved  unchanged,  but  the  plant 
with  its  undeveloped  leaves  and  no  root  was  lucapa 
ble  of  using  it,  while  in  its  sugary  condition  is  easily 
appropriated;  but  if  not  used  it  speedily  decays  itself 
and  induces  decay  iu  the  plaut.  A  seed  then  may  re- 
tain its  vitality  and  remain  unchanged  for  years, 
while  after  germination  has  commenced,  a  check  of  a 
day  or  two  in  the  process  may  be  fatal.  There  is  no 
time  from  that  when  the  seed  falls  from  the  parent 
plant  until  it  in  turn  produces  seed,  ripens  and  dies 
when  the  plant  is  so  susceptible  of  latal  injury  from 
the  over  abundance  or  want  of  heat  and  moisture  as 
that  between  the  commencement  of  germination  and 
the  formaliou  of  the  first  true  leaves,  aud  it  is  just 
then  that  it  needs  the  aid  of  the  gardener  to  secure 
favorable  conditions.    These  are  : 

First.  A  proper  and  constant  degree  of  moisture, 
without  being  soaked  with  water.  This  is  secured  by 
making  the  surface  of  freshly  dug  soil  so  fine  that 
the  smallest  seeds  may  come  in  immediate  contact  on 
ail  sides  with  the  particles  from  which  they  arc  to 
absorb  the  required  moisture,  and  the  pressing  of  the 
soil  over  the  seeds  so  firmly  with  the  feet  or  the 
back  of  a  hoe  that  the  degree  of  moisture  may  re 
main  as  nearly  as  possible  the  same  until  the  plants 
are  up.  Second.  A  proper  degree  of  heat,  sccurcil 
by  sowing  each  variety  of  seed  when  the  average 
temperature  of  the  locality  is  that  most  favorable  for 
Its  germination.  Third.  Covering  the  seed  to  such  a 
depth  that,  while  it  is  preserved  at  a  uniform  de- 
gree of  heat  and  moisture,  the  necessary  air  can 
readily  reach  it,  aud  the  tiny  stem  push  the  forming 
leaves  into  the  light  and  air.  This  depth  will  vary 
witli  dirterent  seeds  aud  conditions  of  the  soil,  and 
can  be  learned  only  from  practical  experience.  In 
general  seeds  of  the  size  of  the  turnip  should  be  cov- 
ered with  half  an  inch  of  earth  pressed  down;  while 
corn  maybe  an  inch,  beans  two  or  three,  and  peas 
two  to  six  inches  deep.  Fourth.  Such  conditiou  of 
soil  that  the  ascending  stem  can  easily  penetrate  it, 
and  the  young  roots  speedily  find  suitable  food.  We 
can  usually  secure  this  by  thorough  preparation  of 
the  ground,  and  taking  care  never  to  sow  fine  seeds 
when  the  ground  is  wet.  Occasionally  a  heavy  or 
long  continued  rain,  followed  by  a  bright  sun,  will  so 
bake  and  crust  the  surface  that  it  is  impossible  for 
the  young  plant  to  find  its  way  through  it;  or  a  few 
days  of  stong  wind  will  so  dry  the  surface  that  no 
seed  will  germinate.  In  such  cases  our  ouly  remedy 
is  to  try  again. 


Clover  and  Grass. 

In  all  cases  where  laud  was  laid  down  to  grass  last 
fall  iJlthcr  with  winter  rye  or  without,  a  careful  ex- 
amination should  bo  made  to  see  if  there  are  not  por- 
tions winter-killed,  and  re-sow  with  seed  all  such 
places;  the  seed  will  catch  and  grow  without  har- 
rowing. Clover  seed  may  be  added  early  this  month 
at  the  rate  of  ten  pounds  per  acre  with  success,  the 
crackling  of  the  ground  by  the  action  of  the  frost 
will  afford  ample  covering.  It  is  feared  that  the 
value  of  clover  is  not  fully  appreciated  ;  it  is  very 
nutritious  to  stock,  and  on  the  whole  increases  the 
fertility  of  the  soil  rather  than  ditninishing  it,  and 
may  well  be  considered  an  importaiit  branch  of  good 
husbandry. 


Clover. 
N.  Orltlln  says  there  is  no  subtltutc  for  clover, 
so  far  as  I  know— nothing  to  take  Its  place.  It  is 
better  in  its  eflVct  on  land  than  any  otiier  forage 
plant.  It  Is  said  that  a  good  crop  of  clover— say  such 
a  crop  as  will  yield  two  tons  of  cured  hay'',from  an 
acre— will  have  an  equal  weight  of  roots  for  the 
soil.  That  is  like  a  coat  of  manure.  I  am  sorry  to 
hear  that  clover  is  falling  into  disrepute,  forjits  reno- 
vating powi-r  is  greater  than  that  of  any  other  olant. 
Lately  clover  docs  better  than  In  a  few  years  pait.eo 
I  hope  we  shall  soon  have  all  the  old  measure  of  sue 
cess.  Many  years  ago  the  farms  In  Dutchess  county 
used  to  give  large  erops  of  timothy  ami  they  were 
taken  away  and  sold.  Those  farms  are  now  ex- 
hausted—ruined because  the  crops  were  taken  ofT. 
But  clover  is  never  all  taken  off  when  the  roots  arc 
left.  Forty  live  years  ago  a  great  deal  of  timothy 
was  raised  in  Tompkins  county,  N.  Y.,  and  the  land 
that  produced  it  ran  down  under  Its  production  and 
the  occupants  had  to  turn  their  attention  to  clover. 
At  first  it  was  difficult  to  get  it  established,  but  little 
by  little  under  its  influence  the  lands  grew  better. 
Farmers  had  to  ditch  their  lands  as  the  first  condi- 
tion, then  they  used  plaster,  and  at  last  got  full  crops 
of  clover  and  better  crops  of  grain,  for  their  lands 
Improved  through  clover.  Hungarian  grass  has  been 
tried,  but,  like  timothy,  when  the  crop  is  taken  ofT 
nothing  IS  left,  and  the  soil  becomes  poor.  The  best 
crop  is  that  which  leaves  most  to  the  soil,  and  that 
is  what  clover  does.  I  hope  it  will  not  lose  its  place 
in  our  farming,  for  there  is  no  other  plant  so  bene- 
ficial in  its  effect. 


Ploughing. 
Do  not  plough  land  until  it  is  dry  enough  to  be 
turned  without  packing  like  mortar  under  the  trowel, 
and  it  is  important  to  harrow  befbrc  the  furrows 
have  dried  much,  else  tln-re  will  be  hard  lumps  that 
will  be  dillicult  to  dispo.se  of  all  summer.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  great  mischief  has  been  perpetrated  by 
theoretical  agrii-ultural  writers  |hercIofore  by  advo- 
cating deep  pliMighing.  A  shallow  eoil  may  be  deep 
eiied  very  gradually  as  the  quantity  of  manure  is 
Increased,  but  not  faster.  The  process  of  increasing 
the  depth  of  the  soil  should  be  principally  at  fall 
ploughing.  It  is  believed  that  farmers  generally  do 
not  plough  enough  ;  there  is  no  labor  labor  lost  by 
an  extra  ploughing  or  two.  A  thorough  pulveriza- 
tion of  the  soil  is  necessary  for  the  best  results  at 
farming;  some  of  the  new  harrows  do  excellent 
work  in  this  direction  and  at  small  cost. 

Potatoes. 
It  is  better  to  plant  potatoes  early,  then  a  second 
crop  may  be  grown  on  the  same  land  after  they  are 
olf;  either  fall  turnips,  Hungarian  grass,  or  land 
may  be  sown  down  to  grass  with  the  best  success. 
Better  plant  in  drills,  cover  with  a  plough,  then  har- 
row and  drag  just  before  they  come  up.  Thorough 
cultivation  should  be  made  without  any  hand-hoeing. 
Economy  of  !ab;)r  should  be  carefully  studied,  aim 
ing  to  secure  the  best  results  with  the  least  labor. 


Onions. 

It  is  folly  to  expect  a  good  crop  without  the  best 
of  seed,  thorough  preparation  of  land  and  manure. 
They  should  be  sown  by  the  ■Z.')lh  of  this  month,  if 
the  land  is  in  suitable  condition.  Between  three  and 
four  pounds  of  seed  is  about  right  per  acre. 

HORTJCL     rURE. 


i= 


The  Rhubarb   Plant. 


No  garden  is  complete  unless  It  contains  a  few 
riiubarb  platits.  They  are  often  grown  on  the  edges 
of  walks  and  sometiu.cs  marthe  fences,  when  but  a 
few  are  wanted.  Khubarb  is  excellent  for  pies,  and 
when  prepared  the  same  as  when  ready  for  pies  It 
can  be  put  away  in  jars  and  preserved  for  future  use. 
Roots  SCI  out  this  year  will  produce  good-sized  stalks 
next  year.  The  plants  will  do  best  if  supplied  with  a 
dressing  of  well-rotted  manure  and  an  occasional 
watering  with  soapsuds.  Plaster  also  benefits  them, 
as  likewise  will  common  salt.  In  dividing  the  roots 
for  planting  a  portion  of  the  crown  should  remain 
with  each  section.  Ithubarb  needs  good  cultivation, 
aud  the  soil  should  be  kept  mellow.  .Mulching  also 
assists  the  plants. 


The   Mulberry  Trees. 

As  the  subject  of  silk  culture  is  receiving  consider- 
able attention  in  the  Uuited  States,  a  few  items 
from  this  section  may  he  of  interest.  I  live  near  a 
colony  of  Kussian  Meunonltes,  who  immigrated 
from  Russia  about  seven  vears  ago.  The  mulberry 
tree  was  introduced  into  their  colonies  in  Russia  by 
the  Czar,  for  the  purpose  of  silk  culture  aud  to  fa- 
cilitate rain  fall.  He  compelled  his  subjects  to  buy 
trees  of  the  government,  and  each  land  liolder  had 
to  plant  a  certain  number.  They  soon  learned  their 
value,  and  that  silk  culture  was  not  the  only  consid- 
eration iu  raising  them.  They  found  the  timber  very 
desirable  for  fuel.    It  also  furnished  the  finest  ma- 


62 


THE  LANCASTER   FARMER. 


[April, 


terial  for  cabinet  work,  and  fence  posts  made  from 
it  would  outlast  those  made  from  any  other  timber. 
The  tree  soon  bicame  the  most  highly  prized  of  any 
Russian  timber  tree.  It  also  bore  edible  fruit  wliicli 
was  maj-ketable  in  Russia. 

When  the  Mennonites  came  to  this  country,  they 
brought  the  seed  of  this  tree  with  them.  The  mul- 
berry grows  quite  rapidly.  Trees,  the  seed  of  which 
was  planted  six  years  ago,  are  now  twenty  feet  high, 
and  large  enough  for  fence  posts.  The  tree  resem- 
ble, the'apple  tree  in  its  habits  of  growth.  The  Rus- 
sians say  that  they  grow  quite  large  after  reaching 
the  height  of  forty  to  fifty  feet,  and  from  three  to 
fite  feet  in  diameter.  It  bears  fruit  very  young, 
frequently  commencing  at  two  years  old,  and 
bears  every  year.  Last  year  the  trees  were  densely 
loaded  with  fruit,  and  farmers  came  several  miles 
to  purchase  this  fruit  for  desert.  It  varies  in  flavor 
from  sub-acid  to  sweet;  color  jet  black  and  reddish 
white,  ninety  per  cent,  black.  As  the  tree  is  differ- 
ent from  any  mulberry  we  know  in  this  country,  we 
call  it  "Russian  mulberry.''  The  bark  is  grayish 
white  and  branches  drooping.  The  .Mennonites  also 
use  it  as  a  hedge  plant,  and  it  makes  a  beautiful 
hedge,  and  stands  shearing  as  well  as  any  tree,  Prof. 
Budd,  of  the  Iowa  Agricultural  Collegs,  says  it  is 
propogated  more  readily  from  cuttings  than  any 
mulberry  with  which  he  is  acquainted.  The  Men 
nonites  have  interested  themselves  in  the  silk  business 
somewhat  since  they  have  been  in  this  country,  and 
have  some  cocoons  for  sale. 


An  Excellent  Old  Apple. 
The  Yellow  Bellflower— the  "Belle  Flour"  of 
Coxe— one  of  our  oldest  apples,  is  most  valued 
where  best  known.  But  the  reason  given  in  The 
Prairie  Farmer  for  its  unproductiveness  in  some 
soils,  namely,  an  imperfection  in  the  blossoms,  is  at 
most  only  partially  correct.  The  tree  is  one  of  the 
very  hardiest,  and  in  rather  poor,  dry  soils  it  is  one 
of  the  surest  croppers.  In  strong  soils  it  makes  a 
luxuriant,  profusion  of  growth,  but  often  fails  to 
bear.  The  cause  of  this  unfertility  is  in  that  very 
profusion  of  leaves  and  shoots.  Nurserymen  find  it 
remarkable  in  their  nursery  rows  for  the  great  num- 
ber of  twigs  thrown  out.  While  other  sorts  devote 
themselves  chiefly  to  make  spurs  on  the  two-year  old 
wood,  with  only  a  few  wood  shoots  near  the  tips,  the 
Bellflower  sends  out  a  brush  of  wood-shoots,  or 
twigs,  all  the  way  up.  The  tree,  of  course,  retains 
this  disposition  when  set  in  the  orchard.  It  is  en- 
couraged to  it  by  rich  soil.  In  such  a  location  the 
countless  drooping  twigs  that  cover  the  whole  head 
of  the  tree  like  hair,  shut  off  the  light  from  the  fruit 
spurs  on  the  older  wood.  The  leaves  of  these  drop 
off,  or  grow  thin  for  want  of  sunshine,  and  of  course 
but  very  few  blossom  buds  can  be  properly  formed. 
I  have  a  magnificent  tree  of  this  first-class  apple  at 
the  foot  of  a  hill  of  rich  loam.  It  is  like  a  mountain 
of  spray  which  rises  far  aloft,  hides  entirely  all  the 
interior  frame  of  branches,  and  sweeps  to  the  ground 
all  around.  Yet  there  is  not  a  surer  or  better  bearer 
in  the  orchard.  Every  winter  I  take  a  ladder  and 
pruning  shears  and  thin  the  exterior  shoots  all  over 
the  vast  head,  .so  that  those  left  can  leaf  out  without 
either  shading  each  other  or  cbscuring  the  leaves 
that  will  issue  from  the  fruit  spurs  on  the  older 
wood  immediately  below.  This  is  using  many  words 
and  much  room  in  the  interest  of  one  apple,  but  the 
Bellflower  has  such  exceptional  excellencies  as  justify 
the  outlay,  in  the  iulerest  of  all  wlio  enjoy  apples, 
whether  at  dessert  or  from  the  oven,  in  their  highest 
perfection  of  apple  flavor,  aroma,  size  and  beauty. — 

J'eitit. 

^^ 

An  Experiment  in  Potato  Planting. 

Last  spring  when  planting  my  Beauty  of  Hebron 
potatoes,  says  a  correspondent  of  the  Tiurat  Xew 
Yorker,  I  planted  one  row  through  the  piece  as  fol 
lows  :  I  took  potatoes  below  the  medium  size,  out  of 
the  seed  and  seed  ends,  cut  out  all  the  eyes  but  two, 
planted  them  and  gave  them  the  same  care  as  the 
rest  of  the  piece.  The  •'  seed  "  for  the  rest  was  of 
the  same  size  potatoes  cut  in  two  and  planted  one 
piece  in  a  hill  about  eighteen  inches  apart  in  the  row. 
Now  for  the  result :  The  first  row,  containing  seventy 
hills,  gave  19.5  pounds;  one  row  by  the  side  of  it, 
with  eightysix  hills,  gave  143  pounds— a  difference 
in  yield  per  hill  of  over  fifty  per  cent,  in  favor  of  the 
whole  potatos  with  two  eyes.  This  row  could  be  dis- 
tinguished from  the  rest  as  far  as  the  piece  could  be 
seen,  until  the  dry  weather  dried  up  the  vines.  The 
whole  piece  yielded  a  splendid  crop,  as  did  a  piece  of 
Suowflake  in  another  part  of  the  field. 


Household  Recipes. 

To  Make  a  Cheap  Wash  ou  Paint. — Put  half  a 
bushel  of  good  lime  in  a  clean  barrel,  and  add 
enough  water  to  make  a  thin  whitewash,  stirring 
with  a  flat  stick  until  every  lump  is  dissolved  ;  then 
add  fifty  pounds  whiting,  fifty  pounds  road  dust. 
Then  thin  to  the  proper  consistency  for  spreading 
with  a  brush,  by  adding  sweet  buttermilk  fresh 
from  the  churn  in  small  quantities  at  a  time,  to  give 
a  chance  for  the  ingredients  to  assimilate. 


Rice,  Milanaise  Sttle. — Fry  one  ounce  of  butter 
(cost  two  cents)  light  brown;  put  into  it  half  pound 
of  rice  (cost  five  cents)  well  picked  over,  but  not 
washed,  and  one  ounce  of  onion,  chopped  fine;  stir 
and  brown  for  five  minutes,  then  add  a  pint  of  gravy 
from  meat,  season  with  a  level  teaspoonful  of  salt, 
quarter  that  quantity  of  pepper,  and  as  much  cay 
enne  as  you  can  take  on  the  point  of  a  very  small 
pen-knife  blade;  the  oninn  and  seasoning  will  cost 
less  than  two  cents;  stew  gently  for  fifteen  minutes, 
stirri'ig  occasionally  to  prevent  burning,  and  serve  as 
soon  as  the  rice  is  tender.  This  makes  a  palatable 
dish  for  about  ten  cents. 

Macakoni  and  Ham. — Take  one-half  pound  of 
macaroni,  put  it  in  boiling  salt  and  water,  and  cook 
for  twenty  minutes  or  until  tender.  Drain  the  maear 
oni,  put  it  in  boiling  salt  and  water,  and  cook  for 
twenty  minutes  or  until  tender.  Drain  the  macaroni, 
and  put  in  cold  water  until  you  are  ready  to  use  it. 
Take  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  the. lean  of  cold  boiled 
ham,  chop  fine;  take  half  a  can  of  tomatoes,  season- 
ed with  salt  and  pepper;  stew  with  a  small  onion; 
pass  the  tomatoes,  when  thoroughly  done  through  a 
colander;  thicken  with  a  tablespoonful  of  butter, 
rubbed  smooth.  Lay  the  macaroni  in  a  layer,  spread 
on  the  chopped  ham,  add  some  of  the  tomato  sauce, 
a  little  pepper,  a  little  salt,  and  so  on,  until  the  dish 
is  filled.     Bake  in  a  hot  oven  for  twenty  minutes. 

Poor  Man's  Plum  Pudding. — Take  three  cups  of 
flour,  one  cup  chopped  suet,  one  cup  stoned  raisins, 
one-third  cup  molasses,  one  cup  milk,  one  teaspoon 
of  saleratus  dissolved  in  the  milk,  half  teaspoon  of 
salt,  one  teaspoon  each  of  allspice,  cinnamon  and 
cloves.  Boil  three  hours.  Serve  with  sauce  as  fol 
lows  :  One  cup  of  sugar,  half  cup  of  butter,  one  egg, 
one  tablespoon  of  flour,  beat  all  together.  When 
ready  for  the  table  pour  in  two  thirds  cup  boiling 
wine.  Add  nutmeg,  grated,  and  you  will  have  a 
dish  fit  for  a  king,  though  planned  for  a  poor  man. 

Fig  Pudding. — One  pound  of  flour,  six  ounces 
fresh  beef  suet,  with  half  tablespoonful  of  salt; 
and  one  pound  flgs,  with  one  tablespoonful  of  baking 
powder.  Chop  the  suet  as  fine  as  possible,  remove 
all  strings  ;  mix  well  with  the  flour,  salt  and  baking 
powder ;  make  this  into  a  paste  with  iced  water, 
and  roll  out  into  a  sheet;  cut  the  figs  into  long 
slices,  cover  the  paste  with  them,  tie  in"a  cloth,  and 
boil  in  fast  boiling  water  for  two  hours.  Eat  with  a 
sauce. 

YouKSHTRE  Pudding. — A  quarter  of  a  pound  of 
flour,  with  a  quart  of  water  or  milk  ;  three  eggs, 
well  beaten,  to  be  mixed  with  it;  pepper  and  salt; 
butter  the  pan  ;  put  it  under  the  beef  so  as  to  catch 
the  gravy  ;  have  it  in  „  good  big  pan,  so  as  to  be 
thin.  Cut  in  pieces  when  served  with  the  beef,  and 
arranged  around  the  dish. 

Warm  Slaw. — Slice  a  head  of  cabbage  fine  ;  put 
it  in  a  stew  pan,  with  a  little  water,  and  scald  well  ; 
sprinkle  salt,  pepper  and  suga'-  over  it ;  then  take 
two  thirds  of  a  teacup  of  vinegar,  one-third  of  a 
teacup  of  water,  one  egg,  one-half  teaspoon  of  flour, 
well  mixed  togetlier  ;  pour  it  over  the  cabbage,  and 
let  it  come  to  a  boil,  when  it  is  ready  for  the  table. 

UoLD  Slaw. — Slice  one  head  of  cabbage  very  fine; 
sprinkle  a  little  sugar  and  salt  over  it;  |then 
pound  the  cabbage.  For  the  dressing,  take  half 
teacup  of  cream,  whip  it  into  a  froth,  add  to  it  one 
teacup  of  vinegar;  stir  the  dressing  well  through 
the  cabbage. 

Lincoln  Cake. — One  and  one  half  pounds  sugar, 
one  pound  butter,  one  and  three-fourihs  pounds 
flour,  two  pounds  fruit,  one  pint  sweet  milk,  one 
tablespoonful  soda,  six  eggs,  one  nutmeg,  one  tea- 
spoonful  cloves,  two  teaspoonfuls  cinnamon,  one  gill 
of  brandy. 

Pastry. — Fruit  and  custard  pies  are  almost  invari- 
ablj  spoiled  by  having  a  soggy  undercrust.  This  may 
be  remedied  by  coating  the  top  of  the  lower  crust  of 
pies  with  the  white  of  an  egg;  it  will  absorb  no 
moisture  from  the  fruit  or  custard,  will  come  out  of 
the  oven  crisp,  and  will  remain  so. 

To  Clean  Marble. — To  clean  smoky  marble 
brush  a  paste  of  chloride  of  lime  and  water  over  the 
entire  surface,  tirease  spots  can  be  removed  from 
marble  by  applying  a  paste  of  crude  potash  and 
whiting  in  this  manner. 

Valuable  Hints. — When  ice  is  required  at  night 
for  a  sick  person,  break  it  into  small  pieces,  and  if 
scarce  care  must  be  taken  to  prevent  its  melting,  put 
into  a  soup  plate,  cover  with  another  plate;  and  put 
between  two  feather  pillows. 

'  Cocoanut  Cookies. — One  cup  of  milk,  one  cup 
of  sugar,  one  cup  of  grated  cocoanut,  and  prepared 
flour  enough  to  roll  out.  Make  very  thin  and  bake 
quickly.  The  dessicated  coacoanut  may  be  ijsed, 
but  it  is  not  quite  so  nice 

To  renovate  black  grenadine  take  strong  cold 
coffee,  strain  it,  and  wring  the  grenadine  out  of  it 
quite  tight,  after  wliich  shake  out  and  fold  up.  Then 
iron  it  with  a  moderately  hot  iron  over  a  piece  of  any 
old  black  material. 

Silk  stockings  must  be  washed  in  cold  water  with 
white  soap,  rinsed  in  cold  water,  laid  flat  on  a  fine 
towel,  rolled  tightly  until  dry,  and  rubbed  with  a 
piece  of  flannel  to  restore  the  gloss. 

Corn-Stabch  Cake. — Two  cups  of  sugar,  one 
cup  of  milk,  one  cup  of  torn  starch  two  cups  of 


flour,  four  eggs,  one  teaspoonful  of  soda,  and  flavoj 
with  lemon  or  vanilla. 

Black  Bean  Soup.— One  quart  of  black  beans; 
soak  them  over  night  in  cold  water;  drain  off  the 
water  in  the  morning  and  add  three  pints  of  fresh 
water;  let  them  stew  gently  four  and  one  half  hours. 
Add  salt,  pepper  and  a  little  clove.  While  cooking, 
put  in  meat,  cooked  or  uncooked,  as  preferred.  When 
done  strain  the  soup;  cut  the  lemon  in  slices;  pfecein 
your  dish;  also  add  a  hard  boiled  egg  cut  in  slices. 
Pieces  of  bread  toasted  brown  are  an  addition.  Salt 
pork  may  be  used  instead  of  meat. 

To  Clean  Musty  Barrels — A  German  paper 
gives  the  following  directions  for  cleaning  rusty  or 
mouldy  casks  and  barrels;  First  rinse  them  out  well 
with  water  in  which  a  little  soda  has  been  dissolved;  , 
then  fill  up  with  water  slightly  acidulated  with 
muriatic  acid,  and  let  this  stand  for  two  days;  then 
pour  out  the  water  and  rinse  with  clean  water,  and 
the  casks  will  be  found  perfectly  sweet. 

Cottage  Gingerbread. .^Take  one  cup  of  butter 
and  lard  melted  together,  add  one  cup  of  New  Or- 
leans molasses;  stir  into  this  one  cupful  each  of 
sugar  and  cold  water,  two  laree  teaspoonfuls  of 
ginger,  two  eggs  beaten,  and  four  cups  of  flour 
having  In  three  large  teaspoonfuls  of  baking  powder. 
Bake  in  a  moderately  hot  oven. 

Household  Weights  and  Measures. — Wheat 
flour,  one  pound  is  a  quart.  Loaf  sugar,  broken,  one 
pound  is  one  qurrt.  White  sugar,  powdered,  one 
pound  one  ounce  is  one  quart.  Best  brown  sugar, 
one  pound  two  ounces  is  one  quart.  Eggs,  average 
size,  ten  are  one  i  ound.  Liquid  measures,  sixteen 
teaspoonfuls  are  one  pint. 

Scotch  Butter  Candy. — One  ponnd  of  sugar, 
one  half  pint  of  water.  Boil  as  hard  as  possible  with- 
out graining.  When  done  add  half  a  cup  of  butter 
and  lemon  juice  to  flavor,  if  deiired.  Turn  on  a 
buttered  dish  and  when  partly  cool  cut  with  a  knife 
into  Binall  squares.  When  cold  a  slight  tap  will 
break  it  off. 


Live  Stock. 


Sawdust  for  Bedding. 

Many  farmers  claim  that  sawdust  is  not  only 
worthless  as  a  manure,  but  positively  injurious  to 
the  soil.  A  farmer  seuds  the  following  words  in  its 
favor  :  I  use  it  when  I  can  get  it,  and  value  it  very 
highly  for  bedding  the  cow  stable,  as  it  will  keep 
cattle  cleaner  than  any  other  beddi..g  I  know  of.  It 
also  makes  thE  manure  fine  and  mellow,  so  that  it 
•preai's  more  evenly  and  mixes  with  the  soil  more  like 
composted  manure.  I  also  use  it  in  the  hen-house 
for  filline'  the  nest  boxes,  and  on  the  floor  to  mix 
with  the  manure,  as  it  absorbs  all  the  ammonia  and 
prevents  the  manure  from  slicking  to  the  floor.  For 
summer  use  it  is  not  as  good  as  dry  dirt  or  sand  In 
the  hen  house,  because  it  tends  to  breed  vermin, 
unless  cleaned  and  replaced  by  a  fresh  lot  quite 
often.  A  small  quantity  of  it  thrown  into  the  privy 
vault  will  absorb  all  bad  odors  arising  therefrom  in 
hot  weather.  It  is  also  one  of  the  best  dryers  to  nii.x 
with  superphosphate.  It  makes  it  fine  so  as  to 
handle  well.  I  do  not  think  sawdust  is  very  valuable 
in  itself  as  a  fertilizer,  yet  it  must  be  worth  some- 
thing. If  it  has  no  other  value  it  contains  all  the 
saline  properties  found  in  wooil  ashes  as  well  as  some 
nitrogen:  but  these  elements  are  found  in  small 
quantities  and  in  a  form  which  is  unavailable  for 
immediate  use.  Sawdust  contains  more  nitrogen 
than  straw,  but  less  potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  and 
is  probably  not  as  good  as  cut  straw  for  bedding  or 
manure,  but  it  is  a  better  absorbent  of  bad  odors, 
and  is  usually  cheaper  than  cut  straw.  I  believe  its 
mechanical  effect  on  the  soil  is  excellent,  especially 
to  lighten  heavy  clays.  Professor  Johnson  has  said 
that  "fresh  sawdust  in  light,  thirsty  soils  tends  to 
increase  their  water  holding  capacity.  In  sticky 
clay  it  lightens  the  texture,  and  soil  that  forms  a 
hard  crust  after  rain  it  prevents,  like  other  mulch, 
such  puddling  and  backing  of  the  surface."  I  think 
a  cord  of  sawdust,  well  saturated  with  liquid  ma- 
nure, is  worth  as  much  if  not  more  than  a  cord  of 
solid  manure. 

Salting  Stock. 

Prof.  James  Law  writes  to  the  Farmers'  Advocate, 
of  London,  Ontario,  on  the  subject  as  follows  : 

In  addition  to  its  use  as  a  condiment,  salt  is  one  of 
the  best  laxatives.  In  cattle,  and  sheep  especially. 
In  which  a  dry  winter  feeding  is  liable  to  induce  a 
partial  impaction  of  food  between  the  leaves  of  the 
third  stomach,  the  stimulus  given  by  the  salt  to  the 
free  secretion  and  the  muscular  movement  of  the 
stomachs,  together  with  the  engendered  disposition 
to  drink  more  freely,  serve  to  dislodge  such  obstruc- 
tions and  to  restore  perfect  digestion.  Even  if  a  full 
purgative  action  is  wanted,  few  agents  will  serve 
better  than  one  or  two  pounds  of  salt,  according  to 
the  size  of  the  cow.  But  it  should  never  be  forgot- 
ten that  water  must  be  allowed  without  stint  after 
the  administration  of  such  a  dose,  as  a  concentrated 
solution  of  salt  is  highly  irritating  to  the  stomach 
and  bowels.  An  abundant  consumption  of  water 
serves  at  once  to  remove  the  irritant  qualities  of  the 
salt,  and  to  hasten  the  action  of  the  bowels. 


1883.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


63 


Finally,  salt  Is  destructive  to  aininst  all  intesMnal 
worms.  In  Brazil,  where  eattle  are  very  suhjeet  to 
parasites,  the  stock  owners  have  discovered  this  vir- 
tue, and  therefore  dose  their  animals  twice  a  year 
with  one  pound  each  of  common  salt,  after  the  ac- 
tion of  which  they  always  manifestly  improve  in 
condition.  It  is  to  the  yonni;  wt^rms  especially  that 
salt  proves  destructive,  hence  a  <laily  allowance  of 
one  or  two  ounces  for  the  larger  t|uadriipeds,  or  two 
drachms  for  the  sheep,  will  ijo  far  ,towards*wardin;; 
ofT  fatal  attacks  hy  destroyinir  the  youny;  parasites 
as  they  are  taken  in,  in  the  food  oi-  water.  Thus  for 
the  liver  worms  in  sheep  (Hot)  salt  marshes  or  the 
free  use  of  salt  proves  almost  a  specific,  and  tlu? 
6toma"li,  and,  to  a  less  extent,  the  intestinal  worms 
of  all  liomestic  animals,  may  be  kept  in  check  by  a 
daily  liberal  yet  moderate  allowance. 

Floors  for  Horse  Stables. 

The  long  debated  question  as  to  the  best  material 
for  stable  floors  is  bein;f"affain  revived.  i<  A  clay  floor 
was  adhered  to  by  some  for  years,  and  su<'h  was  the 
earnestness  of  the  advocates  and  the  many  arsju- 
ments  brou;;ht  to  hear  upon  it  that  we  were  induced 
some  twenty  years  af;utotryif.  In  three  or  four 
months  we  had  the  planks  back  ajrain,  bciiif;  satis- 
fied of  the  disadvautajre  of  clay  for  this  purpose.  Our 
present  floor  of  plauk  is  simply  inclined  a  little  from 
front  to  rear,  where  the  usual  gutter  is  made  to 
carry  off  the  liquid  voidiiifrs.  We  do  not  believe  in 
Baud,  coal  ashes,  sawdust,  asphaltum,  llaijs,  cobble 
etoues  or  any  of  these  modern  devices  to  injure 
horses.  Thus  far  we  have  never  noticed  that  this 
little  inclination  was  in  any  way  injurious.  a«d  we 
doubt  whether  the  wooden  ffrating  that  we  frequent- 
ly see  ilaced  over  the  plankinj;  that  some  use  would 
be  advisable  on  the  ),'round  that  the  atiiraal  would  be 
more  comfortable,  while  this  movable  jrratin;,'-  or 
second  floor  mif;ht  lead  to  accidents.  When  a  person 
can  keep  horses  in  a  good,  sound,  healthy  conJition 
for  five  or  seven  years,  as  we  have  done,  on  a  care- 
fully constructed  plank  flooring  inclining  a  little  to 
the  rear,  it  is  just  as  well  to  be  satisfied  with  it.  Do 
what  one  will,  holes  will  be  dug  by  the  stamping  of 
the  feet  in  the  clay,  and  these  will  be  lllled  with 
moisture,  wnieh  will  necessarily  result  in  scratches, 
quarter  crack,  etc.  If  the  clay  is  leveled  off  and 
beaten  down  daily  it  will  make  no  dillerence.  Some 
time  ago  we  yisiled  a  number  of  stables  where  many 
horses  were  kept  and  we  encountered  only  one  which 
was  composed  of  anything  but  wood.  Of  course  there 
will  be  new  things— inventions— springing  up  which 
are  to  meet  and  overcome  every  objection,  and  there 
will  be  some  to  adopt  them,  but  we  will  be  satisfied 
with  what  we  have  until  theie  is  something  produced 
about  which  there  will  be  no  Oiislake.^Ocnnantown 
TeUgrapli. 

Charcoal  for  Sick  Animals. 

In  nine  cases  out  of  ten  when  au  animal  is  sick, 
the  digestion  is  wrong.  Charcoal  is  the  most  effi- 
cient and  rapid  corrective.  The  hired  man  came  in 
with  the  iutelllKeuce  that  one  of  the  finest  cows  was 
very  sick,  and  a  kind  neighbor  proposed  the  usual 
drugs  and  poisons.  The  owner  being  ill  and  unable 
to  examine  the  cow,  concluded  that  thelrouble  came 
from  overeating,  and  ordered  a  teas|]Oonful  of  pul- 
verized charcoal  to  be  given  in  water.  It  was  mixed, 
placed  in  a  juidi  bottle,  the  head  turned  downward. 
In  live  minutes  improvement  was  visible,  aua  in  a 
few  hours  the  anitnal  was  in  the  pasture  quietly 
grazing.  Another  instance  of  equal  success  occurred 
with  a  young  hcil'er  which  had  become  badly  bloated 
by  eating  green  apples  after  a  hard  wind.  The  bloat 
was  so  severe  that  the  sides  were  us  hard  as  a  barrel. 
The  old  remedy,  saleratus,  was  fried  for  correcting 
the  acidity  But  the  attempts  to  put  it  down  always 
raised  coughing,  and  it  did  little  good.  Haifa  tea- 
spoonful  of  fresh  powdered  charcoal  was  given.  In 
Blx  hours  all  appearance  of  the  bloat  had  gone,  and 
the  heifer  was  well. 


The  Hog  Crop. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  many  that  we  will  have  a  large 
hog  crop  this  year.  In  these  days,  when  half  of  the 
hogs  raised  are  marketed  at  or  under  one  year  of 
age,  it  does  not  take  long  to  make  good  a  shortage. 
It  is  true  that  a  shortage  of  corn  will  very  soon  make 
itself  apparent  in  the  weight  and  general  develop, 
ment  of  stock,  but  it  does  not  necessarily  interfere 
with  the  increase  in  numbers,  and  though  the  spring 
of  1^81  was  generally  very  unfavorable  for  pigs, 
everything  has  since  been  in  favor  of  tlie  breeder. 
The  feeder,  however,  has  been  compelled  to  work  on 
a  more  economical  basis  than  usual,  and  many  a  lot 
of  hogs  that  should  have  been  kept  gaining  by  full 
feeding  has  been  allowed,  or  rather  compelled  to 
'•root  hog  or  die"  sure  enough.  At  the  present  lime 
we  are  iretting  liberal  runs  of  good  hogs,  from  :!!),- 
000  to  50,000  per  day  at  this  point,  and  the  iiidica- 
tions  do  not  point  very  strongly  to  any  very  serious 
falling  off  iu  the  croj)  of  marketable  hogs  for  the 
sprini^  and  summer.  A  fact  to  l)e  borne  in  mind, 
however,  is  that  prices  have  recently  advanced  to 
tempting  figures- as  '  high  as  ?~  for  extra 
heavy  hogs— well  calculated' fo  draw  strongly  on  the 
available  hog  crop. —  Chicago  I'aper. 


Tying  Up  Calves. 

Will  you  please  give  mi^  your  oi)inion  in  regard  to 
tying  up  calves?  Some  say  tie  them  up.  others  let 
them  go  with  the  sheep,  and  others  turn  them  into  a 
pen  by  themselves,  and  litter  them  well,  and  they 
will  do  first-rate.  I  think  of  taking  uj)  with  the  last 
advi(;f\  Yours  truly,  T.  C.  P. 

If  one  has  a  wood  sized  pen,  and  can  keep  it  well 
liedded  so  as  to  kee])  the  calves  clean,  it  ij  the  most 
itatural  way,  and  undoubtedly  a  better  way,  than 
tying  them  up,  but,  if  <uie  is  pressed  for  room,  or  has 
but  a  limited  quantity  of  l)cd<ling,  they  will  do  very 
well  if  tied  up|with  a  halter,  if  they  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  be  led  and  tied  ;  if  not,  they  will  at  lirst  be 
very  uneasy.  It  is  always  best  to  accustom  calves  to 
the  halter  when  very  young,  for  if  brought  up  to  be 
led,  it  is  much  easier  to  lead  than  to  drive  them. 

It  is  not  good  policy  fo  turn  them  in  with  the 
sheep  and  lambs,  l^or  when  the  lambs  are  young  they 
are  liable  tog  et  injured  by  the  calves;  it  may  besaid 
that  by  letting  them  run  with  the  sheep,  they  will 
eat  up  a  considerable  portion  of  what  the  slieop 
leave;  but  on  the  other  hand,  they  will  be  sure  fo  get 
a  large  share  of  the  best  hay  given  the  sheep  if  it  is 
within  their  reach,  and  if  it  is  not,  they  cannot  eat 
the  poor.  As  the  calves  need  to  be  fed  different  from 
sheep,  this,  If  nothing  more,  is  a  suflicient  reason  for 
not  keeping  the  calves  with  them. — Mauachusetts 
Plougliman. 


Man's  Treatment  of  the  Horse. 

The  man  has  cut  away  the  frog,  because  he  thinks 
the  horse  will  be  Injured  if  the  frog  touches  the 
ground.  He  has  then  cut  a  deep  groove  at  the  base 
of  the  frog.  This  is  to  give  a  well-opened  heel,  as 
he  is  pleased  to  call  it.  He  has  scooped  away  the 
sole  to  "give  it  spring."  He  has  scored  a  deep  notch 
in  the  toe  for  the  shoe.  This  is  evidently  a  conserva- 
tive relic  of  the  time  when  nails  were  not  used,  and 
the  shoe  attached  by  three  pointed  clips  hammered 
over  the  edge,  one  in  front  and  one  on  either  side. 
Then  he  has  improved  the  whole  of  the  outer  sur 
face  of  the  hoof.  As  the  (Jreator  has  furnished  this 
part  of  the  hoof  with  a  thin,  hard,  polished  plati>, 
ibrmiug  a  sort  of  varnish  which  is  impervious  to  wet, 
the  farrier,  as  a  matter  of  course,  rasps  it  all  away 
up  to  tlie  crown.  And  as  the  Creator  has  placed 
roufid  the  crown  a  fringe  of  liair,  which  acts  as  a 
thatch  to  the  line  of  junction  and  throws  off  the 
rain  upon  the  water  proof  varnish,  he  cuts  this  away 
with  his  scissors.  Lastly,  the  Creator  having  given 
to  the  horny  hoof  a  mottling  of  soft  and  partially 
translucent  brown,  gray-blue,  yellow,  black  and 
white— never  exactly  the  same  iu  two  hoofs,  mu.:h 
less  in  two  horses— the  farrier  takes  a  blacking  pot 
and  brush,  polishes  up  the  hoofs  until  they  look  like 
patent  leather  boots,  all  four  exactly  alike,  and  then 
contemplates  his  work  with  satislaction.  In  his  own 
words,  he  has  "turned  out  a  finished  job  of  it." 

Advantages  of  Small  Flocks. 

The  reason  why  large  flocks  of  sheep— and  the 
principle  applies  to  all  farm  stock— are  less  thriftv 
than  a  small  number  together  is  answered  very  truly 
by  an  address  befofe  the  Indian  Sheep  Growers'  As- 
sociation, in  speaking  of  pasturing  :  There  is  one 
thingabout  pasturingsheep  that  has  been  overlooked, 
viz.,  the  damage  done  to  the  grass  by  being  run  over 
by  the  flock.  While  I  believe  one  acre  of  good  grass 
would  keep  five  or  maybe  eight  sheep  well,  I  do  not 
believe  100  acres  would  keep  .500  sheep.  Fire  sheep 
would  probably  do  but  little  damage  to  one  acre, 
even  though  they  were  confined  to  it ;  they  would 
put  a  lew  tracks  over  it  in  a  day,  and  would  easily 
find  fresh  grass  each  day.  But  suppose  we  put  five 
hundred  sheep  in  a  hundred-acre  lot  ;  if  each  sheep 
would  confine  themselves  to  their  own  particular 
acre  they  would  probably  do  well  in  summer.  But 
they  will  not  do  this,  and  right  here  is  where  theory 
and  practice  part  company.  Our  five  sheep  start  out 
to  graze,  and  the  VXy  go  along  with  them.  Now,  a 
sheep  is  a  dainty  creature,  and  likes  clean  food.  So 
the  hinderinost  part  of  the  flock  keep  pushing  ahead, 
paying  little  or  no  atention  to  what  has  been  already 
run  over,  and  being  in  eacdi  other's  way  each  would 
go  over  ten  times  as  much  ground  belore  it  is  filled 
as  it  ought.  And  having  so  much  more  work  to  get 
its  food,  it  docs  not  do  so  well  as  one  that  can  satisfy 
itself  with  little  or  no  exertion.  Going  over  the  trail 
too  frequently  and  picking  about  dung  and  urine  for 
grass  is  doubtless  what  makes  large  flocks  so  liable 
to  disease. 


'•  Loss  of  Cud." 
"This  is  an  ambiguous  term,"  says  the  Kansas 
Farmer.  "  It  may  mean  dropping  of  the  cud  from 
the  moutli  during  rumination,  or  a  suspension  of 
rumination.  But  may  occur  from  tlie  same  cause- 
viz.,  iiKligcstion,  or  eatintr  injurious  or  poisonous 
plants.  If  this  is  the  cause  the  stomach  and  bowels 
should  be  cleared  by  a  strong  purgative,  such  as 
twelve  ounces  of  Ep.som  salts  with  one  ounce  of 
ground  gingeralong  with  it.  But  the  latter  may  oc 
cur  fiom  the  animal  having  swallowed  somethiug 
which  has  injured  the  paunch,  such  as  a  thorn,  a 
small  piece  of  glass,  or  other  rough,  sharp  substance. 


The  symptoms  which  niiuht  be  looked  for  in  this 
case  would  be  a  rapid  wasting  and  weakness,  a  star- 
ing coat  and  a  ilull  colored  skin,  with  much  loose 
scurf  upon  It,  Irregular  appetite  and  bowels,  with  die- 
charge  of  gas  from  the  throat  and  accumujatlons  of 
it  in  the  paunch.  Nothing  can  be  done  In'this  ease 
but  to  trust  to  chances  and  a  natural  recovery,  leav- 
iim:  the  animal  fo  rest,  to  facilllale  a  cure  or  the  ex- 
[lulsion  of  the  intruding  substance,  If  that  Is  possi- 
ble." 


Training  Heifers  to  Milk. 

A  lieifer  should  be  trained  as  soon  as  weaned. 
She  should  then  be  haltered  and  made  used  to  being 
tied  up  and  handled,  and  leil  by  the  halter.  Shi 
should  be  eardeil  and  brushed,  and  her  udder  and 
teats  handled  frequently  until  she  becomes  used  to 
it.  A  month  or  two  before  site  calves  she  should  be 
tied  up  and  brushed,  and  the  udder  rubbed  and  the 
teats  pulled;  taught  to  lift  the  leg  and  keep  it  out 
of  the  way  of  the  milker,  and  generally  disciplined. 
All  this  should  be  <Ione  gradually  and  gently,  and 
the  youiu;  animal  made  to  understand  that  there  is 
nnthing  to  fear  by  always  exercising  kindness  to  her. 
When  she  drops  her  calf  no  stranger  should  attend 
her,  but  one  site  knows  well,  and  she  will  come  to 
her  tlufies  as  easily  as  an  old  cow.  A  newly  calved 
heifer  should  always  be  tied  when  she  is  milked,  aa 
she  may  be  very  nervous  and  not  to  be  depended 
upon  until  her  disposition  is  shown. 


Bedding   for  Cows. 

Here  In  New  England  cords  upon  cords  of  good 
dry  sawdust  and  turning  shavings  are  put  into  the 
streams  at  the  several  sawmills,  cabinet  shops,  etc., 
and  farmer  A's  cows  only  a  mile  away  never  have 
one  mite  of  bedding  the  whole  wintor.  Having 
talked  with  some  of  the  folks  that  have  used  turn- 
ing shavings  or  sawdust  for  years,  it  is  their  opinion 
that  it  pays  more  than  double  the  expense  incurred 
in  ffctling  the  sawdust,  for  the  amount  of  manure  it 
makes;  it  saves  all  of  the  liquid  manure,  makes 
the  mamire  pile  fine  and  easy  to  work  over;  and  it 
will  he  obliged  to  be  worked  oyer  unless  you  have 
lioirs  upon  it  to  keep  it  from  heating  with  consider- 
able sawdust  in  it;  but  that  can  be  done  on  leisure 
days;  then  it  will  be  line,  all  ready  worked  over  for 
the  spring  work,  and  in  its  best  shapi'  for  the  crops 
to  get  the  benefit.  Green  mamire  from  cows  that  re- 
ceive no  bedding  and  not  worked  over  only  as  it  goes  In 
and  out  of  the  cart,  is  not  worth  one-half  as  much  as 
line,  properly  prepared  manure.  It  not  only  pays  that 
way,  but  how  much  more  comfortable  the  cows  are; 
keepsthem  cleiin,  much  better  milking,  etc.  You  re- 
ceiveaproflt  iu  more  ways  than  one. — Mirror. 


Inoculation  of  Animals. 

In  the  June  number  of  the  }feilical  Record,  James 
Law  has  an  excecdinirly  interesting  article  on  the 
mitigation  of  the  maliiinity  of  disease  irerms.  A 
portion  of  the  article  is  devoted  to  a  consideration  of 
the  luiii;  plague  in  cattle,  and  while  not  containing &ny- 
thiiiL'  that  is  new  to  anyone  who  is  perfectly  familiar 
with  the  disease,  it  does  contain  some  IhinL'S  that 
will  be  new  to  the  general  reader.  Tlie  lunt'-plague, 
so  called,  is  not  necessarily  a  disease  of  the  luiiifs. 
Prof.  Law  in  his  article  truly  says  that  it  is  possible 
to  inoculate  the  disease  in  the  tail.  This  can  be 
done,  too,  with  the  effect  of  inoculation  or  vaccina- 
tion, and  it  will  protect  the  niiimal  from  future  at- 
tacks as  certainly  as  if  the  disease  had  been  devel- 
oped in  the  lungs.  The  professor  says  that  some 
who  are  more  witty  than  wise  have  ridiculed  the 
idea  of  thus  inoculating  an  animal,  but  that  their 
nomenclature  was  at  fault  ami  not  the  inoculatus, 
that  the  specific  diseiise,  whatever  it  maybe  called; 
has  been  really  produced  in  the  tail,  and  that  the 
subject  of  the  inoculation  was  made  proof  against 
what  is  called  the  luii^'  plague.  The  plague  Is  a 
local  ilisease  which  will  develop  in  any  vascular 
structure  of  a  susceptible  animal  in  which  i"  may  be 
iinplanted.  The  germs  inhaled  into  the  lungs  prey 
upon  the  lun!;s  alone,  and  if  other  germs  are  placed 
upon  the  raw  surface  of  the  tail  they  will  develop  in 
the  tail  only,  but  in  both  eases  the  disease  all'ects 
the  system  In  such  a  way  that  the  animal  will  not 
aurain  have  the  disease,  however  much  it  may  be 
exposed. 

If  the  tall  is  Inoculated,  the  severity ,of  the  dis- 
ease will  depend  greatly  upon  the  d.  ptii  to  which 
the  poison  is  planted.  The  exudation  and  swelling 
rarely  exceeds  the  size  of  a  hen's  egg.  But  in  the 
lungs  the  air  passages  are  closed,  preventing  a  free 
impress  of  oxygen,  and  it  is  not  uncommon  for  the 
mass  of  exudation  to  weigli  as  much  as  thirty 
pounds,  besides  an  enormous  liquiM  effusion  in  the 
pleura'.  In  Australia,  the  professor  says,  the  inocu- 
iaiion  is  eluinsily  but  su^■ceh^fully  performed,  by 
drawing  a  worhted  thread.  Mneared  iu  the  exudate, 
throu!,'li  the  connecting  tissue  beneath  the  skin  of 
the  tail.  This  is  a  deep  insertion,  but  the  loose  tex- 
ture of  the  Worsted,  serves  to  favor  the  admission  of 
air,  and  to  counteract  any  dangerous  change  in  the 
virus. 


64 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[April,  1882. 


Poultry. 


Sunflower  Seed  for  poultry. 

A  correspondent,  Mrs.  M.  J.  C,  Otter,  Iowa,  gives 
her  experience  in  raising  raanimotli  Russian  sun- 
flower seed  for  poultry  and  for  stock.  It  is  eagerly 
eaten,  malies  the  hens  produce  eggs  plentifully, 
keeps  the  feathers  glossy  and  elegant.  Our  corres- 
pondent has  grown  it  successfully  on  a  variety  of 
soils  and  even  in  fence  corners,  and  regards  the  stalks 
to  be  used  for  kindling  wood  as  by  no  means  unim- 
portant. In  conclusion,  she  adds:  "It  grows  to 
double  the  size  of  the  common  South  American  va- 
riety, and  far  excels  it  in  the  large  heads  of  nice 
black  seeds,  if  cultivated  like  other  errains  and  kept 
free  from  weeds.  I  raised  heads  larger  over  than 
a  water  pail,  and  very  heavy.  I  plant  a  patch 
every  year  for  my  chickens.  If  you  plant  near  your 
barn  the  poultry  will  live  and  grow  fat,  and  one 
would  be  astonished  at  the  amount  of  eggs  pro- 
duced. It  takes  three  quarts  for  an  acre  and  plant 
as  far  apart  as  corn." 


Grain  aud  Vegetables. 

There  are  none  of  the  cereals  raised  in  this  coun- 
try, says  the  Ponltry  U'ocW,  but  have  their  uses  as 
feed  for  domestic  poultry.  And  all  the  root  vegeta- 
bles, such  as  turnips,  potatoes,  carrots,  beets,  ruta- 
bagas, etc.,  when  cooked  and  mixed  with  meal  or 
bran,  half  and  half  each,  are  esteemed  economical 
and  healthful  for  fowl  feed. 

The  fattening  properties  of  some  grains,  and  the 
undue  allowance  daily  of  boiled  potatoes  aud  corn  or 
wheat  meal  are  excessive,  however.  And  where  the 
Asiatics  only  are  kept,  discretion  must  be  exercised 
in  dealing  out  these  hearty  kinds  of  aliment,  inas- 
much as  it  is  neither  healthful, economical,  or  iiseful 
to  stuff  these  birds  with  such  feed. 

The  Cochins,  the  Brahmas,  the  Dorkings,  and  the 
Plymouth  Rocks  will  very  quickly  become  next  to 
useless  as  Uiijers  if  indulged  in  overfeeding  with  these 
rich  grains  and  succulent  roots.  Care  must,  there- 
fore, be  had  to  avoid  this  error,  particularly  along 
through  the  late  fall  and  winter,  when  we  are  pre- 
paring them  for  early  spring  laying. 

If  they  gel  fat  in  cold  weather  old  hens  will  gather 
this  objectionable  kind  of  flesh  internally  often.  And 
this  directly  interferes  with  their  laying,  while  it 
harms  the  quality  of  the  egg  they  do  lay,  for  future 
hatching. 

All  our  fowls  should  be  well  fed  in  cold  weather. 
But  the  breedini/ stock  must  he  cautiously  managed 
in  this  particular,  or  their  eggs  will  very  frequently 
prove  infertile,  from  excessive  cramming  with  these 
hearty  sorts  of  food. 

Keep  a  ready  supply  of  oats  aud  barley  at  hand  for 
these  birds.  Allow  them  but  little  corn,  and  this 
crushed,  and  to  be  given  at  night  only.  Plenty  of 
green  vegetables  will  help  them,  steadily  allowed  all 
winter,  such  as  cabbages,  chopped  rutabagas,  etc. 
And  if  we  avoid  whole  wheat,  buckwheat,  and  whole 
corn — for  our  breeders — they  will  do  much  better 
next  spring,  when  wcwant  their  eggs  for  incubation. 


Poultry  Upon  the    Farm. 

As  a  general  rule,  fowls  run  the  farmer  in  debt  dur- 
ing the  winter  months,  when,  with  proper  care  they 
could  be  made  to  pay  a  handsome  profit.  The  tirst 
especial  thing  is  good,  dry,  warm  quarters.  Second, 
is  plenty  of  egg-producing  food  fed  regular,  with  a 
dish  of  warm  water  (or  wariu  skim  milk  is  much 
better)  for  drink  with  each  feed.  The  liest  food  in 
the  morning  is  a  mush,  made  of  equal  parts  of  corn, 
barley,  oat-meal  with  a  few  shorts  all  mixed  thor- 
oughly with  boiling  hot  water  (or  milk  if  you  have 
it),  add  a  teaspoonful  of  line  salt  to  every  quart  of 
grain  ;  once  a  week  add  a  little  sulphur  and  cayenne 
pepper;  give  it  to  them  while  warm,  just  as  soon  as 
they  come  off  of  the  roost  or  can  see  to  eat  it. 

Ten  o'clock  or  just  before  dinner,  feed  with  boiled 
meat,  cut  fine,  or  boiled  fish  ;  the  offal  from  the 
markets  and  slaughter-houses  is  a  very  cheap  way  to 
get  fish  and  meat  for  your  fowls-  Four  o'clock, 
give  all  they  will  eat  of  dry,  whole  grain,  equal  parts 
corn,  buckwheat,  barley,  burnt  wheat  or  wheat, 
screenings  aud  oats.  More  depends  upon  the  lood 
than  the  breed  of  fowls  ;  but  most  farmers  would 
think  it  too  much  trouble  to  follow  the  above,  but 
would  go  ofl'  to  the  nearest  store  or  hotel  and  let 
poor  biddy  scratch  in  the  hay-chaff  for  her  breakfast, 
dinner  and  supper. — Mirror. 


Dressing  and  Keeping  Poultry. 

In  reference  to  dressing  and  keeping  poultry, 
"J,"  of  the  Philadclplda  liccurd,  gives  this  sound 
and  good  advice:  After  the  fowl  is  killed  and  pluck- 
ed, cut  off  the  head  and  feet,  and  draw  out  the  en- 
tire inside  parts.  Then  carefully  wash  and  place 
aside  to  cool.  After  cooling  sprinkle good  table  salt 
into  every  part  of  the  inside,  and  well  rub  salt  on 
the  outside  of  the  b{Mly;  then  nicely  clean,  and  salt 
the  heart,  liver  aud  gizzard,  and  place  them  into  the 


carcass,  as  many  buyers  prefer  to  have  them.  Or, 
if  preferred,  clean  the  fowls  as  directed,  and  instead 
of  salting,  place  them  in  an  air-tight  box,  and  at  the 
bottom  of  the  hkx  burn  a  small  quantity  of  sulphur. 
As  soon  as  the  sulphur  fumes  begin  to  rise  close  the 
box,  and  at  the  end  of  half  an  hour  take  out  the 
fowls  and  pack  them  for  market.  They  will  keep 
for  weeks  by  this  process,  as  the  sulphur  fumes 
effectually  prevent  fermentation  in  all  substances; 
and  instead  of  being  injurious  are  positively  bene 
ficial,  in  completely  destroying  everything  that  could 
by  any  means  be  injurious  in  the  carcass.  It  will 
give  a  peculiar  glazed  appearance  to  the  fowl,  and  a 
slight  odor  of  the  sulphur  may  remain  (often  none), 
but  the  moment  the  carcass  is  heated  for  cooking 
the  sulphur  gas  passes  off,  and  the  meat  is  purer 
aud  better  than  before. 


Common  Sense  in  the  Poultry  Yard. 

The  "poultry"  that  everybody  keeps  are  techni- 
cally designated  "  fowls,"  or  "  barn  door  fowls."  As 
a  rule  they  are  kept  in  small  flocks,  fed  chiefly  upon 
what  no  farmer  misses.  On  most  farms  a  flock  of 
twelve  to  twenty  hens  will  pick  up  a  living  without 
receiving  a  particle  of  grain  from  May  to  October,  in- 
cluding both  months.  Their  food  consists  of  insects, 
seeds  and  grass  or  weeds;  they  need  fresh  water  be- 
sides. What  wonder  is  it  that  fowls  thus  kept  are 
demonstrably  more  profitable  than  any  class  of  stock 
or  any  crop  on  the  farm  ?  This  is  the  best  way  to 
keep  fowls,  provided  th^y  can  be  induced  to  lay 
where  their  eggs  can  be  found  while  fresh.  To  ac- 
complish this  a  house  of  some  kind  is  needed  where 
the  fowls  may  be  shut  in  occasionally  for  a  few  days 
at  a  time,  so  as  to  make  them  roost  and  lay  in  con 
venient  places.  If  fowls  can  roost  in  the  trees,  lay 
all  over  the  farm  and  "dust"  themselves  in  the  road, 
they  will  almost  surely  be  healthy,  lay  a  good  many 
eggs  and  keep  in  good  condition.  Besides,  every  now 
and  then^  a  hen  will  unexpectedly  appear  with  a 
brood  of  ten  or  a  dozen  chicks,  hatched  under  one 
bush  where  she  had  "stolen"  her  nest  and  done  her 
hatching.  That  is  all  very  well,  so  far  as  the  hen  is 
concerned,  but  no  one  wants  it  to  happen.  We  wish 
the  hens  to  lay  and  sit  where  wecan  put  whateggs  we 
please  under  them  for  hatching — and  what  is  still 
more  important,  we  wish  to  be  able  to  collect  the 
eggs  for  use  or  for  sale  daily.  A  fresh  egg  is  a  joy,  a 
delight,  a  good  gift  of  heaven — a  "  perfectly  good  " 
egg  is  an  abomination.  An  egg  to  be  fit  to  eat  or  for 
sale,  must  be  fresh  beyond  peradventure,  and  utterly 
untainted  with  suspicion  of  having  been  brooded  or 
weathered.  For  this  reason  it  is  a  most  untidy  thing 
to  use  natural  nest  eggs.  The  nest  egg  after  awhile 
is  almost  surely  gathered  and  of  course  is  not 
"right." — American  AQviculturigt. 


The  Roup  in  Fowls. 

Poultry  is  beginning  to  receive  more  attention  from 
farmers  of  late  years,  and  for  the  amount  usually  in- 
vested in  that  class  of  stock  a  much  greater  profit  is 
derived  than  from  any  other.  Of  all  the  ills  to  which 
they  are  subject  the  most  common  is  the  roup.  There 
are  several  forms  of  it,  the  disease  presenting  symp- 
toius  similar  to  the  "colds"  incident  to  humans.  The 
signs  are  depression  of  the  wings,  running  at  the 
nose,  sore  throat  and  an  occasional  sound  like  "pip" 
from  those  that  have  it  in  the  early  stages.  It  does 
more  damage  than  cholera,  for  the  reason  that  it  can 
be  engendered  in  every  yard  without  the  knowledge 
of  the  farmer. 

Roup  comes  from  exposure.  A  single  crack  lu  a 
fowl  house  will  allow  a  slight  draught  that  often  is 
more  serious  than  a  large  opening.  It  develops  itself 
among  the  fowls  in  damp  weather  generally,  aud  is 
contagious  if  not  at  once  arrested.  It  is  a  disease 
that  seems  to  seek  the  hard  feathered  fowls,  such  as 
Games,  Leghorns,  Black  Spanish  and  Hambargs. 
Fowls  with  flufl'y  or  dowuy  feathers  are  not  liable  to 
it,  as  they  are  thus  better  protected  from  cold.  Of 
this  class  the  Asiatics  and  Plymouth  Rocks  are  ex- 
amples. / 

To  know  what  fowls  are  subject  to  roup  in  prefer- 
ence to  others  lee  any  farmer  select  the  Black  Span- 
ish, for  instance.  The  outer  feathers  are  hard,  seem 
full,  and  they  really  appear  well  protected.  Now  lift 
up  the  wing,  and  the  skin  is  naked  or  free  from 
downy  feathers.  Try  a  Brahma  or  Plymouth  Kock 
in  the  same  way,  and  the  body  cannot  be  seen,  so 
thick  are  the  fluffs  of  feathers.  It  is  this  covering 
which  enables  the  Brahma  to  withstand  the  severity 
of  our  winters  without  passing  through  the  difi'erent 
stages  of  roup;  and,  being  so  well  protected,  less  food 
is  appropriated  to  heating  the  body,  and  thus  they 
are  better  winter  layers.  This  is  an  important  fact 
for  poultrymen  to  understand — the  feathering  of  the 
fowls  in  winter,  for  the  better  they  are  covered  with 
the  small  downy  feathers  the  more  eggs  wi  1  be 
gathered. 

To  cure  the  roup  keep  the  fowl  in  a  warm  loca- 
tion, aud  give  a  teaspoonful  of  solution  of  chlorate 
of  potash  three  times  daily,  at  night  swabbing  the 
throat  with  strong  copperas  water.  Wash  the  beak 
with  warm  water.  Let  the  food  be  varied  and  soft, 
aud  keep  sick  fowls  away  from  those  that  are  well, 
lu  nearly  all  yards  where  roup  appears  the  cause  can  I 


be  traced  to  inattention  on  the  part  of  the  breeder. 
Farmers  seem  to  think  poultry  of  but  little  impor' 
tance,  claiming  that  hens  are  unprofitable,  but  those 
who  make  this  statement  seldom  do  more  than  gather 
the  eggs,  leaving  the  fowls  to  care  for  themselves. 
Poultry  finds  quick  sale  in  the  markets,  and,  if  the 
quality  is  good,  high  prices  are  obtained;  and  as  to 
eggs,  they  are  now  selling  for  more  than  many  buy- 
ers wish  to  pay.  Were  it  not  for  roup,  which  is  a 
nuisance  in  nearly  all  yards,  fowls  would  be  kept  in 
larger  numbers  than  usual.  It  is  a  very  fatal 
disease,  and  from  its  habit  of  appearing  in 
many  different  forms  often  misleads  as  to  its  pres 
ence.  Droopy  fowls  in  winter,  if  a  larce  proportion, 
may  be  examined  for  roup.  In  its  worst  stages  it 
causes  swellings  on  the  side  of  the  head,  the  throat 
is  white  and  slimy  and  the  fowl  refuses  food. 

Do  not  be  afraid  to  handle  the  fowls,  for  if  they 
are  worth  keeping  they  should  be  examined  very 
often.  Cholera  comes  hut  seldom  in  some  localities 
but  the  loup  is  a  wolf  waiting  at  the  door  always. 
When  once  it  gets  a  hold  on  a  flock  it  will  seize  all 
if  not  stopped.  The  best  preventives  are  warmth, 
cleanliness,  changeable  food  and  good  shelter. 

^ 

Poultry. 

If  you  want  fowls  for  general  purposes  take  the 
Leghorns,  Hamburgs  or  Spanish,  or  some  would 
prefer  Dorkings,  Polish,  lloudans  or  Crevecoeurs. 
These  last  named  breeds  are  what  we  call  constant 
layers  ;  but  for  eggs  alone  there  is  no  fowl  in  exist 
ence  that  can  compete  with  the  Leghorn.  They  lay 
more  eggs,  consume  less  food,  and  for  early,  fast 
growing  spring  friers  they  will  out  travel  any  breed. 

Perhaps  at  this  time  it  would  be  in  better  place  to 
say  a  little  towards  the  care  of  fowls.  There  is  no 
other  class  of  stock  on  the  farm,  as  a  general  rule, 
that  it  60  sadly  neglected  as  the  domestic  fowl.  Why 
neglect  this  great  source  of  human  sustenance  in 
such  a  way?  Perhaps  some  of  my  readers  will  hoot 
at  the  idea,  but  it  is  true  there  are  more  fowls  and 
poultry  consumed  in  the  Uinted  States  than  there  is 
beef  or  pork.  This  looks  like  a  big  thing  but  the 
statistics  show  that  such  is  the  case.  Look  at  the 
consumption  of  eggs  alone  ;  it  is  almost  as  great  as 
as  that  of  pork.  Now  is  the  time  to  clean  and 
whitewash  your  roosts,  and  be  sure  and  get  ahead  of 
all  vermin,  for  they  make  their  start  in  spring,  and 
are  more  easily  gotten  rid  of  at  the  start  than  after 
they  have  your  hen  houses  all  polluted.  A  good 
way  to  keep  them  from  starting  is  to  pout  coal  oil 
on  your  roosts  and  any  other  place  about  your  hen 
houses  where  they  are  likely  to  make  a  start.  Spring 
generally  brings  disease  with  it,  and  a  good  way  to 
keep  fowls  healthy  is  to  keep  a  lump  of  alutii  in 
their  drinking  water ;  the  sour  from  the  alum 
mixed  with  water,  helps  to  tone  up  their  systems 
aud  keep  them  in  healthy  condition.  To  make  fowls 
healthy  and  lay  well,  a  good  wtiy  is  to  give  change 
of  diet,  say  soft  food  in  the  former  part  of  the  day 
and  whole  grain  in  the  evening ;  and  green  food  is 
very  essential  for  the  health  of  fowls  and  also  neces- 
sary to  insure  good  success  in  hatching.  But  every 
farmer  ought  to  see  to  it  and  have  good  fowls  on  his 
farm,  for  the  flrst  reason  it  takes  no  more  to  feed 
good  ones  than  it  does  scrubs,  and  if  he  wants  to 
sell  he  won't  have  one-half  the  trouble  to  sell 
blooded  stock  that  is  usually  the  case  with  common 
scrub  stock.  And  I  say  tliere  is  not  any  stock  on 
the  farm  that  will  pay  more  interest  on  capital  in- 
vested than  will  well-fed  fowls. — Alex.  Bickett  in 
Journal  of  Agriculture. 


Literary  and  Personal. 


Circular  :n  llErERENCETo  Pyrethrum,  issued 
by  the  Department  of  Agriculture;  a  demi  quarto  of 
4  pages,  with  a  full  page  illustration  of  Pi/rethrum 
roxeuiH,  with  a  history  of  the  plant,  and  ample  diiec- 
tion  for  its  cultivation,  preparation  for  use  as  an  in- 
secticide, and  modes  of  application.  If  our  tobacco 
growers  could  be  induced  to  devote  a  little  corner  of 
their  tobacco  enclosures  to  its  growth,  and 
give  it  the  same  care  they  give  to  the  cultivation  of 
their  favorite  "  weed,"  they  would  at  the  same 
time  produce  the  antidote  to  the  baue  which  ofteu 
diminishes  the  value  of  their  crops. 

The  Aoricultural  Epito.mist,  John  A.  Wooa- 
ward,  editor;  J.  A.  Everitt,  publisher;  semi- 
monthly, Watsontown,  Pa.,  at  50  cents  a  year;  de- 
voted to  the  interest  of  American  farmers.  This  is 
a  new  candidate  for  public  favor,  and  judging  from 
the  number  before  us  (No.  -t,  April,)  it  is  amply 
worthy  of  it.  It  is  a  five  columned  folio,  about  the 
size  of  the  Daily  Examittcr,  and  is  replete  with  able 
aud  practical  original  and  selected  articles,  illustrat- 
ing that  "i/('  that  tilleththelattd  under atandinghj  shall 
hai'c  plenty  of  bread.'^  The  material  and  typographi- 
cal execution  arc  unexceptionab  e,  and  there  is  not  a 
single  article  in  it  that  is  not  worthy  of  repetition ; 
and,  hailing  from  our  own  Pennsylvania,  they  are 
well  adapted  to  the  region  of  Lancaster  county. 
We  hail  it  as  a  valuable  adjunct  to  our  exchange 
list,  and  have  no  hesitation  in  commending  it  to  the 
fayorable  consideration  of  our  patrons. 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER 


III 


THE  WORLD   OF  NATURE 

The  world  of  animated  nature  is  more  splendidly 
represented  under  the  eanvas  of  Korepaujjh's  (ireat 
Show  llian  in  any  zoolosrieal  colleetiou  existent.  Not 
since  the  day  Noah  lifted  his  hawser  olV  the  snub- 
biui'  post  have  so  many  distinct  varieties  of  rare  ani- 
mafs  heen  eollected  under  one  eharKe.  This  impor- 
tant fact  should  not  he  lost  slcht  of  by  schools 
and  parents.  Bovs  and  girls  can  learn  more  ui  an 
afternoon  of  natural  history,  in  the  great  MenaRerie 
■of  Forepaugh's  Show,  than  by  months  of  hook 
study.  Kecoirniziui;  this,  Mr.  Korepaugh  nial<es  re- 
duced rates  to  schools,  and  admits  all  children  in 
oriihan  asylums  free  of  charge.  This  (ireat  Show 
will  exhibit  in  Lancaster,  Monday,  April  ;;4. 


THE 


OFFICE 

0  North  Queen  Street, 

LANCASTER,  PA.. 


THE  OLDEST  AND  BEST. 


THE  WEEKLY 

LANCASTER  EXAMINER 

One  of  the  largest  Weekly  Papers  in 

the  State. 
Published  Every ^Weddnesay  Morning, 

l8  an  old,  well-established  newspaper,  and  contains  just  the 
news  desirable    to  make    it  an  interesting  and  valuable 
Family    Newspaper.    The  postage  to  subcribers  residing 
ontsideof  Lancaster  county  is  paid  by  the  pubhsher. 
Send  for  a  specimen  copy. 


S-CTESdeiFTIOiT  : 


Tw^o  Dollars  per  Annum, 


THE   DAILY 


LANCASTEH  EXAMINER 

The  Largest  Daily  Paper  in  the 
county. 


Poblished  Daily  Except  S  inday. 


The  daily  is  published  every  evening  cluriDg  the  week. 
It  is  delivered  in  the  City  aad  to  eurroundiug  Towns  ac- 
cessible by  railroad  and  daily  stage  lines,  for  10  cents 
a  weeK. 

MmII  SubBcriptiou,  free  of  postage— One  month,  60 
•cents;  one  year,   9S.O0. 


JOHN  A.  HIESTAND,  Proprietor, 

No.  9  NortU  Queen  St., 

i:iA.2SrCA.STKK.  P-A- 


Important  to  Grocers,  Packers,  Hucksters,  and  the 

General  Public. 

THE  KING  FORTUNE-MAKER. 


OZONE 


A  New  Proceas  for  Preservlnq  all 
Petlshahle  Articles,  Anhnal  and 
Vef/etnble  from  Fermentation  and 


ll.sh.  &i'.,  prcscrvcil  l)y  this  nictlioil,  can  be 
iit'itry  in  a  wtate  of  perfcel  preservation^ 


rutrefactivn,  lietaining  their  Odor  and  Flavor. 

"  OZONE-Pnrified  air.  active  state  of  Oxygen."- ">*»'"  • 

This  preservative  is  not  a  liquid  p.cl<lc,  or  any  of  the  old  and  exploded  processes,  but  i^s  simply  and  purely 
OZONE  as  produced  and  applied  by  an  entirely  new  process  0«ne  is  the  antiseptic  principle  of  every 
substance,  and  possesses  the  power  to  preserve  animal  and  vegetable  structures  from  decay 

Thtte  is  noth  iiio  on  the  fficc  of  Hir  ciirt/i  litiOlc  to  Hirdi/  or  s/ioif  iili  irh  Ozone,  the 
new  I'rcseriathe,  wUf  not  present  for  all  time  in  •>  perfertlij  fresh  <in,t  palafaOle 
condition. 

Tbe  value  of  O/.on,.  lu.  a  natural  prcs.rver  lias  been  known  to  our  abler  chciiiiHl.s  for  years,  but.  iinlil  now,  no 
mcaiKs  of  prodiuiiiK  it  in  a  practical,  iuexpeiusive,  and  simple  manner  have  been  '">«°*'"'",'- .  ,., .   „  ,„,  .   ,.,.,,  ,„„,„ 

Mieroseipic  observations  prove  that  decay  is  due  to  septic  matter  or  minute  nernis  that '  "  J  "  >'  '' .."i^"  1  ",'"" 
animal  and  vcBCtablc  .str.iclnres.  Ozone,  ai>plied  by  Ibc  l-renlice  inelhod.  f.«7^V'V'^!  ^t  i.mi,l|,t  ol'  nre^-rvcdb^^ 
and  tbus  preserves  At  our  otliec  in  Cinemnati  can  he  seen  almost  every  article  Miat  enn  be  tl  out;  U  "'■  '"^^"f  ",■; ',5'^ 
u'  m  Hc'ss  and  every  visitor  is  welcomed  to  come  in.  taste,  smell,  lake  away  witl,  h.m  ■?"!  ';^;*'  '.^^  se.^l  ore  .aid 
merits  of  <  )/.one  as  a  preservative.  We  will  also  preserve,  free  of  cbarK-e.  any  article  that  is  brouBlit  or  sent  i)rLi,md 
to  us  mid  return  it  to  the  sender,  lor  bim  to  keep  and  test. 

FKKslI   MKATS.  Bucli  as  beef,  nuitton,  veal,  jiork,  poultry,  tramr 
shinned    lo  ICurone   subieeted  to  atniosi)lK-rie  cliaHKes  and  return  to  till; .  .  , 

K««»c4nte  treated  la 
or  nu)re 
day 

from  one  Hundred  to  three  buii.lred  per  ce   t.    One  man,  with  this  metho.l  can  pre.s<-rvc  •'•'«*'.'  "'y"  "'>„„.,,, 
FRIIIT,S  may  be  permitted  to  ri|,cii  in  their  native  climate,  and  can  be  Iransporled  to  a  ly    """VV.'lreat  value 
The  juice  expressed  from  fruits  can  be  held  for  an  inrteflnite  P,"'9<'  Y''''T'S^""''"'"r''i'7!  7  "..N    ..'^Unie 

of  this  nroecss  for  nro<lii<inK  atcmperaiue  lieveragc.     f 'idcr  can  lie  held  perleclly  sweet  for  any  leUKtli  ol  llliie. 
VKG^riBl  KS  can  bekept  fo'r  an  indefinite  period  in  tlieir  natural  condition,  retaininB  their  •-'l"'-  ■'»''     "yOT. 

treated  in  their  original  packaL-es  at  a  small  cxi>ense.  All  grains.  Hour,  incal,  etc.,  are  liel.l  in  their  iKirmal  condiUon. 
miT'l'EIc,  alter  beinc  treated  bv  this  process,  will  not  become  rancid. 
Dead  lunnan  bodies  treatecl  belore  decomposition  sets  in,  .-an  be  held  in  a  nalnral  condition  for  weeks,  without 

pimetur  1  g  the  skin  or  mutilating  the  body  in  any  way.     Hence  the  great  value  of  Ozone  lounderbikers^ 
There  is  no  change  in  the  sligblest  particular  in  the  appearance  of  any  article  thus  pre.served,  and  no  trac-c  of  any 

'Thl'UoccTifso'simplethattcbiid  can  operate  as  well  and  as  sueeessfully  as  a  man.    There  ■«  „o  expensive 

■'TroorflMedwllhTliLT^^^^^^^^^^^  be  treated  at  one  time,  without  additional 

*''^.'l«''fal?t'"lhere  is  nolhinc  thnt  Ozone  «ill  no.  presorvo.  Think  of  everything  you  can  that  is 
liable  to  sour  decay  or  spoil,  and  then  remember  that  we  guarantee  that  Oz.me  wil  preserve  it  m  e^-c  V  "'« 
„™,rl1tinn  von  want  it  for  anv  lenatli  of  time.  If  vou  will  rcuncinber  this  it  will  save  a.skliig  <iuc.stlons  as  to  whether 
^°"''e'w  1?  prerrvVi\,tor;Li"'^VJle-i.  «ill  pre.orve  «n,  .hi„K  un.l  .-v.-ry  ••.;..»>;«"  ';»■;„  '.'"^f,:;,^ 
There  is  not  a  township  in  the  United  States  m  wbicli  a  live  man  can  no  l'"'"^'"  •">'"' '"\'"/'"  ,^4^^^^^^ 
St  nm  to  itril  (100  a  year  that  be  pleases.  We  desire  to  get  a  live  man  interested  111  each  county  111  the  I  nited  .Mitea, 
fn'^Iose  hands  w?L  Sin  placed  and  through  him  secure  the  bu8ines8  wliicl.  every  county  ougl.t  to 

reduce. 


,„,re  tin  r  mghh  ,reser«cl ;  the  yolk  h..ld  in  its  normal  condition,  and  the  egg,,  as  fre.^1  »"J  l-;^';-'-' '»  "  ;,H;« 
.■  thrv  were  treated  and  will  sell  as  strictly  •eboiee."  The  advantage  m  preserving  eggs  is  readily  seen  ,  there 
'se^ons  when  the;;  can  be  bought  for  «  oi-  1() cents  a  dozen,  and  by  holding  them,  can    --</"■■  'l""''^""™  "' 


A  FORTUNE 


Awaits  any  Man  who  Srrurcs  Control  of  OZOXE  in  any 
Township  or  County. 


A  C  Powen,  Marion,  Ohio,  has  cleared  S2,000  in  two  months.    S2  for  a  test  package  was  liis  first  invcstnicnt 
WoodsBro>hers.  Lebanon,  Warren  County,  Ohio,  made  80,1)00  on  eggs  purchased  lu  August  and  sold  ^o^ember 

1st     S2  for  a  test  package  was  their  first  investment.  ...       ...  ,      ,,■       /^  „   „      cor 

F.  K.  Raymond   Morristown,  Belmont  Co.,  Ohio,  is  clearing  $2,000  a  month  m  handling  and  selling  Ozone.     «2  for 

"  d;1^P  WebbcMTcharLu''e!  EluonColl'Mieh.,  hits  cleared  «1.000  a  month  since  August,    f.'  for  a  test  package  wa^  Im 

"  j'  B '(ia'vlm'd,'.S()  I,a  Salle  St.,  Chicago,  is  preserving  eggs,  fruit,  etc.,  for  the  commission  men  of  Chicago,  charging 
IVc  nor  .lo/euforeggs,  and  other  arlieies  in  proia.rtion.  He  is  preserving  .'i.OOO  dozen  eggs  per  day,  and  on  liia 
hir-iincss  i.;  making  Wi«»i  a  mouth  clear.    $2  for  a  test  package  Was  his  first  inveslmei.t.       ,  ,        ,. 

The  Ciucinnati  Feed  (  „.,  West  IW  Seventh  Street,  is  making  S5,(X)  a  month  in  handling  brewen*  mall,  prcsen-ing 
and  sliipping  it  as  feed  to  all  parts  of  the  country.   Malt  uiiprescrved  soure  m  2-1  hours.   Preserved  by  Ozone  it  keeps 

'' Tl?eseVre  inst^ncerwh'ich  we  have  asked  in  the  privilege  of  publishing.  There  are  scores  of  others.  Write  toany 
of  the  above  parties  and  get  the  evidence  direct.  ■,  . 

Now  to  prove  the  ab.solutc  truth  of  every  thing  we  have  said  in  this  paper,  we  propOMP         . 

haiiiu    ll^  ineans  o(    proving  K.r  roiirs.ll  tlial  «c  !•»» ot  <-l«ini.-.l    lujlf  onollKli, 

^^""orwbo  doubts  anv  of  these  statement.s,  and  who  is  interested  sunieiently  to  make  the  I  rip.  we  will  pay  all 
traveling  and  hotel  expenses  for  a  visit  to  tliis  city,  if  we  fail  to  prove  any  statement  that  we  have  made 


How  to  Secure  a  Fortune  with  Ozone. 


o  pinoe  in  your 

any 


*"""^t*k^a'lay  Pass  until  you  have  ordered  a  Test  Package,  and  if  you  desire  to  secure  an  exclusive  privilege  we 
assure  vou  that  delay  mav  deprive  you  of  it,  for  the  applications  come  n.  tons  by  .scores  every  mail-many  by 

^l7y"oi:';io  ;;:;"ctrt'rse"n?in'o'iy^y  i'ii'advanee  for  the  test  package  we  will  send  it  C.  O  D.,  bu,  tins  will  PUt  you  t„ 
the  cCense  of  chargesfor  return  money.  Our  correspoiulenee  is^ycry  large;  we  have  all  we  en  <lo  to  Htlen.i  to  the 
sidiiping  of  orders  ami  giving  attention  to  our  working  agents.  Therelore  we  can  not  give  any  attention  to  leltera 
whieliti;.  no"«rder  Ozone.     If  you  think  of  any  article  that  you  arc  doubtful  about  Ozone  preserving  remember  we 

g-uar^artUf  that  it  ^uillpresrme  it.  no  matter  wllal  it  is.  

REFISRENCES. 

We  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  a  cla.s,s  of  references  which   no  eulcrprise  or  lirm   based  on  any  thing  but  the 
soundest  business  success  and  highest  commercial  merit  could  secure,  .      _  .  .      .i.     <•  ii„,„.„„ 

We  refer  bvpcrinission,  its  to  our  iulegriiy  and  to  the  value  of  the  Prcnti.s.,  Preservative,  to  the  fo  owing 
gentlemen '  Edward  C  Royce,  Member  Board  of  I'ublie  Works:  K.  O.  Eshelby,  City  Comptroller;  Amor  Simlli,  Jr^ 
g^leclor  Internal  Rovenu'e;  Wi.lsin  &  Wortliington,.Altorneys;  Martin  H.  Jlarrell  »';.1B  .,>;,„:l<'l;i^.'.-^..;r"2: 
Commis.si 
each  familiar 


Commis.sioners-  W  S  Capix^ller, County  Auditor;  all  of  Cincinnati,  Hamilton  CounlyObio.    These  gentlemen  are 
^"'""*  w'ith  the  merits  of  our  Prc-servative,  and  know  from  actual   observation  that  we  have  without  .piestion 

The  Most  Valuable  Article  in  the  World. 

The?2  you  invest  in  a   test   package,  will  surely  lead  you   to  secure  a  township  or  county,  and   llieii  your  way  is 
absolutclv  clear  to  make  Irom  82,000  to  810,000  a  year. 
Give  yourfull  address  in  every  letter,  and  send  your  letter  to 


Nov-3m 


PRENTISS  PRESERVING  COMPANY.  (Limited,) 

S.  E.  Cor.  yinth  it  liucc  Sts.,  Cincinnati,  O. 


IV 


THE   LANCASTER  FARMER 


[April.  1882. 


WHERE  TO  BUY  GOODS 

IN 

LANCASTER. 


BOOTS  AND   SHOES. 


MARSHA ■>!..  «fc  SON,  No.  12  Centre  Square,  Lan- 
ca.ster,  Dealers  in  Boots,  Shoes  and  Rubbers.    Re- 
pairing promptly  attended  to. 

MI.EVY,  No.  3  East  King  street.     For  the   bes 
•    Dollar  Shoes  in  Lancaster  go  to  M.  Levy,  No.  3 
East  King  street. 


BOOKS  AND   STATIONERY. 

JOHN  B.\ER"S  SON'S,  Nos.  1.5  and  17  North  Queen 
Street,  have  the  largest  and  best  assorted  Book  and 
Paper  Store  in  the  City.  

FURNITURE. 


HEINITSH'S,No.  15'.;  East  King  St.,   (over  China 
Hall)  is  the  cheapest  place  in  Lancaster  to   buy 
Furniture. .  Picture  Frames  a  specialty. 


CHINA  AND  GLASSWARE. 


HIGH  *  MARTIN.  No.  1.5  East  King  St.,  dealers 
in  China,  Gla.ss  and  Queensware,   Fancy   Goods, 
Lampa,  Burners,  Chimneys,  etc.  


CLOTHING. 


MYKKS  A  RATHrON.  Centre  Hall,  No.  12  East 
King  St.    Largest  Clothing.House  in  Pennsylvania 
outfiide  of  Philadelphia 


DRUGS  AND   MEDICINES. 


GW.  HIIL,L.,  Dealer  in  Pure  Drugs  and  Medicines 
,    Chemicals,   Patent  Medicines,  Trusses,  Shoulde 
Braces,  Supporters,  &c.,  1.5  West  King  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa 


JOHN  F.  LONG  *  SON,  Druggists,  No.  12  North 
Queen  St.    Drugs,   Medicines,   Perfumery,    Spices, 
Dye  Stuffs,  Etc.    Prescriptions  carefully  compounded. 


DRY  GOODS. 


GIVL,KR,  B«»WERS  &  HUKST.  No.  25  E.  King 
St    fjinca-ster.  Pa.,  Dealers  in  Dry  Goods,  Carpets 
«nd  Merchant  Tailoring.     Prices  as  low  as  the  lowest. 


HATS  AND  CAPS. 


CH    AMEiR,  No.  39  West  King  Street,  Dealer  in 
.    Hats,  Caps,  Furs,  Robes,  etc.    Assortment  Large. 
Prices  Ix*w. 


JEWELRY  AND  WATCHES. 

HZ.  RHOAnS  ifc  BRO.,    No.  4  West  King  St. 
.     Watches,   Clock  and  Musical  Boxes.      Watches 
and  Jewelry  Manufactured  to  order.      


PRINTING. 


JOHN    A.    HIESTAND,  9  North  Queen  St.,  Sale 
Bills,   Circulars,  Posters,  Cards,   Invitations,   Letter 
and  Bill  Headsand  Envelopes  neatly  printed.    Prices  low. 


Thirty-Six  Varieties  of  Calibane;  ^0  of  Corn;  28  of  Cu- 
umber;  41  of  Melon;  .33  of  Peas;  28  of  Beans;  17  of 
Squash;  23  of  Beet  and  40  of  Tomato,  with  other  varieties 
in  proportion,  a  large  portion  of  which  were  grown  on 
my  five  seed  farms,  will  be  fomid  in  my  Vetretable 
and  rion-er  Seed  Catalogue  Tor  l>«M2.  Sent  free 
to  all  wlio  apply.  Customers  of  last  Season  need  not 
■write  for  it.  All  Seed  sold  from  my  establishment  war- 
ranted to  be  fresh  and  true  to  name,  so  far,  that  should 
it  prove  otherwise,  I  will  refill  the  order  gratis.  The 
oriffinni  intr'><lucer  oT  Earl^'  Ohio  and 
Burbaiik  Polntoes.  DIarblellead,  Early  Corn, 
the  Hubbard  SquaHta.  IMarblehead  ('abbagre, 
l*hinne.v's  Melon,  and  a  score  of  other  New  Vegeta- 
bles, I  invite  the  patronage  of  the  public.  New  Vegeta- 
bles a  specialty. 

JAMES  J.  H.  GR£GORT. 

Marblebead,  Mass. 
Nov-6mo] 

EVAPORATE  YOUR  FRUIT. 

ILLUSTRATED    CATALOGUE 

FREE  TO  ALL. 

AMERICAN  DRIER  COMPANY, 

Chanaberabarg;,  Pa. 

Xpl-tt 


FARMING  FOR  PROFIT. 

It  is  conceded  that  this  large  and  comprehensive  book, 
(advertised  in  another  column  by  J.  C.  McCurdy  &  Co., 
of  Philadelphia,  the  well-known  publishers  of  Standard 
works,)  is  not  only  the  newest  and  handsomest,  but  alto- 
gether the  BEST  work  of  the  kind  which  has  ever  been 
published.  Thoroughly  treating  tlie  great  subjects  of 
general  Agriculture,  Live-Stock,  Fruit-Growing,  Busi- 
ness Principles,  and  Home  Life;  telling  just  what  the 
farmer  and  the  farmer's  boys  want  to  know,  combining 
Science  and  Practice,  stimulating  thought,  awakening 
inquiry,  and  interesting  every  member  of  the  family, 
this  book  must  exert  a  mighty  influence  for  good.  It  is 
highly  recommended  by  the  best  agricultural  writers 
and  the  leading  papers,  and  is  destined  to  have  an  ex- 
tensive sale.    Agents  are  wanted  everywhere.         jan-lt 

BLOOMSDALE 

LARGE  LATE  FLAT  DDTOll  CABBAGE. 

Large,  Flat,  Solid  Heads,  Short  Stems. 


A  HOME  ORGAN  FOR  FARMERS. 


For  a  long  period  of  time  we  have  had  this  stock  of 
Cabbage  in  cultivation,  originally  obtained  from  the 
German  and  Sweedish  market  gardeners.  It  has  been  a 
part  of  our  business  occupation  to  keep  it  undefiled,  and 
to-day  we  offer  it  in  Itaorlgrinal  purity,  eqani 
In  quality  with  the  very  best  in  tbe  country, 
even  though  the  best  should  cost  a  hundred 
dollars  per  pound. 

We  have  made  this  crop  a  study  and  give  our  cus- 
tomers the  result  of  many  years  close  observation,  for 
which  our  opportunities  may  be  judged  by  the  fact  that 
we  have,  each  and  every  year,  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  acres  of  cabbage  raised  expressly  to  produce  seed 
for  the  ensuing  season,  afid  from  which  selections  are 
made  with  scrupulous  care,  guided  by  experience.  Not 
a  single  grain  of  seed  is  raised  from  Stalks  all  from 
Selected  Heads. 

We  will  mail  our  Catalogue  free  of  charge  to  all  appli- 
cants. 

D.    LANDRETH   &   SONS, 
Nos.  21  and  23  South  Sixth  Street, 

Between   Market  and  Chestnut  Sts., 

BRANCH  STORE— S.  W.  CoR.  Dklawabk  Ave.    aNd 

Arch  Street, 

apr-6m  PHILADELPHIA. 


MERCHANT  TAILORING. 

1848     (The  Oldest  of  All.)     1881 

RATHVON  &  FISHER, 

MERCHAMT  TAILORS  AND  DRAPERS, 

respectfully  inform  the  public  that  having  disposed  of 
their  entire  stock  of  Ready-Made  Clothing,  theynow  do, 
and  for  the  future  shall,  aevote  their  whole  attention  to 
the(3UST0A\I  TRADE. 

All  the  desirable  styles  of  CLOTHS,  CASSIMERE^, 
WORSTEDS,  COATINGS,  SUITINGS  and  VESTINGS 
constantly  on  hand,  and  oaade  to  order  in  plain  or  fash- 
ionable slyle  promptly,  and  warranted  satisfactory. 

All-Wool  Suit  from  $10. 00  to  830.00. 

All-Wool  Pants  from  3.U0  to    10.00. 

All-Wool  Vests  from  2.00  to      6.00. 

Union  and  Cotton  Goods  proportionately  less. 

Cutting.  Repairi..g,  Trimming  and  Making,  at  reason- 
able prices. 

Goods  retailed  by  the  yard  to  those  who  desire  to  have 
iheni  made  elsewhere. 

A  full  supply  of  Spring  and  Summer  Goods  just 
opened  and  0(i  hand. 

Thankful  to  a  generous  public  for  past  patronage  they 
hope  to  merit  its  continued  recognition  in  their  "new  de- 
parture." 

RATHVON  &  FISHER. 

PKATI  lALTAILORS, 

No.  101  North  Queen  Street, 

LANCASTER,  PA. 
1848  1881 


GLOVES,  SHIRTS,  UNDERWEAR. 
SHIRTS  MADETO  ORDER, 

AND  WARRANTED  TO  FIT. 

E.  J.  ERISMAN , 

56  North  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

T»-1-1«J 


Ti  LiiiSm  fill, 

A  MONTHLY  JOURNAL, 

Devoted  to  Agriculture,  Horticulture,  Do- 
mestic Economy  and  Miscellany. 


Founded  Under  the  Auspices  of  the   Lancas.- 
ter  County  Agricultural  and  Horti- 
cultural Society. 


EDITED  BY  DR.  S.  S.  RATHVON. 


TERMS  OF  SUBSCRIPTION  : 


ONE  DOLL/|R  PER  ANNUJf, 

POSTAGE  PREPAID  BY  THE  PROPRIETOR. 

All    subscriptions    will    commence    with    the 
January  number,  unless  otherwise  ordered* 


Dr.  S,  S.  Rathvon,  who  has  so  ably  managed  the  editorial 
department  in  the  past,  will  continue  in  the  position  of 
editor.  His  contributions  on  subjects  connected  with  the 
science  of  farming,  and  particularly  that  specialty  of  which 
he  is  BO  thorouhly  a  master — entomological  science — some 
knowledge  of  whicb  has  become  a  necessity  to  the  success- 
ful farmer,  are  alone  worth  much  more  than  the  price  of 
this  publication.  He  Is  determined  td  make  *'The  Farmer' 
a  necessity  to  all  households. 

A  county  that  has  so  wide  a  reputation  as  Lancaster 
county  for  its  agricultural  products  should  certainly  be 
able  to  support  an  agricultural  paper  of  its  own,  for  the 
exchange  of  the  opinions  of  farmers  Interested  In  tbis  mat- 
oter.  We  ask  the  co-oporation  of  all  farmers  interested  in 
this  matter.  Work  among  your  friends.  The  ''Farmer"  i 
only  one  dollar  per  year.  Show  them  your  copy.  Try  and 
induce  them  to  subscribe.  It  is  not  much  for  each  Bub- 
scriber  to  do  but  it  will  greatly  assist  us. 

All  communications  in  regard  tothe  editorial  management 
should  be  addressed  to  Dr.  8.  8.  Rathvon,  Lancaster,  Pa., 
and  all  business  letters  in  regard  to  subscriptions  and  ad- 
vertising should  be  addressed  to  the  publisher.  Rates  of 
advertising  can  be  had  on  application  at  the  office. 


JOHN  A.  HIESTAND, 

No.  9  North  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 


$72 


A  WEEK.   $12  a  day  at  home  easily  made.    Costly 
Outfit  free.  Address  Taus  &  Co.,  Augusta,  Maine 


ONE  DOLLAR  PER  ANITUBI.-SIITGLE  COPIES  10  CENTS. 


Dr.  S.  S.  EATHVOM,  Editor. 


LANCASTER,  PA.    MAY,  1882. 


JOBK  A.  HIESTAKD,  Publisher 


Enterefl  nt  thr    Pout  Office  nt  liMiifHMter    nst 
hrronfl  ('Irks  Matlrr. 

CONTENTS  OFJTHIS  NUMBER. 

EDITORIAL. 

Pyrethrum 65 

The  Kitclien  Garden  for  May (!5 

Gapes  vs  Entomology 65 

Griipes  aiul  Chicken  Chok-ra— CJapes — Gapes. 

A  New  History  of  Lancaster  County 67 

Lime  in  Soil 07 

Excerpts I>7 

Queries  and  Answers 69 

ESSAYS. 

Some  Practical  Points  in  Peach  Culture 09 

The  Management  of  an  Orchard 71 

1st.  Location — 2cl.  Selection  of  Soil— 3d.  Its  Pre- 
paration—4tli.  Selection  of  Varieties- 5th.  Pro- 
per I'iantingr- 6th.  Judicious  Pruning:-  7th.  Good 
Judgment,  Close  Attention  and  a  Great  Deal  of 
Work. 

SELECTIONS. 

History  of  Pyrethrum 72 

Cultivation  of  Pyrethrum— Preparation  of  the 
IMants  for  Use— The  Use  of  Pyretlirum  as  an  In- 
secticide— Modes  of  Api)lication. 

Quince  Culture 74 

Poultry  Farming 75 

Poultry  Abundant,  but  Dear 75 

Notes  on  French  Agriculture 76 

OUR   LOCAL  ORGANIZATIONS. 
Lancaster  County  Agricultural  and  Horticultural 

Society 76 

Crop  Reports— Growing  Corn- Commercial  Fer- 
tilizers—How Should  Lime  ho  Applied?— The 
Poetry  of  Agriculture — (Questions  for  Discussion. 

The  Poultry  Society 77 

Miscellaneous  Business— Strains  in  Poultry  Breed- 
ing. 

Fulton  Farmers'  Club 77 

Asking  and  Answering  tiuestions- Inspecting  the 
Host's  Premises— Papers  Read. 
AGRICULTURE. 

French  Farming 78 

Sand  Farming 7« 

Crop  Prospects 78 

Fence  Posts 78 

HORTICULTURE. 

Apples  for  Medicine 78 

Greenhouse  and  Window  Plants 78 

Frollt  in  Onions 78 

Celery  Culture 78 

How  the  Chinese  Make  Dwarf  Trees 78 

HOUSEHOLD    RECIPES. 

Tapioca  Pudding 78 

Bread  Pudding 78 

Chili  Sauce 78 

Clam  Chowder 78 

Saddle  of  Lamb 78 

Tomato  Soup 78 

Oyster  Soup 78 

Chicken  Salad 79 

White  Sauce  for  Game 79 

Sugar  Kisses 79 

Queen  of  Pudding 79 

Lemon  Pudding  Sauce 79 

Bird's  Nest  Pudding 79 

Orange  Pudding 79 

Green  Corn  Patties 79 

Boston  Cream  Cake 79 

Flake  Pie  Crust 79 

Superior  Doughnuts ; 79 

Cookies 79 

Custard  Pie 79 

Graham  Rolls 79 


Rice  Waffles T^ 

Steamed  Indian  Loaf '^ 

Muffins 2,p 

Lemon  Pie /.^ 

Pumpkin  Pie '? 

~       '  -     -  79 


Graham  .MulHne. 
Turkey  Soup.. 


_^ 79 

Fish  Sauce.. "^ '^^ 

Cabbage  Salad ^9 

Cottage  Pudding ™ 

Suet  Pudding '» 

Boiled  Bread  Pudding  '^ 

Lowell  Pudding ™ 

Hominy  .Muffins '" 

Potato  Cakes "^^ 

Oyster  Fritters ^^ 

Corn  Oysters "^^ 

Boiled  Leg  of  Lamb '''9 

Tapioca  Pudding '^^ 

Snow  Pudding ''^ 

LIVE  STOCK. 

Care  of  Horses'  Legs ''9 

Care  of  Sheep J9 

Watering  Horses 'i^ 

Save  and  Care  for  the  Pigs "9 

How  to  Grow  a  Pig '<9 

A  Nevada  Stock  Raiser 80 

POULTRY. 

A  Writer  in  the  Poultry  Monthly 80 

A  House  for  200  Fowls 80 

Questions  About  Eges  and  Fowls 80 

Raising  Sunflowers  for  Hens 80 

Care  of  Young  Turkeys 80 

How  Chickens  are  Born 80 

A  Cheap  Chicken  Coop 80 

Hawaiian  Geese 80 

Literary  and  Personal 80 


SILK-WORM  EGGS. 

Amateur  Silk-growers  ciin  be  supplied  willi  superior 
silk-worni  e^gy.  onVeasonablc  terms,  hy  upplyiiij;\imme- 
dialelv  to 


niay-3m] 


No.  238  East  Oraiipre  Slreet.  r,aiHaster,  Pn. 


SEND  IN  YOUR    SUBSCHIPTIONS 

—  FOR — 

I'Olt  IS 82. 

Tjie  cheapest  and  one  of  the  best  .\gricultural  papers 
in  the  country. 

Only  $1,00  per  year. 

JOHN  .\.  IIIEST.VND,  PviWisher, 

No,  9  North  (Juccii  st..  I,anca.«ler.  Pa. 

Eg'g's!  Eg'g's ! 

From  all  the  leading  varieties  of  pure  bred  Poultry 
Bramahs,  Cochin,  llamburgs,  Polish  Game,  Dorking 
and  French  Fowls,  Plynioutli  Rocks  and  Ban.oms, 
Rouen  and  Pckins  Ducks.     Send  for  Illustrated  Cir- 

T.  SMITH,  P.  M.,  Fresh  Pond,  N.  Y. 
feh>-3ni 


$66 


a  week  in  your  own  town.    Terms  and  S5  outtlt 
free.  Address  H.  Hallktt  A  Co.,  Portland,  Maine. 


;Fon  1888 


Will  t>cniKil»ii  ntittoall  ftppMcADti,  ftod  tocutt'^riartwltboul 
ordcrlQH  tt.  It  cotitaini  fivo  colored  pUU«,  (OU  etifr^vlnn^ 
about  900  }s%,%t%,  nnd  ful  I  drier ipti<ini,  pric«i  ftixl  dlrtctlo&i  tor 

flMltiUK  1^*^U  T&rietiet  of  V<-erl«bU  Uid  Flower  S««dt,  PUaU, 
ruil  Trats,  etc.     lDTKliiat>l«  to  all.    Seodforll.     A^drcii, 

D.  H.  FEBST  &  CO..  Detroit,  Hioh. 


(h/^Pu  week  in  your  owti  inwn.     Teriue  und  V>  outfit  free 
ipDD  Address  H.  Hai.lf.tt  h  Co.,  Portland,  Maine 
jnu-lyr» 

WE  WA\T  OI,n  R04»KS. 

We  Want  Gkkman  Books. 

WE  WANT  BOOKS   I'RINTKD  IN  LANCASTER  CO. 

We  Want  All  Kinds  of  Old  Rixiks. 

LIBRARIES,  ENtiLlSIl  OK  (JKltMAN    HOUOIIT. 

Cash  jmid  for  Books  in  any  quantity.    Send  your  uildreas 

and  we  will  call. 

REEK  WELSH  A-  CO., 

23  South  Ninth  .street.  Philadelphia. 

LIGHT  BRAHMA  £GGS 

For  hateltiii^,  now  ready — from  tlie  best  strain  in  the 
county — at  tiie  modenitc  priee  of 

^1,50  for  a  setting  of  X3  ZSeSJS, 

I,.  KATHVON, 
Ne.  9  Norlli  iiueen  st.,  Examiner  Ofliee.  I>juiraster,  Pa. 

WANTED.— CANVASSKKS  f,.r  the 
LANCASTER  WEEKLY  EXAMINER 
In  ICvery  Township  in  (lie  C'omily.     (iorxl  \\'Jl^iescrtn  bo 
muile.     Inquire  at 

THE  EXAMINER  OFFICE, 

Xo.  9  North  (^ueen  Street,  LaneiiMter,  Pa 

(P'TQA  \VEKK.  %\'l  a  day  at  home  easily  made.  Costly 
ipr  Zoutl\t  free.    Address  Tkuk  &  Co.,  AugUHta,  Maine. 

jMii-lyr* 

SEND  FOR 

On  Couoor<l  Grapevnje.«,  Transplanted  Evergreens,  Tulip, 
Poplar,  Linden  Maple,  etc.  Tree  Seedlings  and  Treea  for 
timber  idautations  liy  the  lOn.txin 

J.  JEXKIXN'  XITRNERT, 
3-2-T9  WINONA,  col. UMBTANA  to.,  OHIO. 


MARBLEHEAD 

Early  Sixreet  Corn 

Is  the  most  profltahle  of  all,  because  it  niaturcs  before 
any  other  kind,  Kivin^r  farmei's  conii>lete  control  of  the 
eiirly  market.  ■  1  warrant  it  t<»  be  at  least  a  week  earlier 
than  Minnesota,  Narratjansett  or  Crosby,  and  decidedly 
earlier  than  Dolly  Dutton,  Tom  Thumb  or  Isarly  Boyii- 
toii.  Of  size  of  Miunes<ita,  and  very  sweet.  The  orifnnal 
introducer,  I  t-end  pure  stock,  postpaid,  per  package  15 
cents;  per  quart,  70  cents;  |>er  peck,  by  exprt^>ss,  93.00. 
In  my  cjitaloj^ue,  (free  to  all,j  are  emphatic  recomnjen. 
dations  from  farmers  and  K^rdeners. 

JAMES  J.  H.  GREGORY, 
Apr-3l  Marbleliead,  Mass. 


II. 


THE  LANCASTER   FARMER. 


PE?rNKTI,VAXIA  RAILROAD  SCHEDULE. 
Trains  leave  the  Depot  lu  tUie  city,  as  follows: 


WE   TWARD. 

Pacific  Espresy" 

Way  Passengert  

Niagara  Express 

Hauover  Accommodation,. 

Mail  traiu  via  Mt.  Joy 

No.  2  via  Columbia 

Sunday  Muil 

Fast  Line" 

Frederick  Accommodation. 

Harrisburg  Accom 

Columbia  Accommbdatiou.. 

Harrisburg  Express 

Pittsburg  Express 

Cincinnati  Express* 


I  eaVL 
Lancaster. 

2:40  a.  m. 

5:oO  a.  m. 
11:00  a.m. 
11.05  p.  m. 
10:20  a.  m. 
11.25  a.  m. 
10:50  a.  m. 

2;30p.  m. 

2:35  p.  m. 

5:45  p.  m. 

7:20  p.  m. 

7:30  p.m. 

8:50  p.  m. 
11:30  p.m. 

Lancaster. 

2.55  a.  m. 

5:03  a.  m. 

8:05  a.  m. 

9.10  p.  m. 

:40  p   m. 

2:00  p.  m. 

3:0?  p.  m. 
5:35  p.  m. 
6:"25  p.  m. 


Arrive 

Harrisburg. 

4:05  a.  m. 

7:50  a.  m. 

11:20  a.  m. 

Col.  1IJ:40  a.  m. 

12:40  p.  m. 

12:55  p.  m. 

12:40  p.  m. 

3:25  p.  m. 

Col.  2:45  p.  m. 

7:40  p.  m. 

Col.  S:20  p.  m. 

8:40  p.  m. 

10:10  p.  m. 

12:45  a.  m. 

Philadelphia 

3:00  a.  m. 

7:40  a.  m. 
10:no  a.  m. 
12:0    p.  m. 

3:40  p.m. 

5:00  p.m. 

5:30  p.m. 

7:20  p.m. 

9:30  p.  m. 


EASTWARD. 

Cincinnati  Express 

Fast  Line* , 

Harrisbui-g  Express , 

Columbia  Accommodation. 

Pacific  Express* , 

Simday  Mail 

Johnstown  Express 

Bay  Express* 

Harrisburg  Accom 

The  Hanover  Accommodation,  west,  connects  at  Laucaster 
with  Niagara  Express,  west,  at  9:35  a.  m.,  and  will  run 
through  to  Hanover. 

The  Frederick  Accommodation,  west,  connects  at  Lancas- 
ter with  Fast  Line,  west,  at  2:10  p.  m.,  and  ruus  to  Frederick. 

The  Pacific  Express,  east,  ou  Sunday,  when  flagged,  will 
Btop  at  M'ddletown,  EUzabethtown,  Mount  Joy  and  Landia- 
ville. 

•The  only  trains  which  run  daily. 

tRuns  daily,  except  Monday. 


NORBECK  &  MILEY, 


PRACTICAL 


GaFPiage  Builders, 

cox  &  CO'S  OLB  STA^D, 

Corner  of  Duke  M  Vine  Streets, 

LANCASTER,  PA. 


THE  LATEST  IMPROVED 

SIDE-BAR  BUGGIES, 

PHAETONS, 

Carriages,  Etc. 


Prices  to  Suit  the  Times. 

REPAIRING  promptly  attended  to.     All  work 
guaranteed- 

79-2- 


Manufacturer  of 

C  images,  Buggies,  Phaetons,  etc. 

CHURCH  ST.,  NEAR  DUKE,      LANCASTER,  PA. 

Large  Stock  of  New  aud  Secondhand  Work  on  hand 
very  cheap.  Carriages  Made  to  Order  Work  Warranted 
QX  one  year,  [7i'-9-l*i 


'   DW.  I.  ZAHM, 


DRALRK   IN 


AMERICAN  AND  FOREIGN 

WATCHES, 

SOLD  SILVER  &  SILVER  PLATED  WARE, 
CLOCKS, 

JEWELRY! TABLE  CUTLERY. 

Sole  Agent  for  the  Arundel  Tiuted 

SPECTACLES. 

Repairing  strictly  attended  to. 

North  Queen-st.  and  Centre  Square,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

79-1-12 

ATI.OWEST  POSS1BI.E  PRICES, 

FuUy  guaranteed. 

No.  106  EAST  KING  STREET, 

79-1-12]  Opposite  leopard  Hotel. 

ESTABLISHED  1832. 


G.  SENER  &  SONS, 

IS  and  denlers  in  all  kinds  ol 
finished 

SillNOLESiu  the  couul 
oors,  Bliuds,  Mouldiugs,  &c 

PATENT  0.  G.  WEATHERBOARDING 


Mauutitctnrers  and  denlers  in  all  kinds  of  rough  and 
finished 


The  best  Sawed  SIIIlMUIiES  iu  the  country.     Also  Sash, 
Doors,  Bliuds,  ISIouldings,  &c. 


and  PATENT  BLINDS,  which  are  far  superior  to  any 
other.    Also  best  I'OAL  constantly  on  hand. 

OFFICE  AND  YARD  : 

Northeast  Corner  of  Prince  and  Walnut-sts«, 
LANCASTER.,  :pa.. 

79-1-12] 

PRACTICAL  ESSAYS  ON  ENTOMOLOGY, 

Embracing  the  history  and  habits  of 

NOXIOUS  AND  INNOXIOUS 


INSECTS, 


and  the  best  remedies  for  their  expulsion  or  eiterininatiou. 

By  S.  S.  RATHVON,  Ph.  D. 

LANCASTER,  PA. 

This  work  will  be  Highly  Illustrated,  and  will  be  put  in 
press  (as  soon  after  a  sufBcient  number  of  subsci'ibers  can 
be  obtained  to  cover  the  cost)  as  the  work  can  possibly  be 
accomplished. 
79-2- 


^R  +rt   ff  ftA  per  day  at  home.  Samples  worth  $^  free , 
$3  10    4)lU  Address  Stinson  &  Co.,  Portland,  Maine 


fTBEES 


Fruit,  Shade  and  Ornamental  Trees. 

Plant  Trees  raised  iu  this  county  aud  suited  to  this  climate  . 
Write  for  prices  to 

LOUIS  C.LYTE 

Bird-in-Hand  P.  C,  Lancaster  co.,  Pa. 

Nursery  at  Smoketown,  six  miles  east  of  Lancaster. 
79-1-12 

WIDMYER  &  RICKSECKER, 

UPHOLSTERERS, 

And  Manufacturers  of 

FURNITURE  PD  CHAIRS, 

WAREKOOMS : 

102  East  King  St.,  Cor.  of  Duke  St. 

L,  AN  CASTER,  PA. 

79-1-12] 

Special  Inducements  at  the 

NEW  FURNITURE   STORE 

W.  A.  HEINITSH, 

(over  Bursk's  Grocery  Store),  Lancaster,  Pa. 
A  general  a88or*raent  of  furniture  of  all  kinds  constantly 
on  hand;    Don't  forget  the  number. 

Nov-ly]  (over  Bursk's  GiocVry  Store.) 

For  Good  and  Cheap  Work  go  to 

F.  VOLLMER'S 

FURNITURE  WARE  ROOMS, 

No   309  NORTH  QUEEN  ST.. 

(Opposite  Northern  Market), 
Also,  all  kinds  of  picture  frames.  uov-ly 

GREAT  BARGAINS. 

A.  large  assortment  of  all  kinds  of  Cari)et8  are  still  sold  at 
lower  rates  than  ever  at  the 

CARPET  HALL  OF  H.  S.  SHIRK, 

No.  202    West  Kiiif/  St. 

Call  and  examine  our  stock  aud  satisfy  yourself  that  wo 
cau  show  the  largest  assortment  of  these  Brussels,  three 
plies  and  ingrain  at  all  prices — at  the  lowest  Philadelphia 
prices. 

Also  on  hand  a  large  and  complete  assoitment  of  Rag 
Carpet. 

Satisfaction  guaranteed  bath  as  to  price  and  quality. 

You  are  invited  to  call  and  see  my  goods.  No  trouble  in 
showi'jg  them  even  if  you  do  not  waut  to  purchase. 

Don't  forget  this  notice.  You  can  save  money  here  if  you 
want  to  buy. 

Particular  atteution  given  to  customer  -^  ork. 

Also  on  hand  a  full  assortment  of  Counterpanes,  Oil 
Cloths  and  Blankets  of  every  variety.  [uov-iyr. 


PHILIP  SCHUM,  SON  &  CO., 

38  and  40  West  King  Street. 

We  lieep  OD  hand  of  our  owu  mauufacture, 

QUILTS,  COVERLETS, 

COUNTERPANES,  CARPETS, 

Bureau  and  Tidy  Covers.  Ladies'  Furnishing  Goods,  No- 
tions, etc. 

Particular  attention  paid  to  customer  Rag  Carpet,  and 
scoweriug  and  dyeing  of  all  kinds. 

PHILIP  SCHUM,  SON  &  CO.. 

Nov-ly  Lancnster,  Pa. 

THE  HOLMAN  LIVER  PAD! 

Cures  by  absorption  withont  medicine. 

Now  is  the  time  io  apply  these  remedies.  They  will  do 
for  you  what  nothing  else  ou  earth  cau.  Hundreds  of  citi- 
zens of  Laucaster  s-y  so.     Get  the  genuine  at 

LANCASTER  OFFICE  AND  SALESROOM, 

22  East  Orange  Street. 

Nov-lyr 

C.  R.  KLINE 

j/\TTOF(NEY-AT-f:>AW, 

OFFICE  :    15  NORTH  DUKE  STREET, 

LA.NCA.STBR,    I>-A.. 

No»-ly 


I 


The  Lancaster  Farmer. 


Dr.  S.  S.  BATHVON,  Editor. 


LANCASTER,  PA.,  MAY,  1882. 


Vol.  XIV.  No.  6. 


Editorial. 


PYRETHRUM. 
The  present  numbei-  of  tlie  Farmeu  we  de- 
vote largely  to  the  reproduction  of  the  circu- 
lar i.ssued  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture, 
on  the  history,  cultivation,  prc'paration,  use, 
and  modes  of  application  of  Pi/rHlirum,  as  an 
insecticide;  and   we  ask  for  it  the  respectful 
and    thoughtful  perusal  of  our  patrons  and 
readers;  and  not  only  a  jienisal  of  the  paper, 
but  also  an  intelligent  anil  determined  eftbrt 
to  cuUivnte  it — the   same  intelligence  and   de- 
termination that  is  evoked  in  the  cultivation 
of  tobacco,  or  any  other  plant  possessing  in- 
trinsic value.     In  view  of  the  bare  iMssihility 
of  an  ettiux  of  noxious  insects  at  any  time, 
without   any    forewarning    whatever,    it  be- 
hooves thecultivatiorsof  tlie  soil  to  know  how 
to  produce,  prepare,  and  apply  a  simple  anti- 
dote against  the  invasion  and  destruction  of 
their  croi)s  by  the.se  pests  and  other  noxious 
animals.     ^Tothing  seems  more  certain  than 
that  the  higher  the  state  of  vegetable  cultiva- 
tion, the  more  liable  it  is  to  the  destructive 
attacks  of  noxious  insects,  and  therefore  the 
hane  and  antidote  should  occupy  parallel  lines 
in  the  routine  of  agricultural  production.  Any 
man  or  woman  that  can  successfully  cultivate 
the    "common   Aster,"    as    an    ornamental 
plant,  may  be  equally  successful  in  the  cultiva- 
tion of  Pynthrum,  as  a  useful  plant.    Noxious 
insects  are  animals  that  we  may  expect  to 
have  to  deal  with  as  long  as  a  single  blade  of 
grass  is  grown  upon  this  earth,  and  it  seems  a 
lack  of  wisdom  even  to  expect  thir  total  ex- 
tinction, or  perhaps  to  ever  desire  it.     They 
certainly  must  be  of  some  use  or  their  exis- 
tence would  never  have  been  permitted;  but 
there  is  no  hsc  that  may  not  be  perverted,  or 
be  transmuted  into  abuse.     Hence,  against  a 
redundancy  of  noxious  insects,  the  providen- 
tial farmer  shoulil  always  be  forearmed,  or 
forewarning  would   be  of  very   little   avail. 
The  Agricultural  Department  has  distributed 
a   limited  amount  of  the  seeds  of  Fyrcilirum, 
but  they  can  now  also  be  obtained  at  many  of 
the  seed- stores— especially  those  in  the  larger 
towns  and  cities. 

We  thankfully  acknowledge  the  receipt  of 
three  papers  of  Fyrctlirum  seeds  from  the 
Department,  one  of  which,  (P.  cinerarirrfo- 
liwn,  from  Transcaucasia,)  we  have  placed  in 
the  hands  of  Mr.  John  Zimmerman,  and  an- 
other (Pyretlirum  roseum,  grown  in  Austria,) 
in  the  hands  of  Mr.  George  Hensel,  who  pro- 
pose to  make  a  a  practical  test  of  their  culti- 
vation in  this  locality.  The  third  paper  (P. 
cineraria'foUum,  from  California,)  we  propose 
to  test  on  our  own  premises,  unless  we  feel 
convinced  that  it  would  be  better  to  place  it 
in  other  hands.  The  celebrated  "Persian 
Insect  Powder,"  which  has  been  on  the  mar- 
ket for  a  dozen  years  or  more,  and  which  is 
represented  to  be  "sudden  death  "  to  "bed- 
bugs, rats  and  roaches,"  is  nothing  more  nor 
less  than  the  pulverized  flowers  of  a  plant  of 
the  composite  oidev,  and  is  allied  to  Pyrethrum, 


if  it  does  not  belong  to  the  same  genus.  Some 
years  ago,  a  vegetable  powder  called  "  Bu- 
hach,"orC.  X.  Milco's  California  Universal 
Insect  E.i:terminator,  was  l)rouglit  out  and 
widely  distributed,  but  we  hav)  seen  or  heard 
nothing  of  it,  pro  or  con,  since  its  lirst  pro- 
duction, either  in  an  agricultural  or  an  ento- 
mological jouriuil,  and  wc  somehow  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  it  proved  valueless  for 
the  purpose  proposed. 

The  provident  and  foreseeing  farmer  is  per- 
fectly cognizant  of  the  fact  that  a  routine  of 
domestic  obligations  annually  devolve  upon 
him,  which  cannot  possibly  be  evaded  or 
ignored,  and  heirce  he  hal)itually  makes  ample 
provision  for  them.  lie  requires  a  sullicient 
quantity  of  food,  of  fuel,  of  clothing,  of 
shelter,  and  the  usual  concomitants  of  civili- 
zation, not  only  for  his  individual  self,  but  for 
all  that  is  subordinate  to  his  social  and  do- 
mestic rule.  And  these  things  he  provides 
understandingly,  methodically  and  continu- 
ously, because  he  knows  that  both  he  and  his 
will  stand  in  need  of  them  as  long  as  life  re- 
mains. They  are  not  regarded  as  mere  inci- 
dentals, or  probabilities,  or  guess-work,  but 
as  things  inevitable,  and  that  cannot  be  com- 
promised. Let  him  in  addition  to  these, 
make  provision  for  the  continued  destruction 
of  noxious  insects,  for,  depend  upon  it,  like 
"the  poor,"  we  shall  "always  have  them 
with  us." 


THE  KITCHEN  GARDEN  FOR    MAY. 

"In  tlie  Middle  States,  during  the  past 
month,  some  of  the  hardier  vegetables  will  have 
been  sown,  but  perhaps  not  as  freely  as  in 
former  years;  April  having  been  unusually, 
and  continuously  cold;  but  by  the  middle  of 
the  present  month,  all  will  probably  have 
been  [mt  in  ;  hence  the  labor  will  now  mainly 
consist  of  the  various  operations  of  trans- 
planting, thinning,  weeding,  lioi  ing,  &c.  The 
tollowing  alpliabelical  directions  will  serve  as 
a  reminder  to  the  uiipracticed  gardener  who 
is  also  referred  to  the  directions  for  April. 

Pcaii.s,  Bush,  plant  for  succession:  Lima, 
Carolina  and  other  "  pole-bcar.s  "  may  now  be 
planted.  Beets,  long  sow;  Cabbwje  plani, 
sow  seed,  if  not  done  last  nifinth.  Carrot, 
long  orange,  sow.  Caidijhiwir,  in  frames,  re- 
move glasses.  Celery,  weed.  Crops  which  have 
failed  when  first  sown,  repeat  sowings.  Cu- 
cumbirs,  Early  Frame,  plant.  Lettuce,  large 
cabbage  and  Indian  Dutch  Butter,  sow  in 
drills  to  stand  ;  thin  out  if  loo  thick.  Melons 
plant;  the  best  is  Landreth's  Boss  -see  note 
below.  Parsnips  thin  out,  if  ready.  ]y<cds 
destroy  as  they  appear,  and  hoe  and  other- 
wise cultivate  thcadvancing crops  ;  it  is  need- 
less to  particularize  each  duty.  Where  the 
interest  and  taste  lead  to  gardening,  direc- 
tions for  every  operation  are  necessarv  to  but 
few.  Is  it  not,  however,  discreditabfe  to  the 
character  of  many  farmers  who  till  their  own 
land,  and  should  reap  the  reward  of  well  cul- 
tivated gardens,  that  none  but  the  simplest 
vegetables  may  be  found  upon  their  tables, 
and  in  too  many  instances  that  scanty  supply 
is  the  result  of  woman's  labor  V 

We  have  in  former  issues  of  the  Rural 
Reoisteu  recommended  a  '  Farmcr\s  Kitchen 
Garden.''  where  nearly  all  the  jireparation  of 
the  land  may  be  done  by  horsepower,  and  thus 
most  ample  supplies  of  vegetables  be  obtained 
at  all  seasons,  without  hand  labor  or  occupa- 


from  farm  duties,  and  the  women  of  the 
houshold  relieved  from  toiling  to  supply 
housc'hold   wants."— /ya)}cZrct/t's   Jiural   Rcu. 

for  1882. 

In  this  connection  it  may  not  be  inappro- 
priate to  mention  a  new  Water-melon  of  rare 
quality  which  has  beenoriginat('d  by  the  Lan- 
drelhsand  named  the  "Boss,"  which  possess- 
es (lualities  calculated  to  make  it  more  popu- 
lar than  that  term  has  become  in  the  political 
world.  When  "Bossism"  is  founded  upon 
real  merit,  there  certainly  can  be  no  valid  ob- 
jection to  its  universal  prevelance. 

The  special  merits  of  this  melon  are  the 
following:  "Early,  large  in  size, long  in  shape, 
and  very  heavy.  Rind  thin  but  very  tough, 
dark  green  in  color,  slightly  ribbed,  showy  in 
appearance.  Flesh  more  highly  colored  than 
any  other  melon  in  existence,  crystalline  or 
granulated,  melting,  of  unusually  fine  (lavor, 
and  extending  within  an  inch  of  the  skin.  A 
variety  certainly  valuable  either  for  shipping 
or  home  consumption."  It  is  confidently  re- 
commended as  the  best  melon  in  the  market, 
by  those  \vhoA:no(«  all  the  sorts  of  this  luscious 
and  refreshing  yourd. 

Of  course,  it  might  be  deemed  more  appro- 
priate to  discuss  the  subject  of  Water-melons 
ih  the  months  of  .luly  and  August ;  but,  as 
they  are  not  a  spontaneous  production  we 
must  "begin  in  the  begiiming,"  and  that  &e- 
ijining  would  be  too  late  in  those  two  months; 
for,  from  seed  to  matured  fruit  there  is  a 
pretty  long  "slip  between  cup  and  lip"  in  the 
development  of  the  melon,  as  well  as  in  other 
subjects  of  the  vegetable  kingdom. 


GAPES  vs.   ENTOMOLOGY. 

With  all  their  knowledge  of  insect  life,  the 
entomologists  have  not  yet  solved  the  problem 
of  gapes  in  chickens.  A  worm  in  the  wind- 
pipe is  the  cau.se,  but  how  it  gets  there,  and 
wh(;re  it  lives  during  the  season  before  and 
after  it  attacks  the  chicken,  is  unknown.  In 
some  localities  it  never  appi-ars,  and  elsewhere 
it  is  an  annual  pest,  or  nearly. 

It  is  very  easy  to  write  an  item  like  the 
foregoing,  which  we  find  in  a  column  of  the 
Weekly  Press;  and  it  would  have  been  quite 
as  appropriate  to  the  subject  to  have  said, 
"  with  all  their  knowledge  of  insect  life,  en- 
tomologists have  not  yet  solved  the  problems 
of" — "  AVhat's  blacker  than  a  crow  ?" 

"  Gajxs  in  chicke;is,"  is  not  an  entomologi- 
cal (piestion,  any  more  than  tapeworms  in 
human  beings  is,  or  than  measels  in  pork  is : 
although,  an  entomologist  might  happen  to 
know  about  it  as  much  as  any  Iwdy  else,  or  less 
about  it  than  anybody  else,  without  adding  to, 
or  detracting/i-o»i  his  standing  as  an  entomolo- 
gist. An  entomologist  is  such,  not  because  he 
makes  a  special  claim  to  that  title  himself  'so 
much,  as  because  it  is  accorded  to  him 
through  the  courtesy  of  by  others,  on  account 
of  his  specialty  in  natural  history.  He  may, 
in  this  sense,  be  legitimately  entitled  to 
the  designation  ot  entomologist,  without  know- 
ing anything  about  any  other  branch  of  nat- 
ural science.     Entomology,  as  a  whole,  or  as  a 


tion  of  time,  which  may  not  be  readily  spared     unit,  embraces  more  subjects,  and  a  greater 


66 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[May, 


variety  in  detail,  than  all  other  branches  of 
natural  history  put  together;  hence,  those 
most  thorough  in  it — those  who  have  made 
the  most  valuable  contributions  to  its  litera- 
ture, are  specialists,  and  never  aspire  to  any- 
thing more:  nevertheless,  they  are  still  Ento- 
mologists, just  as  much  as  those  are  Botanists, 
■who  make  the  study  of  trees,  or  shrubbery, 
flowering  plants,  lichens,  mosses,  or  fungi 
their  specialties.  Scientific  specialism  is  not 
as  common  in  the  United  States  as  it  is  in 
Europe,  where,  amongst  her  entomologists  are 
to  be  found  many  who  are,  or  who  hnve  heen 
Coleopterists,  Orthopterists,  Hemipterists, 
Lepidopterists,  Keuropteris  s,  Ilymenopter- 
ists,  Dipterists,  &c.,  and  who  aspire  to  noth- 
ing beyond  these  specialties;  altljough,  in  the 
pursuit  of  any  of  tliese  branches,  it  would  be 
next  to  impossible  not  to  know  something 
about  collateral  branches:— indeed,  even  in  the 
United  States,  we  have  many  who  devote 
themselves  almost  exclusively  to  special 
branches  in  entomology,  and  have  distin- 
guished themselves  therein. 

But  considered  from  a.  2jractical  standpoint, 
and  as  it  stands  related  to  the  agricultural 
and  domestic  productions  of  the  human 
family,  as  well  as  to  the  animal  world  in 
general ;  entomology  and  entomologists  have 
had  an  immense  responsibility  thrust  upon 
them,  much  of  which  they  cannot  know  any- 
thing more  about — and  it  is  not  their  business 
to  know  anything  more  aljout — than  any  other 
people  of  equal  intelligence  ;  and  through  this 
promiscuous  demand  upon  their  scientific 
energies,  their  special  studies  are  invaded  or 
dissipated,  and  hence  they  are  liable  to  be- 
come "Jacks  of  all  trades,  and  masters  of 
none."  Even  a  specialist  may  know  abso- 
lutely more  about  what  many  things  are  not 
in  his  specialty,  than  what  they  really  are  ; 
and  his  humble  confession  to  that  effect  may 
indicate  an  infinitely  greater  advance  in 
scientific  lore  than  an  empty  pretension  to 
know  all  about  things  of  which  he  may  be 
profoundly  ignorant.  Any  man,  no  matter 
how  ignorant  or  stupid  he  is,  may  be  aole  to 
propound  a  problem  or-  a  question  that  the 
most  intelligent  or  profound  scientist  cannot 
satisfactorily  answer — at  least  not  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  ignorant  propounder — but 
that  does  not  prove  the  former  a  philosopher, 
nor  the  latter  a  knave.  A  mechanic  may  be 
able  to  construct  the  most  complicated  philo- 
sophical instrument,  and  yet  be  totally  nu- 
able  to  make  a  shoe  or  a  coat,  and  yet,  he 
may  be  eminently  entitled  to  the  name  of 
a  mechanic  ;  but  how  absurd  it  would  appear 
for  any  one  to  write — "  "With  all  their  know- 
ledge of  mechanism,  pliilosophical  instrument 
makers  are  unable  to  construct  a  shoe  or  a 
coat." 

How  long  has  it  been  since  the  sciences  of 
medicine,  of  anatomy,  of  surgery  and  of 
physiology  have  been  introduced  to  the  study 
of  professional  specialists  ?  How  many  paid 
professors  have  been  dispensing  scientific 
lore  V  How  many  magnificent  temples  for 
their  accommodation  have  been  erected  in 
dift'erent  parts  of  the  world  ?  And  how  many 
pecuniary  endowments  have  been  bestowed 
upon  them  in  order  to  facilitate  their  progress 
and  their  usefulness ;  and  yet,  how  many 
cases  occur  in  this  line  of  science  aljout  which 
its  students  and  its  professors  appear  to  know 


absolutely  nothing;  seemingly  just  to  illus- 
trate how  little  is  known  about  the  branches 
they  profess  to  study  ^nd  to  teach,  and  that 
men  must  be  ever  learning  ''a  knowledge  of 
the  truth."  Tiie  pursuit  of  any  branch  of 
natural  science  is  something  like  exploring  a 
seemingly  endless  .stream,  that  ever  and  anon 
sinks  into  the  earth,  and  bubbles  up  again  at 
a  more  or  less  remote  distance  from  where 
its  traces  have  been  lost. 

The  explorer  may  learn  much,  or  all.  of 
that  part  of  it  which  comes  under  his  immedi- 
ate observation,  but  of  that  part  of  it  which 
has  sunken  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth — ex- 
cept theoretically — he  may  be  profoundly  ig- 
norant. In  like  manner,  the  transformations 
and  developmental  progress  of  some  animals 
are  involved  in  conjecture,  and  amongst  these 
are  included  the  "gapes,"  the  "hair-woi-ms," 
and  their  cogeners  which  are  only  known  so 
far  as  their  development  has  come  under 
human  observation.  Observation,  cannot 
draw  an  exact  focus  upon  that  which  is  under 
ground — which  must  be  left  mainly  to  theory, 
analogy  or  conjecture,  for  solution.  The  case 
is  similiir  in  the  history  of  the  "gapes"  and 
its  cogeners.  There  is  "  here  and  there  "  an 
out-croping— as  it  were — in  the  development 
of  these  animal.s,  and  the  unseen  is  "analo- 
gized" from  that  which  is  .seen.  True,  it  is 
of  paramount  importance  that  it  should  be 
known  how  the  strangiilm  or  gapes,  get 
into  the  tracheae,  or  windpipes,  of  the  fowls 
they  infest,  and  also  where  and  how  they  live 
"during  the  season  before  and  after  they  at- 
tack the  chickens,  although  it  does  not  seem 
essential  that  the  entomologist  should  know 
this  as  a  qualification  necessary  to  the  success- 
ful pursuit  of  his  specially  in  natural  science; 
and  yet,  he  may  occasionally  have  illustra- 
tions or  something  analogous  to  it  in  insect 
physiology.  For  instance,  it  has  been  demon- 
strated by  those  who  are  reputed  to  be  com- 
petent authorities,  that,  like  the  spores  of 
fungi,  or  the  sporific  germs  of  epizooty,  the  em- 
bryo of  gapes  may  be  in  the  soil,  in  the  food, 
or  in  the  water  to  which  fowls  have  access  ; 
and  not  only  this,  but  they  retain  their  vitality 
for  an  indefinite  period,  even  after  they  are 
perfectly  dried;  and  also  that  they  are  per- 
petuated by  carelessly  throwing  them  aside, 
without  first  killing  them,  after  they  have 
been  dislodged  from  the  windpipes  of  the  in- 
fested fowls. 

But,  the  following,  which  we  clip  from  the 
columns  of  a  cotemporary,  seems  to  deny  that 
the  gapes  are  animal  organisms  at  all,  which 
would  remove  them  still  farther  from  the 
category  of  entomology. 

Gapes  and  Chicken  Cholera. 

The  season  is  at  hand  when  young  chickens 
require  attention,  and  a  word  on  the  subje^  t 
may  be  read  with  some  interest.  It  is  an  old 
.saying  that  an  ounce  of  prevention  is  better 
than  a  pound  of  cure,  and  the  rule  is  eminent- 
ly a  good  one  with  young  chickens.  One  of 
the  most  necessary  things  to  prevent  gapes  is 
to  keep  them  dry  and  well  protected  from  the 
chilly  rains  of  spring,  as  this  disease  is  a 
species  of  croup,  similar  to  the  chronic  croup 
in  children,  when  a  false  membrane  forms  in 
the  windpipe  and  proves  fatal  in  nearly  all 
cases.  This  is  usually  caused  by  a  neglected 
cold,  and  it  is  so  with  the  young  clnckens; 
hence  the  necessity  of  keeping  them  dry  and 
warm  during  the  wet  days  common  in  spring. 
The  membrane  formed"  in  the  chicken  and 
usually  supposed  to  be  a  red  worm,  can  be  re- 


moved by  folding  a  horsehair  and  forcing  the 
loop  down  the  windpipe,  and  a  sudden  pull 
will  bring  out  the  membrane.  Others  use  a 
feather,  and  I  have  seen  a  strong  pinch  of  the 
windpipe  loosen  it.  and  the  chicken  cough  it 
up;  but  all  often  fail  to  save  the  life  of  the 
chicken. 

Formerly  I  lo.st  many  chickens  in  the  spring,   J 
but  for  years,  since   learning  the   preventive    •■ 
raeasureof  keeping  them  dry  and  warm  during 
the   cold,  damp   weather,  I  have   not   seen  a 
chicken  with  the  gapes. 

The  following  remedy  and  preventive  of 
chicken  cholera  is  highly  recommended  as  a 
sure  thing:  Permanganate  of  potash  and 
cldorate  of  potash,  of  each  10  grains.  Mix  in 
one  powder  and  dissolve  in  water  enough  to 
mix  a  quart  of  feed.  This  will  be  enough  for 
twenty  to  thirty  chickens,  to  be  given  several 
times  during  the  spring. 

And  this: 

Gapes. 

Gapes  in  chicks  are  caused  by  the  presence 
of  minute  worms  in  the  windpipe,  and  when 
these  worms  are  present  in  great  numbers  the 
chicks  die  of  suffocation.  I  don't  know 
how  the  worms  get  there,  and  it  don't  matter 
much  ;  the  main  idea  is  to  prevent  them  from 
getting  there.  In  the  whole  list  of  cliicken 
ailments  ihere  is  no  disease  more  easily  pre- 
vented or  cured  than  gapes.  To  prevent 
them  feed  cayenne  pepper  and  sulpluir  with 
the  soft  food  two  or  three  times  a  week,  and 
use  the  "  Douglass  mixture  "  in  the  drinking 
water  three  times  a  week. 

Gapes  may  be  cured  by  giving  a  piece  of 
camplior  gum  the  size  of  a  small  pea  every  day 
until  the  chick  seems  well.  Sometimes  two 
or  three  liberal  do.ses  of  pepper  wtU  effect  a 
cure.  If  the  chicks  are  very  bad  fumigate 
with  sulphur  and  give  two  or  three  drops  of 
solution  of  carbolic  acid  and  water  ;  sixty 
drops  of  water  to  one  drop  of  acid  forms  the 
solution.  Don't  hold  the  chicks  directly  over 
the  fumes  of  burning  sulphur,  and  don't 
fumigate  too  long,  or  the  remedy  may  prove 
worse  than  the  disease.  Let  the  chicks  in- 
hale the  fumes  lor  two  or  three  minutes,  and 
in  most  cases  that  will  be  sufficient  to  effect  a 
cure. — Prairie  Farmer. 

And  this : 

Gapes. 

Chicks  most  subject  to  gapes  are  those  that 
run  on  damp,  low  places.  It  is  generally  un- 
derstood now  that  gapes  are  caused  by  small 
worms  in  the  windpipe.  These  can  be  re- 
moved by  the  use  of  a  fine  horse  hair  twisted 
and  run  down  the  windpipe;  a  quick  jerk 
after  turning  around  will  remove  the  worms 
or  kill  them.  But  one  must  be  dexterous  and 
practiced  to  do  this.  A  small  feather  is  per- 
haps better.  Lei^ve  only  the  tip,  which  wet 
with  one  ounce  of  glycerine  and  twenty  drops 
carbolic  acid.  Twist  it  quickly  in  the  wind- 
pipe, withdraw  and  repeat.  You  will  see  the 
worms  or  a  little  blood  come  out. 

Here  are  two  good  gape  remedies.  Give 
the  chick  a  piece  of  camphor  the  size  of  a  pea. 
The  fumes  will  kill  the  little  worms.  Camphor 
in  the  drinking  water  will  prevent  gapes. 
Another  good  remedy  is  spirits  of  turpentine; 
dose  five  to  ten  drops  at  a  time.  Either  of 
these  two  remedies  will  do.  If  not,  increase 
the  dose.  If  that  fails  use  the  feather  or 
twisted  loop  in  the  windpipe.  Change  the 
chicks  to  high,  dry  ground  and  put  camphor 
in  the  water,  and  it  will  save  the  rest  of  the 
flock. — Journal  of  Agriculture  and  Farmer. 

And,  if  more  is  desired  on  the  subject,  we 
would  respectfully  refer  the  reader  to  vol- 
ume 13,  No.  6  (June  1881),  of  the  Lancas- 
ter Farmer,  where  he  may  find  eight  col- 
umns on  the  subject  of  the  "gapes"  in  fowls 
[Strangyhis  syngamus),  and  its  corelatives, 
discussed  at  large.  To  those  of  our  readers  who 
do  not  subscribe  for  tlie  Farmer,  we  would 
respectfully  suggest  that  they  make  immedi- 
ate application  to  the  publisher,  perhaps  they 
may  be  able  to  procure  that  number;  and  if 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


67 


not,  they  most  probably  could   procure  the 
whole  volume. 

From  the  advanced  condition  of  Gnllini- 
cuUure,  and  the  intelligent  minds  now  engag- 
ed in  its  development,  the  gapes  is  a  subject 
that  is  clearly  within  that  specialty;  and 
from  the  wonderful  progress  made  therein 
durins;  tlie  last,  lifteeu  or  twenty  years,  one 
would  naturally  sii4ipose  that  something 
slionld  have  been  elicited  in  solution  of  tliis 
knotty  problem.  There  is  where  the  light 
must  come  from,  and  not  from  entomology, 
necessarily,  which,  scientifically  restricted, 
operates  entirely  within  a  dillerent  siihere. 


A     NEW      HISTORY    OF      LANCASTER 
COUNTY. 

It  has  often  been  said — and  with  some  show 
of  truth — that  "  Ihc  history  of  Lancaster  coun- 
ty has  not  yet  been  written."  It  may  not  be 
generally  known  to  our  readers  that  II.  L. 
Everts,  an  experiened  publisher  of  Philadel- 
phia, has  engaged  the  services  of  several  com- 
petent citizens  witliiu  our  county  as  assistants 
in  collecting  and  elaborating  authenticated 
material  towards  the  production  of  a  new 
history;  and,  from  the  following  synopsis  of 
the  portion  allotcd  to  Simon  P.  Eby,  Esq.,  so 
far  as  the  matter  relates  to  the  farm,  the 
farmer,  and  farming,  it  has  fallen  into  com- 
petent hands,  and  the  reading  public  may 
reasonably  expect  to  realize  their  most  san- 
guine anticipations.  If  any  one  is  in  posses- 
sion of  important  facts  bearing  upon  the  sub- 
jects embraced  in  the  outline  suggested  by 
Mr.  Eby,  they  ought  to  submit  them,  whether 
he  may  have  occasion  to  use  them  or  not. 

1.  The  condition  of  the  county  wlien  the 
first  settlers  arrived. — Its  agricultural  resour- 
ces, soil,  climate,  timber,  stone  and  water 
supply.  A  brief  notice  of  some  of  the  princi- 
pal native  trees,  plants  and  fruits.  Extent  of 
Indian  farming,  Wm.  Penn's  opinion  respect- 
ing our  native  fruits. 

•2.  The  first  settlers  and  their  early  farm- 
ing.— Who  and  what  they  were  and  whence 
they  came,  the  different  nationalities  and 
their  characteristics,  combatant  and  non- 
combatant  elements,  a  brief  notice  of  .some  of 
the  manners  and  customs,  virtues  and  prejti- 
dices  they  brought  with  them  from  their 
mother  country  and  fatherland. 

;i.  How  they  began  the  work  of  establishing 
new  homes,  in  a  new  country. — .Some  of  the 
trials  and  dithculties  they  encountered  and 
the  encouragements  and  successes  they  met 
with,  brief  notice  of  their  primitive  log 
houses  and  thatched  barns,  how  they  had  to 
depend  for  hay  on  watered  meadows,  their 
early  implements  of  husbandry. 

4.  Secondary  stage  of  farming. — Introduc- 
tion of  new  seeds,  clover  and  timothy,  new 
fertilizers,  rotation  of  crops  and  improve- 
ments in  farming  implements.  How  log 
dwellings  gave  place  to  more  substantial  stone 
mansions,  with  massive  chimneys  and  wide 
open  fireplaces,  that  welcomed  newly  arrived 
kinsfolk  from  across  the  Atlantic  to  the 
warmth  of  its  hospitable  blaze.  How  the 
nevv'comers  lent  helping  hands.  Saw-mills  at 
work  along  the  streams,  converting  the  forest 
trees  into  more  convenient  building  materials. 
Swisser  barns  (built  after  models  brought  over 
by  the  Swiss  palatinates)  now  receive  liberal 
additions  ;  or,  new  square-timbered  structures 
of  increased  capacity  go  up  in  more  suitable 
places ;  and  the  flails  of  the  threshers  make 
lively  music  upon  the  newly  laid  barn  floors. 
How  the  axe  continued  to  extend  the  fields 
each  year  further  into  the  timber  lands.  How 
flax  and  hemp  were  grown  and  dressed  by  the 
farmer  and  his  assistants,  and  the  fleece  of 
the  flocks  prepared  for  the  loom.  How,  dur- 
ing the  winter,   spinning   wheels   held   high 


carnival  in  concert  with  the  blazing  logs  upon 
the  hearth  within,  and  the  roar  of  the  tem- 
pest without.  IIow  early  and  late  the  deft 
fingers  of  matron  and  maidens  plied  the  busy 
spindles,  and  chests  and  jiresses  were  filled 
with  homemade  linens  and  woolens.  And 
ho\V,  some  line  morning  in  spring,  a  joyous 
procession  with  a  newly-married  jiair  riding 
at  its  head,  and  loaded  wagons  and  lowing 
cattle  following  after,  issued  from  the  parent 
farm  and  disappeared  in  the  woods  to  settle 
down  beside  some  pleasant  foinitain  and  begin 
the  carving  out  of  a  new  home  and  fortune. 

5.  Glimpses  into  the  home  life  of  the  good 
old  people. — Their  time-honored  customs, 
their  thrift  and  industry.  Their  struggle 
against  pride,  extravagance  and  ungodline.ss, 
liow  they  raised  and  educated  their  children. 
IIow  they  lived  and  labored  and  died,  their 
dress,  courtshi|)s,  marriages  and  amusements. 
Old-time  company  of  yenngmen  and  maidens 
on  horseback;  apples  and  cider;  markets  and 
marketing,  Oonestoga  teams.  Concerning 
the  peculiar  non-combatant  doctrine  many  of 
the  people  held  and  practiced.  Their  stead- 
fastness of  faith  and  reliance  on  the  divine 
commandment  not  to  draw  the  sword.  IIow 
they  were  allowed  to  live  in  peace  while  three 
wars  swept  over  other  parts  of  the  land.  Their 
religious  services,  manner  of  preaching  and 
holding  of  funerals;  their  dialect.  Is  "  Penn- 
sylvania German"  a  distinct  language? 

6.  Tertiary  stage  of  farms  and  farming. — 
The  advancing  wave  of  modern  improvement 
and  invention,  introduction  of  new  cereals 
and  vegetables,  labor-saving  implements  and 
farming  machinery,  sub-division  of  the  old 
farms  and  a  more  thorough  system  of  tillage, 
ai)plication  of  lime  to  the  soil,  waste  land 
brought  under  cidtivation,  introduction  of 
coal  for  fuel,  railroads  built,  different  views, 
and  stable-ballads  concerning  them,  the  rapicl 
cutting  away  of  timber  and  disappearance  of 
many  of  our  native  birds,  consequent  increase 
of  destructive  insects,  partial  failure  of  the 
apple  crop,  praiseworthy  efforts  of  fruit  grow- 
ers to  sui)ply  the  deficiency  liy  experiments  in 
the  propagation  and  introduction  of  native 
v.arieties  and  improved  small  fruits,  the  theory 
of  the  founder  of  Pennsylvania  concerning  the 
cultivation  of  native  fruits,  adopted  after  a 
lapse  of  nearly  two  centuries,  change  of  cli- 
mate and  gradual  diminution  of  the  water 
supply,  how  springs  and  streams  have  been 
affected,  public  school  system  at  work,  should 
the  intellect  be  educated  at  the  expense  and 
neglect  of  the  moralsV  What  education 
should  do  for  the  farmer.  Concerning  agri- 
cultural exhiljitions — Improved  live  stock,  to- 
bacco farming,  sewing  machine  taking  the 
place  of  the  spinning  wheel,  present  day  mar- 
keting, modern  farm  liouses  modeled  after 
city  houses  with  inadequate  roofing  and  de- 
ficient ventilation,  pernicious  effects  upon  the 
health  of  their  inmates.  Effect  of  the  ac- 
cumulation of  wealth,  growing  dislike  of  the 
young  for  manual  labor,  farms  passing  into 
the  care  of  renters  and  the  owners  drifting  to 
towns  and  villages;  luxury,  refiaement  and 
extravagance,  im-oads  of  fashion  and  expen- 
sive habits. 

7.  Are  we  getting  better  or  worse? — Shall 
we  disregard  the  experience  of  the  past,  or 
gather  instructions  from  its  lessons?"  "  The 
coming  farmer" — who  and  what  shall  he  be? 


LIME  IN  SOIL. 

Every  fariucr,  in  using  lime  on  his  fields, 
should  first  ascertain  whether  the  soil  needs 
lime.  Until  he  knows  this,  his  liming  is 
done  at  random,  and  may  be  a  positiva  injury 
instead  of  benefit.  Doctor  San  Grado,  in  his 
"consultations"  with  his  pupil  (Gil  Bias) 
always  prescribed  "  more  blood-letting  and 
additional  draufjhts  of  luarm  water'''' — without 
regard  to  previous  treatment  or  condition — 
through  which  the  undertakers  and  marble 
masons  flourished,  but  the  poor  patients 
died.    Analogous  are  the  results  of  liming 


where  the  soil  already  contains."  a  sufticient 
quai»tity.  Such  applications  may  be  bene- 
ficial to  the  limeburner,  but  they  are  detri- 
mental to  the  health  of  the  plants.  True,  a 
farmer  may  not  have  a  chemical  laboratory 
of  his  own,  nor  access  to  one,  but  still,  to  a 
limited  extent,  he  may  be  able  to  test  his  soil 
as  to  tlic  presence  of  lime  in  it.  although  he 
may  not  be  always  able  to  determine  the 
quantity  or  quality.  A  simple  analysis  can 
be  made  by  mixing  a  small  quantity  of  soil  in 
a  cup  with  water,  and  pouring  over  it  some 
muriatic  acid,  which  he  can  obtain  at  any 
drug  store.  If  a  free  effervescence,  like  fer- 
menting cider,  or  frothing  beer  takes  place,  it 
indicates  the  presence  of  lime.  But  if  it  re- 
mains perfectly  still  and  dead,  it  contains  no 
lime,  or  at  least  not  sufficient  to  produce  any 
beneficial  effect  on  vegetation,  and  in  such  a 
case  lime  should  be  applied  in  some  form  or 
other.  Take  a  piece  of  common  limestone 
and  drop  on  it  a  little  muriatic  acid,  and  you 
can  immediately  see  the  boiling  or  fermenting 
effect  of  eflervescence.  Ihe  freer  it  effer- 
vesces the  purer  the  limestone  is.  If  this 
result  does  not  follow,  it  would  be  useless  to 
Vi'aste  fuel  and  lalior  in  attempting  to  "burn  " 
such  limestone. 

Sulphate  of  lime  or  plaster-of-aris,  exer- 
cises additional  beneficial  action  on  soil,  by  its 
sulphuric  acid  stimulating  vegetation  and 
assisting  in  the  decomposition  of  mineral  and 
organic  substances  in  the  soil. 

Plants  require  lime  in  the  following  propor- 
tion to  one  thousand  pounds  : 

Barley 12  7-10  B>8. 

Barley,  straw  3  8-10  " 

Spring  wlioat,  straw 'f  4-10  " 

Winter  wheat 3  1  10  " 

Hye  straw  (winter) 3  1-10  " 

Cornstalk  and  fodder .5  " 

Peas 13-18  " 

Pea  straw 18  IJ-IO  " 

Beans 1  .5-10  " 

Bean, straw 13  5-10  " 

String  bean,  straw 14  1-10  " 

Potato  vine .5  5-10  " 

Hemp 12  2-10  " 

Linseed 5  " 

Tobacco 73  1-10  " 

Clover  Hay 19  4-10  " 

.Meadow  hay 7  7-10  " 

(From  "  ii'hat  of  fertilizers/") 

Many  farms  contain  more  than  a  sufficiency 
of  lime,  while  in  others  it  is  wanting  ;  hence 
an  oceasional  application  of  lime  alone  will 
act  as  efficiently  as  if  artificial  or  ordinary 
manure  had  been  aiiplied.  But  in  the  apph- 
cation  of  this  mineral  to  the  soil,  the  more 
intelligence  is  brought  to  its  application  the 
more  prolific  and  profitable  will  be  the  result. 
The  foregoing  luay  be  of  some  assistance  to 
the  farmer  in  making  the  proper  discrimina- 
tion in  the  use  of  lime. 


EXCERPTS. 

Hk.wy  work  or  driving  soon  after  eating  is 
bad  treatment  for  a  horse.  Let  him  rest  on 
a  full  meal,  or  use  very  moderately  when  use 
cannot  be  avoided. 

If  a  dull,  backward,  sleepy  neighborhood 
desires  to  improve  its  agricultural  resources, 
let  the  farmers  start  a  creamery.  More  live 
stock  is  what  the  country  wants. 

A  IIOKSE  with  no  change  of  diet  in  a  long 
time  is  apt  to  tire  of  it,  and  indigestion  will 
soon  result.  ■  Horses,  like  men,  like  a  change 
now  and  then,  and  it  does  them  good. 

The  principal  mule  raising  States  are  Illi- 
nois,  Indiana,    Kentucky,   Tennessee,   Mis- 


68 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[May, 


souri,  Ohio  and  Texas.  The  beauty  and  mu- 
sical qualities  of  the  mule  are  only  a  small 
part  of  his  attractions. 

The  mutton  consumption  of  this  country  is 
increasing,  and  also  the  quality  of  the  meat. 
First-class,  well  cooked  mutton  is  worth  more 
than  most  other  meats,  and  when  dogs  are 
scarce  it  will  be  cheaper,  as  well  as  more  profit- 
able to  farmers. 

After  the  sudden  disappearance  of  a  cow 
at  Florence,  Ala.,  she  was  found  two  weeks 
afterwards  alive  in  a  cotton  shed,  wedged  b  e 
tween  two  bales  of  cotton,  but  was  thin  and 
nearly  blind.  Perhaps  with  a  refreshment  of 
water  when  wanted,  she  might  have  lasted 
forty  days  as  well  as  Tanner  did. 

Illinois  has  an  average  of  twenty  horses  to 
each  square  mile  of  territory.  In  tiie  number 
of  horses,  cattle  and  hogs,  Illinois  leads  all 
the  States.  Tlie  hog-population  is  fifty-three 
per  square  mile,  and  one  county  (Stark)  has 
109,  while  Cook  County,  in  which  Chicago  is 
located,  only  has  seventeen. 

The  former  of  small  means  who  desires  to 
improve  his  live  stock  should  start  with  care, 
after  he  has  observed  and  read  enough  to 
make  a  moderate  investment  safe.  It  is  of 
little  use  for  an  ignorant,  bull-headed  man  to 
attempt  this  kind  of  work.  It  is  brain  work 
that  tells  in  stock-breeding  as  well  as  in  pro- 
fessional life. 

Intelligent  foreigners  often  express  sur- 
prise that  with  so  much  land  as  there  is  in  the 
United  States  well  adapted  to  sheep  breeding, 
that  we  have  so  few  sheep.  This  again  raises 
the  dog  question.  Outlaw  the  dogs  and  put 
a  reward  of  $.5  on  every  one  killed,  not 
licensed,  registered  and  collared,  and  there 
will  soon  be  a  "  boom  "  in  sheep  breeding. 

The  improvement  of  farm  live  stock  does 
not  come  simply  from  a  mere  investment  of 
money,  but  from  care,  thought,  observation, 
comparison  and  study  of  animal  physiology, 
and  the  laws  of  breeding.  Money  might  pur- 
chase a  dozen  first-class  cows  and  a  bull,  Vmt 
it  takes  something  more  than  money  to  keep 
the  stock  up  to  the  standard  at  starting,  or  to 
improve  it.  The  benefit  of  improved  stock 
comes  largely  from  the  fact  that  it  is  an  edu- 
cating force  in  farm  life. 

William  C.  Blackfan,  of  Solesbury,  Pa., 
kept  twelve  steers,  averaging  about  860 
pounds  each,  through  the  past  winter  on  cut 
and  soaked  cornstalks,  along  with  one  ton  of 
wheat  bran,  350  pounds  conimeal,  and  150 
pounds  oil  meal  cake,  all  well  mixed,  with  no 
hay  whatever,  and  the  animals  are  in  better 
condition  than  usual.  The  bran,  meal  and 
oil  cake  cost  less  than  .§100,  and  he  was  en- 
abled to  sell  ten  tons  of  hay  lor  $22  per  ton. 
Hence  Mr.  B.  don't  feel  that  a  little  study  of 
the  nutritive  qualities  of  cattle  food  did  him 
harm.  His  milk  cows  got  four  quarts  of  tliis 
mixture  twice  a  day,  and  never  did  better. 
We  should  not  suppose  that  such  results 
would  make  him  hanker  for  ensilage. 

Wealthy  stock  breeders,  who  desire  to 
see  improved  stock  becouje  general  in  order 
to  do  the  country  good  as  a  whole,  should  not 
aim  to  keep  prices  at  fancy  figures.  We 
notice  that  one  writer  in  a  stock  journal  ad- 
vises to  castrate  all  good  bulls  that  cannot  be 
sold  for  $100  at  least.     A  man  who  does  that 


for  such  a  reason  might  as  well  acknowledge 
that  his  only  purpose  in  breeding  is  to  draw 
exorbitant  profits  from  a  class  which  ought  to 
be  benefited  and  yet  cannot  invest  at  fancy 
prices.  Ordinary  farmers  sell  their  products 
for  what  they  can  get,  and  do  not  destroy  it, 
and  the  example  is  a  good  one  for  rich  stock 
breeders.  If  a  .WOO  bull  will  bring  only  $80 
or  S75.  to  "get  mad"  and  castrate  him  and 
then  sell  him  to  a  butcher  for  $50  is  rather 
mean  sort  of  enterprise. 

An  Iowa  farmer  put  up  twenty-one  year- 
old  hogs  for  fattening,  and  for  the  first  twenty 
days  fed  them  on  shelled  corn,  of  which  they 
ate  eighty-three  bushels.  During  this  period 
they  gained  837  pounds,  or  upward  of  ten 
pounds  to  the  bushel  of  corn.  He  then  fed 
the  same  hogs  for  fourteen  days  on  dry  corn 
meal,  during  which  time  they  consumed  forty- 
seven  bushels,  and  gained  535  pounds,  or  Hi 
pounds  to  the  bushel.  The  same  hogs,  next 
fed  14  days  on  corn  meal  and  water  mixed, 
consumed  55^  bushels  of  corn,  and  gained  731 
pounds,  or  13i  pounds  of  pork  to  the  bushel. 
He  then  fed  them  fourteen  days  on  corn  meal 
conked,  and  after  consuming  45  bushels  of  the 
cooked  meal  the  hogs  gained  799  pounds,  or 
very  nearly  fifteen  pounds  of  pork  to  the 
bushel  of  meal. 

Considerable  attention  has  been  recently 
given  to  the  differencts  between  the  rain  of 
the  city  and  the  country.  The  country  rain  is 
neutral  and  is  considered  the  best  adapted  for 
human  consumption  of  any  found  above  the 
earth,  on  the  earth,  or  under  the  earth.  The 
rain  that  fixlls  in  cities,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
acid,  corroding  metals,  stones  and  bricks  and 
mortar  crumljle  before  it.  Its  evil  effects  are 
visible  on  every  side— in  paint,  in  all  decora- 
tions, and,  in  fact,  almost  everything  erected 
by  man.  The  purest  rain  is  that  collected  at 
the  sea  coast,  more  especially  at  considerable 
heights;  while  organic  matter  in  the  air  usual- 
ly corresponds  with  the  density  of  population. 
The  best  way  with  all  grapes,  and  espe- 
cially with  those  not  quite  hardy,  is  to  prune 
in  the  autumn  as  soon  as  practicable  after  the 
fall  of  the  leaves.  If  the  vines  are  pruned  and 
trained  upon  the  renewal  system  it  will  be  a 
very  small  matter  to  lay  tliem  upon  the  ground 
and  give  a  covering  of  two  or  three  inches  of 
earth  upon  the  shortened  canes,  which  cover- 
ing should  be  left  on  until  all  danger  of  severe 
freezing  is  passed  in  the  spring. 

An  inventor  proposes  to  make  machine  gear 
wheels  of  raw  buffalo  hide  by  cementing  and 
pressing  together,  as  many  layers  as  are  re- 
quired for  the  breadth  of  the  wheel.  The 
blanks  thus  prepared  are  cut  to  form  the 
teeth  in  the  usual  maimer  with  suitable  tools. 
The  advantages  claimed  are  smooth  and 
noiseless  action  at  very  high  si^)eed,  and  great- 
er durability  without  lubrication. 

'^TilE  most  simple  and  best  stain  for  niahog- 
anizing  cherry  is  ground  burnt  sienna,  mixed 
in  benzine  or  turpentine.  Apply  with  a  brush 
or  sponge,  let  it  stand  for  a  short  time 
and  clean  off  with  a  cloth.  It  will  be  better 
to  let  it  remain  in  this  condition  until  the 
following  day  before  commencing  to  finish. 

HiCKORY-NUT  Cookies.— Mix  together  two 
cups  of  sugar,  two-thirds  of  a  cup  of  butter, 
two  eggs,  six  tablesi>of)nfuls  of  sweet  milk 
with  half  a  teaspoonful  soda  dissolved  in  it 


and  flour  enough  for  a  soft  dough  with  a  tea- 
spoonful  of  cream  of  tartar  sifted  through  it. 
Add  a  cupful  of  the  chopped  meats;  drop,  in 
spoonfuls  on  buttered  tins,  put  into  shape 
and  bake  to  a  light  brown. 

Corn  cakes  tliat  are  nice  for  breakfast  are 
made  of  one  quart  of  flour,  one  pint  of  meal, 
three  teaspoonfuls  of  baking  powder,  one  tea- 
spoonful,  of  sugar,  three  tablespoonfuls  of 
melted  lard,  sweet  milk  enough  to  make  a 
thin  batter;  add  salt  enough  to  suit  your 
taste. 

How  TO  Tell  Good  Butter. — When 
butter  is  propei-ly  churned,  both  as  to  time 
and  temperature,  it  becomes  firm  with  very 
little  working,  and  it  is  tenacious ;  but  its 
most  desirable  state  is  waxy,  when  it  is 
moulded  into  any  shape,  and  may  be  drawn 
out  a  consideraljle  length  without  breaking. 
It  is  then  styled  gilt-edged.  It  is  only  in  this 
state  that  butter  possesses  that  rich,  nutty 
flavor  and  smell,  and  shows  up  a  rich  golden- 
yellow  color,  which  imparts  so  high  a  degree 
of  pleasure  in  eating  it,  and  which  increases 
its  value  manifold.  It  is  not  always  neces- 
sary, when  it  smells  sweet,  to  taste  butter  in 
judging  it.  Tlie  smooth  unctuous  feeling  in 
rubbing  a  little  between  the  finger  and  thumb 
express  at  once  its  rich  quality ;  the  nutty 
smell  and  rich  aroma  indicates  a  similar  taste, 
and  the  bright  golden,  glistening,  cream- 
colored  surfiice  shows  its  height  of  cleanli- 
ness. It  may  be  necessary  at  times  to  use 
the  trier,  or  even  use  it  until  you  become  an 
expert  in  testing  by  taste,  smell  and  rubbing. 

Winter  Protection  of  Grapevines. — 
The  grape  is  a  tender  plant  in  almost  every 
sense,  and  must  be  treated  accordingly.  We 
know  how  it  is  aftected  by  great  cliauges  o 
temperature,  extreme  heat  and  humidity, 
severe  pinching  back  and  overbearing  in  sum- 
mer. In  winter  it  is  still  worse  ;  millions  of 
vines  are  annually  lost  and  more  hurt,  for  the 
want  of  a  little  attention  in  protecting  them. 
It  is  only  necessary  to  lay  them  on  the  ground 
at  the  beginning  of  the  winter,  and  weight 
them  with  something  to  keep  them  down. 
The  object  is  to  avoid,  not  so  much  the  cold, 
as  the  draft  of  the  wind,  which,  when  the 
vines  are  frozen,  dries  them,  and  thus  perish 
the  smaller  vines  first,  as  they  are  soonest 
dried.  Near  the  ground  this  is  avoided, 
though  where  there  is  no  obstruction  at  all  to 
the  wind,  and  tlie  winter  is  an  open  one, 
leaving  the  vines  exposed,  harm  will  some- 
times result. 

The  Kansas  Farmer  says:  The  practice  of 
forcing  a  horse  to  stand  on  his  legs,  or  walk 
about,  while  laboring  under  an  attack  of  colic, 
is  most  inhuman.  Tlie  same  remark  is  also 
applicable  to  the  plan  of  exercising  a  horse 
during  the  time  he  is  under  the  purgative 
action  of  a  dose  of  physic.  He  should  be 
moved  gently  about  before  the  medicine  com- 
mences to  operate,  but  never  after.  Do  those 
barbarians  who  knock  the  animal  about  while 
enduring  the  pains  of  colic  or  when  suffering 
the  purgative  action  of  medicine,  ever  think 
of  what  they  are  doingV  If  they  were  treated 
themselves  on  the  same  plan  under  similar 
circumstances,  they  would  soon  come  to  their 
senses  regarding  the  management  of  the  un- 
fortunate animal  which  is  placed  under  their 
charge. 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


69 


The  American  to;  rist  passing  tlirougli 
German}'  is  suriu-iscd  at  tliB  number  of  fruit 
trees  along  the  sides  of  tlie  puljlic  roads. 
Tliese  trees  are  pruned  and  looked  after  by 
tlie  "road  makers,!'  and  three  or  four  weeks 
before  tlie  fruit  ripens  are  watched  day  and 
night  by  thi/sc  ^'uardians.  In  the  province  of 
Wurlembcrg  the  sale  of  the  fi'uil  thus  raised 
is  said  to  have  realized  as  mueh  as  !lf2,00(),000 
in  a  single  year. 

Washing  the  leaves  of  the  wax  plant  oe- 
casionally  is  the  very  best  tivatineiit  for  it- 
When  washing,  brushing  with  a  soft  brush 
about  the  axils  of  the  leaves  will  tend  to  keep 
the  plant  free  from  mealy  bugs,  one  of  it.s  in- 
sect enemies.  When  the  plant  commences  its 
growth  we  would  supply  it  once  a  week  with 
weak  manure  water. 

TnK  most  profitable  way  to  raise  beef 
cattle  is  to  keep  them  constantly  in  a  thrifty 
and  improving  condition.  It  is  not  nccessarj- 
to  keep  very  young  stock  rolling  in  fat,  but 
there  should  always  be  an  abundance  of  nutri- 
cious  food  to  help  nature  in  its  development. 
To  allow  slock  to  run  down  in  flesh  and  be- 
come ill-conditioned,  simply  because  it  is  not 
di'.'^igned  for  market  for  some  time,  is  the 
height  of  folly. 

In  killing  poultry,  the  French  open  the 
beak  of  the  fowl,  and  with  a  sharp-pointed, 
narrow-bladrtl  knife,  make  an  incision  at  the 
back  of  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  which  divides 
the  vertebra)  and  causes  instant  death,  after 
which  the  fowl  is  hung  up  by  the  legs  to 
bleed,  lliis  is  a  neat  and  merciful  way  of 
doing  it. 

Seasoxed  posts  treated  over  the  lower  third 
to  two  or  three  washes  or  soakings  of  cheap 
petroleum  will  make  them  last  longor  than  by 
almost  any  other  process.  This  is  easier  tha.i 
to  coat  with  boiled  tar,  and  far  more  sensible 
than  to  set  top  end  down.  Parker  Earle,  Cob- 
den,  111.,  earnestly  commends  this  treatment 
after  experiments. 

The  capacity  of  the  gluco.se  factories  of  the 
United  States  is  said  lo  be  surticient  to  use  up 
about  11,000.000  bushels  of  corn  per  annum. 
While  this  aids  a  little  to  keep  up  the  price  of 
corn,  it  is  all  e.xtracted  back  from  the  farm- 
er's pocket  in  the  shape  of  adulterated  sugars 
and  syrups.  Tfce  glucose  manufacturer  is 
aliout  as  much  a  public  benefactor  as  one  who 
should  adulterate  our  coin  with  an  inferior 
metal. 

A  couRESPONDENT  in  an  exchange  wants 
to  know  how  to  purify  bad-smelUng  cistern 
water  "by  throwing  something  into  it."  The 
question  does  not  indicate  a  surplus  amount  of 
"gumption  "  or  taste.  He  might  as  well  ask 
what  will  i)urify  bad  old  cheese,  or  an  egg  six 
months  i>ast  its  prime.  He  should  clean  out 
his  cistern  and  purify  that,  not  the  water,  and 
see  that  only  pure  water  goes  into  it.  Let 
him  apply  tlie  bad  water  to  his  garden. 

Ax  old  apiile  tree  past  its  usefulness  had 
better  be  cut  down  or  dug  out.  It  is  a  useless 
cumberer  of  the  ground. 

MuLCiiixo  always  retards  the  ripening  of 
fruit,  but  that  is  often  advantageous.  It  also 
makes  the  fruit  larger  and  lietter. 

It  is  not  entirely  creditable  to  meij  who 
have  long  been  identified  with  fruitgrowing  not 
to  be  able  to  tell  what  is  the  best  system.    It 


ought  lo  be  the  aim  of  every  specialist  to  find 
out. 

C'LAi'p's  Favorite  is  a  good  market  pear 
if  picked  early  enough,  so  that  it  does  not  rot 
at  the  core.  It  ripens  in  advance  of  the  Bart- 
lett,  an<l  is  of  better  qualitv  for  those  who  do 
not  like  the  Bartlett's  spicy  flavor. 

FuuiT  TREES  late  in  bearing  can  be  has- 
tened in  this  matter  and  jiermanently  bene- 
fitted by  root  pruning.  Cut  a  trench  about 
them  and  fill  up  with  vegetable  or  animal 
matter,  including  some  rubbish,  and  .see  how 
they  will  boom. 

TiiERH  are  many  varieties  of  fruit  on  near- 
ly'every  fruit  farm  which  are  unprolifable  t<i 
grow  in  spite  of  excellent  and;  jiopular  quali- 
ties. Except  a  few  for  lioine  use  these  iiad 
better  be  grafted  to  more  prolific  and  profita- 
ble sorts.  In  many  places  the  Sheldon  and 
Seckel  pears  stand  in  this  category. 

A  PUOMiNET  Illinois  fruit  grower  (Parker 
Earle),  states  that  the  Wilson  strawberry  is 
still  the  popular  sort  for  the  Chicago  market. 
The  Wilson  is  a  hard  berry  to  root  out,  and  in 
going  to  market  it  l)ears  rough  handling 
better  than  any  other  sort.  The  Wilson 
sometimes  is  shipped  000  miles  successfully. 

Oni-y  think  of  it  I  When  a  man  eats  straw- 
berries grown  on  a  patch  fertilized  with  .300 
pounds  of  rectified  Peruvian  guano,  250  pounds 
dissolved  boneblack  and  2U0  pounds  muriate 
of  potash  per  acre,  he  eats  29.24  per  cent  of- 
potassium  oxide,  3.22  sodium  oxide,  13.47 
calcium  oxide,  8.12  magnesium  oxide,  1.74 
ferric  oxide,  18.50  phosphoric  acid  and  5.06 
per  cent  of  sitieic  acid.  That  is  what  ails 
them  exactly. 

Professor  Goesmanx  finds  thatanapplica- 
tion  of  from  three  to  four  puonds  of  muriate 
of  potash  per  tree  to  peach  trees  slightly  af- 
fected with  yellows,  restores  them  to  health. 
It  woidd  be  a  good  plan  undoubtedly  to  keep 
trees  in  health  well  supplied  with  this  fertili- 
zer, and  then  they  might  not  get  out  of  health 
as  regards  the  yellows.  It  is  quite  certain 
that  sick  peach  orchards  are  generally  ne- 
glected peach  orchards.  Muriate  of  potash  is 
also  spoken  of  sometimes  by  chemists  as 
chloride  of  potassium. 

Iisr  Professor  Goesmann's  application  of 
muriate  of  potash  to  yellow-sick  peach  trees 
he  recommends  distributing  it  over  a  radius 
of  eight  feet  or  so  on  mulch.  But  no  demon- 
stration has  yet  been  made  as  to  the  cause  of 
the  yellows. 


Queries  and  Answers. 


West  Chester,  Pa.,  April  17, 1882. 

31r.  S.  S.  Riitliron--Dear  Sir:  The  enclos- 
ed curiously  formed  cocoons,  I  took  this  morn- 
ing from  a  branch  of  the  "SUirarlia  Pen- 
J((!7i/)iH),"  a  large  (lowering  shrub,  growing  on 
my  lawn  in  West  Chester;  the  whole  is  so 
different  from  anyfliing  in  the  jiroduct  of  in- 
sect life,  and  so  curiously  striking  in  uniform- 
ity of  shape  in  the  silk  and  reeelitacales  and 
their  silken  connection,  that  I  have  ever  seen, 
I  inclose  it  for  your  inspection.  I  crushed 
the  smallest  of  the  three,  and  from  the  ex- 
uding matter,  I  judge  that  it  contained  small 
egg,  or  perhaps  larva  or  pupa,  of  some  insect. 
Very  Truly,  J.  Hutta: 

The  cocoons  were  duly  received,  and  in 
tolerable  good  condition:  but,  I  am  unable  to 
name   the   "insect,"  specifically,   that    con- 


structed them;  although, without  much  doubt, 
they  belong  to  the  genus  Tlicridion— most 
likely  T.  Imjomwi — a  small  species  of  spider. 
The  little  globular  cocoons  arc  filled  with 
ciTgs,  and  the  species  could  only  be  positively 
determined  after  these  eggs  are  hatched,  and 
the  animal  can  be  compared  with  existing  de- 
scriptions; because,  so  far  as  the  inei'e  cocoon 
is  concerned ,  tliere  are  otlier  species  of  The- 
ridion  that  conslructa  similar  receptacle — no- 
tably, T.  ijlobvHum.  But,  as  Iriyniiiim  Is  a 
northern  species,  and  (jloUnmm^  southern,  if  it 
is  not  entirely  new,  it  is  more  probably  the 
former.  Those  specific  names  are  derived 
from  the  abdominal  forms  of  the  sjiiders 
alluded  to — triangular  or  globular— and  hence 
it  will  require  the  presence  of  the  arachnid 
itself  to  determine  the  question,  unless  with 
those  who  have  made  this  class  of  animals  a 
special  study,  and  have  become  "experts'' 
therein.  There  are  several  species  of  spiders 
that  construct  different  shaped  cocoons, 
and  of  different  sizes,  some  of  which 
are  two  inches,  or  more,  in  diameter.  The 
fiber  is  stronger  and  more  silky  than  the  com- 
mon spider's  web.and  efforts  have  been  made 
to  utilize  it,  and  also  to  rear  it,  but  the  suc- 
cess, so  far,  I  believe,  has  not  been  very 
promising.  There  is  no  knowing,  however, 
what  a  hundred  years  hence  may  bring 
forth.— Jf. 

Essays. 


SOME  PRACTICAL  POINTS  IN   PEACH 

CULTURE.* 

Having  reason  to  think  that  my  experience 
with  peaches  the  past  season  was  something 
remarkable,  inasmuch  as  I  had  a  fair  crop 
amidst  almost  universal  failure,  and  as  this  is 
a  subject  of  growing  imjiortance  to  the  fruit 
growers  o.''  Pennsylvania,  I  pro])ose  to  lay  be- 
fore the  society  a  few  points  that  may  be  of 
interest  from  some  notes  that  1  have  made 
principally  in  regard  to  the  relative  hardiness 
of  difl'erent  varieties. 

I  see  that  Secretary  Eilge,  of  the  State 
Agricultural  Deiiartnient,  in  liis  report  of  the 
crops  for  18S1,  reports  on  fruit  as  follows  : 
Comparative  yield  compared  with  average 
crop,  apples  10"),  pears  100,  cherries  100, 
plums  110,  grapes  100,  berries  100,  peaches 
none.  So  far  as  I  am  able  to  judge  this 
is  about  correct.  And  it  thus  appears, 
that  while  all  other  fruit  crops  were  as  good 
or  better  than  common,  in  this  part  of  the 
State,  peaches  were  a  total  failure.  And  yet 
I  had,  as  I  Have  stated,  a  satisfactory  crop, 
for  though  many  varieties  failed  almost  en- 
tirely, others  were  wonderfully  fine,  both  in 
quantity  and  quality.  And  this  in  spite  of 
the  very  severe  drought  which  greatly  in- 
jured some.  I  do  not  pretend  to  be  able  to 
give  any  explanation  of  this,  but  the  question 
is  certainly  an  interesting  one,  why,  amidst 
otherwise  universal  failure,  one  should  be 
even  parti  illy  successful.  The  cause  of  the 
general  failure  of  the  peach  crop  last  year,  as 
every  one  knows,  was  the  extreme  cold  of 
last  winter.  The  fruit  bud  of  the  peach  not 
being  able  to  withstand  a  very  low  tempera- 
ture. And  yet  it  would  seem  that  there  must 
be  some  other  causes  or  conditions  not  yet 

•R-wiiy   read  l)efore  llic  P<>nn9ylvaiiia  State   Horticul- 
ural    As-sociatlon,  at   Harrisburg. 


70 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[May, 


understood,  because  it  is  not  supposed  that 
any  particular  locality  could  escape,  when  the 
severity  of  the  cold  was  so  great  and  long 
continued,  as  was  the  case  last  winter.  It  is 
not  my  purpose  in  this  paper  to  advance  any 
theory  in  explanation  of  the  facts  above 
stated,  for  though  I  have  some  crude  notions 
on  the  subject,  I  prefer,  in  a  paper  of  this 
kind,  to  confine  myself  entirely  to  the  state- 
ment of  facts. 

Having  noticed  early  in  the  season  that  while 
the  fruit  buds  of  some  varieties  were  almost 
entirely  killed  and  others  only  partially,  and 
some  had  almost  entirely  escaped  injury,  and 
having  about  seventy-five  varieties  under 
cultivation,  I  determined  to  observe,  particu- 
larly, which  were  most  hurt,  and  which  with- 
stood best  the  trying  ordeal.  For  this  pur- 
pose, I  carefully  noted  in  a  book  kept  for  the 
purpose,  how  each  variety  came  out,  and  I 
am  thus  able  to  lay  before  the  society  some 
facts  in  regard  to  the  relative  hardiueiss  of 
most  of  the  leading  varieties  under  cultivation 
in  this  region,  which  may  be  of  great  value, 
particularly  in  localities  where  peaches  are 
very  liable  to  be  injured  by  cold. 

In  the  following  list,  which  for  convenience, 

I  arranged  in  alphabetical  order,  the  relative 

hardiness  of  the  different  varieties  is  given  in 

a  scale  ranging  from  1  to  100,  the  highest 

number  representing  a  very  full  crop: 

Amelia 90  Late  Admirable 80 

Alexander 50  Late  Rareripe 15 

Atlanta 40  Mary's  Choice 5 

Beer's  Late 1;  Mountain  Rose 15 

Beer's  Smock 60'Nanticoke 100 

Bernard's  Early  Yellow       iNewing^ton  Free 15 

Alberge 100  Old  Mixon 20 

Bilyen's  Late  October..  90  Orange  Cling 90 

Bilyen's  Late  Comet. ..100  Piquet's  Late 10 

Brandywine 5  Price's  Late 100 

Brigg's  Red  May 50  President 100 

Chinese  Clin? 1  Prince  of  Wales 100 

Coolidge's  Favorite loPrincess  of  Wales 20 

Crawford's  Early 2  Reeves'  Favorite 15 

Crawford's  Late 20  Richmond 2 

Crockett's  Late SOlRuding's  Late  Red qO 

David  Hill 50;Salway M 

Early  Beatrice 50!Smock 80 

Early  Louise 75'Snovv 90 

Early  Rivers 75  Shipley's  Late  Red. 10 

Early  Fillotson .50  Stump  the  World 40 

Early  York 40  Steadley 20 

Foster ISiSusquehanna 1 

Freemason .50. Temple's  Wliite 25 

Geary's  Holder lOThurber 90 

Golden  Eagle 100  Troth's  Early   90 

Hence's  Golden  Rare-       Transom's  Free 1 

ripe 2  Tuckahoe  Late 50 

Hale'sEarly 90  Van    Buren's     Golden 

Harker's  Seedling 75|     Dwarf 2 

Jarrett's  Late  White...  15;  Ward's  Late 50 

Keyport  White 50  Wilkiu'sl 26 

Kitrell's  Favorite 25  Yellow  Alberge 50 

LeGrauge 15[Yellow  St.  John 25 

Leatherbury's  Late 100' 

I  should  state  here  that  there  was  no  differ- 
ence worth  noticing  as  to  the  exposure.  Some 
trees  were,  of  course,  more  exposed  to  the 
cold  winds,  and  some  were  on  higher  ground 
than  others,  but  where  the  same  varieties  were 
in  different  exposures  and  different  altitudes, 
there  was  no  noticeable  difference,  except  that 
old  trees  did  much  the  best.  All  had  about 
the  same  treatment  as  to  cultivation,  manur- 
ing, &c. 

1  do  not  propose  to  say  more  at  present  on 
the  question  of  varieties,  except  that  of  all  the 
early  kinds  I  have  tried,  none  are  worth  hav- 
ing. They  all  thrive,  bear  abundantly  and 
look  very  promising  up  to  the  time  of  ripen- 
ing, when  every  one  rots,  just  before  they  are 
fit  to  pick.  If  there  is  one  variety  earlier 
than  Mountain  Rose  worth  anything,  I  have 
not  been  fortunate  enough  to  get  it,  though  I 


have  tried  many.  My  object  in  this  paper 
more  than  anything  else,  is,  to  bring  befora 
this  Society  some  questiuns  connected  with 
peach  growing  that  appear  to  me  to  be  very 
important,  and  on  which  light  is  very  much 
needed,  and  one  of  these  is,  the  subject  of  the 
uuiversal  rotting  of  all  the  early  varieties.  I 
wish  to  ask,  first,  is  there  a  good  variety 
earlier  than  Mountain  Rose  or  Early  York 
that  don't  all  rot  before  ripening?  Second, 
does  anyone  know  the  reason  why,  or  can 
anybody  throw  any  light  on  the  question,  why 
all  the  early  varieties  rot,  when  later  ones  in 
the  same  ground  and  same  kind  of  weather, 
do  not? 

I  have  also  a  few  questions  concerning  yel- 
lows that  I  consider  very  imporfant.  It  is 
claimed  now  by  experts,  that  the  cause  of  yel- 
lows is  a  .specific  fungoid  affection,  which  is  in 
someway  communicated  from  one  tree  to  an- 
other and  when  once  the  poison  finds  its  way 
into  any  part  of  the  tree  it  spreads  itself  by 
the  circulation  of  the  sap  or  otherwise  until 
the  whole  tree  is  affected,  and  in  time  de- 
stroyed. And  when  this  infection  has  once 
entered  a  tree  there  is  no  remedy  but  its  re- 
moval to  prevent  further  spread  of  the  disease. 
Admitting  this  much  to  be  settled,  there  yet 
remains  much  more  to  be  learned  in  connec- 
tion with  this  all  important  question.  Mr. 
Rutter  says,  and  I  believe  all  other  practical 
writers  on  the  subject  say,  remove  at  once, 
root  and  branch,  and  some  say  the  diseased 
treeshould  be  immediately  burned.  Now,  what 
I  want  to  get  at  is,  is  this  really  necessary? 
even  if  it  were  practicable.  To  remove  a 
tree  immediately  root  and  branch,  is  a  very 
easy  thing  to  recommend,  but  to  put  in  prac- 
tice next  to  impossible.  The  roots  of  a  peach 
tree  10  or  12  years  old,  in  rich  and  well  culti- 
vated soil,  will  be  found  to  have  run  50  and 
perhaps  100  feet  or  more,  and  their  total  eradi- 
cation would  require  besides  an  immense 
amount  of  labor,  the  destruction  of  all  the 
other  crops  and  trees  within  a  circle  of  50  to 
100  feet  in  diameter.  I  have  peach  trees  8 
inches  in  diameter,  some  of  the  roots  of  which 
I  have  no  doubt  run  for  100  feet,  and  most  of 
them  must  be  more  than  a  foot  beneath  the 
surface,  as  the  ground  is-coustautly  ploughed 
about  that  depth.  The  total  eradication  of 
one  of  these  trees  would  involve  the  destruc- 
tion of  perhaps  a  quarter  of  an  acre  of  straw- 
berries or  some  other  crop,  besides  a  dozen  or 
more  pear,  or  other  peach  trees.  Some  time 
these  trees  will  get  the  yellows.  Por  accord- 
ing to  my  experience  none  escape,  it  being 
only  a  question  of  time.  It  is  needless  to  say 
that  I  do  not  "totally  eradicate"  such  trees. 
I  do  not  attempt  to  remove  the  roots,  because 
to  do  this  thoroughly,  wiould  cost  in  labor  and 
destruction  of  other  crops,  where  at  least  five 
per  cent,  of  the  trees  have  to  be  removed 
every  year,  more  than  the  whole  peach  crop 
woMld  be  worth.  I  am  aware  that  it  is  the 
practice,  perhaps  in  most  of  the  peach  grow- 
ing regions  and  particularly  in  very  light 
soils,  to  remove  old  and  diseased  trees  by 
drawing  them  out  with  a  strong  team,  perhaps 
a  yoke  or  two  of  oxen.  But  in  that  case  I 
imagine  only  a  small  portion  of  the  roots  are 
removed.  I  am  sure  it  would  take  at  least  a 
dozen  yoke  of  oxen  to  pull  out  some  of  my 
trees  and  then  the  greater  part  of  the  roots 
would  be  left  in  the  ground.  To  cut  down  and 


remove  even  a  large  peach  tree  is  a  very  simple 
thing  to  do  and  costs  but  little  time  and  labor. 
But  taking  out  by  the  roots,  or,  as  Mr.  Rutter 
says,totally  eradicating  root,  body  and  branch, 
and  that  perliaps  at  the  busiest  season  of  the 
year,  is  what  I  imagine  no  one  ever  gets  done. 
Now  the  question  I  want  to  get  at  is,  is  this 
really  necessary?  And  tliis  brings  me  to  the 
other  great  question  in  which  all  other  ques- 
tions connected  with  peach  yellows  are  in- 
volved. How  is  the  disease  communicated 
from  tree  to  tree?  Is  it  by  actual  contact 
alone,  by  being  conveyed  by  the  knife  or  saw 
in  pruning;  by  contact  of  the  roots,  or  as 
some  have  supposed  by  bees  flying  from  tree  to 
tree  and  carrying  the  pollen  from  diseased 
trees  to  the  flowers  on  a  healthy  one  and  im- 
pregnating that  with  the  poison.  Or  does  it 
spread  by  sporadic  infection  or  any  way  other 
than  by  contact?  And  then  again  if  the  dis- 
ease can  be  spread  otherwise  than  by  actual 
contact,  it  is  very  important  to  know  at  what 
season  of  the  year  are  trees  liable  to  be  infect  ■ 
ed.  Is  it  at  all  times,  or  only  when  the  trees 
are  growing  or  in  leaf.  This  is  raportant,  be- 
cause if  a  tree  that  is  not  in  leaf  cannot  re- 
ceive or  impart  the  disease  by  actual  contact, 
it  is  difficult  to  understand  what  harm  a  dead 
stump  of  a  tree  could  do  by  remaining  a  few 
years,  until  it  rots  and  gets  out  of  the  way  of 
itself,  which  it  soon  does.  If,  as  Mr.  Rutter 
says,  the  disease  is  communicated  by  contact 
of  the  roots,  the  mere  grubbing  out,  or  even 
drawing  out  with  oxen,  only  removes  a  small 
portion  of  the  roots  of  an  old  tree.  And  then 
again  another  question  of  great  importance 
presents  itself.  How  long  after  a  tree  has 
been  cut  down,  or  grubbed  out,  or  drawn  out 
with  oxen,  if  you  please,  will  the  roots  that 
remain  in  the  ground,  retain  the  disease  so 
as  to  communicate  it  to  another  tree.  I  pro- 
fess to  know  very  little  about  Fungi,  but  it 
seems  contrary  to  all  that  I  have  heard  on 
the  subject,  to  suppose  that  a  Fungus  which 
would  thrive  in  living  wood  or  bark  would 
also  live  and  thrive  in  dead  or  decayed  wood. 
I  have  dwelt  perhaps  longer  than  I  ought, 
upon  what  may  seem  to  most  persons  a  mat- 
ter of  little  importance,  but  it  is  because  I 
have  found  it  to  be  a  matter  of  great  practical 
import,  so  much  so,  that  if  I  really  believed 
it  necessary  to  do  what  Mr.  Rutter  says  must 
be  done,  I  would  at  once  abandon  peach  cul- 
ture. Though  1  have  never  pretended  to 
understand  the  yellows,  and  certainly  have  no 
theory  abowt  it,  I  cannot  forbear  saying  here, 
that  I  have  some  doubts  about  the  roots 
being  affected  to  any  great  extent,  because 
while  all  peach  trees  get  the  yellows,  sooner 
or  later  a  tree  with  peach  roots,  the  body  and 
limbs  of  which  are  plum,  will  never  take  it. 
I  have  often  thought  it  would  be  an  interest- 
ing experiment  to  try  how  far  the  peach  and 
plum  might  be  grown  together  in  one  tree, 
without  being  liable  to  this  disease  ;  suppose 
the  plum  is  worked  on  the  peach  several  feet 
above  the  ground,  or  suppose  a  peach  tree, 
say  three  years  old,  and  free  from  disease, 
has  all  its  branches  worked  with  plum  and  no 
peach  bnds  allowed  to  grow,  so  as  to  have,  as 
near  as  possible,  a  peach  tree  with  plum 
leaves.  Would  sucli  a  tree  be  liable  to  the 
yellows  ?  If  not,  it  would  go  to  show  that 
the  infection  is  only  received  through  the 
medium  of  the  foliage  or  blossoms.    Or  else 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


71 


I liat  the  development  of  the  disease  is  some- 
tliing  incidental  to  the  growth  of  the.  peach, 
nnd  the  Fungi  that  are  found  in  trees  atreclcd 
with  the  yellows,  are  only  the  effect  and  not 
the  caii.se  of  the  di.sease. 

Of  all  the  theories  that  have  been  advanced 
in  regard  to  the  spread  of  the  yellows,  tlu- 
bee  theory  seems  to  me  to  accord  best  with 
the  facts.  How  else  can  we  account  for  the 
fact,  that  if  a  peach  orchard  of  perfectly 
healtiiy  poach  trees  is  planted  a  mile  or  more 
from  any  otiier  jieacli  trees,  as  soon  as  the 
trees  begin  to  bear,  tlie  disease  will  show 
itself,  not,  however,  in  regular  rotation  from 
tree  to  tree,  as  might  be  supposed  would  be 
the  case,  if  the  disease  was  spread  by  sporadic 
contagion,  by  contact  of  tlie  roots,  or  by 
means  of  pruning  implements,  but  jumping 
about ;  sometimes  one,  an<l  sometimes  two  or 
three  trees  in  a  spot  allected  ;  just  as  bees  are 
observed  to  rty,  skipping  about  from  one  part 
of  an  orchard  to  another. 

But,  as  I  before  said,  it  is  not  my  purpose  to 
go  into  a  tlieoretic  discussion,  my  only  object 
being  to  bring  up  practical  tpiestions  with 
which  we  are  brought  face  to  face  in  our  daily 
practice,  a  proper  solution  of  which  is  of  the 
utmost  importance. 

For  fear  tliat  the  points  that  I  have  en- 
deavored to  bring  out  may  not  be  clear,  I  will 
recapitulate.  1st.— What  varieties  will  best 
withstand  severe  cold?  On  this  I  hope  I  have 
thrown  some  light.  2nd.— Why  do  all  early 
varieties  invariably  rot  prematurely,  or  are 
there  any  that  do  not?  In  regard  to  the  yel- 
lows. 1st — How  is  it  communicated  from 
tree  to  tree?  •2nd. — Will  the  disease  spread 
otherwise  than  by  actual  contact,  except  dur- 
ing the  period  of  growth?  These  questions 
are  very  imiiortant  in  their  bearing  on  the  all- 
important  practical  questions — Must  a  tree  be 
immediately  removed  on  showing  the  first 
symptoms  of  the  yellows?  and  must  it  be 
totally  eradicated  root  and  branch?  To  these 
may  be  added  tlie  following:  If,  as  is  suppos- 
ed, the  disease  is  a  fungus  that  pervades  the 
bark  of  the  living  tree,  will  this  same  fungus 
live  in  dead  or  decayed  wood  or  bark,  so  as  to 
communicate  the  disease  to  another  tree,  the 
roots  of  which  may  come  in  contact  with 
them.  There  are  of  course  a  great  many 
other  practical  points  in  peach  culture,  which 
might  have  been  introduced  that  might  be  in- 
teresting to  many,  but  it  was  not  my  purjiose 
to  bring  up  questions  that  have  been  often  dis- 
cussed here,  and  which  are,  or  should  be,  now 
considered  settled.  I  think  we  ought  to  make 
some  progress,  and  1  desire  to  take  a  step  in 
advance,  and  if  I  (mly  succeed  in  awakening 
an  inquiry  that  may  throw  some  light  on  what 
are,  as  yet,  some  dark  places  in  the  path  of 
the  pomologist,  my  object  will  be  accom- 
plished. 


MANAGEMENT  OF  AN    ORCHARD.* 

The  suliject  upon  which  I  have  been  re- 
quested to  wtite  is  one  of  such  vital  importance 
that  it  is  with  dillidence  I  present  my  views 
before  this  Society.  I  have  no  new  discover- 
ies to  present.  My  success  has  been  mainly 
due  to  paying  strict  attention  to  the  following: 

1st.  Location. 


*Essa5-reud  before  tlu'  Pennsylvania  State  Hortuiiltu- 
ral  Association,  at  Hanisburg,  by  J.  H.  l-'uuk,  Boyles- 
town,  Berka  county,  Pa. 


2d.  Selection  of  soil. 

3d.   Its  preparation. 

Ith.  Selection  of  varieties. 

5th.  Proper  i)lanting. 

6th.  .Judicious  pruning. 

7t!i,  (rood  judgnient,  close  attention  and  a 
great  deal  of  labor. 

I  will  treat  of  these  in  the  order  in  wliich 
they  stand,  and  I  prefer  giving  them  just  as  I 
have  treated  my  orchard  which  I  planted  a 
few  years  since,  the  same  for  which  tlie  Com- 
mittee appointed  by  the  Berks  County  Agri- 
cultural Society  awarded  the  premium  as  the 
best  regulated  orchard  in  the  county  of  Berks- 
ist.  Location. 

Under  this  head  comes  the  exposure.  In  my 
orchard  I  have  every  e.xposure;  protected  on 
all  sides  by  low  mountain  ranges,  except  the 
northwest,  which  opens  into  a  narrow  valley, 
and  through  which  the  northwest  wind  has  a 
clear  sweep  over  a  portion  of  the  orchard.  My 
choice  would  be  a  northern  exposure,  protect- 
ed on  the  north  and  west  by  mountain  or 
forest.  Trees  thus  located  are  less  endanger- 
ed by  late  frost. 

2d.  Selection  of  Soil. 

This  IS  one  of  the  most  important  consider- 
ations in  planting  an  orchard.  Be  not  gov- 
erned by  price.  Better  pay  $300  per  acre  for 
good,  suitable  land,  than  take  indifferent  soil 
as  a  gift.  In  the  first  it  will  be  pleasure  and 
profit ;  in  the  other,  disappointment  and  loss. 

In  describing  my  soil,  I  have  sand  loam, 
loam  and  clay  loam.  The  loams  are  to  a 
depth  of  two  to  four  feet.  We  then  come  to  a 
stratum  of  micaceous  deposit,  averaging  from 
four  to  twenty  feet  in  depth  ;  beneath  this  a 
soft  rock  strongly  impregnated  with  iron  and 
small  veins  of  plumbago.  The  clay  loam  is 
underlayed  with  a  light  clay  sub-soil  which 
never  breaks.  Were  I  again  to  make  a  selec- 
tion, I  would  take  the  same,  if  obtainable. 
All  these  different  soils  are  not  equally  good 
for  any  one  variety  of  fruit,  but  each  superior 
for  such  varieties  adapted  to  it.  I  have  my 
peach  and  cherry  on  my  lightest  soil.  Apple 
on  the  loam.  Pear,  plum  and  quince  on  the 
clay  loam. 

3d.  Its  Preparation. 

When  I  purchased  this  tract,  the  soil  was 
completely  exhausted,  being  farmed  contin- 
ually, and  for  twenty  years  receiving  no  ma- 
nure. I  reversed  the  usual  mode  of  farming. 
Instead  of  plowing  a  furrow  5  inches  deep 
and  15  inches  wide,  I  put  in  a  strong  team 
and  plowed  a  furrow  but  8  inches  in  width 
and  1.')  inches  deep,  thus  throwing  up  and  in- 
termixing 10  inches  of  subsoil  with  the  ex- 
hausted surface.  I  then  spread  75  bushels  of 
good  lime  to  the  acre,  and  let  it  lay  thus  over 
winter.  The  following  spring  I  applied  500 
pounds  best  dissolved  bones  to  the  acre, 
plowed  shallow,  harrowed  well,  and  considered 
it  in  good  condition  to  plant. 

4th.    Selection  of  Varieties. 

On  this  depends  to  a  great  extent,  whether 
your  orchard  will  be  a  profit  or  a  loss.  The 
best  guide  is  to  select  such  varieties  as  do 
well  in  your  own  immediate  neighborhood. 
Do  not  be  tempted  by  line,  showy  plates  of 
fruit  you  know  nothing  about.  If  you  are 
not  acquainted,  ask  some  one  on  whom  you 
can  rely,  who  has  had  experience.  Do  not 
plant  too  many  varieties.     Select  as  near  as 


you  can,  trees  that  are  good  growers  and 
annual  bearers  of  showy,  good  flavored  and 
.good  keeping  fruit.  My  selection  would  be, 
in  the  order  named,  Grimes'  golden,  Hubbert- 
ston  nonsuch,  Krauser,  Cole,  Hays'  winter, 
Smith's  cidirr,  Hen  Uavi.s,  Falawater,  West- 
field  soek-no-farlher,  for  winter;  Maiden's 
blush  and  Duchess  of  <.)ldenburg,  for  fall  : 
Red  Astrachan  and  Early  Harvest,  for  sum- 
mer. Many  may  ask  why  I  have  omitted  the 
Baldwin,  llhode  Island  Greening,  Uoxburry, 
Russet,  ^c.  My  reply  is,  I  can  Iniy  liiem 
cheaper  than  1  can  rai.se  them,  and  if  I  have 
plenty  of  such  apples  as  Grimes'  Golden 
pippin,  others  are  welcome  to  Baldwins,  &c. 
Of  pears.  Duchess,  De  Angouleme,  (dwarf) 
Bartlett,  Beurre  de  Angeau,  Seckel  and 
Louise  Bonne  de  Jersey  (standard).  Plums, 
German,  prune,  imperial,  gage  and  Lombard. 
Quinces,  Orange  and  Ilea's  Mammoth.  Cher- 
ries, Early  Richmond,  Mayduke,  Black  Tar- 
tarion  and  Gov.  Wood.  I  never  plant  large 
trees,  preferring  2  years  old  of  stocky  growth; 
peaches  1  year  old. 

5th.  Proper  Planting. 

Have  the  holes  dug  large,  not  less  than  2^ 
feet  square,  and  IS  to  20  inches  deep.  When 
ready  for  planting,  throw  the  surface  soil  in 
below,  filling  the  hole  to  such  a  heighth,  keep- 
ing the  centre  slightly  convex,  that  when  the 
tree  is  set  in,  the  roots  take  their  natural  po- 
sition, and  leave  the  tree  when  planted  near- 
ly the  same  deiith  as  it  stood  in  the  nursery 
row.  Trim  off  all  mutilated  roots,  and  set 
the  tree  in  place,  spreading  all  the  roots  out 
evenly;  throw  on  some  loose,  mellow  ground, 
filling  u])  all  vacant  places  around  the  roots. 
When  sufficiently  covered,  press  the  earth 
gently  but  firmly  to  the  roots  with  the  foot, 
then  finish  filling  the  hole.  When  young, 
thrifty  trees  are  thus  planted,  they  need  no 
stakes.  I  have  planted  3,01)0  trees  in  my  or- 
chard and  have  never  staked  one,  and  I  have 
scrcely  a-lialf  dozen  crooked  trees  on  the 
place.  After  planting,  it  a  very  beneficial  to 
mulch  with  any  loose  material,  long  manure, 
straw,  weeds,  leaves,  tan  bark  or  even  coal 
ashes;  anything  that  will  retain  moisture  and 
keep  the  ground  loo.se.  This  is  more  neces- 
sary in  sod  than  in  cultivated  ground,  where 
the  loose  surface  soil  acts  as  a  mulch. 
6th.  Judicious  Pruning. 

Here  considerable  good  judgment  is  neces- 
.sary.  First  knov/  for  what  you  are  pruning  ; 
do  not  lop  limbs  indiscriminately;  there  are 
several  objects  to  be  obtained  by  pruning. 
First  we  prune  a  young  tree  when  planting, 
to  assist  nature  and  relieve  her  from  overdue 
exhaustion;  for  when  a  tree  is  dug  up  the 
greater  part  of  the  line  rootlets  are  cut  off, 
thus  diminishing  the  supply  of  nourishment 
by  cutting  off  from  one-half  to  two-thirds  of 
the  last  year's  growth.  You  relieve  the  tree 
of  that  much  material  to  supi>ly  with  food, 
and  you  do  more.  By  careful  pruning  at  the 
proper,  buds  you  start  the  loundation  for  a 
lore  round  ^yinmelrical  lop.  By  proper  prun- 
ing you  can  keep  up  a  good,  thrifty  growth. 
For  this,  always  prune  in  early  spring  and  if 
the  work  be  properly  done  the  tree  will  need 
but  little  pruning  in  after  years. 

7th.  Good   Judgment,  Close   Attention    and  a 
Great  Deal  of  Work. 

We  now  come  to  a  question  that  has  caused 


72 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[May, 


more  contention  than  any  other  in  the  man- 
agement of  an  orcliard.     Cultivation  or  non- 
cultivation.     I  adopted  the  follovi'ing  plan  and 
have  been  so  well  pleased  with  the  result  that 
I  should  follow  the   same  course  were  I  to 
plant  another  orclmrd.      I  planted  my  young 
orchard  the  first  year  with  potatoes  and  corn. 
The  trees  all  made  a  good  growth  except  14 
cherry  and  15  peach.     Apple,  pear,  &c.,  all 
grew  fine.     The  .second  year  I  applied  good, 
strong  manure,  20  tons  to  the  acre,  and  again 
planted    corn    and    potatoes,   adding    super- 
phosphate of  lime  to  tlie  hill.     The  result  was 
a  good  crop  of  potatoes  and  corn,  and   an 
enormous  growth  in  the  trees,   excepting  3 
acres  which  I  put  in  sod.     These  trees  made  a 
very  meager  growth,  although  they  received 
the  same  application  of  fertilizers.   The  third 
year  I  plowed  the  fallow  ground  again,  appli- 
ed 500  lbs.  phosphate  of  lime  per  acre,  planted 
corn  and  potatoes.     The  result  this  year  was 
very  marked.     The  trees  occupying  the  culti- 
vated ground  made  a  strong  healthy  growth, 
while  those  standing  in  sod  made  a  very  small 
growth.     The  contrast  between  the  two  was 
so  marked  as  to  be  seen  at  a  distance.     This 
was    the    year    the    committee    visited   the 
orchard.     They  all  noticed  the  mark  contrast 
between  them.     Fourth  year  I  plowed  under 
a  heavy  coat  of  manure;  also  turned  under  the 
sod   around  two  tree  rows;  planted  potatoes. 
Result,  a  fine  crop  of  cherries,  a  heavy  crop  of 
peaches  and  a  great  many  apples,  and  a  strong 
growth  from  the  trees  under  cultivation,  none 
from  those  in  sod,  but  the  two  rows  which  had 
the    sod  turned    under  made  an    enormous 
growth,  leaving  those  continuing  in  sod  far 
behind.     Fifth  year,  run  the  cherry  block  in 
sod,  cultivated  the  peach,  apple,  pear,  &c., 
without  crop.    Eesult,  less  growth  in  cherry, 
but  a  heavy  crop,  the  apple  and  pear  con- 
tinued   their  sti'ong  growth    under  cultiva- 
tion,  and   bore    heavily,   some    as  much   as 
half  a  bushel  to  the  tree.     The  jjcach  also 
grew   enormous,   but    bore  no  fruit,   owing 
to  the  buds  being  winter  killed.     This  year 
the  trees  in  sod  made  a  better  growth   than 
any    year  since    cultivation  was  stopped. — 
I  have  measured  several  of  the  apple  trees, 
under  cultivation  now  five  years,   and   they 
average  4  to  5  inches  in  diameter,  are  15  to  16 
feet  high,  and  have  a  spread  of  from  10  to  12 
feet,  with  heads  nearly  to  the  ground.     My 
plan  would  be  to  cultivate  a  young   orchard 
for  eight  to  ten  years,  then  run  into  sod,  and 
top  dress,  mowing  the  grass  and  leaving  it 
decay  on  the  ground.     But  this  is  not  all. 
Eternal  vigilance  must  be  the  watchword  of 
the  successful   orchardist.     I  wash  my  trees 
every  spring  with   a  wash,  1   lb.   of  caustic 
potash  to  5  gallons  of  water,  washing  with  a 
stiff' hand  scrub.     This  keeps  the  bark  clean, 
smooth  and  healthy,  destroying  thousands  of 
insects.     At  the  same  time  potash  is  a  very 
necessary  ingredient  to  all  vegetable  matter. 
It  is  also  very  necessary  to  examine  for  the 
borer  at  least  twice  a  -year.     During  winter 
is  a  good  time  to  destroy  thou.sands  of  eggs 
of  such  insects  as  infest  the  tops.     They  can 
be  readily  seen,  gathered  and  destroyed. 

It  is  useless  for  a  lazy  or  indiHerent  man  to 
endeavor  to  be  a  successful  fruit  raiser.  He 
must  take  pride  in  his  work.  He  must  apply 
himself  to  work,  not  entrusting  it  to  others. 
Nor  is  the  exercise  of  muscle  alone  necessary. 


The  mind  must  be  brought  into  action ;  he 
must  devote  a  portion  of  his  time  to  reading 
the  various  works  relating  to  his  business,  as 
well  as  good  horticulturist  papers,  thereby 
becoming  familiar  with  the  causes  of  failure 
or  success  of  others,  learning  how  to  avoid 
the  first,  and  benefit  by  the  latter.  With 
these  remarks  I  will  close.  If  what  little  I 
have  said  will  help  any  one,  in  any  particular, 
I  am  amply  repaid. 

Selections, 


HISTORY  OF  PYRETHRUM. 
There  are  very  few  data  at  hand  concerning 
the  discovery  of  the  insecticide  properties  of 
Pyrethrum.  The  powder  has  been  in  use  for 
many  years  in  Asiatic  countries  south  of  the 
Caucasus  mountains.  It  was  sold  at  a  high 
price  by  the  inhabitants,who  successfully  kept 
its  nature  a  secret  until  the  beginning  of  this 
century,  when  an  American  merchant,  Mr. 
Jumtikoff,  learned  that  the  powder  was  ob- 
tained from  the  dried  and  pulverized  flower- 
heads  of  certain  species  of  Pyrethrum  growing 
abundantly  in  the  mountain  region  of  what  is 
now  known  as  the  Russian  province  of.Trans- 
caucasia.  The  sou  of  Mr.  Jumtikoff  began  the 
manufacturing  of  the  article  on  a  large  scale 
in  1828,  after  which  year  the  Pyrethrum  in- 
dustry steadily  grew  until  to-day  the  export  of 
the  dried  tlower-heads  represents  an  important 
item  in  the  revenue  of  those  countries. 

Still  less  seems  to  be  known  of  the  discovery 
and  history  of  the  Dalmatian  species  of  Pyre- 
thrum {Pyrethrum  cenerariccfoliimi.),  but  it  is 
probable  that  its  history  is  very  similar  to  that 
of  the  Asiatic  species.  At  the  present  time 
the  Pyrethrum  flowers  are  considered  by  far 
the  most  valuable  product  of  the  soil  of 
Dalmatia. 

There  is  also  very  little  information  pub- 
lished regarding  either  the  mode  of  growth  or 
the  cultivation  of  Pyrethrum  plants  in  their 
native  home.  As  to  the  Caucasian  species  we 
have  reason  to  believe  that  they  are  not  culti- 
vated, at  least  not  at  the  present  time,  state- 
ments to  the  contrary  notwithstanding,  t  The 
well-known  Dr.  Gustav  Radde,  director  of  the 
Imperial  Museum  of  Natural  History  at  Tiflis, 
Transcaucasia,  who  is  the  highest  living 
authority  on  everything  pertaining  to  the 
natural  history  of  that  region,  wrote  us  re- 
cently as  follows:  "  The  only  species  of  its 
genus,  Pyrethrum  roscum,  which  gives  a  good, 
effective  insect  powder,  is  nowhere  cultivated, 
but  grows  wild  in  the  basal-alpine  zone  of  our 
mountains  at  an  altitude  of  from  6,000  to 
8,000  feet."  From  this  it  appears  that  this 
species,  at  least,  is  not  cultivated  in  its  native 
home,  and  Dr.  Radde's  statement  is  corrob- 
rated  by  a  communication  of  Mr.  S.  M.  Hut- 
ton,  Vice-Consul  General  of  the  United  States 
at  Moscow,  Russia,  to  whom  we  applied  for 
seed  of  this  species.  He  writes  that  his  agents 
were  not  able  to  get  more  than  about  half  a 
pound  of  the  seed  from  any  one  person.  From 
this  statement  it  may  be  inferred  that  the 
seeds  have  to  be  gathered  from  the  wild  and 
not  from  the  cultivated  plants. 

As  to  the  Dalmatian  plant  it  is  also  said  to 
be  cultivated  in  its  native  home,  but  we  can 


"From  recent  communications  by  him  in  the  "Ameri- 
can Naturalist." 
tReportComm.  of  Patents,  1857,  Agrriculture,  p,  130. 


get  no  definite  information  on  this  score, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  the. inhabitants  are 
very  unwilling  to  give  any  information  re- 
garding a  plant  tlie  product  of  which  they 
wish  to  monopolize.  For  similar  reasons  we 
have  found  great  difficulty  in  obtaining  even 
small  quantities  of  the  seed  of  P.  cinerariafo- 
liuni  that  was  not  baked  or  in  other  ways 
tampered  with  to  prevent  germination.  In- 
deed, the  people  are  so  jealous  of  their  plant 
that  to  send  the  seed  out  of  the  country  be- 
comes a  serious  matter,  in  which  life  is  risked 
Cultivation  of  Pyrethrum. 
The  seed  of  Pyrethrum  roneum  is  obtained 
with  less  difficulty,  at  least  in  small  quanti- 
ties, and  it  has  even  become  an  article  of 
commerce,  several  nurserymen  here,  as  well 
as  in  Europe,  advertising  it  in  their  cata- 
logues. The  species  has  been  successfully 
grown  as  a  garden  plant  for  its  pale  rose  or 
bright  pink  flower-rays.  Mr.  Thomas  Meehan. 
of  Germantown,  Pa.,  writes  us  :  "I  have  had 
a  plant  of  Pyrethrum  roseum  in  my  herbaceous 
garden  for  many  years  past,  and  it  it  holds  its 
own  without  any  care  much  better  than  many 
other  things.  I  should  say  from  this  experi- 
ence that  it  was  a  plant  which  will  very  easily 
accommodate  itself  to  culture  anywhere  in 
the  United  States."  Peter  Henderson,  of 
New  York,  another  well-known  and  experi- 
enced nurseryman,  writes :  "  I  have  grown 
the  plant  and  its  varieties  for  ten  years.  It 
is  of  the  easiest  cultivation,  either  by  seeds  or 
divisions.  It  now  ramifies  into  a  great 
variety  of  all  shades,  from  white  to  deep 
crimson,  double  and  single,  perfectly  hardy 
here,  and  I  think  likely  to  be  nearly  every- 
where on  this  continent."  Dr.  .James  C. 
Neal,  of  Archer,  Fla.,  has  also  successfully 
grown  Pyrethrum  roseum  and  many  varieties 
thereof,  and  other  correspondents  report  simi- 
lar favorable  experience.  None  of  them  have 
found  a  special  mode  of  cultivation  necessary. 
In  1856  Mr.  C.  Willemot  made  a  serious  at- 
tempt to  introduce  and  cultivate  the  plant* 
on  a  large  scale  in  France.  As  his  account 
of  the  cultivation  of  Pyrethrum  is  the  best  we 
know  of,  we  quote  here  his  exjierience  with 
but  few  slight  omissions :  "  The  soil  best 
adapted  to  its  culture  should  be  composed  of 
a  pure  ground,  somewhat  siliceous  and  dry. 
Moisture  and  the  presenceof  clay  is  injurious, 
the  plant  being  extremely  sensitive  to  an 
excess  of  water,  and  would  in  such  cases  im- 
mediately perish.  A  sonlhern  exposure  is  the 
mo.st  favorable.  The  best  time  for  putting 
the  seeds  in  the  ground  is  from  March  to  April. 
It  can  be  done  even  in  the  month  of  February 
if  the  weather  will  permit  it.  After  the  soil 
has  been  prepared  and  the  seeds  are  sown 
they  are  covered  by  a  stratum  of  ground 
mixed  with  some  vegetable  mold,  when  the 
roller  is  slightly  applied  to  it.  Every  five  or 
six  days  the  watering  is  to  be  renewed  in 
order  to  facilitate  the  germination.  At  the 
end  of  about  thirty  or  forty  days  the  young 
plants  make  their  appearance,  and  as  soon  as 
they  have  gained  strength  enough  they  are 
transplanted  at  a  distance  of  about  six  inclips 
from   each   other.     Three  months  after  this 

*Mr.  Willemot  calls  his  plant  Pj/reftre  dti  onucase 
tPy  el'<rutn  ll'jlUinofi  i  ueiibrt^fl,  b.it  n  i^  m.-re  t'it*n 
prul.ahle  t  i  t  tbi<  «  •  iii<  ..  y  oiiym  nf  Pi/iellmim 
riisettm.  "We  have  drawn  liberally  Irom  Wileniot's 
paper  on  the  subject,  a  translation'  of  which  may  be 
found  in  the  Report  of  the  Commissi,  ner  of  Patents  for 
the  year  1861,  Agriculture,  pp.  223-331. 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


73 


operation  tliey  are  transplanted  ap^ain  at  a 
distance  of  froii)  fourteen  to  twenty  inclies, 
according  to  tlieir  streni;tli.  Each  trans- 
plantation rtHiuircs,  of  course,  a  new  water- 
ing, which,  however,  should  only  he  moder- 
ately ajiplied.  The  blossoming  of  the  Pyreth- 
runi  coniniLnces  the  second  year,  [toward  the 
end  of  May,  and  continues  to  tlic  end  of 
September."  Mr.  Willemot  also  stales  that 
the  plant  is  very  little  sensitive  to  cold,  and 
needs  no  shelter,  even  during  severe  winters. 

The  above-quoted  directions  have  reference 
to  the  climate  of  France,  and  as  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  plant  in  many  parts  of  North 
America  is  yet  an  experiment,  a  great  deal  of 
independent  judgment  must  be  used.  The 
plants  should  be  treated  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  ordinary  Asters  of  the  garden  or  other 
perennial  Coniposita^ 

As  to  the  Dalmatian  plant, it  is  well  known 
that  Mr.  G.  N.  Nilco,  a  native  of  Dalmatia, 
has  of  late  years  successfully  cultivated  Pi/rc- 
thrum  einerarirpfoliiimxient  Stockton, Cal.,  and 
the  powder  from  the  California-grown  plants, 
to  wliieh  Mr.  Milco  has  given  the  name  of 
"Buliach,"  retains  all  the  insecticide  qualities 
and  is  far  superior  to  most  of  the  imported 
powder,  as  we  know  from  experience.  Mr. 
Milco  gives  the  following  advice  about  plant- 
ing— advice  which  applies  more  particularly 
to  tlie  Pacific  coast:  "  Prepare  a  small  bed  of 
fine,  loose,  sandy,  loamy  soil,  slightly  mixed 
with  fine  manure.  Mix  the  seed  with  dry 
sand  and  sow  carefully  on  top  of  the  bed. 
Then  with  a  common  rake  disturb  the  surface 
of  the  ground  half  an  inch  in  depth.  Sprinkle 
the  bed  every  evening  until  sprouted;  to  much 
water  will  cause  injury.  After  it  is  well 
sprouted,  watering  twice  a  week  is  sufficient. 
When  about  a  month  old,  weed  carefully. 
They  should  be  transplanted  to  loamy  soil 
during  the  rainy  reason  of  winter  or  spring." 

Our  own  exi)erience  with  Pyirthntm  roaeum 
as  well  as  Pynthrum  cinerariafoliiu  in  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  has  been  so  far  quite  satisfac- 
tory. Some  that  we  planted  in  the  fall  of 
1880  came  up  quite  well  in  the  spring,  and  a 
few  plants  bloomed  in  November  of  1881, 
though  such  blooming  was  doubtless  abnormal. 
The  plants  from  sound  seed  which  we  planted 
this  spring  are  also  doing  finely,  and  as  the 
soil  is  a  lather  stiff  clay  and  the  rains  were 
in  early  summer  many  and  heavy,  we  conclude 
that  Mr.  Willemot  has  over  stated  the  deli- 
cacy of  the  plants.  We  have  observed  further 
that  the  seed  often  lays  a  long  time  in  the 
ground  before  germinating,  and  that  it  ger- 
minates best  when  not  wat  red  to  heavily. 
We  think  that  the  too  rapid  absorption  of 
moisture  often  causes  the  seed  to  burst  pre- 
maturely and  rot.  where  slower  absorption  in 
a  soil  only  tolerably  moist  affords  the  best 
conditions  for  germination. 

Preparation  of  the  Plants  for  Use. 

In  regard  to  manufacturing  the  powder,  the 
tiower-heads  should  be  gathered  during  fine 
weatlier,  when  they  are  about  to  open,  or  at 
the  time  when  fertilization  takes  place,  as  the 
essential  oil  that  gives  the  insecticide  quali- 
ties reaches,  at  this  time,  its  greatest  develop- 
ment. When  the  blossoming  has  ceased  the 
stalks  may  be  cut  within  about  four  inches 
from  the  ground  and  utilized,  being  ground 
and  mixed  with  the  flowers  in  the  proportion 


of  one-third  of  their  weight.  Great  care  must 
be  taken  not  to  expose  the  flowers  to  moisture, 
or  the  rays  of  the  sun,  or  still  less  to  artificial 
heat.  Tliey  should  be  dried  under  cover,  and 
hermetically  closed  up  in  sacks  or  other  ves- 
sels to  prevent  untimely  pulverization.  The 
finer  the  flower-heads  are  pulverized  the  more 
effectually  the  powder  acts  and  the  more 
economical  is  its  use.  Proper  |iulverization 
in  large  quantities  is  best  done  by  those  who 
make  a  business  of  it  and  have  special  mill 
facilities.  Lehn  &  Fink,  of  New  York,  have 
furnislied  us  with  the  most  satisfactory  pow- 
der. For  his  own  use  the  farmer  can  pul- 
verize smaller  (pianties  by  the  simjile  method 
of  potmding  the  flowers  in  a  mortar.  It  is 
necessary  that  the  mortar  be  closed,  and  a 
piece  of  leather  through  which  the  pestle 
moves,  such  as  is  generally  used  in  pulverizing 
pharmaceutic  substances  in  a  laboratory,  will 
answer.  The  (piantity  to  be  pulverized  .should 
not  exceed  one  pound  at  a  time,  thus  avoid 
ing  too  high  a  degree  of  heat,  which  would  be 
injurious  to  the  quality'of  the  powder.  The 
pulverization  being  deemed  sufficient,  the 
substance  is  sifted  through  a  silk  sieve,  and 
then  the  remainder,  with  a  new  addition  of 
flowers,  is  put  in  tlie  mortar  and  pulverized 
again. 

The  best  vessels  for  keeping  the  powder  are 
fruit  jars  with  patent  covers,  or  any  other 
perfectly  tight  glass  vessel  or  tin  box. 

The  Use  of  Pyrethrum  as  an'Insecticide 

Up  to  a  comparatively  recent  period  the 
powder  was  applied  to  the  destruction  of 
those  insects  only  which  are  troublesome  in 
dwellings,  and  Mr.  C.  AVillemot  seems  to  have 
been  the  first  in  the  year  1857,  (?)  to  point 
out  its  value  against  insects  injurious  to  agri- 
culture and  horticulture.  He  goes,  however, 
too  far  in  his  praise  of  it,  and  some  of  his 
statements  as  to  its  efficacy  are  evidently  not 
based  upon  actual  experiment.  Among  others 
he  proposes  the  following  remedy:  "In  order 
to  prevent  the  ravages  of  the  weevil  on  wheat 
fields,  the  powder  is  mixed  with  the  grain  to 
be  sown,  in  proportion  of  about  ten  ounces  to 
about  three  bushels,  which  will  save  a  year's 
crop."  This  is  simply  ridiculous,  as  every 
one  who  is  familiar  with  the  properties  of 
Pyrethrum  will  understand.  We  have  during 
the  past  three  years  largely  experimented  with 
it  on  many  species  of  injurious  insects,  and 
fully  appreciate  its  value  as  a  general  insecti- 
cide, which  value  has  been  greatly  enhanced 
by  the  discovery  that  it  can  be  most  econom- 
ically used  m  liquid  solution;  but  we  are  far 
from  considering  it  a  universal  remedy  for  all 
insects.  No  such  universal  remedy  exists, 
and  Pyrethrum  has  its  disadvantages  as  has 
any  other  insecticide  now  in  use.  The  follow- 
ing are  its  more  serious  disadvantages:  1,  the 
action  of  the  powder,  in  whatever  form  it 
may  be  applied,  is  not  a  permanent  one  in  the 
open  air.  If  e.  g.,  it  is  applied  to  a  plant,  it 
immediately  effects  the  insects  on  tliat  plant  ! 
with  which  it  comes  in  contact,  but  it  will 
prove  perfectly  harmless  to  all  insects  which 
come  on  to  the  plant  half  an  hour  (or  even 
less)  after  the  application;  2,  the  powder  acts 
in  the  open  air— unless,  perhaps,  applied  in 
very  large  quantities— only  upon  actual  con- 
tact with  the  insect;  if  c.  3.,  it  is  applied  to 
the  upper  side  of  a  cotton  leaf  the  worms  that 


may  be  on  the  underside  arc  not  affected  by 
it;  3,  it  has  no  eflect  on  insect  eggs,  nor  on 
pupa-  that  are  in  any  way  protected  or 
hardened. 

These  disadvantages  render  Pyrethrum  in 
some  respects  inferior  to  arsenical  poi.sons,  but 
on  the  other  hand,  it  has  tlic  one  over-siiadow- 
ing  advantage  that  it  is  pcu-fectly  harmless  to 
plants  or  to  higher  animals;  and  if  the  culti- 
vation of  the  plants  in  this  country  should 
prove  a  success,  and  the  price  of  the  powder 
become  low  enough,  the  above-mentioned  dis- 
advantages can  be  overcrmie,  to  a  certain 
degree,  by  repealed  ai)plicati()ns. 

In  a  closed  room  the  effect  of  Pyrethrum 
on  insects  is  more  powerfid  than  outdoors. 
Different  species  of  insects  are  diflerently 
afleoled  by  the  |)owder.  Some  resist  its  action 
most  effectually,  e.  <j.,  very  hairy  caterpillars 
and  especially  spiders  of  all  kinds;  while 
others,  especially  all  Ilymenoptera,  succumb 
most  readily.  In  no  ca.se  are  the  insects  killed 
instananeously  by  Pyretlirum.  They  are  ren- 
dered perfectly  helpless  a  fevv  minutes  after 
application,  but  do  not  die  till  some  lime  after- 
ward, the  period  varying  from  several  hours 
to  two  or  even  three  days,  according  to  the 
species.  Many  insects  that  have  been  treated 
with  Pyrethrum  show  signs  of  intense  pain, 
while  in  others  the  outward  symptoms  aie 
much  less  marked.  Differences  in  tempera- 
ture and  otlier  meteorological  clianges  do  not 
appear  to  have  any  influence  on  the  effect  of 
Pyrethrum. 

Modes  of  Application. 

Pyrethrum  can  be  applied — 1,  as  dry  pow- 
der; 2,  as  a  fume;  3,  as  an  alcoholic  extract 
diluted  ;  4,  by  simple  stirring  of  the  powder 
in  water  ;  5,  as  a  ti;a  or  decoction. 

The  following  recommendations  are  bassd 
on  repeated  experiments  in  the  field  : 

1.  Aiqilicntions  of  PijnthruDi  an  n  dry 
Po(uc?er.— This  method  is  familiar  to  n.ost 
housekeepers,  the  powder  being  us  d  by  means 
of  a  small  pair  of  bellows.  It  is  then  gen- 
erally used  wiihout  diluent,  but  if  it  is  un- 
adulterated and  fresh  (which  cannot  be  said, 
in  many  instances,  of  the  powder  .sold  at  re- 
tail by  our  druggists)  it  may  be  considerably 
diluted  with  other  pulverized  mateiial  with- 
out losing  its  deadly  effect,  the  use  of  the 
l>owder  thus  becoming  much  cheaper.  Of 
the  materials  which  can  be  used  as  diluents, 
common  flour  seems  to  be  the  best,  but  finely- 
sifted  wood-ashes,  saw-dust  from  hard  wood, 
etc. — in  short,  any  light  and  finely-pulverized 
material  which  mixes  well  with  the  Pyreth- 
rum powder  will  answer  the  purpose.  If  the 
mixture  is  applied  inunediately  after  prejiara- 
tion,  it  is  always  less  efficacious  than  when 
left  in  a  perfectly  tight  vessel  for  about 
twenty-four  hours,  or  longer,  befoie  use. 
This  has  been  proven  so  far  only  with  the 
mixture  of  Pyrethnmi  with  flour,  but  holds 
doubtless  true  also  for  oilier  diluents.  Mr. 
E.  A.  Schwarz  exiierimented  largely  under 
our  direction  with  the  mixture  of  Pyrethrum 
and  flour  for  the  cotton  worm,  and  he  found 
that  one  part  of  the  powder  to  1 1  parts  of 
flour  is  suflicient  to  kill  the  worms  (only  a 
portion  of  the  full-grown  worms  recovering 
from  the  eflucts  of  the  powder),  if  the  mixture 
is  applied  immediately  after  preparation ; 
but  if  kept  in  a  tight  glass  jar  for  about  two 


74 


THELANCASTER  FARMER. 


[May, 


days,  one  part  of  the  powder  to  22  parts  of 
flour  is  sufficient  to  kill  all  average-sized 
worms  with  which  the  mixture  comes  in  con- 
tact. For  very  young  cotton  worms  a  mix- 
ture of  one  part  of  Pyrethrum  to  30  parts  of 
flour,  and  applied  one  day  after  preparation, 
proved  most  eflective,  hardly  any  of  the  worms 
recovering. 

An  ordinary  powder  bellows  will  answer  for 
insects  infesting  dwellings  or  for  plants  kept 
in  pots  in  rooms,  or  single  plants  in  the  garden 
but  it  hardly  answers  on  a  large  scale  out- 
doors, because  it  works  too  slowly,the  amount 
of  powder  discharged  cannot  be  regulated, 
and  there  is  didiculty  iu  covering  all  parts  of 
a  large  plant.  Another  method  of  applying 
the  diy  powders  is  to  sieve  it  on  to  the  plants 
by  means  of  sieves,  and  this  method  is  no 
doubt  excellent  for  insects  that  live  on  the 
upper  side  of  the  leaves.  For  large,  more 
shrub-like  plants  with  many  branches,  and 
for  insects  that  hide  on  the  underside  of  the 
leaves,  this  method  will  be  found  less  service- 
able. A  very  satisfactory  way  of  applying 
the  powder  on  large  i)lants,  in  the  absence  of 
any  suitable  machine  or  contrivance,  is  to 
throw  it  with  the  hand  after  the  manner  of 
seed-sowing.  This  method  is  more  economi- 
cal and  rapid  than  those  mentioned  above, 
and  it  has,  moreover,  the  advantage  that,  if 
the  plants  are  high  enough,  the  powder  can 
be  applied  to  the  underside  of  the  leaves. 

2.  Aiiplkation  of  Pyrethrum  in  Fumes. — 
The  powder  burns  freely,  giving  off'  consider- 
able smoke  an  an  odor  which  is  not  unpleas- 
ant. It  will  burn  more  slowly  when  made 
into  cones  by  wetting  and  molding.  In  a  closed 
room  the  fumes  from  a  small  quantity  will 
soon  kill  or  render  inactive  ordinary  flies  and 
mosquitoes,  and  will  be  found  a  most  couven 
lent  protection  against  these  last  where  no 
bars  are  available.  A  series  of  experiments 
made  under  our  direction  indicates  that  the 
fumes  affect  all  insects,  but  most  quickly  those 
of  soft  and  delicate  structure. 

This  method  is  impracticable  on  a  large 
scale  in  the  field,  but  will  be  found  very 
effective  against  insects  infesting  furs, 
feathers,  herbaria,  books,  etc.  Such  can  easily 
be  got  rid  of  by  inclosing  the  infested  objects 
in  a  tight  box  or  case  and  then  fumigating 
them.  This  method  will  also  prove  useful  in 
greenhouses,  and,  with  suitable  instruments, 
we  see  no  reason  why  it  should  not  be  applied 
to  underground  pests  that  attack  the  roots  of 
plants. 

3.  Alcoholic  Extract  of  Pyrethrum  Powder.  — 
The  extract  is  easily  obtained  by  taking  a 
flask  fitted  with  a  cork  and  a  long  and  verti- 
cal glass  tube.  Into  this  flask  the  alcohol 
and  Pyrethrum  is  introduced  and  heated  over 
a  steam  tank  or  other  moderate  heat.  The 
distillate,  condensing  in  the  vertical  tube, 
runs  back,  and  at  the  end  of  an  hour  or  two 
the  alcohol  may  be  drained  oft'  and  the  extract 
is  ready  for  use.  Another  method  of  obtain- 
iug  the  extract  is  by  re-percolation  after  the 
manner  prescribed  in  the  American  Pharma- 
copceia.  The  former  method  seems  to  more 
thoroughly  extract  the  oil  than  the  latter  ;  at 
least  we  found  that  the  residuum  of  a  quantity 
of  Pyrethrum  from  which  the  extract  was 
obtained  by  re-percolation  had  not  lost  a  great 
deal  of  its  power.  The  first  method  is  appar- 
ently more  expensive  than  the  other,  but  the 


extract  is  in  either  case  more  expensive  than 
the  other  preparations,  though  very  con- 
veniently preserved  and  handled. 

The  extract  may  be  greatly  diluted  with 
water  and  then  applied  by  means  of  any 
atomizer.  Professor  E.  A.  Smith,  of  Tusca- 
loosa, Ala.,  found  that,  diluted  with  water, 
at  the  rate  of  one  part  of  the  extract  to  15  of 
water,  and  sprayed  on  the  leaves,  it  kills  cot- 
ton worms  that  have  come  iu  contact  with 
the  solution  in  a  few  minutes.  The  mixture 
in  the  proportion  of  one  part  of  the  extract  to 
20  parts  of  water  was  equally  effluacious,  and 
even  at  the  rate  of  1  to  40  it  killed  two-thirds 
of  the  worms  upon  which  it  was  sprayed  in 
15  or  20  minutes,  and  the  remainder  were 
subsequently  disabled.  In  still  weaker  solu- 
tion, or  at  the  rate  of  1  to  50,  it  loses  in  effi- 
cacy, but  still  kills  some  of  the  worms  and 
disables  others.  Professor  Smith  experi- 
mented with  the  extract  obtained  by  distilla- 
tion, and  another  series  of  experiments  with 
the  same  method  was  carried  on  last  year  by 
Professor  R.  W.  Jones,  of  Oxford,  Miss.*  He 
diluted  his  extract  with  twenty  times  its 
volume  of  water  and  applied  it  by  means  of 
an  atomizer  on  the  cotton  worm  and  the  boll 
worm  with  perfect  success.  Mr.  E.  A. 
Schwars  tried,  last  summer,  the  extract  ob- 
tained by  re-percolation, t  and  found  that  10 
drachms  of  the  extract  stirred  up  in  two  gal- 
lons of  water  and  applied  by  means  of  Whit- 
man's fountain-pump  was  sutRcieut  to  kill  all 
cotton  worms  on  the  plants.  Four  drachms 
of  the  extract  to  the  same  amount  of  water 
was  sufficient  to  kill  the  very  young  wojms. 

4.  Pyrethrum  in  Simple  Water  Solution. — 
So  far  as  our  experiments  go,  this  method  is 
by  far  the  simplest,  most  economical,  and 
efficient.  The  bulk  of  the  powder  is  most 
easily  dissolved  in  water,  to  which  it  at  once 
imparts  the  insecticide  powder.  No  constant 
stirring  is  necessary  and  the  liquid  is  to  be 
applied  in  the  same  manner  as  the  diluted 
extract.  The  finer  the  spray  in  which  the 
fluid  is  applied  the  more  economical  is  its  use 
and  the  greater  the  chance  of  reaching  every 
insect  on  the  plant.  Experiments  with 
Pyrethrum  in  this  form  show  that  200  grains 
of  the  powder  stirred  up  in  two  gallons  of 
water  is  amply  sufficient  to  kill  the  cotton 
worms,  except  a  very  few  full-grown  ones, 
but  that  the  same  mixture  is  not  sufficiently 
strong  for  many  other  insects,  as  the  boll 
worm,  the  larva  of  the  Terias  nicippe,  and 
such  species  as  are  protected  by  dense  long 
hairs.  Young  cotton  worms  can  be  killed  by 
25  grains  of  the  powder  stirred  up  in  two 
quarts  of  water. 

The  Pyrethrum  water  is  most  efficacious 
when  first  made  and  loses  power  the  longer  it 
is  kept.  The  powder  gives  the  water  a  light 
greenish  color,  which  after  several  hours 
changes  to  a  light  brown.  On  the  third  day 
a  Juxuriant  growth  of  fungus  generally  de- 
velops in  the  vessel  containing  the  liquid,  and 
its  efficacy  is  then  considerably  lessened. 

5.  The  Tea  or  Dccoctioji.— Professor  E.  W. 
Hilgard,  of  Berkeley,  Cal.,  is  the  only  one 
who  has  experimented  with    Pyrethrum   in 

*Vide  "  Ajuerican  Entumologist,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  252-3. 

tFrom  one  pound  of  the  powder  one  pint  of  extrat-t 
is  made,  each  drop  of  the  extract  representing  one  grain 
of  the  powder.  The  actual  cost  of  making  the  extract 
was  50  cents. 


this  form,  and  expresses  himself  most  favor- 
ably as  to  the  result.     He  says  : 

''I  think,  from  my  experiments,  that  the 
tea  or  infusion  prep)arcd  from  the  flowers  (which 
need  iiot  be  ground  up  for  the  purpose)  is  the 
most  convenient  and  efficacious  form  of  using 
this  insecticide  in  the  open  air;  provided  that 
it  is  used  at  times  ichen  the  water  will  not 
evaporate  too  rapidly,  and  that  it  is  applied, 
not  by  pouring  over  in  a  stream,  or  even  in 
drops,  but  in  the  form  of  a  spray  from  a  syringe 
with  fine  holes  in  its  rose.  In  this  case  the 
fluid  will  reach  the  insect  despite  of  its  water- 
shedding  surfaces,  hairs,  etc.,  and  stay  long 
enough  to  kill.  Thus  applied,  I  have  found 
it  to  be  efficient  even  against  the  armored 
scale-bug  of  the  orange  and  lemon,  which  falls 
off'  in  the  course  of  two  or  three  days  after  the 
application,  while  the  young  brood  is  almost 
instantly  destroyed.  As  the  flower  tea,  un- 
like whale  soap  and  other  washes,  leaves  the 
leaves  perfectly  clean  and  does  not  injure  even 
the  most  tender  growth,  it  is  preferable  on 
that  score  alone  ;  and  iu  the  future  it  can 
hardly  fail  also  to  be  the  cheaper  of  the  two. 
This  is  the  more  likely,  as  the  tea  made  of 
the  leaves  and  stems  has  similar  although 
considerably  weaker  effects;  and  if  the  farmer 
or  fruit  grower  were  to  grow  the  plants,  he 
would  save  all  the  expense  of  harvesting  and 
grinding  the  flower-heads  by  simply  using  the 
header,  curing  the  upper  stems,  leaves,  and 
flower-heads  all  together,  as  he  would  hops, 
making  the  tea  of  this  material  by  the  hogs- 
head, and  distributing  it  froni  a  cart  through 
a  syringe.  It  should  be  diligently  kept  in 
mind  that  the  least  araouut  of  boiling  will 
seriously  injure  the  strength  of  this  tea,  which 
should  be  made  with  briskly  boiling  water, 
but  then  simply  covered  over  closely,  so  as  to 
allow  of  as  little  evaporation  as  possible.  The 
details  of  its  most  economical  and  effectual 
use  on  the  large  scale  remains,  of  course,  to 
be  worked  out  by  practice." 

The  method  of  applying  Pyrethrum  in  either 
of  the  three  last-mentioned  forms  is  evidently 
far  more  economical  in  the  open  Held  and  on 
a  large  scale  than  the  application  of  the  dry 
powder,  and,  morover,  give  us  more  chance  of 
reaching  every  insect  living  upon  the  plant  to 
which  the  fluid  is  applied.  The  relative  mer- 
its of  the  three  methods  can  be  established 
only  by  future  experience,  but  so  far  we  have 
found  the  simple  water  solution  most  conven- 
ient and  satisfactory. 

QUINCE  CULTURE. 

There  is  some  difference  of  opinion  as  to 
the  best  length  for  a  cutting.  Eight  or  ten 
inches  are  recommended.  My  experience  in 
Vineland  gives  the  preference  to  a  cutting  of 
about  fifteen  inches,  planted  a  foot  in  the 
ground.  The  advantages  of  so  deep  a  setting 
are,  that  it  guards  agaiust  drouth,  and  fur- 
nishes a  greater  length  for  the  formation  of 
roots,  which  comes  out  through  the  bark  all 
the  way  from  the  lower  end  as  high  as  the 
soil  is  moist. 

Cuttings  can  be  made  to  grow  if  taken  at 
any  stage  of  their  development.  If  green 
and  soft  they  depend  on  conditions  of  heat 
and  moisture  in  the  soil  and  air,  requiring  the 
skill  of  a  professional  gardener  with  the  ap- 
pliances of  the  hot-house.  For  out-door  cul- 
tivation the  wood  must  all  be  well  ripened 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


75 


and  taken  in  its  dormant  state,  after  the  trees 
have  shed  their  leaves  in  autnmn.  I  have 
found  February  and  March  favorable  to  suc- 
cess. Any  time  before  tlie  buds  start  in  the 
spring  may  succeed.  A  few  grew  one  year 
taken  in  May.  The  sprouts  often  growing  on 
the  part  of  roots  near  the  surface,  suggested 
rodf '•u(h'(i(/s  as  an  additional  means  of  multi- 
plying trees.  Any  large  root  cut  off  near  the 
collar  of  the  tree  is  almost  sure  to  devclope 
buds  of  seed  and  send  up  sprouts.  The  best 
time  to  make  root  cuttings  is  just  before  the. 
usual  season  for  tlie  buds  of  the  tree  to  swell 
in  the  spring. 

Propaijation  by  graftinrj  on  the  stocks  and 
roots  of  other  trees  as  well  as  its  own,  is  a 
successful  metliod  of  quince  culture.  The 
thorn  and  apple  have  been  used  for  the  quince, 
as  that  has  been  for  the  pear;  and  here  all  the 
different  methods  of  grafting  are  available. 
The  thorn  is  much  valued  by  some  on  account 
of  its  strength,  and  freedom  from  borers. 
Roots  of  apple  trees,  as  well  as  other  quince 
trees,  are  available.  Trees  worked  on  apple 
roots  were  exhibited  at  the  late  meeting  of  the 
New  Jersey  Horticultural  Society  iu  Viueland. 
The  scions  of  a  fruitful  tree  grafted  into  one 
that  was  barren  have  borne  the  second  year. 
Crafting  on  older  stocks  in  this  way  will  ena- 
ble us  to  test  new  varieties;  and  also  to  gain 
time  in  proving  the  value  or  worthlessness  of 
all  our  seedlings.  It  is  also  a  convenient  way 
of  comparing  the  relative  merits  of  different 
varieties,  by  securing  the  perfect  equality  of 
all  conditions. 

A  good  grafting  wax,  to  be  applied  warm, 
is  made  by  melting  together  six  parts  rosin, 
with  one  part  each  of  bees-wax  and  tallow  or 
linseed.  It  can  be  applied  with  a  brush,  or 
spread  on  strips  of  muslin  for  wrappings.  For 
a  wax  to  be  applied  by  hand,  cold.  Downing 
recommends  bees-wax  and  rosiu  each  three 
parts,  to  two  parts  of  tallow. 

Scions  for  grafting  are  best  if  cut  after  the 
leaves  have  fallen  and  before  the  stimulation 
of  the  spring.  They  can  be  wintered  in  sand 
or  sawdust.  If  not  cut  till  spring  they  may 
as  well  be  set  at  once.  By  the  aid  of  an  ice- 
house the  season  of  setting  them  can  be 
greatly  extended.  Vigorous  stocks  often 
produce  a  profusion  of  sprouts.  It  may  be 
best  to  leave  some  of  these  to  direct  the  circu- 
lation of  the  sapand  thus  secure  a  supply  to 
the  scion,  but  all  should  at  length  be  removed 
leaving  the  graft  to  enjoy  every  advantage. 

Prnpaijation  hij  huddinij,  or  inoculating,  is  a 
favorable  method  for  some  trees,  as  the  peach 
and  apricot ;  but  is  only  recommended  for  the 
quince  where  grafts  have  missed,  or  where  we 
want  to  increase  the  sorts  for  which  the  other 
methods  are  not  available.  It  differs  from 
grafting  mainly  in  being  confined  to  the  sea- 
sou  when  the  cell  circulation  is  most  active, 
and  the  union  of  parts  much  quicker  than 
with  grafts.  Budding  is  most  successfully 
performed  in  that  part  of  the  growing  season 
when  the  cambium  or  gelatinous  matter  be- 
tween the  bark  and  wood  is  in  greatest  activity 
organizing  new  cells.  The  "pulp,"  as  gard- 
ners  call  this  cambium,  must  be  present  be- 
tween the  bark  and  wood  of  the  stock,  >so  that 
the  bark  can  be  easily  separated  for  the 
insertion  of  the  bud.  It  buds  of  the  previous 
year  are  to  be  worked,  the  scions  should  be 
kept  dormant  till  the  young  leaves  of  spring 


indicate  that  the  bark  will  slip.  If  buds  of 
the  current  year  are  u.sed  they  should  be  well 
developed  ;  and  this  perfection  may  be  ac- 
celerated by  cutting  off  the  tips  of  the  shoots 
from  which  they  are  to  be  taken.  As  soon  as 
the  scion  is  separated  from  the  tree  the  blade 
of  every  leaf  should  be  removed,  so  that  its 
evaporalion  may  i;iot  injure  the  vitality  of  the 
bud.  If  dormant  buds'  have  been  used  in 
spring  the  stocks  should  Ibe  cut  away  above 
them  as  soon  as  they  begin  to  swell,  and  the 
shoots  from  the  stock  below  rubbed  oil.  If 
buds  of  the  current  year  have  been  successful, 
then  the  removal  of  the  stocks  should  be  de- 
ferred to  the  next  spring.  With  a  vigorous 
stock,  a  bud,  like  a  graft,  should  make  a 
handsome  tree  the  first  season.— TAc  Weekly 
Press. 

POULTRY   FARMING. 

The  cost  of  adequate  fencing  still'  strikes 
me  as  one  of  the  main  diflicuities  of  the  poult- 
ry business.  The  easiest  put-up  fence  is  wire 
netting  fixed  to  [losts  or  stakes  at  proper  inter- 
vals, and,  all  things  considered,  it  is,|perhaps, 
as  cheap  as  any  unless  exception  be  made  in 
favor  of  tarred  twine  netting,  but  that  is  not 
so  durable.  Employing  2j  inch  meshed  wire 
netting,  size  eighteen  for  the  bottom  width, 
and  3|  inch  mesh  and  number  nineteen  guage 
for  the  top  width,  a  yard  wide  and  buying  in 
quantities,  the  cost  of  netting,  six  feet  high, 
with  a  wire  to  run  through  and  stiflen  the  top, 
will  be  about  fifteen  to  eighteen  cents  per 
linear  yard  without  the  stakes  and  building. 
After  allowing  for  this,  it  will  bring  the  cost 
of  each  run,  allowing  one  side  for  each  plot, 
to  $.5,  and  the  fencing  in  the  hedges  for  the 
permanent  lines  will  cost  an  additional  $3  for 
each  plot. 

But  in  my  opinion  the  netting  alone  will  not 
best  answer  the  purpose.  There  would  be 
some  fighting  through  it;  it  affords  no  shelter; 
and  bad  habits  would  be  communicated. 
Birds  kept  as  they  must  be  kept  in  such  yards 
are  observant  and  ready  to  adopt  vices  very 
quickly.  If  the  hens  in  one  yard  take  to  egg- 
eating  or  feather  plucking,  the  vice  will  be 
learned  by  hens  in  adjoining  yards  when  there 
is  no  obstruction  to  sight.  To  separate  differ- 
ent flocks  from  sight  of  each  other,  even  par- 
tially, is  of  some  importance,  and  this  entails 
increased  expense.  Stakes  or  posts  of  suf- 
ficient size  and  height  may  be  set  in  the 
ground  at  proper  intervals  and  then  nine-inch 
thin  boards  attached  for  'the  bottom  of  the 
fence,  and  a  width  of  netting  stretched  on 
top  will  make  a  fence  that  will  overcome  all 
the  difficulty,  but  it  increases  the  expense  to 
double,  or  nearly  double  that  of  the  netting 
alone.  But  it  is  a  great  deal  better  fence  for 
the  partition.  It  is  to  be  made  in  sections  so 
as  to  be  easily  removed  from  one  side  of  tlie 
house  to  the  other,  as  needed.  We  must 
therefore  incur  an  expense  of  SI 3  for  the 
fencing  of  each  yard,  or  at  the  rate  of  fifty 
cents  a  head.  This  will  cover  the  whole  ex- 
pense for  fencing,  if  a  man  falls  in  with  a 
streak  of  more  than  ordinary  good  luck.  But 
it  would  perhaps  be  safer  to  make  estimates  on 
$15  per  fenced  plot,  and  the  whole  fencing  and 
building  per  acre  will  reach  a  cost  of  at  least 
S7.5. 

It  will  be  objected  that  the  expense  and 
time  requured  are  too  great  before  the  farm 


could  be  i)ut  into  successful  operation,  but 
lapse  of  time  in  arrangements  and  investment 
of  capital  is  a  part  of  all  successful  business. 
I  cannot  see  why  people  should  demand  a 
.system  of  poultry  farming  that  is  capable  of 
siiringing  into  existence  all  at  once.  Ko  other 
kind  of  farming  or  of  fencing  ever  did  spring 
into  existence  in  that  way.  The  ordinary 
farmer  finds  to  his  hand  buildings  and  fences 
and  arrangements  which  have  been  the  growth 
of  years,  I  might  almost  .say  of  centuries.  It 
is  unreasonable  to  expect  that  land  is  to  be 
made  equally  adapted  for  an  entirely  new  pur- 
suit without  time  and  expense  and  labor,  and 
if  I  point  out,  therefore,  the  kind  of  fence."* 
and  other  arrangements  adapted  to  the  end 
in  view  it  is  no  kind  of  answer  to  say  these 
things  take  too  much  time  and  money. 
These  are  only  some  of  the  diflriculties  of  the 
undertaking,  and  are  a  very  good  rea.son  why 
no  one  should  embark  lightly  in  such  an 
enteriirise,  but  go  gradually  to  work,  feeling 
his  waj-  as  he  goes. 

Thus  the  planning  and  the  fencing  of  a 
poultry  farm  ab.iorbs  relatively  the  largest 
amount  of  cai>ital.  If  any  man  can  present  a 
system  that  will  work  permanently  without 
this  preliminary  labor  and  investment  of  capi- 
tal he  will  have  a  large  audience  ready  to  hear 
him.  My  own  experience  of  fowls  is  against 
all  and  any  seductive  theories  of  cheapest  in- 
stantaneous arrangements  in  poultry  farming, 
and  I  believe  any  one  who  tries  to  force  suc- 
cess on  that  basis  will  come  to  grief.  Granite 
can  be  boiled  as  easily  as  water  if  you  will 
take  the  necessary  stejis  in  oiganizing  your 
boiler— but  not  otherwise.— i>r.  A.  M.  Dickie, 
Doylestown,  Pa. 

^^ 

POULTRY  ABUNDANT,  BUT   DEAR. 

Since  the  year  1,  or  the  days  of  Peter,  the 
raising  of  poultry  has  been  a  certain  guage  of 
civilization.  The  wild  Indian  keeps  no  fowls; 
but,  as  man  advances  from  the  savage  state 
he  gathers  the  feathered  tribe  around  him, 
becau.se  they  make  .some  of  the  richest  delica- 
cies of  his  table,  as  well  as  the  softest  down 
for  his  couch.  Although  poultry  is  raised  in 
large  quantities  in  this  region,  it  is  very  dear. 
In  price  in  stands  alongside  of  beef,  mutton 
and  pork,  all  of  which  are  about  double 
Americiui  prices.  A  pair  of  chickens  costs 
about  $2,  and  they  are  not  very  large  at  that. 
Of  course  the  common  day-laborer  earning 
not  more  than  thirty  sous  per  day,  cannot 
often  indulge  in  such  luxury,  or  the  mechanic 
either,  who  earns  but  five  francs  a  day.  Hut 
as  poultry  is  always  abundant  in  market, 
somebody  eats  a  great  deal  of  it.  Of  the 
various  kinds,  chickens  are  kept  in  the  great- 
est numbers.  Like  the  farm  slock  they  are  a 
great  deal  mixed  ;  but  mostly  dark-colored  or 
black.  The  Black  Spanish  are  the  most  com- 
mon, and  like  cats  an<l  dogs,  are  kept  more  or 
less  all  over  the  city,  hence  you  may  hear  the 
crow  of  (.."lianliclecr  in  almost  any  direction  in 
the  morning,  but  it  is  not  loud  like  his 
Shagghai  relations  in  America.  It  is  almost 
as  different  as  the  little  car  whistle  here  and  the 
big  one  at  home.  Chickens  are  outlawed  in 
town  and  country — they  must  keep  in  bounds, 
or  their  heads  will  come  oil  before  their  lime. 
In  the  couuti-.y — there  is  plenty  of  good  pas- 
ture for  them  so  that  they  cannot  help  but 
thrive  ;  as  wc  have  before  remarked,  every 


76 


THE  LANCASTER   FARMER. 


[May, 


spot  of  ground  whicli  has  not  been  recently 
harvested  or  plowed  is  green  as  grass  can 
make  it.  We  hear  of  no  serious  diseases. 
— Philadelphia  Wiehh/  Press. 

■ ^ 

NOTES  ON  FRENCH  AGRICULTURE. 

Nitrogen,  the  most  valuable  and  costly  ele- 
ment of  bone  manure,  occurs  largely  in  an 
insoluble  form,  and  may  remain.  All  culti- 
vated soils  contain  large  quantities  of  it,  so 
that  in  soluble  form  there  would  be  suffieient 
for  large  crops  for  hundreds  of  years. 

Many  farmers,  however,  are  not  aware  of 
the  existing  facts.  Experiments  by  Messrs. 
Laws  and  Gilbert  will  enlighten  them.  In 
raising  barley  on  the  same  ground  during 
nineteen  years  in  succession  they  found  that 
as  much  barley  was  obtained  by  applying  chem- 
ical fertilizers  containing  forty-one  pounds  of 
nitrogen  in  ammonical  salts,  which  were 
readily  soluble,  as  from  applying  bone  manure 
containing  200  pounds  of  nitrogen.  In  otlier 
words,  the  nitrogen  in  soluble  salts,  which 
were  available  for  plants,  proved  nearly  five 
times  as  effectual  as  nitrogen  in  bone  manure. 
If  the  latter  could  be  as  readily  soluble  as  the 
nitrogen  in  ammonical  salts  four  times  the  im- 
mediate effect  usual  would  be  obtained  from 
it.  Here  is  a  chance  for  the  young  farmer 
with  a  "large  intellect." 

What  can  be  done  to  render  the  fertilizing 
elements  of  barn  manure  more  soluble  and 
available  for  tlie  use  of  plants?  Dr.  Lawes, 
who  has  given  the  subject  much  attention, 
after  what  he  calls  a  "scientific  prelude," 
says:  "I|am  bound  to  confess  that  I  am  just  as 
helpless  in  regard  to  the  management  or  im- 
provement of  dung  as  the  most  old  fashioned 
farmer."  This  is  certainly  not  very  encourag 
ing.  Prof.  S.C.Caldwell,  of  Cornell  University, 
in  commenting  upon  some  of  the  results  of  ex- 
periments by  Messrs.  Lawes  and  Gilbert,  in 
wliicb  the  crops  obtained  contained  only  a 
part  of  the  nitrogen  contained  in  the  barn 
manure,  says :  "These  considerations  teach 
us  to  convert  the  nitrogen  of  stable  manure, 
as  far  as  possible,  into  more  assimilable  forms 
by  judicious  rotting  before  putting  it  in  the 
soil;  since  the  proportion  immediately  recov- 
ered is  so  much  larger,  the  more  soluble  the 
nitrogen  with  which  the  plant  is  fed."  Much 
may  be  done  by  allowing  it  to  ferment  and 
decompose.  The  process,  however,  must  be 
conducted  with  care  or  the  ammonia  formed 
will  escape.  If  horse  manure  is  allowed  to 
ferment  in  a  heap  loosely  tlirown  together,  as 
is  usually  the  case  around  stables,  it  becomes 
dry  and  ammonia  escapes  freely.  By  making 
the  heap  more  compact,  as  may  easily  be  done 
by  allowing  pigs  access  to  it,  and  keeping  it 
moist,  very  little  ammonia  will  be  lost.  Water 
has  so  strong  an  athiiiiy  for  it  that  a  gallon  of 
ice-cold  water,  it  is  said,  will  absorb  1,1.50 
gallons  of  ammonia  gas.  By  keeping  the 
heap  well  moistened  very  little  ammonia, 
will  escape.  According  to  Dr.  Voelcker 
ulmic,  huraic,  cranic  and  approcranic 
acids  are  produced  during  fermentation, 
and  these  uniting  with  the  ammonia  form 
salts  which  are  retained  in  the  heap,  and  pre- 
serve the  ammonia  in  a  form  easily  available 
for  the  use  of  plants.  Pigs  aid  in  this  work, 
and  the  occasional  addition  of  soil  or  muck 
will  serve  as  another  precaution  against  loss. 
Earth  and  muck  readily  absorb  ammonia  and 


tenanaciously  retain  it.  If  by  decomposition 
half  the  nitrogen  in  barn  manure  could  be 
made  immediately  as  available  for  plants  as 
the  nitrogen  in  ammonical  salts  twice  the 
eflect  would  be  obtained  from  it  that  Lawes 
and  Gilbert  obtained  in  their  experiments  in 
barley  raising.— Henr)/  Reynolds,  M.  J).,  Au- 
hurn,  Maine. 


Our  Local  Organizations. 


LANCASTER     COUNTY      AGRICULTU- 
RAL  AND   HORTICULTURAL 
SOCIETY. 

Tlie,  Lancaster  County  Agricultural  Society  met 
statetlly  Monday  afternoon,  May  1st. 

The  following  members  were  present:  J.  F.  Wit 
raer,  Paradise;  W.  L.  Herslicy,  Chickies;  Daniel 
Smeyeh,  city;  John  C  Linville,  Sadsbury;  Peter  H. 
Hershey,  city;  F.  R.  Diffenderffer,  city;  J.  M.  John- 
ston, city;  John  Monk,;Chickie6;  Levi  S.  Keist,  Man- 
heim;  S.  P.  Eby,  city;  Harry  G.  Resb,  West  Wil- 
low; Mr.  Haws,  New  England. 

Mr.  John  Monk,  of  West  Hempfleld,  was  nomi 
nated  and  elected  to  membership. 

S.  P.  Eby,  as  chairman  of  a  special  committee  on 
the  laws  relating  to  fencing  lands,  reported  progress 
and  asked  to  be  continued. 

Crop  Reports. 

H.  .M.  Engle  said  the  wheat  crop  prospects  are 
good.  Along  the  river  some  fields  are  exceedingly 
fine.  Clover  has  suffered.  The  lookout  is  not 
favorable  to  a  heavy  hay  crop.  The  fruit  prospect 
very  good.  The  peach  bloom  is  profuse  ;  so  is  that 
of  pears  and  plums.  Potatoes  are  just  coming  out 
of  the  ground.  Rain  fall  for  February  was  3  14-16 
inches;  for  March,  3  2-16,  and  for  April  2  14-lli 
incbes, 

L.  S.  Reist  said  the  wheat  and  fruit  crops  are 
good,  but  clover  was  never  poorer.  Some  fields 
have  almost  none. 

P.  H.  Hershey  remarked  the  singular  fact  that  the 
best  lands  seem  to  have  the  poorest  clover.  Why 
this  was  so  he  could  not  understand.  He  wished  to 
know  why  this  was  so. 

J.  C.  Liiiville  also  remarked  the  fact  mentioned  by 
the  former  speaker.  The  best  clover  on  his  farm 
to  day  is  on  flinty  and  stiff  clay  ground,  which  is 
contrary  to  the  usual  experience.  He  has  noticed 
some  wheat  is  far  better  than  the  rest. 

S.  P.  Eby  has  also  observed  that  clover  is  very 
poor.  A  promising  field  of  bis  own  is  frozen  out 
completely. 

John  G.  Resh  noticed  that  the  poorest  lands  this 
year  have  the  best  clover,  something  that  is  unac- 
countablb. 

H.  .M.  Engle  has  been  accustomed  to  sow  rye  for 
green  food  for  his  cattle.  It  makes  rough  hay,  but 
it  comes  early  as  green  food,  and  he  has  been  feed- 
ing it  for  several  weeks  already  this  season.  The 
clover  sown  this  spring  got  an  excellent  start,  and  if 
the  season  is  favorable  we  ought  to  have  a  good  hay 
crop  next  spring;  but  we  have  had  poor  hay  crops 
for  a  number  of  years,  as  all  know.  He  believed 
during  dry  seasons  much  hurt  is  done  to  the  young 
clover.  It  is  pastured  closely  when  the  ground  is 
dry  and  hard,  and  the  life  is  tramped  out  of  it  by  the 
cattle  which  are  kept  on  it  long  after  they  should  be 
taken  off. 

Jos.  S.  Witmer  reported   a  good  wheat   crop,  but 
'the   grass  was   rather  poor.     A  little   corn   has  been 
planted.     There   is  still    a  good  deal   of  tobacco   on 
hand.     Young  plants  are  coming  along  rapidly. 
Growing  Corn. 

H.  M.  Engle  thought  growing  a  good  crop  of  corn 
depended  on  many  things:  good  land,  properly  pre 
pared;  good  seed,  and  careful  after  cultivation.  A  j 
two-year  old  sod  he  thought  best  for  corn.  Don't 
plant  too  early  nor  too  deep.  The  longer  corn  re- 
quires to  come  up  the  weaker  the  plant.  When  it 
comes  up  rapidly  it  grows  much  faster;  from  half 
an  inch  to  an  inch  is  deep  enough  to  plant.    The 


largest  average  crops  are  grown  in  hills  while  the 
largest  yields  have  been  taken  from  drilled  fields. 
When  checkered  it  receives  more  attention.  Culti- 
vate shallow.  Remove  the  suckers  early;  when  left 
they  draw  the  vitality  of  the  ear  plants. 

S.  P.  Eby  gave  an  instance  of  a  farm  on  which  at 
one  time  no  corn  could  be  grown.  Gradually  the 
land  was  brought  to  a  good  condition  and  fine  crops 
were  grown.  Much  trouble  was  experienced  from 
crows.  The  seed  was  then  soaked  in  tar  water, 
which  put  an  end  to  this  trouble,  and  also  brought 
the  plants  along  faeter. 

John  G.  Resh  did  not  think  our  farmers  should 
make  the  corn  crop  a  specialty.  The  West  can 
grow  it  cheaper  than  we  can.  We  cannot  aflord, 
therefore,  to  give  so  much  time  and  attentiou  to 
corn. 

P.  H.  Hershey  thought  our  corn  crop  a  very  im- 
portant one.  Thorough  culture  is  an  important 
point.  Don't  plant  too  deep,  and  begin  working  the 
moment  the  corn  is  up.  Tou  can't  work  your  corn 
land  too  much.  The  best  crop  of  corn  he  ever  grew 
was  in  a  rather  dry  season ;  he  worked  it  eight 
times;  it  never  stopped  growing  and  gave  75  bushels 
to  the  acre. 

Mr.  Monk  asked  whether  any  one  had  experience 
with  Chester  county  Mammoth  corn. 

Jos.  F.  Witmer  bad  had  some  experience.  He  did 
not  like  it  and  will  not  plant  it  any  more. 

H.  M.  Engle  never  plants  corn  dry.  He  soaks  it 
until  it  shows  signs  of  sprouting.  If  planted  dry  in 
dry  weather,  it  lies  there  weeks  in  a  dry  season  with- 
out coming  up.  He  never  plants  corn  without  put- 
ting on  coal  tar.  A  very  small  quantity  is  enough. 
Put  a  little  plaster  over  it;  after  it  has  been  thus 
treated  it  can  be  easily  hamlled.  Birds  will  never 
touch  corn  treated  in  this  way.  He  has  no  fear  of 
crows.  The  lands  along  the  river  are  very  well 
adapted  to  corn,  and  when  a  two  year  sod  is  plowed 
under  no  manure  is  required  A  good  crop  is  nearly 
always  to  be  relied  on.  Failures  are  uncommon  in 
that  vicinity.  Large  corn  is  not  so  good  for  I'odder. 
Small  corn  is  better  and  cures  belter,  being  easier  to 
handle  besides.  He  also  alluded  to  a  disease,  like 
the  yellows  in  peaches,  that  sometimes  come  upon 
the  corn.  It  is  caused  by  a  minute  aphis  that  operates 
on  the  roots,  and  he  did  not  know  of  any  remedy 
against  its  ravages. 

Commercial   Fertilizers. 

H.  M.  Engle  believed  not  only  commercial  fertili- 
zers, but  fertilizers  of  aluiost  every  kind,  are  valu- 
able when  applied  to  the  potato  crop.  Anything 
that  contains  potash  will  benefit  potatoes.  Even 
ashes  from  anthracite  coal  are  serviceable.  Potash, 
nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  are  the  three  great 
fertilizers.  Nitrogen  is  not  so  useful  as  the  other 
two  for  potatoes.  It  will  pay,  however,  to  apply 
some  of  the  high-priced  manures  to  the  potato  crop. 
Nothing  but  experiment  will  tell  the  farmer  what 
kind  of  manure  his  fields  need.  Every  farmer  must 
find  out  what  is  best  adapted  to  his  lands. 

J.  C.  Linville  said  some  writers  hold  commercial 
fertilizers  are  somewhat  uncertain  when  applied  to 
the  potato  erop.  Fertilizers  that  combine  the  three 
articles  above  mentioned  are  the  best  with  which  to 
grow  potatoes.  Nothing  is  better  for  all  purposes 
than  well-rotted  barnyard  manure,  which  contains 
all  three  of  them. 

Mr.  Engle  asked  why  we  should  buy  potash  when 
onr  soil  may  already  have  plenty  of  it — more  than 
will  be  used  in  a  generation. 

How  Should  Lime  be  Applied  ? 

John  C.  Linville  thought  we  should  keep  it  ou  the 
surface,  but  only  under  certain  conditions.  His 
practice  is  to  apply  it  to  stubble.  Lime  works  down 
into  the  soil.  Surface  application  of  lime  is  desir- 
able because  it  at  once  absorbs  carbonic  acid,  which 
is  valuable  to  the  soil.  If  plowed  under  this  process 
does  not  take  place.  If  lime  is  to  be  applied  he  be- 
lieved it  should  be  done  during  warm  fall  weather 
and  on  the  surface  only. 

H.  M.  Engle  believed  the  best  results  are  when 
applied  in  a  fine  mealy  condition  to  dry  soil,  and 
left  on  the  surface. 


1882,] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


77 


J.  G.  liueli  tliouKlit  tlicie  was  as  much  in  the 
mode  of  liming  as  in  the  lime  ilself.  He  did  not 
belii-ve  in  placina;  it  in  larije  lieaps.  He  slacks  his 
lime  at  the  very  time  he  places  it  ou  the  land.  Lime 
must  come  into  cnntacl  with  the  veset'iblc  matter, 
and  the  liner  it  is  the  lielter  tliia  result  Is  accom- 
plished. 

The   Poetry  of  Agriculture. 

Mr.  Haws,  from  New  England,  was  intriKUiced, 
who  delivered  a  very  llowery  address  on  the  consti- 
tution of  the  earth,  the  beauties  of  vecelation  and 
the  part  the  atmosphere  plays  in  producing  crops 
He  covered  a  great  deal  of  ground  in  the  course  of 
his  remarks,  and  was  listened  to  with  attention  from 
the  beginning  to  the  close. 

Questions  for  Discussion. 

At  what  period  of  growth  should  grass  be  cut  to 
make  the  best  hay  1    Referred  to  Casper  Hiller. 

How  can  the  best  results  be  obtained  from  barn 
yard  manure?     llelerred  to  M.  U.  Kendig. 

At  what  staL'C  of  ripeness  is  it  best  to  cut  wheat? 
Kelerred  to  11.  M.  Engle. 

J.  C.  Linville  was  appointed  essayists  for  the  next 
meeting. 

There  being  no  further  business,  the  society  ad- 
journed. 


THE  POULTRY  SOCIETY. 

The  Lancaster  County  Poultry  Association  met  in 
their  rooms  Monday  morning.  May  1. 

The  following  members  were  present:  J.  B.  Liehty, 
Charles  Lippold,  W.  W.  Griest,  Charles  E.  Lonus 
John  A.  Sebum,  J.  .M.  Johnston, Dr.  Witmer,  Neffs- 
ville;  F.  K.  Ditfendertfcr,  city;  Isaac  H.  Brooks, 
Marticville. 

The  minutes  of  the  previous  meeting  were  read 
and  approved. 

Miscellaneous  Business. 
The  resignation  of  T.  Frank  Evans,  offered  at  the 
last   meeting,   was   called    up,   and,  on    motion,  ac- 
cepted. 

John  A.  Sebum  was  nominated  to  the  position 
occupied  by  Mr.  Evans.  Under  the  rules,  action  on 
the  nomination  was  deferred  until  next  meeting. 

Samuel  Brubaker,  of  Neflsville,  and  Lawrence 
Knapp,  of  Lancaster,  were  nominated  to  member- 
ship and  elected. 

On  motion  the  Secretary  was  instructed  to  inform 
all  the  members  of  the  time  of  meeting  hereafter  by 
postal  card. 

Strains  in  Poultry  Breeding. 
The  Secretary  read  the  following  essay,  written  by 
T.   F.   McGrew,  jr.,  of    Ohio,    for  the   society,   by 
special  request.     It  was  as  follows  : 

To  write  an  essay  on  fowls  to  be  read  by  a  stranger 
to  a  number  ol  men  of  whom  1  have  no  knowledge, 
is  to  me  a  very  hard  task.  Should  I  be  able  to  please 
you  lor  the  time  being,  and  also  furnish  a  few  points 
of  sucli  worth  that  a  few  will  gain  just  a  little  l>ene 
at  from  them,  my  reward  will  be  gained. 

You  may  all  be  better  informed  than  myself  that 
about  lb.5U,  or  a  little  later,  what  is  called  the  hen 
fever  had  lis  start  in  this  country.  About  that  time 
the  Sliantrhai  fowls  were  impfirted  into  this  country, 
and  from  them,  or  others  like  them,  our  Cochins 
and  Brahmas  have  been  bred.  Twenty-live  years 
ago  but  little  in  erest  was  taken  in  the  breeding  of 
line  lowls  in  this  country,  but  to-day  thousands  all 
over  the  h'ud  are  paying  close  attention  to  their 
culture.  American  breeders  after  some  tweuty-tive 
years  of  close  attention  have  lo  their  credit  the  pro- 
duction one  of  the  very  best  ibwls  now  known,  viz., 
the  highly  prized  I'lymonlh  Kock. 

Hut  all  tlioughtlui  breeders  are  satisfied  with  this 
venture  at  a  cross  breed  tbwl,  and  have  no  desire  to 
try  any  more  such  experiments,  as  long  as  there  is 
so  much  room  to  improve  what  we  now  have. 

The  furor  lor  new  breeds  has  taken  a  very  strong 
hold  on  lanciers,  ami  it  is  to  be  feared  will  not  do  us 
any  (;ood  in  the  long  run  ;  panluu  me,  if  I  am  in- 
truding on  any  of  your  piet  themes,  but  to  me,  it 
looks  very  mitch  as  if  we,  as  breeders,  should  try  to 
improve  what  we  now  have  on  hand,  lor,  after 
twenty  five  years  of  hard  labor  and  close  attention, 
the  Light  Brahmas,  the  so-called  *'  kings  of  the 
poultry  fancy,"  arc  very  far  from  perfection.  Why 
shfiuld  we  turn  aside  for  new  breeds  while  there  is 
so  much  to  be  done  yet  for  those  we  have  had  with 
us  so  long. 

The  great  desire  to  makea  few  paltry  dollars  from 
the  laucy  is  doing  the  interest  more  harm  than  any 
other  one  feature  we  have  to  couleud  with. 


The  term  "strain,"  as  used  by  us.  Is  very  much 
abused,  and  to  this  point  U-t  ns  turn  our  attention. 

Because  a  breeder  has  for  three  or  four  years  bred 
a  certain  kind  of  fowl  does  not  give  him  the  right  to 
claim  it  as  his  strain;  bu'  to  put  forth  a  strain,  the 
certain  prominent  features  of  tlie  birds  he  breeils 
must  be  so  eslalilished  in  them  that  their  tine  quail 
ties  wHl  vindicate  thenjselves  on  any  stock  with 
which  they  may  he  crossed. 

To  illustrate  this  let  nu-  give  you  the  groundwork 
of  the  L'old  dust  strain  of  Bulf  Coelilns,  not  for 
aggrandizen.ent,  liut  because  of  the  knowledge  ol 
their  orii;in. 

Sixteen  years  ago  next  October  I  was  first  taken 
with  BuB'  Cochin  fowls,  and  kept  the  best  I  could 
get  at  that  time.  These  birds  were  loaned  to  an  in- 
veterate exhibitor  at  State  and  county  fairs,  who 
won  with  them  for  years. 

Up  to  l'*70  they  were  considered  by  me  about  per- 
fect ;  at  this  time  a  trip  was  made  to  the  East,  and 
the  yards  about  New  York  and  I'hiladelphia  visited, 
and  slock  much  lietter  procured;  the  cross  with 
these  fowls  proved  the  point  above  mentioned.  The 
birds  spoken  of  as  purchased  were  of  a  true  strain 
and  stampeil  their  good  qualities  so  plainly  on  their 
pro!;eny  that  1  was  convinced  a  strain  must  be  es- 
tablished, and  to  that  end  set  to  work. 

Alter  some  seven  years  close  attention  it  now  ap- 
pears that  the  start  of  such  a  strain  has  been  accom- 
plished. 

The  aim  li!>s  been  to  eclipse  the  standard  and  the 
only  reward  hoped  for  is  the  accomplishment  of  the 
feat. 

The  start  was  made  with  the  best  birds  to  be  had 
from  my  old  stock.  To  these  have  been  added, from 
lime  to  time,  the  best  birds  to  be  had,  always  using 
new  male  blood  on  the  best  females  in  hand.  By  so 
doing  the  points  gained  were  retained  in  the  oll'epring 
as  strongly  as  possible.  The  only  kind  of  blood  al- 
lowed in  the  yards  has  been  that  which  was  known 
to  be  of  English  pure  bred  strains. 

At  times  wrong  crosses  have  been  made  and  all  the 
young  have  come  out  a  head  shorter,  until  now  not  a 
bird  is  in  the  yards  except  those  which  are  from  % 
to  J„  full  English  blood. 

To  these  have  been  added  the  whole  of  Mr.  Doolit- 
tle's  stock,  and  from  them  only  the  very  best  have 
been  retained  ;  these  crossed  with  my  own  should  in 
a  few  years  establish  what  can  be  called  the  ground- 
work of  a  true  strain.  This  is  my  notion  of  what  can 
he  called  a  "true  strain,"  not  a  new  breed  of  a  few 
years'  breeding,  that  cannot  be  counted  on  to  even 
breed  like  themselves. 

Long  years  of  close  attention  is  the  only  way  to 
establish  a  strain,  and  It  is  to  be  hoped  the  breeders 
of  this  country  will  soon  drop  chance  work  and  set- 
tle down  to  establishing  true  breeding  strains  of  the 
many  fine  varieties  we  now  have. 

Tlie  establishing  of  a  society  like  yours  must  be  a 
great  benefit  to  you  as  breeders,  and  I  will  venture 
to  mention  lor  your  consideration  a  plan  that,  in  my 
opinion  will  be  both  a  pleasure  and  profit  to  you  all. 
Let  each  meeting  day  be  set  apart  for  some  breed, 
and  have  the  specimens  of  this  variety  brought  to 
your  rooms,  and  let  each  man  present  take  a  score 
card  and  score  birds  as  per  his  judgment  ;  after 
which,  compare  the  cards,  and  let  the  different  scores 
be  your  subject  of  discussion. 

This  will  be  the  most  profitable  way  you  can,  in 
my  opinion,  spend  an  hour  or  two  each  month.  In  a 
short  time  the  very  best  judges  among  you  will  place 
themselves  prominently  before  you,  and  witliout 
doubt  some  will  spring  up  who  will  make  themselves 
the  equals  of  Pierce  or  Ball. 

The  aim  all  breeders  should  be,  first,  to  breed  the 
very  best  stock  he  can,  and  not  to  be  content  with 
medium,  but  to  try  and  be  the  very  first  in  his  class. 
Should  this  he  his  aim,  and  full  force  and  determina- 
tion put  to  the  work,  he  who  wins  over  him  will 
have  so  close  a  shave  that  the  honors  will  be  about 
even,  and  his  elTorls  should  be  doubled  the  next  year 
or  until  he  does  reach  the  point ;  second,  do  all  you 
can  for  each  other,  without  fear  of  doing  yourself  an 
injury,  f'^r  it  should  be  the  public  we  wish  to  beoeflt, 
and  not  ourselves  entirely. 

Trusting  these  disconnected  lines  may  have  proved 

of  momentary  interest  to  some   of  you,   I    will  wish 

you  all  a  prosperous   season,  and    say  "Good-day." 

On  motion,  the  thanks  of  the  society  were  tendered 

to  Mr.  McGrew  for  his  essay. 

On  motion,  the  society  adjourned. 


FULTON   FARMERS'  CLUB. 

The  April  meeting  of  the  club  was  held  at  the 
residence  of  Lindley  King,  in  Fulton  township. 
Members  present:  Moutillion  Brown,  E.  H.  Haines. 
Joseph  R.  Blackburn,  Joseph  P.  Griest,  Josiah 
Brown,  Grace  A.  King  and  Solomon  L.  Gregg. 
There  were  also  quite  a  number  of  visitors  in  atten- 
dance. 

In  the  absence  of  the  President,  Joseph  R.  Black- 
burn was  elected  President  pro  tem. 

Grace  A.  King  exhibited  some  very  fineTewksbury 
Winter  Blush  apples. 


Jesse  Yocum,  a  visitor,  exhibited  White  Russian 
Oats  and  Hominy  Corn. 

Asking  and  Answering  Questions. 
.loslah  Brown:  Which   method  will  raise  the  most 
corn  to  the  acre,  planting  in  the  hill  or  drilling? 

This  question  created  ([ulte  an  animated  discussion. 
Nearly  all  present,  both  members  and  visitors,  were 
of  the  opinion  that  drilling  was  preferable  to  plant- 
ing In  the  hill,  not  only  because  more  corn  could  be 
raised  In  that  way,  but  also  because  It  would  allow 
working  nearer  to  It,  and  it  was  not  so  liable  to  be 
taken  up  by  birds. 

James  Smedley,  a  visitor,  asked  If  It  made  any 
ditlerence  which  way  the  corn  rows  were  run — north 
and  south,  or  east  and  west? 

Alvan  King  had  noticed  on  his  way  lo  Lancaster 
rows  that  had  been  taken  strai:;hl  np  and  ilowu  a 
hill  in  order  to  have  them  run  lo  north  and  south, 
and  the  consequence  was  llie  corn  had  lieen  washed 
out.  The  waier  in  time  of  rain  had  followed  the 
rows.  Some  others  present  hail  seen  the  same  cirect 
when  the  rows  were  up  and  down  hill.  The  general 
opinion  was  tliat  it  wouhl  be  belter  to  run  the  rows 
to  suit  the  grade  of  the  ground  than  to  run  to  the 
points  of  the  compass. 

.Vtonlillion  Brown  asked  how  lima  beans  should  be 
planted  anil  cared  for. 

The  only  answer  to  this  question  was  to  plant  In 
rows  four  feel  apart,  the  hills  about  three  feet  apart 
in  the  row,  three  beans  In  the  hill.  The  poles  should 
be  put  up  when  the  beans  were  planted.  Work  with 
horse  like  corn. 

Jesse  Yocum  asked  if  any  one  present  had  been 
troubled  with  the  bean  weevil. 

Quite  a  number  had  had  their  beans  destroyed 
with  it. 

James  Smedley  said  that  his  wife  last  fall  had 
heated  a  part  of  their  beans,  but  not  hot  enough  to 
destroy  the  germ.  The  beans  so  treated  had  not 
been  disturbed.  Those  that  had  not  been  heated 
were  destroyed. 

Inspecting  the  Host's  Premises. 
After  dinner  the  club  made  the  usual  inspection  of 
the  farm  and  buildings,  and  auain  convened  in  the 
house,  when  some  very  complifnentary  criticisms 
were  given  in  regard  to  their  management.  One 
memlier  remarked  tnat  the  bachelors  of  the  neigh- 
borhood could  show  the  neatest  farms.  (The  boat 
is  a  bachelor.) 

Papers  Read. 
An  excellent  article  on  "Agriculture"  was  read 
by  Emma  King.  Mabel  A'.  Haines  gave  a  recitation. 
Montilliou  Brown  read  an  orieinal  essay  on  the 
"Origin  and  Proi^ress  of  the  Fulton  Farmers'  Club." 
Twelve  years  ago  a  few  farmers  met  in  the  parlor 
of  William  Brown,  in  Fulton  township,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  forming  a  farmers' club,  anil,  although  the 
prospect  looked  rather  gloomy,  a  few  of  the  number 
agreed  to  try  the  experiment.  Since  then  the  club 
has  kept  up  regular  meetings,  and  during  the  whole 
time  there  had  never  been  manifested  any  desire  for 
leadership  among  its  members,  but  perfect  harmony 
has  prevailed  throughout.  There  appeared  to  be  a 
kindly  feeling  existing  between  all  the  members, 
uniting  them  together  as  a  band  of  brothers  and  sis- 
ters. During  that  time  they  had  held  one  public 
sale,  amounting  to  nearly  one  thousand  di>llars,  and 
two  fairs  or  exhibilions  of  farm  products,  which 
were  Utile,  if  any,  inferior  to  fairs  held  under  the 
auspices  ©f  the  Agricultural  Society  of  this  or  ad- 
joining counties. 

Tile  pic-nie  held  last  summer  at  the  Barren 
Springs  was  quite  an  enjoyable  atl'alr. 

In  all  these  the  public  had  lieen  rnviled  lo  partici- 
pate on  perfect  equality  with  club  members,  and  the 
proceeds  of  the  fairs,  after  paying  the  expenses,  had 
been  divided  among  the  exiiibitors  as  premiums.  He 
paid  a  deserved  tribute  to  the  memory  of  William 
Brown,  the  father  of  the  club. 

How,  lacking  the  advantages  of  a  gooil  education, 
he  often  spent  the  hours  that  his  neighbors  were 
sleeping  over  his  old  Pike's  arithmetic  and  other 
books,  in  order  lo  keep  up  with  the  times.  In  his 
death  the  clul)  had  lost  a  valued  member,  and  the 
community  at  large  a  live  and  progressive  man. 

(We  are  sorry  ihat  Ihe  essay. st  neglected  to  speak 
of  the  virtues  of  his  estimable  wife,  also  deceased, 
who  was  a  help  meet  for  him  in  the  true  sense  of 
the  word.— Uep.) 

John  Gregg,  another  member,  had  also  been  re- 
moved by  death,  and  of  the  original  number,  but  two 
were  now  members  of  the  club,  viz.,  William  King 
and  himself. 

The  question.  Is  it  better  for  the  farmer  to  pursue 
a  mixed  husbandry  or  make  a  specialty  of  some  one 
of  its  branches?  was  next  taken  up  and  discussed  at 
some  length,  the  majority  being  of  the  opinion  that 
it  would  be  better  to  give  particular  attention  to 
some  particular  branch,  as  dairying,  cattle  feeding, 
&.C.,  and  if  Ihfy  lost  money  at  limes  trust  to  the 
future  to  make  it  up,  than  to  try  a  little  of  every- 
thing. 

The  May  meeting  will  be  held  at  the  residence  of 
Montillion  Brown,  in  Fulton  township,  first  Saturday 
in  the  month. 


78 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[  May, 


Agriculture. 


French  Farming 
Every  square  foot  of  fi-round  is  put  to  use,  lias 
been  in  use  lor  unnumbered  e-enerations.  Here  and 
tliere  in  the  distance  ajipear  patciiee  of  wood,  care- 
fully preserved  and  guarded,  but  the  rest  of  the 
land  is  almost  bare  of  shade.  There  is  no  brush  or 
tanirle  of  weed  and  wild  flower  bv  the  roadside,  no 
thicket  by  the  stream.  The  last  of  these  trespassers 
were  eradicated  ages  ago,  alone  with  the  last  stump. 
A  K'ray  stone  wall  bordl'rs  the  hiirhway.  The  cross- 
roads are  often  sunk  two  or  three  feet  below  the 
general  level.  Narrow  ridires  of  earth  ir.ark  the 
boundaries  of  the  fields,  and  the  furrows  are  driven 
so  close  to  them  that  it  is  a  wonder  how  the  plough 
is  turned.  Single  rows  of  poplars  stretch  with  e^-- 
asperating  regularity  across  the  landscape.  They 
are  trimmed  close,  and  sometimes  every  twig  is  re- 
moved except  a  bunch  at  the  extreme  top,  then  they 
look  like  liheity  poles  with  bushes  tied  to  them. 
There  are  willows  by  the  brook,  but  they  are  pollard- 
willows,  kept  for  their  twigs  whieh  are  scrupulously 
cut  ofl',  and  they  lift  their  seaered  and  knotted  trunks 
like  hands  from  which  all  the  fingers  have  baen 
amoutated. 


Sand  Farming. 
What  is  sand?  Writers  differ  so  much  in  thefr 
ideas  of  soils  that  it  is  puzzling  often  to  define  their 
meaning.  Pure  sand  mafeesa  poor  soil,  or  no.soil  at 
all,  on  svhich  to  attempt  to  grow  any  kind  of  crop. 
Our  common,  sandy  soil  contains  more  or  less  clay, 
and  this  it  is  which  gives  them  their  capacitj-  for  be- 
ing improved  or  made  productive.  The  sand  farm- 
ing referred  to  by  Mr.  Loomis  is  on  sandy  loam.  Of 
this  soil  there  are  grades  :  the  lightest  is  a  quick, 
warm  soil,  and  crops  grown  on  such  mature  early, 
while  at  the  same  time  they  partake  of  the  nature 
of  the  soil ;  this  gives  to  melons  and  similar  products 
their  rich,  delicate  flavor.  These  light  and  heavy 
sandy  loam  soils  are  the  best  of  all  our  arable  soils 
in  New  England  for  any  crop  we  produce.  There 
are  considerable  tracts  where,  a  few  years  since,  a 
person  could  buy  any  quantity  for  three  to  ten  dol 
lars  per  acre,  which,  rightly  handled,  are  very  pro- 
ductive of  all  kinds  of  crops  ;  but  they  need  constant 
manuring,  to  which  they  are  very  sensitive,  showino- 
its  efi'ects,  in  the  crops,  quicker  than  heavier  soils. 
Some  of  these  lands  will  now  command  a  price  from 
ten  to  fifty  times  as  high  as  twenty  years  since. 


Crop  Prospects. 

Taking  the  most  receilt  returns  from  the  great 
wheat-growing  States  for  the  basis  of  an  estimate, 
we  are  justified  in  concluding  that  the  wheat  crop  of 
the  present  year  will  exceed  in  quantity  anything 
which  the  country  has  yet  produced,  the  winter 
wheat  is  at  all  points  in  the  best  condition,  and  a 
largely  increased  acreage  is  reported.  Spring  wheat, 
too,  will  be  sowed  over  a  much  larger  number  of 
acres  than  before,  thus  bringing  to  the  market  an 
abundance  which  persons  reputed  to  be  not  over- 
sanguine  on  the  subject  estimate  in  the  gross  at  Ave 
hundred  million  bushels.  It  is  almost  too  enormous 
to  be  conceived  by  the  mind.  The  decidedly  good,  or 
bad,  prospect  of  a  war  in  Europe  adds  wonderfully 
to  the  anticipated  value  of  such  a  crop. 

But  allowing  that  no  such  war  occurs,  and  that 
the  production  of  Europe  itself  is  as  large  as  not  to 
compel  an  extradrdinary  draft  on  this  country,  there 
IB  the  cotton  cropon  which  to  rely  for  keeping  foreign 
exchange  in  our  favor  and  thus  retaining  our  gold  at 
home.  There  is  already  a  large  remaining  surplus 
for  foreign  spinners  from  last  year's  crop,  but  there 
will  be  a  demand  for  all  that  we  shall  ordinarily  have 
to  sell.  But  the  calculation  is,  in  any  event,.  a<;cord- 
ing  to  the  experience  of  past  years,  that  the  cotton 
crop  of  the  coming  season  will  be  the  largest  ever 
yet  produced,  owing  to  the  prolonged  overflow  of  the 
richest  cotton  producing  region  of  the  country.  So 
that,  as  a  nation,  we  have  everything  to  encourage 
and  very  little  to  cloud  our  hopes  for  the  immediate 
future. 


Fence  Posts. 


An  experimental  writeron  this  subject  very  ration- 
ally remarks  : 

"  To  have  a  fence  that  will  last  we  must  have 
good  posts,  for  that  is  the  part  that  gives  out  first  bv 
rotting  off  at  the  surface  of  the  soil.  Then  the  fence 
has  to  come  down,  new  posts  set,  and  the  boards  re- 
placed. Sixteen  years  ago  I  experimented  with 
fences,  and  find  seasoned  oak  posts  oiled  and  then 
tarred  with  boiling  coal  tar  makes  them  last  the 
longest.  I  took  green  posts  that  were  sawed  five 
inches  square  at  one  end  and  two  by  five  inches  at 
the  other,  and  seven  feet  long.  I  tarred  half  as  many 
as  would  build  my  fence,  and  the  other  half  I  put 
in  the  ground  green  with  nothing  done  to  them.  In 
five  years  after  the  tarred  posts  were  nothing  but  a 
shell  under  the  ground,  all  the  inside  being  decayed. 
Some  of  the  other  posts  were  rotted  off,  and  some 
were  about  half  rotten. 

"  Two  years  after  I  built  another  fence  with  sea- 
soned oak  posts,  same  size  as  the  first,  giving  them 


all  a  good  coat  of  oil,  and  in  a  few  days  after  tarred 
them  as  I  did  before  with  coal  tar,  heated  in  a  can 
made  for  the  purpose,  four  feet  deep  and  large 
enough  to  hold  four  posts  set  on  end ;  left  them  in 
the  boiling  tar  about  ten  minutes,  then  took  them 
out  and  sanded  them.  And  now,  after  fourteen 
years,  not  one  in  ten  need  replacing.  I  shall  never 
build  a  fence  for  myself  requiring  posts  without  first 
thoroughly  seasoning,  then  oiling  and  then  tarring 
them.  If  they  are  tarred  when  green  the  tar  does 
not  penetrate  the  wood,  and  in  a  short  time  will  all 
scale  off.  When  the  wood  is  seasoned  the  oil  pene- 
trates the  wood,  and  the  coating  of  coal  tar  keeps 
out  the  moisture,  thereby  preserving  the  wood  from 
decay." 


Hort:cl  -ture. 


Apples  for  Medicine. 

Apples,  in  addition  to  being  a  delicious  fruit, 
make  a  pleasant  medicine.  A  raw,  mellow  apple  is 
digested  in  an  hour  and  a  half,  while  boiled  cabbage 
requires  five  hours.  The  most  healthy  desert  that 
can  be  placed  on  the  table  is  a  baked  apple.  If  eaten 
frequently  at  i.reakfast,  wi:h  coarse  bread  and  butter, 
without  meat  or  flesh  of  any  kind,  it  has  an  admira- 
ble effect  on  the  general  system,  often  removing 
constipation,  correcting  acidities,  and  cooling  off  fe- 
brile conditions  more  effectually  than  the  most  im- 
proved medicines.  If  families  could  be  induced  to 
substitute  apples,  ripe  and  sound,  for  pies,  cakes  and 
sweetmeats,  with  which  their  children  are  frequent- 
ly stuffed,  there  would  be  a  diminution  in  the  total 
sum  of  doctor's  bills  in  a  single  year  sufficient  to  lay 
in  a  stock  of  this  delicious  fruit  for  the  whole  sea- 
son's use. 


Greenhouse  and  Window  Plants. 
The  increasing  sun  will  bring  many  plants  into 
flower,  and  at  the  same  time  encourage  the  insect. 
Free  use  of  tobacco  smoke  or  tobacco  water,  where 
it  is  convenient  to  use  smoke,  will  destroy  many.  A 
small  collection  of  plants,  tended  by  one  really  fond 
of  them,  may  be  kept  free  of  insects  by  mere  "thumb 
and  finger  work."  Daily  examination,  the  use  of  a 
stifflsh  brush,  like  an  old  tooth-brush,  and  a  pointed 
stick  to  pick  off  mealy  bugs  and  scale,  will  keep  in- 
sects from  doing  harm.  Neglect  to  examine  in  time, 
and  nip  the  trouble  in  the  bud,  is  the  cause  of  much 
of  the  difficulty.  More  water  will  be  needed  by  plants 
in  bloom  and  making  their  growth.  Bulbsj  if  any 
remain  in  the  cellar,  may  be  brought  to  the  heat  anil 
light.  When  the  flowers  fade  on  the  earlier  ones, 
cut  away  the  stalk  and  let  the  leaves  grow  on  ;  when 
they  begin  to  fade  dry  oflf  the  bulbs,  which  may  be 
planted  in  the  garden  afterwards. 


Profit   in  Onions. 

More  money  can  be  realized  from  a  given  amount 
of  land  in  onions,  taken  one  season  with  another, 
than  from  any  other  crop  that  can  be  raised.  A 
large  amount  of  hand  labor  is  required,  however,  to 
produce  the  crop,  which  must  be  put  in  very  early. 
The  labor  of  old  persons  and  children  can  be  utilized 
to  good  advantage  in  raising  onions,  as  most  of  the 
work  required  is  light.  Thebest  land  for  onions  is 
black  muck  containing  a  good  deal  of  loam.  The 
manure  should  be  the  most  thoroughly  rotted  part 
from  the  farmyard.  Too  much  manure  cannot  be 
used.  It  should  be  well  mixed  with  the  soil,  say  by 
spreading,  turning  under  and  cross  harrowing.  This 
should  be  done  in  the  fall  to  secure  the  best  results. 
In  the  spring  the  ground  should  be  cultivated  and 
harrowed  till  it  is  fine  as  it  can  be  made.  Then  the 
onion  seed  should  be  drilled  in  rows  fourteen  inches 
apart.  It  will  take  four  or  five  pounds  of  seed  to  the 
acre.  As  good  varieties  as  any  are  yellow  Danvers, 
red  Wethersfield,  and  silver  skin.  The  latter  are 
not  good  keepers,  but  sell  well.  As  soon  as  the 
young  onions  appear  they  should  be  hoed  or  culti- 
vated. The  great  secret  in  growing  onions  is  to  keep 
them  free  from  weeds.  Therefore,  hoe  and  cultivate 
frequently  though  no  weeds  may  at  that  moment  be 
above  the  surface.  When  the  onions  are  ripe  they 
should  be  pulled  and  left  on  the  ground  till  the  tops 
are  dry ;  then  they  are  gathered  up  and  bagged  for 
market. 


Celery  Culture. 

The  demand  for  celery  increases  every  year.  Late- 
ly the  demand  has  been  greater  than  the  supply  in  all 
parts  of  the  country.  The  past  season  was  a  most 
unfavorable  one  for  this  crop.  The  spring  was  cold 
and  wet,  and  the  summer  hot  and  dry.  The  leaves 
were  generally  small  and  were  often  ill-shapen.  The 
culture  of  this  plant  has  been  greatly  simplified  dur- 
ing the  past  few  years.  The  system  of  planting  in 
trenches  has  been  abandoned  by  nearly  all  market 
gai-deners.  This  effects  a  great  saving  of  labor  The 
plan  of  starting  the  plants  in  hot-beds  has  also  been 
given  up  by  most  persons.  The  seed  is  sown  in  well 
prepared  beds  in  the  open  ground,  but  great  care  is 
taken  to  prepare  the  soil  for  thegrowthof  the  tender 
young  plants,  Some  burn  the  soil  as  they  do  when 
preparing  the  seed  beds  for  tubacco,  so  as  to  have  bo 


trouble  with  weeds.  The  seed  is  sown  in  rows  about 
eight  or  ten  inches  apart,  and  the  soil  between  them 
frequently  stirred  to  hasten  the  growth  of  the  plants 
to  prevent  the  springing  up  of  "weeds.  The  young 
plants  are  rendered  stocky  by  shearing  off  the  tops 
two  or  three  times  before  they  are  put  in  the  rows 
where  they  are  to  mature.  In  June  and  July  they 
are  placed  in  rows  three  feet  apart  and  six  inches  in 
the  row.  As  soon  as  they  become  established,  the 
soil  is  kept  well  supplied  with  water.  Unless  there 
ar.;  seasonable  rains,  water  is  supplied  by  means  of 
pipes  or  rubber  hose.  Some  have  located  celery 
plantations  on  the  banks  of  streams  or  the  side  of 
lakes,  so  that  water  may  be  easly  supplied.  Garden, 
ers  have  been  slow  in  flnding  out  that  celery  is  by 
natuie  an  aquatic  plant,  and  they  are  now  treating  it 
to  all  the  water  it  wants. 


How  the  Chinese  Make  Dwarf  Trees. 

We  have  all  known  from  childhood  how  the  Chi- 
nese cramp  their  women's  fet,  and  so  manage  to 
make  them  keepers  at  home  ;  but  how  they  contrive 
to  grow  miniature  pines  and  oaks  in  flower-pots  for 
half  a  century  has  always  been  much  of  a  secret. 
They  aim  first  and  last  at  the  seat  of  vigorous 
growth,  endeavoring  to  weaken  it  as  much  as  may 
be  consistent  with  the  preservation  of  life.  Take  a 
young  plant— say  a  seedling  or  cutting  of  a  cedar— 
when  only  two  or  three  inches  high,  cut  off  its  tap- 
root as  soon  as  it  has  other  rootlets  enough  to  live 
upon,  and  replant  it  in  a  shallow  earthen  pot  or  pan 
The  end  of  the  tap-root  is  generally  made  to  rest  on 
a  stone  within  it.  Alluvial  clay  is  then  put  into  the 
pot,  much  of  it  in  bits  the  size  of  beans,  and  just 
enough  in  kind  and  quantity  to  furnish  a  scanty 
nourishment  to  the  plant.  Water  enough  is  given 
to  keep  it  in  growth,  but  not  enough  to  excite  a  vig- 
orous habit.  So  likewise  is  the  application  of  light 
and  heat.  As  the  Chinese  pride  themselves  on  the 
shape  of  their  miniature  trees,  they  use  strings, 
wires  and  pegs,  and  various  other  mechanical  con- 
trivances to  promote  symmetry  of  habit  or  to  fashion 
their  pets  into  odd  fancy  figures.  Thus,  by  the  use 
of  very  shallow  pots,  the  growth  of  the  tap-root  is 
out  of  the  question  ;  by  the  use  of  poor  soil  and  lit- 
tle of  it,  and  little  water,  any  strong  growth  is  pre- 
vented. Then,  too,  the  top  and  side  roots  being 
within  easy  reach  of  the  gardener,  are  shortened  by 
his  pruning  knife  or  seared  with  his  hot  iron.  S» 
the  little  tree,  flnding  itself  headed  on  every  side, 
gives  up  the  idea  of  strong  growth,  asking  only  for 
fife,  and  just  life  enough  to  look  well.  Accordingly 
each  new  set  of  leaves  become  more  and  more 
stunted,  the  buds  and  rootlets  are  diminished  in 
proportion,  and  at  length  a  balance  is  established 
between  every  part  of  the  tree,  making  it  a  dwarf  in 
all  respects.  In  some  kinds  of  trees  this  end  is 
reached  in  three  or  four  years;  in  others  ten  or  fif- 
teen years  are  necessary.  Such  is  fancy  horticul- 
ture among  the  Celestials. 

Household  Recipes. 

T.iPiocA  Pudding.— Take  one  and  one-half  cups 
of  tapioca  and  soak  over  night ;  three  eggs  beaten 
thoroughly,  and  reserving  the  white  of  one 
for  frosting  ;  one  cup  of  white  sugar  ;  one  teaspoon- 
ful  of  butter ;  one  and  one-half  pints  of  milk  ;  a 
little  salt  and  nutmeg.  Bake  until  well  done.  Frost 
same  as  directed  for  lemon  pie,  and  retuca  to  oven 
until  brown. 

BRE.iD  Pudding. — Take  one  pint  of  bread 
crumbs  soaked  in  one  quart  of  sweet  milk  ;  one- 
half  cup  of  white  sugar  ;  two  eggs,  beaten  thor- 
oughly ;  one  cup  of  raisins  if  desired  ;  heaping  tea- 
spoonful  of  butter,  and  salt  to  suit  the  taste  ;  stir 
well  together  and  bake. 

Chili  Sauce. — Forty-eight  ripe  tomatoes,  ten  pep- 
pers, two  large  onions,  two  quarts  vinegar,  four 
tablespoons  salt,  two  teaspoons  each  of  cloves,  cinna- 
mon, nutmeg  and  allspice;  one  cup  sugar.  Slice  the 
tomatoes,  chop  peppers  and  onions  together;  add 
vinegar  and  spices,  and  boil  until  thick  enough. 
Mustard  and  curry  powder  improves  this. 

Ci^AM  Chowdeb.— Put  in  a  pot  a  layer  of  sliced 
pork,  chopped  potatoes,  chopped  clams,  salt,  pepper 
and  lumps  of  butter,  and  broken  crackers  soaked  in 
milk,  cover  with  the  clam  juice  and  water,  stew 
slowly  for  three  hours,  thicken  with  a  little  flour,  it 
may  be  seasoned  with  spices  if  prefer.-ed. 

Saddle  of  Lamb. — Time,  a  quarter  of  an  hour  to 
the  pound;  one  hour  and  a  half  totwo  hours.  Cover 
the  joint  with  buttered  paper  to  prevent  the  fat 
catching,  and  roast  it  at  a  brisk  fire,  constantly 
basting  it,  at  first  with  a  very  little  butter,  then  with 
its  own  dripping.     Mint-sauce. 

Tomato  Soup. — Three  pounds  of  beef,  one  quart 
canned  tomatoes,  one  gallon  water.  Let  the  meat 
and  water  boil  for  two  hours,  or  until  the  liquid  is 
reduced  to  a  little  more  than  two  quarts.  Then  stir 
in  the  tomatoes,  and  stew  all  slowly  for  three  quar- 
ters of  an  hour  longer.  Season  to  taste,  strain  and 
serve. 

Otstek  Soup. — Take  one  quart  of  water,  one  tea- 
cup of  butter,  one  pint  of  milk,  two  teaspoonfuls  of 


1882.J 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


79 


salt,  four  crackers,  rolled  fine,  and  afenspoonful  of 
pepper.  Brinij  to  f'lill  boilinir  lieat  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble, then  mill  one  quart  of"  oysters.  T^el.  the  wliole 
come  to  a  boiling  heal  quickly  and  remove  from  the 
fire. 

Chicken  Sa'l.\d. — For  o-'c  good  sized  chicken 
take  one  bunch  of  celery  chopped  tine,  a  little  pepper 
and  saJt.  For  drcsfinir  for  the  above  qiuiiility  take 
the  yolks  of  two  eirtrs  boiled  hard,  make  Ihcni  line, 
and  add  mustard,  vinejrar,  oil  and  a  lillle  Cayenne 
pepper  and  sail,  to  suit  taste,  ami  the  liquor  of  the 
chickens  boiled  in  is  very  nice  to  use,  niixint;  it.  Put 
in  just  enoush  to  moisten  it  nicely.  When  it  be 
conies  cold  it  is  just  like  a  jelly,  but  it  is  a  f;reat  im- 
provement to  the  salad. 

White  Saih  k  for  fiAMn. — Boil  an  onion  in  a  pint 
of  milk  till  il  is  like  a  ji'lly  ;  then  strain,  and  slir 
inlii  the  lidiliui;  milk  sifted  liri'ad  crumbs  enoUL'h  to 
make  it  like  thick  cream  when  well  beaten.  Beat 
while  boilintr,  and  season  with  salt,  black  and  Cay- 
enne pepper  and  a  little  mitmeg. 

SmiAR  Kisses. — Whiles  of  two  egfrs,  beaten  as  for 
frostins  ;  one  cup  of  suu:ar  added  to  them.  Mix  well 
and  drop  in  small  cakes  on  a  buttered  tin.  IJake  in 
a  moderate  oven  until  lightly  touched  with  brown. 

Queen  of  PunpiNc— One  pint  line  bread  crumbs, 
one  quart  sweet  milk,  three  ounces  of  loaf  sugar, 
small  piece  of  butter,  yolks  of  four  eggs,  grated  rind 
of  one  U-moii;  bake  till  done,  then  spread  over  a 
layer  of  preserves  or  jelly;  whip  the  whites  of  the 
eggs  stitV,  add  three  ounces  of  ])ulveri/.ed  sugar,  in 
wiiich  has  beeu  stirred  the  juice  ol"  the  lemon.  Pour 
the  whites  over  the  pudding  and  replace  in  the  oven. 
Let  it  brown  lightly.     To  be  eaten  cold. 

Lemon  Pudding  Saui'E.  — One  large  cupof  suffar, 
Dearly  half  a  cup  of  butter,  one  egg,  one  Icmcm — all 
the  juice  and  half  the  grated  peel,  one  teaspoonful 
nutmeg,  three  tablespooufuls  boiling  water.  Serve 
with  lemon  sauce. 

Biud's  Nest  Podding . — Pare  and  core  apples 
silflicient  to  till  a  pudding-dish.  Make  a  batter  of 
one  quart  of  milk,  three  eggs,  two  cups  of  flour. 
Pour  over  the  apples,  and  bake  in  a  quick  oven. 
Eaten  with  a  sauce. 

Orange  Pl'ddixg. — Take  four  good-sized  oranges, 
peel,  seed,  and  cut  into  small  pie<:es.  Add  a  cup  of' 
sugar,  and  let  it  stand.  Into  one  quart  of  nearly 
boiling  milk,  stir  two  tablespoonslul  of  corn  starch, 
mixed  with  a  little  water  and  the  yolks  of  three 
eggs.  When  done  let  it  cool,  and  then  mix  with  the 
orange.  .Make  a  frosting  of  the  wliites  of  the  eggs 
and  a  half  cup  of  sugar.  Spread  it  over  the  top  of 
the  pudding,  and  flace  for  a  few  minutes  in  the 
oven  to  brown. 

Green  Corn  Patties. — Grate  as  much  corn  as 
will  make  one  pint,  add  one  teaeupful  of  flour  and 
one  teaeupful  of  butter,  one  egg,  pepper  and  salt  to 
taste.     If  tco  thick  add  a  little  milk.     Fry  in  butter. 

Boston  Cream  Cake— The  Cake. — One-half 
pint  of  milk,  five  ounces  flour,  four  ounces  butter, 
and  five  eggs.  Boil  milk  and  butter  together,  stir  in 
flour  while  boiling,  then  odd  eggs. 

Flake  Pie  Crust. — Take  one-half  cup  of  lard 
to  a  pint  of  flour  ;  rub  well  together  ;  take  water 
6uffiv;ient  to  make  a  dough  (not  too  stifi')  ;  roll  out 
and  spread  with  butter  ;  fold  over  evenly,  and  make 
a  second  fold  in  the  opposite  direction  ;  roll  out 
again,  being  careful  not  to  squeeze  the  butter  out. 

Superior  Doughnuts. — Take  two  cups  sugar  ; 
one  and  oue-balf  eups  sweet  milk  ;  five  eggs  ;  three 
spoonsful  of  butter;  three  teaspoonsful  of  baking 
powder;  salt  and  flavor  to  suit  the  taste.  Mix  as 
soft  as  possibTe,  roll  out,  cut  in  proper  sizes  and 
drop  into  hot  lard  ;  when  removed  from  lard  and 
partly  cool, dip  in  powdered  sugar. 

Cookies. — Take  one  and  one-half  eups  of  white 
sugar;  one-half  cup  of  lard;  one-half  cup  of  butter; 
suliieienl  caraway  seeds  or  nutmeg  to  season  to  suit 
the  taste  ;  one  cup  of  sour  milk,  with  a  teaspoonful 
of  soda,  and  flour  sufficient  to  mak<*  dough.  Mix 
thoroughly,  roll  very  thin,  and  bake  quickly. 

Custard  Pie  —Take  three  eggs,  beaten  thorough- 
ly; two  tablespooufuls  of  white  sugar,  one  pint  of 
milk,  nutmeg  to  suit  the  tas'.e,  a  little  salt,  slir  all 
together,  adding  the  eggs  last. 

Graham  Koles. — Two  eups  of  wheal  meal,  one 
and  a  half  eups  of  flour,  salt,  three-quarters  of  a  cup 
of  sugar,  two  and  one-half  cups  of  sour  milk,  one 
teaspoonfull  of  soda. 

Hice  Waffles. — One  cup  boiled  rice,  one-half 
teaspoonful  soda,  one  pint  milk,  one  teaspoonful 
cream  tarlar,  two  eggs,  one  leasiioonful  salt,  lard 
size  of  a  walnut,  Hour  for  a  thin  batter. 

Steamed  Indian  Loaf. — Four  cups  of  corn  meal, 
two  eups  of  flour,  two  cups  of  sweet  milk,  two  cups 
sour  m.lk,  one  teaspoonlul  soda,  a  little  salt,  one  cup 
of  molasses.     Steam  three  hours. 

Muffins. — One'quart  milk,  two  eggs,  quarterof  a 
cup  of  butter,  same  of  lard.     Kaised  with  yeast. 

Lemon  Pie. — Take  juice  and  grated  rind  of  one 
lemon  :  stir  together  with  tbrei!  fourths  of  a  cup  of 
white  sugar  and  one  cup  of  water  ;  lastly,  stir  in 
four  eggs,  well  beateu  (reserving  the  whites  of  two 


for  frosting).  Fill  Into  crust  and  bake.  For  frosting, 
beat  the  whites  of  two  oss;(^  reservi'd,  to  a  stiff  froth, 
with  a  talilespooiiful  of  powdered  sugar,  spread  over 
top  evenly,  and  return  to  oven  until  slightly  browned. 

Pumpkin  Pie. — Take  one  quart  of  pumpkin, 
stewed  and  pressed  through  a  sieve,  two  quarts  of 
milk,  lAVo  eups  of  sugar,  .'<even  eggs,  beaten  very 
light",  a  teaspnonful  of  butler,  ginger  and  cinnamon 
to  suit  the  taste,  sUr  well  together  and  bake  with 
plain  crust. 

Graham  Muffins.— line  quart  of  Graham  flour; 
two  tabli'spoonsful  of  Migar;  two  eggs,  one-half 
tablespoonful  of  butler,  one  tablespoonful  of  baking 
powder,  and  a  little  salt ;  mnisten  and  mix  thorough- 
ly with  little  milk.  Bake  in  pattypan  at  once  In  a 
quick  oven. 

TuRKEV  Sour. — Take  I  he  turkey  bones  and  cook 
for  one  hour  in  water  enough  to  cover  them,  then 
stir  in  a  lillle  of  the  dressing  and  a  beaten  egg.  A 
lillle  ehopiied  celery  Improves  11.  Take  from  the  Are, 
and  when  the  water  has  ceased  boiling  add  a  little 
butter,  with  pepper  and  salt. 

Fish  Sauce. — Yolks  of  two  raw  eggs.  Add  salad 
oil,  drop  by  dro|i,  until  it  is  of  the  consistency  of 
thick  cream  ;  add  the  juice  of  half  a  lemon. 

Cahhai^e  Salad. — One  small  bead  of  cabbage, 
one  half  bunch  of  celery,  one  quarter  eup  of  vine- 
gar, one  tablespoonful  of  mustard,  one  egg  well 
beaten,  one  tablespoonful  of  sugar,  pepper  and  salt. 
Take  a  little  of  lln^  vinegar  to  wet  the  mustard,  put 
the  rest  over  the  tire  ;  when  boiling,  stir  in  the  in- 
gredients and  cook  until  it  becomes  thick:  pour  it 
over  the  cabbage  while  hot,  and  mix  it  well.  When 
cold  it  is  ready  for  the.  table.  The  same  sauce,  when 
cold,  will  do  for  lettuce. 

Cottage  Pudding. — One  eup  of  sugar,  one  egg, 
two  tablespoons  of  melted  buiter,  one  cup  sweet 
milk,  two  cups  of  flour,  two  cups  flour,  one  lea- 
spoonful  of  cream  tarter,  half  teaspoonful  soda.  Bake 
one-half  hour.     Eat  wilh  hot  sauce. 

Suet  Pudding. — One  pint  of  milk,  one  pint  of 
syrup,  half  pound  of  raisins,  half  pound  of  currants, 
half  pound  of  suet;  add  prepared  flour  as  etilf  as 
pound  cake.     Spice  to  suit  taste. 

Boiled  Bread  Pudding  . — To  one  quart  of  bread 
crumbs,  soaked  in  water,  add  one  eup  of  molasses, 
one  tablespoonful  of  butler,  one  cup  of  fruit,  one 
teaspoonful  each  of  all  kinds  of  spices,  one  teaspoon- 
ful of  soda,  about  one  cup  of  flour.     Boil  one  hour. 

Lowell  Pitdding.- One  coffee  cup  of  milk,  ose 
oup  raisins,  half  cup  molasses,  half  teacup  of  brown 
sugar,  one  teacup  suet,  one  teaspoonful  saleratus, 
half  teaspoonful  salt;  flour  to  make  a  stiff  baiter. 
Boil  three  hours.     Serve  with  sauce. 

HoMiNV  Muffins. — Two  cups  of  boiled  hominy; 
beat  il  smooth,  stir  in  three  cups  sour  milk,  half  cup 
melted  butter,  two  teaspoons  of  salt,  two  tablespoons 
of  sugar;  add  three  eggs  well  beaten;  one  teaspoon 
of  soda,  dissolved  in  hot  water;  two  eups  of  flour. 
Bake  quickly. 

Potato  Cakes. — Roast  some  potatoes  in  the 
oven.  When  done,  skin  and  pound  in  a  mortar, 
wilh  a  small  piece  of  butter,  warmed  in  a  little  milk. 
Chop  a  shallot  and  a  little  parsely  very  flnely,  mix 
well  with  the  potatoes,  add  pepper  and  salt;  shape 
into  cakes;  egg  and  bread  crumb  them,  and  then 
fry  a  light  brown. 

Oyster  Fritters. — Time,  five  or  six  minutes. 
Some  good-sized  oysters,  four  whole  eggs;  a  table 
spoonful  of  milk;  salt  and  pepper;  crumbs.  Bread 
some  good-sized  oysters,  make  a  thick  omelet  batter 
with  four  eggs  and  a  tablespoonful  of  milk,  dip  each 
oyster  into  the  batter,  and  then  into  the  grateil  bread, 
fry  them  a  nice  color  and  use  them  to  garnish  fried 
fish. 

Corn  Oysters.- One  pint  grated  green  corn,  one 
cup  flour,  one  spoonful  of  salt,  one  teaspoonful  of 
pepper,  one  egg.  Drop  by  the  spoonful  iu  hot  lard, 
and  fry. 

Boiled  Leg  op  Lamb. — Time,  one  hour  and  a 
quarter  after  the  water  simmers.  Select  a  fine  fresh 
leg  of  lamb,  weighing  about  five  pounds;  soak  it  in 
warm  water  for  rather  more  than  two  hours,  then 
wrap  it  in  a  cloth  and  boil  il  slowly  for  an  hour  and 
a  quarter.  When  done,  dish  it  up  and  garnish  with 
a  border  of  carrots,  turnips  or  cauliflower  around  it. 
Wind  a  cut  paper  around  the  shank  bone,  and  serve 
it  wilh  plain  parsley,  and  butter  sauce  poured  over  li. 

Tapioca  Pudding. — Three-fourths  of  a  cup  of 
tapioca,  three  pints  of  milk.  Boil  the  tapioca  with  a 
portion  of  the  milk  and  the  yolks  of  lour  eggs,  until 
soft;  pour  into  a  pan,  and  add  the  whites  of  three 
eggs,  with  the  rest  of  the  milk,  and  two  tablespoon- 
fuls  of  sugar. 

Snow  Pudding.- Take  a  little  more  than  the 
third  of  a  package  ef  Coxe's  (Jelatine  ;  pour  a  pint 
of  cold  water  over  it,  and  let  it  stand  ten  minutes  ; 
add  the  juice  of  one  lemon  and  one  eup  of  white 
sugar  (sweeten  and  flavor  to  taste)  ;  add  a  pint  of 
boiling  Water  ;  stir  and  beat  till  worked  up  to  a  light 
froth,  adding  to  it  the  well-beaten  white  of  the  eggs 
that  are  used  for  the  sofl  custard.  Do  not  commence 
to  beat  the  gelatine   till    nearly   cold ;  when  well- 


frothed  up,  put  it  Into  a  mould  in  a  cold  place. 
Have  a  nice  soft  custard  to  pour  round  it  when 
taken  from  the  mould.  It  is  very  nice  and  a  pretty 
dessert. 


Live  Stock. 


Care  of  Horses'  I^egs 
Few  men,  who  handle  horses,  give  proper  atten 
lion  to  the  fei'l  and  legs.  F,specia!ly  Is  this  the  case 
with  the  fartiH'r.  Much  time  is  often  spent  in  rub- 
bing, brushing  and  smoothing  the  hair  on  the  sides 
and  hips,  but  the  feet  are  not  propi'riy  cared  for. 
The  feet  of  a  horse  require  ten  limes  as  much,  for  in 
one  respect  they  are  almost  the  entire  horse.  All 
the  grooming  tliat  can  b'  done  won't  avail  anything 
If  the  horse  is  forced  to  stand  where  his  feet  are 
filthy,  for  the  feet  will  become  disordered  and  then 
the  legs  will  get  badly  out  of  flx,  and  with  bad  legs 
and  feet  there  is  not  much  hope  for  anything.  In 
short,  to  those  owning  horses  we  would  say  attend  to 
the  feet  and  legs. 

Care  of  Sheep. 

There  are  some  points  In  the  care  of  sheep,  which, 
If  rightly  heeded  during  the  winter  months,  would 
add  greatly  to  the  profit  of  the  shepherd  and  the 
comfort  of  bis  flock.  First,  the  waste  of  fodder  re- 
sulting from  the  slovenly  practice  of  feeding  on  the 
ground  is  greater  than  the  farmer  can  aflbrd.  Let 
him  once  adopt  the  jiractlce  of  feeding  from  racks 
and  he  will  soon  see  the  economy  of  It,  Sheep  ac- 
customed to  pull  the  hay  from  the  racks  will  be  loth 
to  lake  il  from  the  ground.  The  thick  fleece  la 
thought  by  many  to  be  ample  protection  from  the 
cold  ;  but  the  sheep  is  an  animal  of  low  vitality,  and 
give  them  access  to  warm  quarters  and  they  will 
quickly  avail  themselves  of  the  profered  shelter. 
Kegularlty  of  feeding  should  be  strictly  observed, 
and  no  more  given  at  a  time  than  will  be  readily  con- 
sumed. If  the  hay  is  coarse  the  shorts  that  are  left 
iu  the  feed  racks  will  be  readily  eaten  by  colts  or 
horses  not  steady  at  work,  and  thus  all  may  be  util- 
ized. 

Watering  Horses. 

One  thing  in  the  treatment  of  work  horses  In  hot 
weather  we  are  disposed  to  deprecate,  viz:  the  cus- 
tom of  watering  them  three  times  a  day  and  no  more. 
It  is  simply  cruelty  on  the  part  of  man  toward  his 
beast,  to  compel  the  team  to  plow  or  mow  from 
early  morning  until  noon,  or  from  noon  until  night 
without  allowing  il  the  privilege  of  a  refreshing 
draught.  It  is  inconvenient,  many  times,  to  water 
the  team  during  the  forenoon  or  afternoon,  and  we 
are  apt  to  think  the  time  thus  taken  lost,  but  when 
the  farmers'  millennium  comes,  there  will  probably 
be  drinking  troughs  in  every  field,  supplied  from 
some  elevated  spring,  or  from  a  running  stream.  In 
the  meanwhile  time  "lost"  in  doing  good,  even 
though  it  may  be  in  behalf  of  the  liuinb  animals,  Is 
well  "lost'' — it  may  be  regained.  Could  they  speak 
It  might  be  to  say  that  they  would  like  to  be  treated, 
in  the  matter  of  ^imes  for  food  and  drink,  somewhat 
as  we — their  wise  masters — are  accustomed  to  treat 
ourselves. 

Save  and  Care  for  the  Pigs. 
For  many  years  past  no  spring  season  has  found 
so  few  swine  in  the  country  in  proportion  to  the  com- 
ing wants.  Owing  to  the  scarcity  and  high  price  of 
corn,  and  the  demand  for  hog  products  at  figures  far 
above  average  years,  the  last  hog,  grown  and  half 
grown,  that  could  be  got  into  anything  near  a  fit  eon- 
dilion  to  be  slaughtered.  Is  then  sent  to  market.  It 
is  reported  that  a  good  many  breeding  sows  have 
gone  into  the  barrel,  and  also  the  lard  can.  This 
being  the  case,  with  the  probability  that  the  markets 
of  this  country  and  elsewhere  will  be  cleared  up  and 
nearly  bare  of  pork,  bacon,  hams  and  lard  before 
next  winter,  makes  it  important  to  look  well  after 
the  pigs;  to  see  that  not  one  is  lost  for  want  ol  care 
and  protection  until  warm,  settled  weather  arrives; 
also  to  give  the  young  porkers  a  good  start  and  con 
tinuous  vigorous  growth  by  liberal  feeding;  also  to 
do  all  that  can  be  done  to  multiply  the  number.  The 
foreign  demand  for  hog  products  is  always  large,  and 
to  lbs.  of  corn,  when  converted  into  1  lb.  of  pork  or 
lard.  Is  transported  at  one-tenth  cost. — American 
AgricitltnrM  for  April. 


How  to  Grow  a  Pig. 
~Rlilor  ,Va««.  I'loiighmaii :  Will  you  please  Inform 
me  through  the  J'tuHghman  how  I  can  grow  a  pig 
through  the  warm  weather  and  not  get  blm  fat?  1 
have  milk,  and  would  flaxseed  meal  begood  for  hini, 
with  milk,  and  how  long  would  you  give  that  kind  of 
meal,  if  you  gave  it  at  all  1  Or  would  something  else 
be  better  for  him  f  It  is  a  sucking  pig,  and  I  want 
to  grow  him  for  winter  use  a*  much  as  I  can. — 
Truly  yours,  C.  P.,  New  .Salem,  Matt.,  March  20<A, 
1882. 

Shorts  mixed  with  the  milk  would,  In  our  opinion, 
be  better  than  flaxseed  meal.  At  flrst  the  pig  should 
be  fed  often,  and  principally  on   milk,  but  as  he 


80 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[May,  1882. 


grows  oltlnr  more  shorts  may  be  added,  and  when 
it  is  desired  to  fat  him  there  is  nothins;  better  than 
Indian  meal  to  malie  crood  pork  ;  but  the  health  of  a 
piir  may  be  improved  by  eivinc  plenty  of  fresh  grass 
and  weeds.  When  it  is  convenient  to  do  so,  it  is  best 
to  let  a  pii:  rnn  over  a  quarter  of  an  acre  of  grass 
land.  Many  pigs  are  injured  by  keeping  in  close, 
dirty  quarters.  I^igs,  like  most  other  animals,  want 
light,  air  and  room  to  exercise  in,  if  they  are  to  be 
kept  thrifty  and  healthy. — Ed. 


A   Nevada  Stock  Raiser. 

W.  B.  Todhunter  branded  last  spring  over  9,000 
calves,  and  lias  sent  to  the  market  this  season  6,000 
beef  cattle.  These  figures  prove  Mr.  Todhunter  to 
be  the  largest  stock  raiser  in  the  country.  There  are 
others  who  send  more  cattle  to  market,  but  they  buy 
them  instead  of  raising  them.  He  has  over  20,000 
head  of  stock  cattle  and  over  100,000  acres  of 
patent! d  land.  He  got  patents  last  month  for  i;5,n00 
acres  of  swamp  land  in  one  bunsh.  He  has  about 
1,000  bulls  and  MOO  saddle  horses.  He  employs  fifty 
men,  and  puts  up  2,500  tons  of  hay  to  guard  against 
hard  winters.  He  keeps  100  work  horses,  and  raises 
grain  enough  to  feed  all  his  saddle  and  work  slock. 
Besides  bis  cattle, he  has  700  or  000 stock  horses,  four 
jacks  and  fifty  stallions. 

His  stock  is  divided  among  four  ranches — one 
known  as  the  White  Horse  Ranch,  lying  just  inside 
the  Oregon  line,  where  5,000  head  are  kept;  one  in 
Long  Valley,  in  the  northwest  corner  of  Nevada, 
lying  alongside  of  Surprise,  supports  4,000  head;  the 
Pyramid  lianeb  lying  at  the  northeast  corner  of  the 
lake,  has  l,.500and  a  lotof  horses;  the  Abbott  Kanch 
at  Steen's  Mountain,  feeds  about  i),000,  and  Harney 
Valley  6,000  more.  The  home  ranch  is  25  miles  from 
a  neighbor. — From  the  Reno  Gazette. 


Poultry. 


A  WRITER  in  the  Poultry  Monthly,  whose  neigh- 
bors have  lately  been  paying  forty  eight  cents  per 
dozen  for  eggs,  truthfully  says  that  with  proper  at- 
tention to  cliickens  there  is  no  difficulty  in  obtaining 
an  abundant  supply  of  eggs  at  all  seasons.  The 
chicken  house  should  have  a  southern  exposure; 
fowls  should  be  eiven  moderately  warm  water  two 
or  three  times  daily  during  the  inclement  portion  of 
the  year  up  to  about  the  tenth  of  April.  The  cor- 
respondent feeds  his  fowls  four  times  daily,  the  first 
feed  be  ng  always  hot,  consisting  of  scraps  from  the 
table  well-seas'  ued  with  pepper;  the  second  feeding 
consists  of  buckwheat,  the  third  wheat  screenings, 
and  the  fourth  corn.  In  cold  weather  he  never 
allows  his  chickens  to  roost  out  doors. 


A  House  for  200  Fowls. 

To  accommodate  to  150  to  200  fowls,  it  would  be 
best  to  have  two  houses,  or  rather  one  so  divided  in 
the  middle  as  to  make  two,  with  a  door  at  each  end. 
A  very  cheap  and  good  house  may  be  made  of 
boards;  4  feet  high  at  the  back,  10  feet  in  front,  Ki 
feet  wide,  and  36  feet  long.  The  roosts  should  be 
made  at  the  rear,  and  hi  the  form  of  a  ladder, 
sloping  back  from  the  floor  to  the  roof.  In  the 
middle  there  may  be  a  room  for  nest  boxes.  If  the 
front,  which  should  face  the  South,  is  of  glass,  it 
will  be  much  improved.  As  large  a  yard  as  possible 
may  be  provided,  and  fenced  with  lath,  so  that  the 
fowls  may  be  kept  in  when  desirable.  The  mate- 
rials for  such  a  house  need  not  cost  more  than  §20, 
and  §12  additional  for  ash  for  the  front. 


Questions  About   Eggs  and   Fowls. 

Manitoba.  We  do  not  believe  half  the  reports  cur- 
rent about  extraordinary  production  of  eggs.  Yet  it 
may  easily  be  true  that  a  hen  of  the  non  sitting 
breeds  may  lay  an  egg  every  day  for  a  long  period. 
The  Black  Spanish  hens  often  do  this,  and  we  have 
personally  known  one  to  lay  two  eggs  in  one  day,  but 
there  was  none  the  next  day.  Hens  cannot  well 
cover  goose  eggs  and  keep  them  waim;  they  are  too 
large.  If  the  bottom  of  the  nest  is  made  warm  with 
down  or  feathers,  a  hen  may  probably  keep  six  of 
these  eggs  warm  enough.  A  young  bird  needs  no 
help  to  get  out  of  the  shell;  unless  it  is  verv  weak, 
in  which  case  it  isjabjut  as  well  for  it  to  remain  there, 
as  it  would  probably -fail  to  thrive.  .If  the  chicks 
should  need  any  help,  this  can  be  very  easily  given 
when  an  incubator  is  usi-d.  Light  Brahma  chicks, 
when  newly  batched,  are  all  white;  Dark  Brahmas 
are  black  and  brown  ;  Plymouth  Kocks  are  black  and 
yellow,  and  Blaek-red  Games  are  black  and  yellow, 
or  brownish. 

^ 

Raising  Sunflowers  for  Hens. 
The  necessity  for  a  variety  of  feed  for  chickens  is 
generally  understood,  but  very  few  people  are  aware 
of  the  value  of  sunflowers  as  hen  feed.  They  are 
very  productive  of  oil,  are  eaten  greedily,  and  give  a 
peculiar  luster  to  the  feathers.  I  have  one-eighth  of 
an  acre  planted  to  this  crop,  and  propose  to  bind 
them  into  bundles  and  stow  them  away  in  a  dry 
place  lor  winter  use.    The  heads  can  be  thrown  into 


the  hen-house,  where  the  chickens  will  soon  pick 
out  the  seeds,  thus  giving  them  exercise  as  well  as 
variety.  With  plenty  of  other  grain  within  reach 
they  will  eat  no  more  sunflower  seeds  than  are  bene 
ficial  to  them.  The  seed  can  be  bought  at  our  feed 
stores  for  one  dollar  per  bushel,  at  which  price  it 
ought  to  be  more  generally  used  than  it  is.  I  think 
a  plot  of  sunflowers,  with  their  great  yellow  faces 
turned  to  the  sun,  an  agreeajjle  sight. — Kansas 
Farmer . 


Care  of  Young  Turkeys. 

See  that  your  turkeys  come  home  every  night.  At 
first,  if  you  raise  them  with  a  turkey  mother,  you 
will  have  to  hunt  them  up  and  drive  them  home,  but 
if  you  feed  regularly  every  morning  and  always  at 
night  they  will  soon  learn  to  come  "home  as  regular 
as  the  cows.  After  they  have  fully  feathered,  and 
have  thrown  out  the  red  on  their  heads,  which  usu- 
ally occurs  at  about  three  months,  young  turkeys  are 
hardy,  and  may  be  allowed  unlimited  range  at  all 
times,  and  from  that  time  on,  as  long  as  the  supply 
of  insects  lasts,  they  will  thrive  on  two  meals  a  day. 
Keep  your  turkeys  growing  right  straight  from  the 
shell,  and  you  will  find  that  it  will  pay  when  payday 
comes.  Some  farmers,  as  soon  as  their  young  turkeys 
are  feathered  up,  turn  them  out  to  get  their  own 
living  the  best  way  they  can  until  a  few  weeks  before 
Thanksgiving.  Then  they  stuflT  them  for  a  few  weeks 
and  wonder  why  they  do  not  equal  in  weight  those 
of  their  neighbor,  who  has  kept  his  turkeys  growing 
all  the  time  from  the  day  they  were  hatched. — Cin- 
cinnati Orange  Bulletin. 


How  Chickens  are  Born. 
Take  an  egg  out  of  a  nest  on  which  a  hen  has  had 
her  full  time,  carefully  holding  it  to  the  ear  ;  turn- 
ing it  around,  you  will  find  the  exact  spot  which  the 
little  fellow  is  picking  on  the  inside  of  the  shell ; 
this  he  will  do  until  the  inside  shell  is  perforated, 
and  then  the  shell  is  forced  outward  as  a  small  scale, 
leaving  a  hole.  Now,  if  you  take  one  of  the  eggs  in 
this  condition  from  under  the  hen,  remove  it  to  the 
house  or  other  suitable  place,  put  in  a  box  or  nest, 
keeping  it  warm  and  moist,  as  near  the  temperature 
of  the  hen  as  possible  (which  may  be  done  by  laying 
it  between  two  bottles  of  warm  water  upon  some 
cotton  or  wool,)  and  lay  a  glass  over  the  box  or  nest, 
then  you  can  sit  or  stand,  as  is  most  convenient,  and 
witness  the  true  modus  operandi.  Now  watch  the 
little  fellow  work  his  way  into  the  world,  and  you 
will  be  amused  and  instructed  as  we  have  often  been. 
After  he  has  got  his  opening  be  commences  a  nib- 
bling motion  with  the  point  of  the  upper  bill  on  the 
outside  of  the  shell,  always  working  to  the  right  (if 
you  have  the  large  end  of  the  egg  from  yon,  and  tlie 
hole  upward,)  until  he  has  worked  his  way  almost 
around,  say  with  one-half  of  an  inch  in  a  perfect ; 
circle  ;  he  then  forces  the  cap  or  butt  end  of  the 
shell  off,  and  then  has  a  chance  to  straighten  his 
neck,  thereby  loosening  his  legs  somewhat,  and  so, 
by  their  help,  forcing  the  body  from  the  shell. — jV. 
E.   Homestead. 

^ 

A   Cheap  Chicken^Coop. 

A  "Jerseyman"  describes  in  the  Tribune  his  neigh- 
bor's cheap  arrangement  for  raising  chickens: 

For  coops  he  uses  tight  old  barrels  laid  leugthwise 
on  the  ground,  with  the  head  taken  out.  On  the 
bottom  of  each,  for  nests,  he  places  some  very  dry 
earth  and  then  a  little  straw  or  leaves  from  the 
woods,  if  early  in  the  spring;  if  later,  the  earth  alone; 
There  is  nothing  better  on  which  to  set  a  hen  than  a 
dry  sod  laid  with  the  grass  side  down,  and  just 
enough  of  the  soil  scraped  ofl'  from  the  center  of  the 
top  to  make  a  hollow  to  hold  the  eggs.  In  these 
barrels  the  hens  laid  and  sat.  When  the  chickens 
were  hatched  the  barrels  were  cleaned  and  enough 
narrow  sticks  driven  in  front  to  keep  in  the  hen  and 
allow  the  young  to  run  out  at  pleasure,  which  they 
would  only  do  in  dry  weather.  To  let  out  the  heii 
for  sun  and  for  exercise  it  was  only  necessary  to  roll 
the  barrel  a  little  on  one  side  or  withdraw  a  stake  or 
two  from  the  front.  When  the  chickens  got  to  be  a 
few  weeks  old  the  hen  was  allowed  to  come  out  at 
will.  Each  generally  k'ept  a  remembrance  of  its 
barrel,  and  went  back  to  it  with  her  brood  for  food 
and  water  during  the  day  and  to  hover  in  it  at  night. 
If  likely  to  rain  it  was  necessary  to  see  that  all  got 
into  their  coops  for  shelter  before  it  began  to  fall. 
As  the  staves  were  set  tight  the  barrels  shed  the  rain 
perfectly. 

Hawaiian  Geese. 

The  Hawaiian  geese  {Bervicla  sa?uli'icensis)  which 
I  brought  over  in  the  spring  of  1870  have  proved 
hardy,  and  I  trust  will  prove  reproductive.  They 
were  all  sheltered  and  cared  for  last  winter,  and 
came  through  in  good  order.  Both  geese  commenced 
laying  in  April  ;  oue  laid  three  and  the  other  four 
eggs,  but  only  one  showed  a  disposition  to  sit  upon 
the  eggs,  and  she,  after  attending  to  her  business 
faithfully  for  ten  days,  tired  of  it  and  quitted  the 
nest,  so  they  produced  no  goslings.  In  the  wild  state 
they  lay  but  two  or  three  eggs,  while  in  domestica- 
tion they  sometimes  lay  eight  or  ten.  Mr.  Brickwood, 
Postmaster-General  of  the  kingdom,  who  had   them 


in  domestication  for  many  years,  sometimes  raised 
as  many  as  ten  in  a  brood.  In  domestication  they 
seem  to  have  strong  attachments,  and  are  fond  of 
human  society  ;  one  gander  in  particular  has  be- 
come very  fond  of  me  and  always  greets  me  cordi- 
ally, and  will  talk  with  me  in  a  low,  soft,  plaintive 
tone  so  long  as  I  will  indulge  the  humor.  They  are 
less  aquatic  than  the  other  geese.  The  foof  is  not 
more  than  half  webbed.  They  take  a  bath  scarcely 
once  a  day,  and  rarely  remain  in  the  water  long.  I 
once  saw  one  with  the  tail  under  water,  as  we  see  a 
hen  when  forced  to  swim.  Their  native  habitat  are 
the  high  volcanic  mountains  in  the  island  of  Hawaii, 
where  they  breed  among  the  lava  beds,  depending 
upon  the  pools  which  they  find  among  the  rocks  for 
water,  never  going  down  to  the  sea.  They  are  of 
strong  flight  in  the  wild  state,  though  in  domestica- 
tion tiiey  show  little  disposition  to  fly.  Altogether 
they  are  the  most  interesting  water  fowl  I  possess, 
and  I  hope  another  year  to  raise  some  of  them  from 
the  only  pair  I  have  left.  A  few  weeks  ago  I  lost 
the  other  pair  by  a  mink. — -Judge  Caton  in  American 
Naturalist. 


Literary  and  Personal. 


The  Verdict  of  the  Jury. — We  have  just  re 
ceived  a  copy  of  the  most  popular  piece  of  music  ever 
published  in  this  country,  called  the  "Verdict 
March,"  composed  by  Eugene  L.  Blake.  It  is  writ- 
ten in  an  easy  style,  so  that  it  can  be  played  on 
either  piano  or  organ.  The  title  page  is  very  hand- 
some, containing  correct  portraits  of  Hon.  Geo.  B. 
Corkhill,  Hon.  J  K.  Porter,  and  Judge  W.  S.  Cox; 
also  a  correct  picture  of  the  twelve  jurymen  who 
convicted  the  assassin  of  our  late  beloved  President. 
This  piece  of  music  should  be  found  in  every  house- 
hold throughout  the  entire  country.  Price,  40  cents 
per  copy,  or  3  copies  for§l.  Postage  stamps  taken 
as  currency.  Address  all  orders  to  F.  W.  Helmick, 
music  publisher,  l.SO  Elm  street,  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
United  States  of  America. 

The  Record. — A  new  bi-weekly  educational 
journal  devoted  to  general  information,  popular 
science,  agricultural  news  and  the  work  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  Published 
every  alternate  Saturday  at  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  build- 
ing, Lancaster,  Pa.,  at  $1  a  year,  including  postage. 
This  is  a  quarto  of  16  pages,  very  creditably  gotten 
up,  and  illustrated,  and  proposes  to  present  to  its 
patrons  in  each  issue  16  pages  of  useful  information, 
embracing  chemistry,  electricity,  photography,  agri- 
culture, natural  history,  botany,  astronomy,  micro- 
scopy, optics,  archseology,  explorations,  local  his- 
tory, ttc.  And,  juding  from  the  copy  now  before  us, 
(Vol.  2,  No.  8)  it  has  faithfully  kept  its  word. 
Moreover,  published  as  it  is,  under  the  auspices  and 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation, it  ought  to  receive  a  more  liberal  support 
from  the  community  than  has  been  heretofore  ac- 
corded to  that  worthy  association.  The  illustrated 
article  in  this  number  on  the  sponge  is  especially  in- 
teresting and  instructive.  Its  motto — "Liberty  can 
only  be  safe  where  suffrage  is  illutninated  by  educa- 
tion," breathes  a  truth  that  needs  to  be  more  ful  y 
apprehended,  and  widely  extended  than  now  appears 
on  the  surface  of  society,  and  we  hope  it  may  find  a 
very  large  vacauni  to  fill  in  this  community. 

The  Free-Trade  Bulletin:  A  four  collumned 
"half  sheet"  (Vol.  1,  No.  6),  devoted  to  the  political 
doctrine  of  "Free-trade,"  has  found  its  way  to  our 
.Sanctum.  It  is  a  handsomely  printed  journal,  and 
advocates  its  specialty  with  singular  ability:  and, 
whether  truthful  or  lalicious,  in  perusing  it,  "almost 
thou  compelest  me  to  be  a  christian,"  is  powerfully 
suggested  to  the  mind  not  fettered  by  previous 
prejudices.  Will  we,  as  a  nation,  ever  learn  to  know 
what  is  best  for  the  interests  of  all,  in  this  respect? 
Price  50  cents  a  year,  monthly.  New  York. 

The  Southern  Cultivator:  The  April  number 
of  this  popular  and  well  established  Agricultural 
journal  has  been  received.  The  issue  was  delayed  a 
few  days,  owing  to  the  fact  that  iMessrs.  J.  P.  Harri- 
son &  Co.,  the  publishers,  were  removing  their  im- 
mense printing  establishment  to  a  much  larger 
building. 

It  should  be  a  matter  of  pride  with  our  Southern 
farmers  to  sustain  The  Cultivator,  because  it  is 
their  representative,  published  alone  in  their  interest, 
and  is  by  far  the  neatest,  most  reliable  and  best  filled 
Agricultural  publication  in  the  South.  The  pub- 
lishers are  certainly  spending  large  sums  of  money, 
in  making  it  the  best  of  all  journals  of  a  like  kind, 
judging  from  the  tine  paper  used,  the  haudsoine  en- 
gravings that  adorn  its  columns  and  from  the  men 
of  brains   emploj'ed  as  contributors. 

It  is  sold  for  the  low  price  of  $1.50  per  annum. 

In  this  issue  it  is  announced  that  -Vfr.  H.  H.  Ca- 
baniss,  rectntly  of  Forsyth,  becomes  the  Business 
Manager.  42. OOin  advance  will  secure  the  Cultivator 
and  the  Lancaster  Farmer  for  one  year. 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER 


III 


THE  WORLD   OF  NATURE 

The  world  of  animated  nature  is  more  spIendliUy 
represented  under  the  eanvas  of  Forepaui^Ii's  Great 
Show  thiin  in  any  zooloijical  colleetioii  existent.  Not 
since  the  day  Noah  lifted  liie  hawser  otf  the  snub- 
biui;  post  have  so  many  distinct  varieties  of  rare  ani- 
maFs  been  collected  under  one  eharpe.  This  impor- 
tant fact  should  not  be  lost  sight  of  by  schools 
and  parents.  Boys  and  girls  can  learn  more  in  an 
afternoon  of  natural  history,  in  the  great  MenaKcrie 
of  Forepauffh's  Show,  than  by  months  of  book 
study.  Kecosnizins;  this,  Mr.  Forepaugh  makes  re- 
duced rates  to  schools,  and  admits  all  children  in 
orphan  asylums  free  of  charge.  This  Great  Show 
will  exhibit  in  Lancaster,  Monday,  April  'li. 


THE 


OFFICE 

No.  9  North  Queen  Street, 

LANCASTER,  PA. 


Important  to  Grocers,  Packers,  Hucksters,  and  the 

General  Public. 

THE  KING  FORTUNE-MAKER. 


OZONE 


THE  OLDEST  AND  BEST. 


THE  WEEKLY 

LANCASTER  EXAMINER 

One  of  the  largest  Weekly  Papers  in 
the  State. 


Published  Every  .Weddnesay  Morning,         \  p^     FORTUWE 


A  New  I*rocess  for  Preserving  all 
Perishable  Articles,  Animal  and 
Vegetable  from  Fermentation  and 
Putrefaction,  Retaining  their  Odor  and  Flavor. 

"  OZONE-Purified  air.  active  state  of  Oxygen."- ">''"''''•• 

This  preservative  is  not  a  liquid  pickle,  or  any  of  the  old  and  exploded  processes,  but  is  simply  and  purely 
OZONE,  as  produced  and  applied  by  an  entirely  new  process.  Ozone  is  the  antiseptic  principle  of  every 
substance,  and  possesses  the  power  to  preserve  animal  and  vegetable  structures  from  decay. 

There  is  nothing  on  the  face  of  I  he  earth  I'uihle  to  ileeay  ornpoil  which  Ozone,  the 
new  Preservative,  trill  not  preserve  for  all  time  in  a  j>erf€etly  fi  csh  andpalatable 
condition. 

Tlie  value  of  Ozone  »a  a  natural  preserver  has  been  known  to  our  alilcr  chemists  for  years,  but,  until  now,  no 
means  of  proiluoinE  it  in  a  practical,  inexpensive,  and  simple  manner  have  been  ili»coverc<l.  ,   ,      , 

Microscopic  observations  prove  lliat  decay  is  due  to  »cpti<'  matler  or  minute  germs,  that  develop  anil  lecil  upon 
animal  and  vesetablc  .structures.  Ozone,  applied  by  the  Prentice  nielhod.  seizes  and  destroys  these  gi-rnis  at  onix. 
and  thus  preserves  At  our  offlee  in  Cincinnati  can  be  seen  almost  every  article  that  can  be  tbougbt  ol,  preserve<l  by 
this  process  and  every  visitor  is  welcomed  to  come  in.  tasle,  smell,  take  away  with  Inm,  and  test  in  every  way  the 
merits  of  Ozone  as  a  preservative.  We  will  also  preserve,  free  of  charKe.  any  article  thai  is  brouKbl  or  sent  prepaid 
to  us  and  return  it  to  the  sender,  lor  liini  to  keep  and  test. 

Fkl>II  MEATS,  such  as  bpcf,  motion,  veal,  pork,  poidtry,  Rame,  fish,  (ic,  preserved  by  tliis  method,  can  De 
shipped   to  Europe,  subje<tKd  to  atnio.siilurir  cIuuikcs  and  return  I"  lliis  country  in  a  state  of  perfect  preservation. 

KUUS  can  be  treated  at  a  coat  of  less  than  one  dollar  a  tbousand  ilozeii.and  be  kept  in  an  ordinary  mom  six  inontha 
or  more  thorouRhly  preserved  ;  the  yolk  held  in  its  normal  condition,  and  tlie  cbks  as  fresh  and  perfect  as  on  the 
day  they  were  treated,  and  will  sell  as  strictly  "ehoiee."  The  advaiitaKe  in  i.reservinR  kkks  is  readily  seen;  there 
are  seasons  when  they  can  be  bouKht  for  «  or  1(1  cents  a  dozen,  and  by  hoUliiiK  them,  cjin  be  sold  for  an  advance  of 
from  one  hundred  to  three  hundreil  per  ce   t.     One  man,  witli  tliis  method,  esui  preserve  5,(KJ0  dozen  a  day. 

FRUITS  may  be  permitted  to  ripen  in  their  native  climate, and  cjin  be  trans|>orled  to  any  part  of  the  world. 

The  juice  expressetl  from  fruits  can  be  held  for  an  tnrlefmite  perioti  without  lermentalion — benee  the  great  value 
of  this  process  for  producing  alemperanee  beveraKC     tiller  can  be  held  perfectly  sweet  for  any  length  of  time. 

'YI^^,;|.y|<A]}l,FM  can  be  kept  for  an  indefinite  period  in  their  natural  condition,  retjiining  their  odor  and  flavor, 
treated  in  their  original  paekajres  at  a  small  expense.  Ali  grains,  flour,  meal,  etc.,  are  held  in  their  normal  condition. 

BUTI'Elt,  after  being  treated  by  this  process,  will  uot  become  rancid.  ... 

Dead  human  bodies,  trt^ated  before  decomposition  sets  in,  can  beheld  in  a  natural  condition  for  weeks,  withou* 
puncturing  the  skin  or  mutilating  the  body  in  any  way.     Hence  the  great  value  of  Ozone  to  undertakers. 

There  is  no  change  in  the  slightest  particular  in  the  appearance  of  any  article  thus  preserved,  and  no  trace  of  any 
foreign  or  unnatural  odor  or  titste.  ,,         ,  ,  ,,  „,  . 

The  process  is  so  simple  that  a  child  can  operate  as  well  and  as  suceessfully  as  n  man.  There  is  no  expensive 
anparatus  or  machinery  retiuired.  ...  ,  ,-..         i 

A  room  filled  with  ditferent  articles,  such  as  eggs,  meat,  flsh,et«.,  can  be  treated  at  one  time,  without  additional 

«S-InVacl,  there  Ih  iiolhins:  »h»t  <♦''»«"'*"'••*•  P'"'"'"'''*'''-     Think   of  everything  you  can  that   is 

i     e    to  sour  decay,  or  spoil,  and  then   remember  thai  we  guaranti'e   that  Ozone  will  jire.scrve   it   in  exactly  the 

ition  you  want  it  for  any  length  of  time.     If  you  will  remember  this  it  will  save  asking  <|Uestions  as  to  whether 

conde  will  preserve  Ibis  or  tiiat  article— 11  will  preserve  iiiijlhiner  anil  <-»<Ty  tliiiiR  .vou  euii  llilhk  of. 

There  is  not  a  township  in  the  United  Slates  in  which  a   live  man  <an  not  make  any  amount  of  money,  from 
SI  000  to  $10  000  a  year,  that  he  plea-ses.     We  desire  to  get  a  live  man  interestcil  in  each  county  in  the  United  States, 
in'whose  hands  we  can  place  this  Preservative,  and  through  him  secure  the  business  which  every  county  ought  to 
reduce. 

in  any 


Awaits  any  Man  wlio   Secures  Confrol  of  OZONE 
Township  or  County. 


Is  an  old,  well-establiBhed  newspaper,  and  contains  just  the 
news   desirable    to  make    it   an   interesting   and   valuable 
Family    Newspaper.     The  postage  to  subcribers  residing 
outside  nf  Lancaster  county  is  paid  by  the  publisher. 
Seud.for  a  specimen  copy. 

Two  Dollars  per  Annum. 


THE   DAILY 


LANCASTER  EXAMINER 

The  Largest  Daily  Paper  in  the 
county. 


Published  Daily  Except  S   nday. 

The  daily  is  published  every  evening  during  the  week. 
It  is  delivered  iu  tlie  City  aud  to  surrounding  Tcwns  ac- 
cessible by  railroad  and  ddily  stage  hues,  for  10  cents 
a  weeK. 

M^il  Subscription,  free  of  postage — One  month,  00 
cents;  one  ysar,   $5.00. 


JOHN  A.  HIESTAND.  Proprietor, 

No.  9  NortU  Queen  St., 

LA.NCA.STEK.  PA- 


A  C  Fowen,  Marion,  Ohio,  has  cleared  f2.000in  two  months.    $2  for  a  test  package  was  his  first  investment. 

Woods  Brothers,  Lebanon,  Warren  County,  Ohio,  made  S6,000  on  eggs  purchased  iu  .\ugu.st  and  sold  November 
1st.    $2  for  a  test  package  was  their  fir.st  investment. 

F.  K.  Riiymond,  Morristown.  Belmont  <Jo.,  Ohio,  is  clearing  $2,000  a  month  in  handling  and  selling  Ozone.  SJ  for 
a  test  package  was  his  (list  investment, 

D.  F.  Webber,  Charlotte,  Eaton  Co.,  Mich.,  has  cleared  81.000  a  month  since  August.  82  for  a  lest  package  was  Ins 
first  investment.  ^  ,.       .  .     .  ,  „,  .  .         . 

J  B.  Gaylord,  80  La  Salle  St.,  Chicago,  is  preserving  eggs,  fruit,  etc.,  for  the  commission  men  of  Chicago,  ebarging 
l^e.  per  dozen  for  eggs,  and  other  articles  in  proportion.  He  is  preserving  .5,000  dozen  eggs  per  day,  and  on  his 
business  is  making  ^.S  IMKI  a  month  clear.    82  for  a  test  package  was  his  first  investment. 

The  Cincinnati  Feeil  Co.,  West  lys  Seventh  Street,  is  making  S.5,00  a  month  in  handling  brewers'  innll,  prcservnng 
and  shipping  it  as  feed  to  all  parts  of  the  country.  Malt  unpreserved  sours  in  2-1  hours.  Preserved  by  Ozone  it  keepa 
perfectly  sweet  for  months.  .  „.  ,     ..  ,..  ..    . 

These  are  iiLStanees  wliich  we  have  asked  in  the  privilege  of  publishing.  There  are  scores  of  others.  Wriletoany 
of  the  above  parties  and  get  the  evidence  direct. 

Now  to  prove  the  absolute  truth  of  every  Ibiiig  wc  have  said  in  Hiis  paper.  We  propofto  to  place  in  your 
h»n<lM  «lie  nieanM  ot  itrovin;;  for  .voiirNell' tliitt  we  have  n<««  flaiiiiol  half  fnoiieli-  To  any 
person  who  doubts  anv  of  these  statements,  and  who  is  interested  sufliciently  to  make  the  Inp,  we  will  j.ay  all 
traveling  and  hotel  expenses  for  a  visit  to  this  eity,  if  wo  fail  to  prove  any  statement  that  we  have  made. 

How  to  Secure  a  Fortune  with  Ozone.. 

A  test  i).acka"c  of  Ozone,  containing  a  snilicicnt  ipianlity  lo  preserve  one  thou.saiirl  <lozcn  eggs,  or  other  arliclcs 
in  proportion  will  be  sent  to  any  applicant  on  receipt  of  82.  This  i)aekagc  will  enable  the  ap|.licant  to  pursue  any 
line  ol  tests  and  experiments  he  desires,  and  thus  satisfy  himself  as  to  the  extraordinary  merits  of  Ozone  as  a 
Preservative  After  havinji  thus  sati.sfie<l  himself,  and  had  lime  to  look  the  field  over  to  iletcrminc  what  he  wishes 
to  do  in  the  future— whether  to  sell  the  article  to  others  or  to  confine  it  to  his  own  u.sc,  or  any  other  hue  of  policy 
which  is  best  suited  to  him  and  to  his  township  or  county— we  will  enlcr  into  an  arrangement  with  bin.  that  will 
makea'forlune  for  him  and  give  us  good  profits.  We  will  give  exclusive  townshili  or  county  privileges  to  the  first 
resnonsible  appU<aiit  who  onlcrs  a  test  package  ami  desircsto  control  the  business  in  bis  locality.  The  nian  wlio 
»e<iirese«nirol  »«  Oz.«iie  l»r  any  Npeeial  territory,  will  enjoy  a  monopoly  wliicli  will  Niirely 

*'l"i!'t  let  a  dav  Pass  until  you  have  ordered  a  Test  Package,  ami  if  you  desire  to  secure  an  exclusive  privilege  we 
assure  you  thai  delay  inay"dei)rive  yon  of  it,  for  the  applications  come  in  to  us  by  si'orcs  every  mail— many  by 

telegraph.     "  First  come  first  served "  is  our  rule.  «  «   ^    ,       ...       .,, 

If  vou  do  not  care  to  send  monev  in  advance  for  the  test  package  wc  will  send  it  0.  O.  D.,  but  tins  will  put  you  to 
the  expense  of  charges  for  return  money.  Our  correspondence  is  very  large;  we  have  all  we  can  do  to  attend  to  the 
sbimmi-  of  orders  and  giving  attention  to  our  working  agents.  Thcrelore  we  can  not  give  any  attention  to  letters 
wbicli  i\«  not  order  Ozone.  If  you  think  of  any  article  that  you  are  doubtful  about  Ozone  preserving  remember  we 
gtiarjntee  that  it  wl/l  pteseri'C  it,  no  matter  ivhat  it  is.  

HEFlSFlEKrCES. 

We  desire  to  call  vour  attention  to  a  class  of  references  which  no  enterprise  or  firm  l>a.sed  on  anything  but  the 
Bounde.st  business  success  and  highest  commercial  merit  could  secure.  .     .,       r  „       ■ 

We  refer  by  ncrinis.sion,  as  to  our  intcgriiv  and  to  the  value  of  the  Prentiss  Preservative,  to  the  following 
gentlemen'  Kdward  C  llovee.  Member  Boar.l  of  Public  Works;  E.  O.  Eshelby.  City  Comptroller;  Amor  Smith.  Jr., 
CoUect™  Internal  Revenue;  WuLsin  &  Worthington,  Attorneys;  .Martin  H.  Harrell  ami  B.  F.  Hopkl.LS.  County 
Commissioners;  W.  S.  Cappcller, County  Auditor;  all  of  Ciueimiati,  Hamilton  County  Ohio.  These  gentlemen  are 
each  familiar  with  the  merits  ol  our  Preservative,  and  know  from  actual   observation  that  wc  have  without  question 

The  Most  Valuable  Article  in  the  World. 

Tbe32you  invest  in  a  test   package,  will  surely  lead  you  to  secure  a  township  or  county,  and  then  your  way  i» 
absolutely  clear  to  make  Irom  S2,0(X)  to  810,000  a  year. 
Give  your  full  address  in  every  letter,  and  send  your  letter  to 


NoY-Jm 


PRENTISS  PRESERVING  COMPANY.  (Limited,) 

S'.  i".  Cor.  yinth  it  Mace  Sts.,  Cincinnati,  O. 


IV 


:THE   LANCASTER   FARMER 


[May.  1882. 


WHERE  TO  BUY  GOODS 


IN 


LANCASTER. 


BOOTS  AND  SHOES. 


MARSHALL,  A  SON.  No.  12  Centre  Square,  Lan- 
caster, Dealers  in  Boots,  Shoes  and  Rubbers.    Re- 
pairing promptly  attended  to. 


MI,KVY.  No.  3  East  King  street.     For  the  bes 
«    Dollar  Shoes  in  Lancaster  go  to  M.  Levy,  No.  3 
East  King  street.  


BOOKS  AND   STATIONERY. 


JOHN  BAER'S  SON'S,  Nos.  15  and  17  North  Queen 
Street,  have  the  largest  and  best  assorted  Book  and 
Paper  Store  in  the  City.  


FURNITURE. 


HEINITSH'S,No.  15!^  East  King  St.,  (over  China 
Hall)  is  the  cheapest  place  in  Lancaster  to   buy 
Furniture.    Picture  Frames  a  specialty. ^^ 


CHINA  AND  GLASSWARE. 


HIGH  A-  MARTIN,  No.  15  East  King  St.,  dealers 
in  China,  Glass  and  Queensware,   Fancy  Goods, 
Lamps,  Burners,  Chimneys,  etc. 


CLOTHING. 


MVKBS  *  RATHFON,  Centre  Hall,  No.  12  East 
King  St.    Largest  Glothing.House  in  Pennsylvania, 
outside  of  Philadelphia  


DRUGS  AND   MEDICINES. 


GW.  Hi;i.L>,  Dealer  in  Pure  Drugs  and  Medicines 
,    Chemicals,   Patent  Medicines,  Trusses,  Shoulde 
Braces,  Supporters,  &c.,  15  West  King  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa 

JOHN  F.  LON«  *  SON.  Druggists,  No.  12  North 
Queen  St.    Drugs,   Medicines,   Perfumery,    Spices, 
Dye  Stuffs,  Et*.    Prescriptions  carefully  compounded. 


DRY  GOODS. 


GIVLKR    BOWERS  «fc   HIIKST,  No.  25  E.  King 
St    Lanciister,  Pa.,  Dealers  in  Dry  Goods,  Carpets 
and  Merchant  Tailoring.    Prices  as  low  as  the  lowest. 


HATS  AND   CAPS. 


CH    AMER,  No.   39  West  King  Street,  Dealer  in 
,    Hats,  Caps,  Furs,  Robes,  etc.    Assortment  Large. 
Prices  Low.  


JEWELRY  AND  WATCHES. 


HZ.  RHOAOS  A-  BKO  ,    No.  4  West  King  St. 
,     Watches,   Clock  and  Musical  Boxes.     Watches 
and  Jewelry  Manufactured  to  order.  


PRINTING. 


JOHN    A.    HIESTAND.  9  North  Queen  St.,  Sale 
Bills    Circulars,  Posters,  Cards,   Invitations,   Letter 
and  Bill  Heads  and  Envelopes  neatly  printed.    Prices  low. 


FARMING  FOR  PROFIT. 

It  is  conceded  that  this  large  and  comprehensive  book, 
(advertised  in  another  column  by  .1.  C.  McCurdy  &.  Co., 
of  Philadelphia,  the  well-known  publishers  of  Standard 
works,)  is  not  only  the  newest  and  handsomest,  but  alto- 
gether the  BEST  work  of  the  kind  which  has  ever  been 
published.  Thoroughly  treating  the  great  subjects  of 
general  Agriculture,  Live-Stouk,  Fruit-Growing,  Busi- 
ness Principles,  and  Home  Life;  telling  just  what  the 
farmer  and  the  farmer's  boys  want  to  know,  combining 
Science  and  Practice,  stimulating  thought,  awakening 
inquiry,  and  interesting  every  member  of  the  family, 
this  book  must  exert  a  mighty  influence  for  good.  It  is 
highly  recommended  by  the  best  agricultural  writers 
and  the  leading  papers,  and  is  destined  to  have  an  ex- 
tensive sale.    Agents  are  wanted  everywhere.         jan-lt 

BLOOMSDALE 

LARGE  LATE  FLAT  DUTCH  CABBAGE. 

Large,  Flat,  Solid  Heads,  Short  Sterne. 


Thirtv-Six  Varieties  of  Cabbage;  26  of  Corn;  28  of  Cu- 
umber";  41  of  Melon;  33  of  Peas;  2S  of  Beans;  17  of 
Squash;  23  of  Beet  and  40  of  Tomato,  with  other  varieties 
in  proportion,  a  large  portion  of  which  were  grown  on 
my  five  seed  farms,  will  be  found  in  my  Vesetable 
and  Flower  Seetl  Oatalosiie  for  IS»2.  Sent  fkee 
to  all  who  apply.  Customers  of  last  .Sewson  need  not 
■write  for  it.  AH  Seed  sold  from  my  estalilishment  war- 
ranted to  tie  fresh  and  true  to  name,  so  far.  that  should 
it  prove  otherwise,  I  will  refill  the  order  gritis.  The 
original  liilmdncer  of  Early  Ohio  and 
Bnrhaiik  Potatoes.  Slarblehead.  Earl.v  rorii, 
the  Hubbard  Squash.  Itlarhlolie.id  «'abba(ie. 
Plliniie.v's  Melon,  and  a  score  of  other  New  Vegeta- 
bles, I  invite  the  patronage  of  the  public.  New  Vegeta- 
bles a  specialty. 

JAMES  J.  n.  GREGORY, 
Marblehead,  Mass. 
Nov-6mo] 

EVAPORATE  YOUR  FRUIT. 

ILLUSTRATED    CATALOGUl£ 

FREE  TO  ALL. 

AMERICAN  DRIER  COMPANY, 

Cbambersbnrg,  Pa. 


For  a  long  period  of  time  we  have  had  this  stock  of 
Cabbage  in  cultivation,  originally  obtained  from  the 
German  and  Sweedish  market  gardeners.  It  has  been  a 
part  of  our  business  occupation  to  keepit  undefiled,  and 
to-day  we  offer  it  in  its  original  purity,  eqnal 
inoualitv  with  the  ver.v  best  In  the  country, 
even  Ihoiigh  the  best  should  cost  a  hundred 
dollars  per  pound. 

We  have  made  this  crop  a  study  and  give  our  cus- 
tomers the  result  of  many  years  close  observation,  for 
which  our  opportunities  may  be  judged  by  the  fact  that 
we  have,  each  and  every  year,  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  acres  of  cabbage  raised  expressly  to  produce  seed 
for  the  ensuing  season,  afid  from  which  selections  are 
made  with  scrupulous  care,  guided  by  experience.  Not 
a  single  grain  of  seed  is  raised  from  Stalks  all  from 
Selected  Heads. 

We  will  mail  our  Catalogue  free  of  charge  to  all  appli- 
cants. 

D.    LANDRETH    &   SONS, 

Nos.  21  and  23  Soutli  Sixth  Street, 

Between   Market  and  Chestnut  Sts., 

BRANCH  STORE— S.  W.  CoR.  Delaware  Ave.    aNd 

Arch  Street, 

apr-6m  PHILADELPHIA. 

MERCHANT  TAILORING. 

1848     (The  Oldest  of  All.)     1881 

RATHVON  &  FISHER, 

MERCHAMT  TAILORS  AIST)  DRAPERS, 

respectfully  inform  the  public  that  having  disposed  of 
their  entire  stock  of  Ready-Made  Clothing,  theyuow  do, 
and  for  the  future  shall,  aevole  their  whole  attention  to 

the  crSTOM  TRADE.  „      .„, 

All  the  desirable  styles  of  ClOTHS,  CASSIMEREfl, 
WORSTEDS,  COATINGS,  >lIITINOS  and  VESTINGS 
constantly  on  hand,  and  made  to  order  in  plain  or  fash- 
ionable style  promptly,  and  warranted  satisfactory. 

All-Wool  Suit  from  $10,00  to  $30.00. 

All-Wool  Pants  from  3.00  to    10.00. 

All-Wool  Vests  from  2,00  to      6.00. 

Union  and  Cotton  Goods  proportionately  less. 

Cutting,  Repairing,  Tjimming  and  Making,  at  reason- 
able prices. 

Goods  retailed  by  the  yard  to  those  who  desire  to  have 
them  made  elsewhere. 

A  full  supply  of  Spring  and  Summer  Goods  just 
opened  and  on  band. 

Thankful  to  a  generous  public  for  pa,st  patronage  they 
^ope  to  merit  its  continued  recognition  in  their  "new  de- 
parture." 

RATHVON  &  FISHER. 

PKATI  lALT/VlLORS, 

No.  101  North  Queen  Street, 

LANCASTER,  PA. 
1848  1881 


GLOVES,  SHIRTS,  UNDERWEAR. 
SHIRTS  MAdFtO  OEDER, 

AND  WARRANTED  TO  FIT. 

E.  J.  ERISMAN, 

56  North  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

-12] 


A  HOME  ORGAN  FOR  FARMERS. 


A  MONTHLY  JOURNAL, 

Devoted  to  Agriculture,  Horticulture,  Do- 
mestic Economy  and  Miscellany. 


Founded  Under  the  Auspices  of  the  Lancas- 
ter County  Agricultural  and  Horti- 
cultural Society. 


EDITED  BY  DR.  S.  S.  RATHVON. 


TERMS  OF  SUBSCRIPTION  : 


ONE  DOLLi^R  PER  ANNU|, 

POSTAGE  PREPAID  BY  THE  PROPRIETOR. 

All    subscriptions    will    commence    with    the 
January  number,  unless  otherwise  ordered. 


Dr.  S.  S.  Rathvon,  who  haa  so  ably  managed  the  editorial  : 
department  in  the  past,  will  continue  in  the  position  of 
editor.  His  contributions  on  subjects  connected  with  the 
science  of  farming,  and  particularly  that  specialty  of  which 
he  is  so  thorouhly  a  master — entomological  science — some 
knowledge  of  which  has  become  a  necessity  to  the  success- 
ful farmer,  are  alone  worth  much  more  than  the  price  of 
this  publication.  He  Is  determined  to  make  "The  Farmer* 
a  necessity  to  all  households. 

A  county  that  has  so  wide  a  reputation  as  Lancaster 
county  for  its  agricultural  products  should  certainly  he 
able  to  support  an  agricultural  paper  of  its  own,  for  the 
exchange  of  the  opinions  of  farmers  Interested  in  this  mat- 
oter.  We  ask  the  co-oi)oration  of  all  farmers  interested  in 
this  matter.  Work  among  your  friends.  The  "Farmer"  i 
only  one  dollar  per  year.  Show  them  your  copy.  Try  and 
induce  them  to  subscribe.  It  is  not  much  for  each  sub- 
scriber to  do  but  it  will  greatly  assist  us. 

All  communications  in  regard  to  the  editorial  management 
should  be  addressed  to  Dr.  S.  8.  Rathvon,  Lancaster,  Pa.; 
and  all  business  letters  ia  regard  to  subscriptions  and  ad-  * 
vertising  should  be  addressed  to  the  publisher.    Rates  of 
advertising  can  be  had  on  application  at  the  office. 


lOHN  A  HIESTAND, 

No.  9  North  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 


$72 


A  WEEK.    S12  a  day  at  home  easily  made.    Costly 
Outfit  free.  Address  True  &  Co.,  Augusta,  Main« 


ONE  DOLLAR  PER  ANNUI^.-SIITGLE  COPIES  10  CENTS. 


Dr.  S.  S.  RATHVON,  Editor. 

Eiit^ered  Ht  the    Post  4>ttii'e  nt  l^uiicaster  as 
Siec*oufl  I'laNN  Matter. 

CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER. 

EDITORIAL. 

The  Proposed  New  Department  of  Agriculture 81 

Increase  of  our  Crops 81 

Potash  in  Plants 8 

Kitchen  Gartlen  for  June 81 

Exports  of  Cheese 82 

Exports  of  Butt«r— Exports  of  Oleo-mar^arine 
— Marketing  Farm  Products. 

The  Conestoga  Flying  Fish 82 

Pyrethrum  Koseum 82 

Venor  Predicts  a  Bad  Summer 83 

Caddice  Flies 84 

An  Insect  that  walla  itself  up. 

Eggs  84 

Our  Crops 84 

Excerpts 84 

CONTRIBUTIONS. 
Comparative  value   of  farms   between  now  and 

Fifty  years  ago 86 

Fictitous  Value — Good  Crops — Good  Governinenta 
— TariO's,  etc. 

On  WheatCrops 86 

ESSAYS. 
Insects  and  some  of  their  relations  to  thevegeta- 

table  Kingdom 80 

SELECTIONS. 

The  Benevolent  Sunflower 89 

Our  Timber  Lands 90 

Roots  and  how  to  grow  them 91 

Composition  and  Value  of  Koot  Crops. 

Green  Manures 29 

OUR  LOCAL  ORGANIZATIONS. 

Lancaster  County  Agricultural  and  Horticultural 

Society 92 

New  Members  Elected — Crop  Reports — Pruning: 
Apple  Trees — Wlieu  to  Cut  Grass — \Viiite-ni.irke<i 
Tobacco — Yellow  Liicau — Double  Peaches — 
— Books  for  the  Library. 

The  Poultry  Society 93 

Linnsean  Society 93 

April  Meeting— .May  Meeting. 

AGRICULTURE. 

Rotation  of  Crops 94 

Manure  Made  UuderCover 94 

Exportsof  Breadstuffs 94 

Corn  Culture  in  Gardens 94 

HORTICULTURE. 

An  Abundant  Apple  Crop 94 

What  Kills  Fruit  Trees 94 

Early  Turnips 94 

HOUSEHOLD    RECIPES. 

Beefsteak  Rools 95 

Devilled   Ham 95 

Yankee  Plum  Pudding 95 

French  Beefsteak 95 

Squash  Pie 95 

Delightful  Pudding 95 

To  Make  Tough  Meat  Tender 95 


LANCASTER,  PA.    JUNE,  1882. 


JOHN  A.  HIESTAND,  Publisher 


Cabbage  Salad »•' 

Scallopped  Oysters ^^ 

Roast  Shouldcrof  Veal ^^ 

Western  Cookies '^ 

Fairy  Apple ^^ 

LIVE  STOCK. 

Improving  the  stock  on  the  farm 95 

Keepupthe  Flow  of  Milk 95 

Care  of  Dairy  Vessels , ^^ 

Raise  the  Good  Cows  Heifer  Calf 95 

POULTRY. 

One  Variety 95 

Treatment  of  Young  Ducks 9fi 

A  Profitable  Hennery  96 

Literary  and  Personal 96 


SILK-WORM  EGGS. 

Amateur  Silk-growers  cnn  be  atipplied  with  superior 
silk-worm  egg«,  oii^rcasonable  ttrnis,  by  applying.iinmc- 
diately  to 

€)EO.  O.  HEBfSEIv, 

may-3m]  No.  238  Efist  Oranpre  Slrtet,  T^anoaster,  Pa. 


SEND  IN  YOUR   SUBSCRIPTIONS 


roii  1SS2. 

The  clieapest  and  one  of  the  best  Agricullurul  papers 
in  the  euuntry. 

Only  $1,00  per  year. 

JOHN  A.  HIESTAND,  Publisher, 

No.  9  Nortli  Queen  st.,  Laneiister,  Pii. 


Eg'^s!  Eg'g's! 

From  all  the  Icadinir  varieties  of  pure  bred  Poultry 
Bramahs,  Cochin,  n:iinbiirgs,  Polish  Game,  Dorking 
and  French  Fowls,  Plymouth  Kocks  and  Bantoms, 
Rouen  and  Pekins  Ducks.  Send  for  Illustrated  Cir- 
cular. 

T.  SMITH,  P.  M.,  Fresh  Pond,  N.  Y. 

feb-.3m 

JOB  PRINTING. 

The  E.XAMINEK  Printing  Establishment  is  on« 
of  the  most  complete  in  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  is  prepared  to  do  all  kinds  of 

BOOK,  JOB  AM)  m\mm  wobk, 

PKO.MPTLY, 

and  at  as  low  prices  as  can  be  obtained  at  any  place. 
Write  for  prices  for  anj  Printing  you  have  to  do. 

JOHN  A.  HIESTAND, 

Proprietor. 


$66 


a  week  in  your  own  town.     Terms  and  85  outfit 
free.  Address  U.  HallettA  Co.,  Portland,  Maine. 


tSH^S  L^^HP  iK^^F 

,T»Jt  1882 

Will  b«  tn>il»4  rail  to  kH  appllckBU,  ksd  tiicnitAmtn  witbvat 
ordariDC  It.  It  codUidi  £▼«  celorad  pUUi,  £00  •n^nvlap, 
■boat  300  Mg*!,  sJid  full  dficrlpttoDi,  pHr«t  ui<l  dlrxUoDi  for 
plullDg  l^  «ul«tlet  of  V^e'tAt'l*  knd  Flowrr  S«*di,  PlftnU. 
Frail  Tr*M,  ate.     lovaluAbl*  U>  kll.     Sand  for  U.     Addrttt, 

S.  K.  FEBEY  ft  CO.,  Detroit,  Hick. 


Jan-4m 


rfj/^nji  week  in  your  own  town.    TerniB  and  $5  outfit  free 
ipDDAddreBs  H.  Hai-lktt  k  I'o  ,  Portland,  HHioe. 

jun-lyr* 

WK  WANT  Ul.ll  IiO<»UN. 

We  Waxt  c;ekman  Books. 

WE  WANT  BOOKS    PUINTED  IK  LANCASTER  CO. 

We  Want  All  Kinds  of  Old  Book.s. 

LIBRARIE.'i,  ENGLISH  OR  OER.MAN    BOUGHT. 

Cash  paid  for  Books  in  any  quantity.    Send  yotiraddrcflfl 

and  we  will  call. 

REEK  WELSH  A  CO., 

2.3  South  Ninlli  Street.  Philadelphia. 


LIGHT  BRAHMA  EGGS 

For  hatcliiun,  now  ready— from  the  bi-st  ^train  in  the 
county — at  the  moderate  priee  of 

^X»SO  for  a  setting' of  X3  X3sS<6*« 

I..  HATHVON. 

Ne.  9  Xorlh  Queen  st.,  Kxaminer  Ofliee,  LaiieiLsler,  Pa. 

WANTED.— *'ANVASSEK.S  for  the 
LANCASTER  WEEKLY  EXAMINER 
In  KvL'ry  Town.ship  in  the  County.     (ioo«i  WnKes  ean  b« 
ma<iL*.     Inquire  at 

THE  EXAMINER  OFFICE, 

No.  9  Xttrth  (^ueen  Strt-et,  I^iuea.'-ter,  l*a 

mTQA  WKEK.  $1*2  u  duy  at  home  easily  made  Costly 
vj)  /  Zoutiit  free.    Address  Tkue  k  Co.,  AugURta,  Maine. 

juu-tyr* 

SEND  FOR 

Ou  Concord  Grai'evines,  Transplanted  EvergreeiiR,  Tulip, 
Tojilar,  Linden  Muplc,  etc.  Tree  See<Ilings  and  Trees  for 
thnber  plantations  liy  tlie  lOci.tmii 

J.  JE.\KI.\N-   Xl'KKERY, 
S-2-79  \VIXON.\,  llU  IMHIANA  CO.,  OHIO. 

MARBLEHEAD 

£arly  Siveet  Corn 

Is  the  mot^t  prolitiihtv  (d"  nil,  lu-cause  it  mature.''  hefore 
any  other  kind,  giving  fMrniers  complete  control  of  the 
early  market.  I  warrant  it  to  be  at  lea.st  a  week  earlier 
than  Minnej^ola,  NarraKanscll  or  Crosby,  and  deeide4lly 
earlier  than  Dolly  Dutton,  Tom  Thumb  or  Karly  Hoyn- 
ton.  Of  Hize  of  Minne*«>ta,  and  very  Hweet.  The  original 
introducer,  1  wend  pure  f*loek.  postpaid,  per  package  15 
cents;  per  quart,  70  cents;  per  peck,  by  cxi>res»,  53.00. 
Jn  my  catalogue,  <frcctoall,)  are  emphatic  recommen- 
dations from  farmers  and  gftrdcners. 

JAMES  J.  H.  GREGORY, 
apr-3t  Marblehcad,  Maas. 


II. 


THE  LANCASTER   FARMER. 


^ENNSYLVAXIA  RAIKROAD  SCHEDVLE. 

Trains  leave  the  Depot  lu  this  city,  as  follows  : 


WE   TWARD. 

Pacific  Express' 

Way  Passeugert 

Niagara  Exi^ress 

Hanover  Acconiniodation, . 

Mail  train  via  Mt.  Joy 

No.  2  via  Columbia 

Sunday  Mail 

Fast  Line" 

Frederick  Accomraodatiou. 

Harrisburg  Accom 

Columbia  Accommodation.. 

Harrisburg  Express 

Pittsburg  Express 

Cincinnati  Express* 


I  eave 
Lancaster. 

2:40  a.  m. 

5:110  a.  m. 
11:00  a.  m. 
11:05  p.  m. 
10:20  a.  m. 
11.25  a.  m. 
10:50  a.  m. 

2;30p.  m. 

2:35  p.  m. 

5:45  p.  m. 

7:20  p.  m. 

7:30  p.m. 

8:50  p.  m. 
11:30  p.m. 

Lancaster. 
2.55  a.  m. 
5:08  a.  m. 
8:05  a.  m. 
9.10  p.  m. 
:40  p  m. 
2:o0  p.  m. 
3:05  p.  m. 
5:35  p  m. 


EASTWARD. 

Cincinnati  Exjiress 

Fast  Line* 

Harrisburg  Express 

Columbia  Accommodation. 

Pacific  Express* 

Sunday  Muil 

Johnstown  Express , 

Day  Express' 

Harrisburg  Accom 6:25  p.  m. 

The  Hanover  Accommodation,  west,  connects  at  Lancaster 
with  Niagara  Express,  west,  at  9:35  a.  m.,  and  will  run 
through  to  Hanover. 

The  Frederick  Accommodation,  west,  connectsat  Lancas- 
ter with  Fast  Liue,  west,  at  2:10  p.  m„  and  runs  to  Frederick. 

The  Pacific  Express,  east,  on  Sunday,  when  flagged,  will 
stop  at  M-'idletown,  Elizabethtowu,  Mount  Joy  and  Landis- 
ville, 

*Tht:  only  trains  which  run  daily. 

tRuns  daily,  except  Monday. 


Arrive 

Harrisburg. 

4:05  a.  m. 

7:50  a.  m. 

11:20  a.  m. 

Col.  10:40  a.  m. 

12:40  p.  m. 

12:55  p.  m. 

12:40  p.  m. 

3:25  p.  m. 

Col.  2:45  p.  m. 

7:40  p.  m. 

Col.  S:20  p.  m. 

8:40  p.  m. 

10:10  p.  m. 

12:45  a.  m. 

Philadelphia 

3:00  a.  m. 

7:40  a.  m. 
10:110  a.  m. 
12:0    p.  m. 

3:40  p.m. 

5:00  p.m. 

5:30  p.  m. 

7:20  p.m. 

9:30  p.  m. 


NORBECK  &  iMILEY, 


PRACTICAI. 


^ 


Carriage  Builders 

cox  &  CO'S  OLB  STA\D, 

Corner  of  Duke  and  Vine  Streets, 

LANCASTER,  PA. 


THE  LATEST  IMPROVED 

SIDE-BAR  BUGGIES, 

PH.ETONS, 

Carriages,  Etc, 


Prices  to  Suit  the  Times. 

REPAIRING  promptly  attended  to.     All  work 
guaranteed. 

T9-2- 

s.  :i3.  oos:. 

Manufacturer  Of 

Cirriages,  Buggies,  Phaetons,  etc. 

CHURCH  ST.,  NEAR  DUKE,      LANCASTER,  PA. 

Large  Stock   uf  New  and  Secon-hand   Work   on    hand 
very  cheap.    Carriagea  Made  to  Order       Work  Warranted 
or  one  year.  [Ti-9-12 


EDW.  1.  ZAHM, 

DHALKB  IN 

AMERICAN  AND   FOREIGN 

WATCHES, 

SOLID  SILVER  &  SILVER  PLATED  WARE, 
CLOCKS, 

JEWELRY  ITABLE  CUTLERY. 

Sole  Agent  for  the  Arundel  Tinted 

SPECTACLES. 

Repairing  strictly  jitteuded  to. 

North  Queen-st.  and  Centre  Square,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

79-1-12 

AT  IiOWE.ST  POSSIBLE  PKIt'ES, 

Fully  guarauteed. 

No.  106  EAST  KING  STREET, 

79-1-12]  Op2insilf  L^opiird  Mv/nl. 

ESTABLISHED  1832. 


G.  SENER  &  SONS, 

Manufacturers  and  de;ilers  in  all  kinds  of  rough  and 
Jiuished 

The  best  Sawed  SHII\'GI,ES  iu  the  couulry.     Also  Sash, 
Doors,  Bliuds,  Moukliugs,  &c. 

PATENT  0.  G.  WEATHERBOARDING 

aud   PATENT  BLINDS,  which  are  far  suijerior  to  any 
other.    Also  best  i'OAI.  coustantly  on  hand. 

OFFICE  AND  YAKD  : 

Northeast  Corner  of  Prince  and  Walnut-sts., 

LAJSrCASTER,  FJ^. 

79-1-12] 


PRACTICAL  ESSAYS  ON  ENTOMOLOGY, 

Embracing  the  history  aod  habits  of 

NOXIOUS  AND  INNOXIOUS 

INSECTS, 

and  the  best  remedies  for  their  expulsion  or  eiterraiuation. 

By  S.  S.  RATHVON,  Ph.  D. 

LANCASTER,  PA. 

This  work  will  be  Highly  Illustriited,  and  will  be  put  in 
press  (as  soon  after  a  sufficient  number  of  subscribers  can 
be  obtained  to  cover  the  cost)  as  the  work  can  possibly  be 
accomplished. 
79-2- 

<P  R  fr»   Con  V^^  *^*y  *^*'  b***'^®-  Samples  worth  $5  free] 
4>J    LU   4)&U  Address  Stinson  &  Co.,  Portland,  Maine 


Fruit,  Shade  and  Ornamental  Trees, 

plant  Trees  raised  in  this  county  and  suited  to  this  climate  . 
Write  for  prices  to 

LOUIS  C.LYTE, 

Bird-in-Hand  P.  O.,  Lancaster  co..  Pa. 

Nursery  at  Smoketowu,  six  luiles  east  of  Lancaster. 
79-1-12 

WIDMYER  &  RICKSECKER, 

UPHOLSTERERS, 

And  Manufacturers  of 

FURNITURE  i^ND  CHAIRS, 

VVAREKOOMS: 

102  East  King  St.,  Cor.  of  Duke  St. 

LANCASTER,  PA. 

79-1-12] 

Special  laducements  at  the 

NEW  FURNITURE   STORE 

\A/.  A.   HEINITSH, 

(over  Bursk's  Grot^ery  Siore),  Lancaster,  Pa. 
A  general  assor'meut  of  turuitureof  all  kinds  constantly 
on  baud.     Uon't  forget  the  number, 

X5  X-2  3E3^ist  2^±a3.s  JStx*ee-t, 


Nov-ly] 


(over  BuFPk's  Giucery  Store.) 


For  Good  and  Cheap  Work  go  to 

F.  VOLLMER'S 

FURNITURH  WARE   ROOMS, 

No   309  NORTH  QUEEN  ST.. 

(Opposite  Northern  M.irket), 
Also,  ;ill  kiuds  of  picture  frames.  nov-ly 

GREAT  BARGAINS. 

A.  large  assortment  of  all  kiuds  of  Carpets  are  still  sold  at 
lower  rates  than  ever  at  the 

CARPET  HALL  OF  H.  S.  SHIRK, 

Ko.  202    West  Khif/  SU 

Call  aud  examine  our  stock  and  satisfy  yourself  that  we 
can  show  the  largest  assortment  of  these  Brussels,  three 
plies  aud  ingrain  at  all  prices— at  the  lowast  Philadelphia 
prices. 

Also  on  baud  a  large  and  oomplete  assortment  of  Rag 
Cari'et. 

Satisfactiou  guaranteed  bath  as  to  price  and  quality. 

You  are  invited  to  call  aud  see  my  goods.  No  trouble  in 
showiug  them  eveu  if  you  do  not  want  to  purchase. 

Don't  forget  Ibis  uolice.  You  ciiu  save  money  here  if  you 
want  to  buy. 

Particular  attention  given  to  customer  v  ork. 

Also  on  hand  a  full  assortment  of  Counterpanes,  Oil 
Cloths  and  Blankets  of  every  variety.  [nov-Iyr. 

PHILIP  SCHUM,  SON  &  CO., 

38  and  40  West  King-  Street. 

We  keep  ou  hand  of  our  owu  mauufaeture, 

QUILTS,  COVERLETS, 

COUNTERPANES,  CARPETS, 

Bureau  and  Tidy  Covers.  Ladies'  Furnishing  Goods,  No- 
tions, etc. 

Particular  attention  paid  to  customer  Rag  Carpet,  aud 
scoweriug  and  dyeing  of  all  kinds. 


Nov-ly 


PHILIP  SCHUM,  SON  &  CO., 


Lancaster,  Pa. 


THE  HOLMAN  LIVER  PADl 

Cures  by  absorption  without  medicine. 

Now  is  the  time  io  apply  these  remedies.  They  will  do 
for  you  what  nothing  else  on  earth  can.  Hundreds  of  citi- 
zens of  Lancaster  siy  so.     Get  the  genuine  at 

LANCASTER  OFFICE  AND  SALESROOM, 

22  East  Orange  Street. 

Nov-lyr 

C.  R.  KLINE 

JAtTOF(NEY-AT-J:iAW, 
office  :  15  north  duke  street, 

NoT-ly 


The  Lancaster  Farmer. 


Dr.  S.  S.  RATHVON,  Editor. 


LANCASTER,  PA.,  JUNE,  188L'. 


Vol.  KIV.  No.  6. 


Editorial. 


THE   PROPOSED   NEW    DEPARTMENT 
OK  AGRICULTURE. 

Its   Importance,  Its  Necessity  and   Its  Rights 
in  the  Category  of  Progressive  Civili- 
zation. 

"Tlie  total  money  value  of  all  the  farms  in 
the  United  States  foot  up  the  immense  sum  of 
fl0,190,800,(i45 ;  the  value  of  farm  imi>le- 
ments,  .1f4UG,.510,902  ;  the  live  stoi'k,  $i..')00,- 
482,187.  The  exports  of  agrieultural  products 
for  1881  amounted  to  1S72'.J,6.'3U,U1C,  being  an 
average  of  78|  percent,  of  all  our  exports." 

These  figures  may  illustrate  the  magnitude, 
the  importance  and  the  vaUie  of  our  agricul- 
tural interests,  and  are  ."sutlicieut  to  atlord 
light  to  indifferent  C'ongre.ssraen  in  regard  to 
the  claims  of  agriculture  to  a  distinct  depart- 
mental recognition  in  the  Presidential  Cabi- 
net, endowed  with  all  the  powers,  influences 
and  means  within  its  legitimate  sphere  that 
distinguishes  any  other  department  of  the 
C4overnment.  Indeed,  in  view  of  the  preg- 
nant fact  that  all  we  eat,  all  we  wear,  all  that 
shelters  us  is  either  an  agricidtural  product, 
or  in  some  way  connected  with  it ;  and  that 
even  commerce  and  manufactures  could  not 
exist  indeiiendent  of  agriculture — we  repeat, 
m  view  of  all  this,  it  seems  like  an  unaccount- 
able omission  that  the  founders  of  the  gov- 
ernment did  not  establish  a  co-equal  depart- 
ment of  agriculture  from  the  very  beginning, 
especially  since  agriculture,  at  that  period, 
embraced  so  large  a  part  of  the  industrial  in- 
terests of  the  New  Government.  Nothing 
but  the  inherent  modesty  of  its  representa- 
tives and  the  remnants  of  a  veneration  for 
the  class  rule  introduced  from  the  mother 
country,  could  have  withheld  the  farmers  of 
those  days  from  ass,  rting  their  right  to  a  de- 
partmental position  in  the  constitution  of  the 
Executive  Cabinet.  But,  instead  of  such  a 
wise  and  generous  recognition  of  an  industry 
involving  the  physical  vitality  of  the  govern- 
ment itself,  the  subject  of  agriculture  has 
been  practically  regarded  as  a  sort  of  tail- 
piece {something  like  Nast's  caricatures  of 
Gratz  Brown  on  the  Greeley  Presidential 
ticket)  to  the  U.  S.  Patent  Office,  almost  en- 
tirely eclipsed  by  a  department  that  under 
any  circumstances  could  only  have  been  sec- 
ondary to  it.  It  is  hoped  now,  however,  that 
Congress  will  see  what  it  has  failed  to  see  for 
many  years  and  make  amends  in  the  near  fu- 
ture for  its  habitual  delinquencies  of  the  past. 

"INCREASE   OF    OUR   CROPS." 
Hon.  William  Fullerton,  in  a  very  excellent 
paper  on  this  subject,  published  in  Southern 
Iiulustrie^,  says:  The  doctrine  I  would  enforce 
may  be  thus  briefly  stated: 

1st.  Constant  attention  should  be  given  to 
the  home  manufacture  of  manure,  and  made 
the  farmer's  chief  dependence,  not  forgetting 
to  protect  it  from  waste  until  applied  to  the 
land. 
2nd.  Practice  green  manuring  as  a  system, 


using  commercial  fertilizers,  if  necessary  to 
promote  a  vigorous  growth  for  tiiat  pupose. 

;hd.  Keep  the  .surface  of  the  land  mulched 
by  letting  something  remain  on  it,  to  protect 
the  roots  of  the  grasses  and  imprison  the 
fruits  of  decomposition. 

4th.  Feed  on  the  farm  the  most  of  its  pro- 
ducts, and  make  beef,  pork,  mutton,  wool, 
&c.,  &c.,  rather  tlian  depend  upon  raising 
and  selling  grain  for  a  livelihood. 

lie  also  states  with  emiihasis  that  the  im- 
portance of  this  last  injunction  cannot  be 
over  estimated.  Money  coidd  be  profitably 
expended  to  raise  food  to  be  fed  on  the  farm, 
whilst  the  same  amount  expended  on  the  same 
land  for  raising  grain  to  sell,  would  result  in 
loss. 

Mr.  Fullerton  further  alleges  that  he  ad- 
vances no  theory,  the  value  of  which  he  has 
not  practically  tested  and  proved.  According 
to  his  reasoning,  the  great  want  of  the  farmer 
is  manure.  This,  in  some  form,  he  must 
h:ive,  to  cultivate  profitably.  Barn-jard 
manure  must  be  the  chief  reliance,  and,  when 
made,  it  must  be  better  cared  for  than  is 
usually  the  habit. 

A  story  is  told  of  a  farmer  whose  lands 
failed  to  produce  a  crop,  upon  which  he  final- 
ly applied  to  his  minister,  to  pray  over  his 
fields.  The  good  man  consented,  on  condition 
that  he  would  accompany  him  and  point  the 
fields  and  crops  he  desired  to  be  prayed  for. 
In  going  along,  they  arrived  at  a  particularly 
unpromising  fiidd,  and  here  the  fiirmer  thought 
a  very  special  prayer  should  be  offered;  but 
the  minister  only  shook  his  head,  and  very 
sensibly  replied  in  his  own  vernacular,  "  Es 
ist  gor  net  der  vardt  das  mer  do  badet  doot,  do 
kar\lt  mishl.''''  The  minister  doubtless  had 
had  sufficient  experience  to  know  that  the 
Lord  does  not  work  arbitrarily  in  man's  be- 
half, but  through  nwdia  best  adapted  to  ends, 
and,  that  the  media  best  adapted  to  poor 
lands,  is  manure,  manure,  manure. 


POTASH    IN   PLANTS. 

Potash  is  one  of  the  absolute  necessities  of 
all  plants,  and  the  time  was  when  in  order  to 
obtain  this  substance  for  other  purposes  it  was 
extracted  largely  from  plants  by  mechanical 
means.  While  the  phosphoric  acid  directs 
itself  mostly  to  the  development  of  the  seed, 
jjotash  applies  in  the  greater  part  to  the  per- 
fecting of  roots,  leaves  and  stems,  as  exhibit- 
ed in  the  following  table: 

Plants  require  potash  in  the  following  pro- 
portion to  one  thousand  pounds: 


Wheat, 

Wheat  Straw, 

Spring  Wheat, 

Barley, 

Barley  Straw, 

Oats, 

Oat  Straw, 

Rye, 


5^    Peas,  9,»j 

4,'o  Pea  Straw,  10,'j 

7      Beans,  12 

4,«o  Bean  Straw,  2.5,9, 

9i'„  Potatoes,  5,^^ 

4 (-(5  Green  potato  vines7T'(; 
9,',,  Beet-root  (sugar)  4 
5y«5  Beet-tops,  4 


Rye  Straw, (winter)7,^j  Hemp, whole  plant,.5,'0 
Rye  Straw, (sum'r)lly'5 Linseed,  \\^\ 

Corn,  3,3,,  Clover-Hay,  19, 'a 

Corn   fodder    and        White-clover  hay,  10 ,"4 
stalk,  16 1'^  From  "What  of  Fer- 

Meadow  Hay,        17Ti(,tilizers.") 


"  The  readiest  and  most  acceptable  method 
of  furnishing  potash  to  the  field  is  by  the  ap- 
plication of  wood-ashes,  even  those  of  bitiuni- 
nousand  anthracite  coal  are  very  useful,  when 
seperated  Irnni  the  grosser  particles.  lu  de- 
faidt  of  these,  recourse  mu.st  be  had  to  the 
various  low  priced  potash  salts,  now  so  abun- 
dantly supplied  by  the  recently  opened  enor- 
mous deposits  in  Germany." 

Pota.ss,  potash,  or  pearlash.  is  an  oxide  of 
potuHsiuiu,  the  two  latter  names  being  applied 
to  the  article  as  found  in  commerce.  At  one 
period  it  wa.s  entirely  produced  or  obtaineel 
by  burning  various  plants,  hence  its  name 
2>otnsh.  But  it  is  also  obtained  native  in  var- 
ious parts  of  the  world,  notably  in  Germany, 
but  not  of  as  pure  a  quality  as  that  produced 
through  chemical  manipulation.  It  is  widely 
difiused,  and  of  course  that  which  exists  in 
vegetation  must  have  been  absorbed  from  the 
.soil,  and  also  in  a  gaseous  state  from  the 
atmosphere.  It  readily  combines  with  other 
chemical  substances,  and  forms  various  com- 
pounds.  The  ordinary  potash  is  a  carbonate 
in  an  impure  form. 


KITCHEN  GARDEN  FOR  JUNE. 

The  labor  of  the  gardener  in  this  month, 
will  mainly  consist  in  the  tillage  of  the  grow- 
ing crops  in  this  latitude.  The  rapid  growth 
ot  weeds  at  this  season  will  admonish  him  of 
the  necessity  of  timely  exertion. 

The  aid  of  aii])ropriate  tools  in  the  culture 
of  crops,  and  extermination  of  weeds  will  be 
commended.  Good  implements  are  indispen- 
sable to  success,  and  he  who  has  provided 
them  will  not  only  have  greater  jjleasure  in 
his  labors,  but  the  profit  which  attends  the 
judicious  application  of  them  in  both  time 
and  labor. 

Aspuragus-bcds  keep  clean,  lieans,  bush  or 
bunch,  plant  for  succession,  and  cultivate 
those  in  gnjwth.  Beets,  thin  the  later  plant- 
ting.  Broccoli,  plant  out  those  sown  in  Ai)ul. 
Cahhagi,  ditto,  especially  the  sorts  \vhich  it  is 
desired  shall  come  into  use  in  September  and 
October,  in  advance  of  winter  varieties. 
Celeri/,  plant  out  a  portion  for  early  use.  Cu- 
cumbers, sow  successive  crops.  Corn,  Swjar, 
plant  for  succession.  Endive  sow.  Leeks, 
thin  or  transplant.  Peas,  a  few  may  be  plant- 
ed for  succession. — Landreth's  Jiur.  Beg. 

As  the  foreging  directions-  are  intended  to 
be  fcdeetive  from  the  very  begining  of  the 
month,  and  as  our  Journal  is  never  issued  lie- 
fore  the  middle  of  it,  yet,  as  the  season  is 
fully  half  a  month  later  than  the  averitge, 
they  are  not  inappropriate  to  the  period 
at  which  our  patrons  will  receive  them.  In- 
deed, at  any  season,  there  are  few  so  far  be- 
forehanded  in  their  work,  as  not  to  be  bene- 
fitted by  such  advice  if  they  heed  it,  and  avail 
themselves  of  its  practical  benefits.  Especi- 
ally are  those  items  which  relate  to  succession, 
matters  of  interest,  not  only  to  the  gardener, 
but  also  to  consumei-s  of  garden' croi>s.  "Suc- 
cession," or  "cropping"  of  garden  vegetation, 
is  vei7  little  more  of  a  specialty  now  than  it 
was  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  except  in  the 
vicinities  of  large  cities.  In  Lancaster  coun- 
ty we  are  beginning  to  find  green  corn  in  mar- 
ket late  in  October,  but  that  is  (n-etty  much 
all  of  the  early  summer  vegetables  we  find  at 


82 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[June, 


that  season.  During  the  "Crystal  Palace" 
exhibition  in  New  York — nearly  a  quarter  of 
a  century  ago — we  were  surprised  to  find 
green  peas  and  green  corn  on  the  table  near 
the  close  of  the  month  of  October,  a  State 
that  is  meteorogically  two  weeksjjlater  than 

Pennsylvania. 

^ 

EXPORTS    OF  CHEESE. 

The  following  are  the  exports  of  clieese  from 
New  York  to  the  under-mentioned  poits since 
May  1,  ]881  (begii.ning  of  tlie  trade  year), 
and  for  the  same  time  last  year  : 

18S1-1S82  1881-1880 

Liverpool 7fi,Gi5,312  81,099,788 

LopJon 17,ei9,.')12  13,078,326 

Glassow 40,359,B07  17,649,700 

Bristol  8,417,547  11,74s, 528 

Cardifl' 395,000  1,277,721 

Hull 1,336,013  375,841 

Newcastle 914,-J39  59-!,660 

Havre 148,670  121,145 

Hamburg 978,524  119,373 

Bremen 1,159,226  575,480 

Other  ports 3,489,070  2,693,831 

Total 131,442,726  129,303,098 

Exports  of  Butter. 

The  following  are  theexportsof  butter  from 
New  York  to  the  under-mentioned  ports  since 
May  1,  1881  (beginning  of  tlie  trade  year),  and 
for  the  same  time  last  year  : 

1881-1882  ISSl-l.'SO 

Liverpool 6,195,023  10,775,U9G 

London  475,017  936,144 

Glasgow 3,122,986  6,481,729 

Bristol 864,000  1,781,602 

Carditi' 357,000  973,089 

Hull 63,600  108,130 

Newcastle 84,200  171,076 

Hamburg 337,699  340,520 

Havre 674,.510  1,252,301 

Bremen 6:-4,209  1,048,247 

Other  ports 5,069,449  3,913,442 

Total 17,027,693    27,783,566 

Exports  of  Oleo-margarine. 
The  following  are  the  exports  of  oleo-mar- 
garine from  New  York  to  the  under-mention- 
ed ports  since  May,  1,  IbSl,  and  for  the  same 
time  last  year  : 

1881-1882  1881-18S0 

Liverpool 451, ;74  790,250 

London 13,165  64,180 

Glasgow 1,641,553  1,380,.500 

Bristol 47,0S0  179,744 

Rotterdam 6,8.56,667  5,360,180 

Antwerp 1,447,665  490,875 

Hamburg 25,430  75,007 

Bremen 45,8.50  81,712 

Other  ports 1,135,-585  561,250 

Total 10,464,769       8,983,668 

The  above,  which  we  clip  from  the  columns 
of  The  American  Dairyman,  exliibits  an  ap- 
preciation in  our  exportations  of  Cheese  dur- 
ing last  year,  of  2,13'.),(528  pounds,  which,  at 
only  ten  cents  per  pound,  Would  auiount  to  the 
handsome  sum  of  .1f215,S02.80.  That  is 
certainly  some  advance,  so  far  as  the  exporta- 
tion of  cheese  is  concerned. 

Our  exports  of  Oleo-margarine  during  tlie 
same  period  shows  an  increa.se  of  1,481,101 
pounds.  (Whether  Oleo-butter  or  cheese,  the 
tables  don't  state,)  but,  at  the  same  rate  per 
pound,  it  would  amount  to  8148,110.10,  also  a 
a  very  respectable  advance  as  a  domestic  ex- 
portation. 

These  two  items  of  increase  aggregate  3,- 
0:20,738  pounds,  amounting  to  ^362,072.90. 
Does  this  indicate  that  oleo-margarine — 
whether  in  the  form  of  butter  or  cheese — is 
becoming  more  popular  than  it  formerly  was 
in  the  foreign  market  V  If  oleo-margarine  is 
healthful  and  can  be  furnislied  at  a  lower 
price  than  genuine  butter  or  cheese  there  cer- 
tainly will  grow  up  a  market  for  it,  because 
the  masses  of  the  people  cannot  afford  to  pay 
the  prices  that  are  now  demanded  for  the 


genuine  article,  especially  butter.  And,  as  to 
quality,  nine  out  of  ten  would  prefer  good 
oleo-margarine  to  rancid,  oily  butter. 

The  exhibit  of  the  butter  exportation  does 
not  look  so  favorable.  From  the  same  tables 
we  discover  that  there  was  a  depreciation  in 
the  item  of  butter,  during  the  same  period,  of 
9,854,873  pounds,  which,  at  the  nominal  price 
of  ticenty  cents  per  pound,  would  amount  to 
$1,970,974.00,  which  absorbs  the  increase  in 
cheese  and  oleo-margarine,  and  exhibits  a  re- 
duction iu  last  year's  operations  amounting 
to  6,234,135  pounds,  and  »1, 608,901.70. 

The  absence  of  rains  and  the  short  grass 
crop  of  last  year  may  have  been  the  cause  of 
the  short  butter  crop,  although  we  miglit 
naturally  suppose  it  would  have  had  the  same 
effect  upon  the  production  of  cheese,  unless, 
indeed,  the  oleo-margarine  had  been  "  smug- 
gled in  "  as  genuine  cheese. 

We  ought  to  do  better  in  the  butter  busi- 
ness the  present  year;  and  yet,  just  now, 
(May  13th,)  it  looks  more  likely  that  we  may 
be  "  drowned  out,"  or  "  rotted  out,"  than  be 
"dried  out." 

As  pertinent  to  the  subject  we  append  the 
following  from  the  source  above  named  : 
Marketing  Farm   Products. 

Whatever  may  be  said  against  oleo-marga- 
rine, truthfully  or  otherwise,  it  is  an  undeni- 
able fact  that  since  it  has  been  put  upon  the 
market  butter  has  presented  itself  in  better 
garb,  sweeter,  sounder,  cleaner,  and  in  every 
way  more  worthy  of  being  recognized  as  a 
prime  product  of  the  American  dairy. 

Mr.  Starr,  of  Echo  Farm,  was  one  of  the 
first  to  get  a  dollar  a  pound  for  the  delicious 
butter  sent  to  New  York,  Boston  and  other 
cities.  This  came  to  market  in  neat  half- 
pound  packages  wrapped  in  snow-white  linen, 
and  was  as  fragrant  and  sweet  as  the  June 
grasses  upon  which  the  cows  fed.  If  there  is 
a  iKirudise  for  cows  on  earth  Echo  Farm  is 
one,  and  a  worthy  model,  creditable  to  the 
heart  of  a  humane  farmer. 

Now,  we  have  many  dairies  sending  sweet, 
waxy,  golden  and  aromatic  butter  to  the 
market,  perfectly  gratifying  the  most  fastidi- 
ous tastes  of  our  citizens.  These  dairies  and 
these  products  honor  such  names  as  Have- 
meyer,  Coe,  Crozier,  Holly,  Dinsmore,  Park, 
Valentine,  and  scores  of  others. 

The  great  Western  States  are  worthy  com- 
petitors in  gilt-edged  butter. 

Cheese,  eggs,  poultry  and  fruits,  put  up  in 
a  neat  manner,  are  always  acceptable  to  tlie 
purchaser,  and  bring  remunerative  prices  to 
the  producer. 

In  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia,  for  many 
years,  poultry  came  to  market  nicely  drawn, 
fresh,  sweet  and  ready  for  the  cook  ;  and  now, 
in  New  York  and  Boston,  the  hotel-keepers 
demand  drawn  poultry.  They  are  posted  in 
such  matters,  for  they  cater  to  the  most  ex- 
travagant tastes  ;  and  a  man  who  knows  how 
to  keep  a  first-class  hotel  knows  what  human 
provender  should  be. 

Compare  our  first-class  retail  groceries  now 
with  wliat  they  were'  twenty  years  ago.  The 
demands  of  consumers  require  goods  neatly 
put  up,  the  stores  to  be  kept  clean,  and  the 
clerks  aproned  in  immaculate  white.  In  fact, 
some  of  the  spruce  clerks  now  wax  their  mus- 
taches, a  la  Napoleon  III. ,  to  please  the  ladies. 

The  neat  and  tasty  marketing  of  farm  pro- 
ducts pays  a  handsome  profit  on  all  the  extra 
taste  and  labor  bestowed  upon  them. 

Our  best  merchants  understand  the  art  of 
displaying  their  goods  and  tlie  profit  it  brings. 
A  visit  to  Thurber's  will  convince  the  most 
sceptical.  In  this  house,  where  twenty  mil- 
lions are  annually  sold,  the  goods  are  put  up 
in  the  best  possible  style.  Even  the  canned 
goods  are  radiant  witj  colors  and  rich  in  gilt. 

The  packages  of  coffee,  tea  and  spices  are 
clothed  with  beautiful  pictures  of  the  Oriental 


shrubs  that  produced  them.  Thurber's  labels 
are  exquisite  specimens  of  taste  and  art. 
"Straws  tell  which  way  the  wind  blows." 

Let  farmers'  wives  and  daughters  tastefully 
decorate  the  packages  of  farm  products  and 
they  can  afford  to  dress  in  silk. 

THE  CONESTOGA  FLYING  FISH. 

In  regard  to  the  rumor  of  a  flying  fish  hav- 
ing been  caught  in  the  Conestoga,  at  Wabank, 
some  time  ago,  if  not  a  canard,  it  has,  at 
least,  turned  out  to  be  a  "  gurnard."  Before 
the  week  was  out  I  handled  three  specimens, 
and  that  "settled  it."  Now,  it  is  not  impos- 
sible that  the  fish  in  question  should  have 
been  caught  in  the  Conestoga,  but  it  is  alto- 
gether improbable.  About  forty  years  ago  a 
genuine  sturgeon  was  caught  in  the  Susque- 
hanna, above  Marietta,  in  a  "fi.sh  basket," 
and,  I  think,  is  still  extant,  iu  possession  of 
Judge  Libhart,  of  Marietta  ;  and  just  here  1 
would  suggest  that  that  specimen  ought  to  be 
in  the  museum  of  tlie  Linna:an  Society.  This 
supposed  Conestoga  fish  is  a  species  of  the 
"Flying  Gurnard,"  Prionotus  caroUnus  of 
Dekay,  also  called  "Sea-Robin  "  and  "Grun- 
ter,"  from  a  grunting  noise  it  makes  when 
taken  out  of  the  water.  It  belongs  to  Cuvier's 
first  order,  and  second  family  of  Bony-Fishes, 
the  first  family|(Perc!cZce')  being  typified  by 
the  common  perch.  The  family  to  which  this 
subject  belongs  includes  the  "  hard-cheeked  '' 
fishes,  and  the  attempt  to  "palm  it  off"  as  a 
Conestoga  fish  smacks  very  much  of  a  hard- 
cheeked  adventure.  I  have  now  two  speci- 
mens of  it,  obtained  from  second  persons,  who 
could  not  tell  whence  they  originally  came, 
and  representing  them  to  have  been  caught 
in  the  Conestoga  and  the  Susquehanna,  may 
have  been  more  to  enhance  the  value  of  the 
fishes  than  to  "sell"  the  naturalists.  They 
are  an  Atlantic  coast  fish,  and  abound  from 
the  Carolinas  as  far  northeast  as  Nantucket, 
feeding,  according  to  Dekay,  on  small  mollnsks 
and  crustaceans.  They  have  the  power  of 
making  a  short  flight  by  the  aid  of  their  large 
pectoral  fins,  when  pursued  by  their  enemies, 
but  they  are  not  the  true  flying  fish  (Exocetus 
volitans)  and  do  not  belong  either  to  the 
same  family  or  the  same  order.  The  pectoral 
(ins  of  the  true  flying-fish  are  longer  than  the 
body  of  the  fish,  but  in  this  subject  they  are 
only  about  one-third  the  length  of  the  body. 
These  fishes  attain  a  length  of  from  twelve  to 
eighteen  inches,  and  their  edible  qualities  are 

not  of  a  very  high  order— too  dry  and  insipid. 

^ 

PYRETHRUM   ROSEUM. 

The  illustration  of  this  comparatively  new 
Insecticide,  which  we  publish  in  this  number 
of  the  Farmer,  was  originally  intended  to 
have  accompanied  the  history,  etc.,  of  the 
plant,  which  appeared  in  our  May  number, 
but  which  we  did  not  receive  in  time.  To 
those  of  our  patrons  who  possess  regular  files 
of  our  journal,  it  will  be  little  or  no  incon- 
venience to  have  the  history  and  the  illustra- 
tions in  two  consecutive  numbers,  if  it  does 
not  facilitate  reference  thereto.  We  believe 
that  both  amateur  and  professional  flower 
gardners  might  do  many  worse  things  than  to 
cultivate  this  plant,  both  for  utihty  and  orna- 
mentation. By  carefully  gathering  the  flow- 
ers after  they  had  accomplished  their  orna- 
mental functions  and  preserving  them  for  fu- 
ture use,  they  would  have  ready  access  to  an 
antidote  against  those  insect  and  other  pesti- 
ferous vermin  which  so  often  damage  or  de- 
stroy the  fruits  of  their  labor  in  the  house,  the 
garden  and  the  field. 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


63 


V,>\»«vCWV>\_'=> 


PYRETHRUM    ROSEUM. 
a,  Flowers  and  upper  leaves  from  plauts  grown  at  Washington  city,  D.  C;  b,  flower;  e,  leaf  from  tlower-stalk  ;  d,  invulmre  from  the  Bo- 
tonictil  Register,  Vol.  XII,  Fig.  1024. 


VENNOR  PREDICTS  A   BAD   SUMMER. 

Veanor,  the  Canadian  weather  prophet, 
was  written  to  concerning  the  significance  of 
the  recent  aurora.     In  his  answer  he  says : 

"  The  approacliing  summer  will  be  cold  and 
wet  over  a  very  considerable  portion  of  the  con- 
tinent, south  and  west.  He  should  not  be  sur- 
prised should  each  month  for  the  remainder 


of  the  year  bring  frosts.  In  past  years  bril- 
liant auroras  at  tliis  time  in  April  at  Toronto, 
New  York  and  more  southern  points,  have 
most  invariably  been  succeeded  by  cold  and 
wet  summers." 

It  is  becoming  a  serious  question  whether, 
after  all,  Vennor  may  not  be  sometliing  of  a 
weather  prophet.  His  prophecies  up  to  the 
present  date   (June  Glh)    have    come  much 


miner  the  true  .state  of  tlie  weather  "than  a 
goose  is  to  a  turkey,"  hard-sholled  literalists 
to  the  contrary  uotwitlistanding.  No  iirophe- 
cics,  perhaps,  liave  ever  come  literally  true, 
from  the  beginning  of  history  down  to  the 
present  time,  and  perhaps  never  will,  nor  is  it 
necessary  that  they  ever  nlioiild.  Of  course,  if 
the  above  predictions  of  Vennor  come  literally 


84 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[June, 


true  an  abundant  harvest  of  hay,  corn  and 
pignuts  will  follow  them  just  as  a  shadow  fol- 
lows its  substance.  To  Venuor  himself,  it 
may  be  no  prophecy  nor  intended  as  such,  but 
simply  a  mathematical  conclusion,  as  tmoe 
2  are  4. 


CADDICE  FLIES. 


An  Insect  that  Walls   Itself  Up. 

In  answer  to  an  inquiry  ^made  of  him,  our 
leained scientiiic  friend.  Dr.  Kathvou,  writes 
as  follows : 

W.  U.  Hensel,  'Esq.— Dear  Sir:  Tlie  curi- 
ous little  worms,  enclosed  in  a  gravel-covered 
follicle,  which  you  and  your  editorial  com- 
panions recently  observed  in  a  spring  in 
Franklin  county,  are  commonly  called  ''cad- 
dice  worms"  or  -'case  worms,"  and  are  the 
larva  of  a  Neuropterous  (nerve-winged)  in- 
sect, commonly  called  "caddice  Hies,"  of 
which  there  are  various  species,  the  most 
common  of  which,  perhaps  in  this  latitude  is 
the  Phryganea  Cinerea  of  Mr.  Walker.  They 
are  tolerably  abundant  in  nearly  all  the 
springs  throughout  Ijancaster  county,  especi- 
ally the  southern  portion  of  it,  as  Gen.  Stein- 
man  some  years  ago  sent  me  a  large  number 
from  a  spring  on  his  farm  in  JMartic  township. 
Most  likely,  however,  it  may  be  the  Pkryanea 
Semifaciata  of  ]Mr.  Say.  Species  cannot  be 
determined  without  having  the  specimens  of 
the  mature  insect.  These  are  four-winged 
flies,  from  23  to  28  millimeters  in  length,  and 
from  ii  to  o2  in  alar-expansion,  which  means 
from  tip  to  tip  of  the  expanded  wings.  Tlie 
general  characters  are  long  antenna,  com- 
pressed body,  wings  longer  than  the  body, 
nerved  longitudinally  with  a  few  transverse 
veins,  and  generally  of  a  grayish,  brownish 
and  blackish  color,  but  not  very  brilliant. 
Their  flight  is  sluggish  and  they  are  usually 
found  near  ponds,  streams  and  springs  of 
water,  iu  which  the  larvieor  worms  are  found. 
Their  development  is  very  interesting.  The 
female  fly  deposits  her  eggs  either  on  the 
water  or  on  some  plant  or  other  object  in  the 
water,  and  as  soon  as  the  young  worm  issues 
from  the  egg  it  seeks  the  bottom  of  the  pool 
and  begins  to  construct  a  sort  of  oblong  cocoon 
out  of  finely  spun  silk  or  webbing,  and  as  the 
tjody  of  the  insect  increases  in  size  it  in- 
creases the  length  and  diameter  of  its  case, 
incorporating  with  it,  on  its  outer  surface, 
small  particles  of  whatever  it  may  find  on 
the  bottom  of  the  pool  or  spring  ;  if  sandy  it 
will  be  covered  with  tlie  larger  grains  of  sand 
or  gravel.  But  if  such  material  is  not  at 
hand  it  will  u.se  small  portions  of  leaves,  leaf 
stems.  Wood,  or  anything  it  can  conveniently 
appropriate. 

The  fly  makes  its  appearance  annually  in 
June,  July  and  August,  according  to  species  or 
other  circum.stauces,  but  their  lives  are  short  ; 
during  the  larger  part  of  the  year  (ten  mouths 
or  more)  they  are  found  in  the  water,  in  the 
form  of  case  or  caddice  worms.  As  a  fly  they 
eat  nothing,  but  the  worm  feeds  on  vegeta- 
tion— Algea,  etc. — Intelligencer. 

EGGS. 

"Hens  in  France  produced  $300,000,000 
worth  of  eggs  last  year." 

This  is,  perhaps,  the  most  e^ys-traordinary 
eyj-saraple  of  ((/y-culture  in  fyys-istence,  and 
ought  to  be  tyyjj-tended  with  literal  cggs-act- 
ness  to  all  places  cyr/s-posed  to  contingent  eggs- 
igencies,  without  cggs-ceptmn. 

Punning  aside,  the  above-quoted  paragraph 
is  only  another  practical  illustration  of  "La 
Belle  France"  in  the  role  of  oviculture,  and  is 
intensely  Freneh;  manifesting  economical  re- 
sources in  a  domestic  production  which  wt, 
and  other  nations,  are  only  beginning  to  see, 
iu  a  commercial  sense.  There  is  more  profit 
and  tevver  vicissitudes  in  the  production  of 
small  things  than  there  is  in  greater  things. 


An  egg  may  be  regarded  as  a  condensed 
cliicken,  containing  all  the  nutritive  elements 
that  are  to  be  found  in  a  fully-developed  fowl, 
differing  only  in  a  quantity,  the  quality  of  the 
former  being  decidedly  superior. 

Estimating  those  $300  000,000  worth  of  eggs 
at  twenty  cents  per  dozen  (which  is  a  pretty 
high  figure  for  France,  where,  'tis  said,  a  good 
dinner  can  be  obtained  for  ten  cents)  shows 
the  product  to  have  been  1,500,000,000  dozens, 
or  18,000,000,000  of  eggs,  in  a  country  not 
four  times  larger  than  Pennsylvania,  without 
special  reference  to  domestic  consumption,  a 
matter  that  is  seldom  taken  an  account  of  by 
producers. 

'Tis  also  said  that  that  prolific  nationality 
has  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  ways  of  cook- 
ing an  egg,  and  perhaps  the  object  in  produc- 
ing so  many  eggs  is  to  further  duplicate  their 
modes  of.  culinary  preparation.  In  any  event, 
lot  our  oviculturists  keep  the  foregoing  before 
them  as  a  text  in  their  efforts  in  that  direction. 
Perhaps  it  would  be  well  to  import  French 
chickens,  for  surely  they  must  be  of  the  "Old 
Grimes"  stock  of  "Buuties,"  that  "every 
day  laid  me  an  egg  and  Sunday  she  laid 
three."  Eggs-it. 


OUR   CROPS. 

The  readers  of  the  Farmer  are  respectful- 
ly referred  to  the  proceedings  of  our  local 
society  for  an  epitome  of  the  crop  reports 
from  the  different  parts  of  Lancaster  county  ; 
from  which  it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  a 
tolerable,  although  not  an  entire  uniformity. 
We  prefer  to  let  our  farmers  speak  for  them- 
selves upon  a  subject  about  which  they  ought 
to  know  more  than  those  who  do  not  possess 
their  experimental  knowledge.  There  seems, 
however,  to  be  a  general  opinion  prevailing 
that  just  now  (June  12)  there  never  was  a  bet- 
ter prospect  before  of  an  "  A,  No.  1  "  crop  of 
wheat — not  a  bad  field  of  wheat  in  the  county. 
We  hope  their  most  sanguine  anticipations 
may  be  fully  realized. 


EXCERPTS. 

In  choosing  a  cow  the  crumply  horn  is  a 
good  indication ;  a  full  eye  another.  Her 
head  should  be  small  and  short.  Avoid  the 
Roman  nose;  this  indica'es  thin  milk,  and 
but  little  of  it.  See  that  she  is  dished  in  the 
facft,  sunk  between  the  eyes.  Notice  that  she 
is  what  stockmen  call  a  handler — soft  skin 
and  loose  like  the  skin  of  a  bag.  Deep  from 
the  loin  to  the  udder,  and  very  small  tail.  A 
cow  with  these  marks  never  fails  to  be  a  good 
milker.  There  is  more  difference  in  cows 
than  is  usually  supposed,  and  but  few  really 
good  cows  are  offered  in  our  markets. 

Prof.  Cook  says  :  "After  several  years'  ex- 
perience I  have  only  one  point  on  which  to 
discount  the  Light  Brahma ;  there  is  not 
quite  enough  while  meat.  Brahmas  should 
be  hatched  in  March  and  April ;  then  we 
shall  have  abundant  eggs  during  the  succeed- 
ing winter.  Let  no  one  who  keeps  light 
Brahmas  forego  the  important  suggestion  to 
devote  all  their  fowls  to  table  use  before  they 
pass  their  second  birthday. 

Dogs  are  at  present  the  chief  obstacle  to 
sheep  raising  in  Georgia.  There  are  some- 
thing like  120,000  worthless  curs  in  the  State, 
and  their  fondness  for  illicit  mutton  leads  to 
an  annual  slaughter  of  from  30,000  to  40,000 


sheep.  Sometimes  entire  flocks  are  killed.  A 
sweeping  dog  law  would  no  doubt  interfere 
with  'possum  hunting,  but  it  would  be  worth 
many  thousands  of  dollars  a  year  to  the  State 
and  sheep-raisers.  A  Georgia  newspaper 
estimates  the  profits  of  sheep-raising  at  53  per 
cent.,  notwithstanding  the  loss  by  dogs  ;  hang 
the  dogs,  and  the  profits  would  rise  to  73  per 
cent. 

D.  G.  Roberts  says  :  "Now  sowed  corn  is 
like  a  good  many  other  forage  plants.  There 
is  a  right  and  wrong  way  to  raise  it.  Planted 
and  grown  as  it  should  be  it  makes  valuable 
feed.  In  traveling  about  the  country  I  no- 
tice but  few  places  properly  planted.  A 
great  deal  is  fed  before  it  is  matured  suffi- 
ciently. At  certain  stages  of  its  growth  it 
is  very  valuable  as  a  butter  food.  At  just 
the  right  stage  of  growth  it  is  very  valuable 
for  that  purpose.  I  have  experimented  in 
feeding  this  plant  for  butter  many  times  and 
it  has  always  proved  best  just  at  the  time 
that  the  ears  are  in  best  condition  for  the 
table. 

The  agricultural  editor  of  the  New  York 
Times  publishes  an  elaborate  article  on  the 
comparative  value  of  manures,  in  which  he 
attempts  to  show  that  the  manure  obtained 
by  feeding  a  ton  of  cotton-seed  meal  con- 
tains phosphoric  acid,  nitrogen  and  potash 
which  it  would  cost  t27.86  to  buy  in  any  of 
the  commercial  fertilizers,  as  against  $6.65 
worth  from  a  ton  of  corn  meal,  $6.48  worth 
from  a  ton  of  good  hay,  and  S14.59  worth 
from  a  ton  of  bran.  This  is  the  result  of 
chemical  analysis  and  good  figuring.  Experi- 
ence probably  would  not  show  as  much  dif- 
ference but  it  is  certain  that  farmers  as  a  rule 
fail  to  take  into  account  the  comparative 
value  of  manures  which  come  from  feeding 
different  foods.  With  them  manure  is  ma- 
nure, and  they  do  not  stop  to  ask  what  it  was 
made  from  or  what  it  contains. 

Rye  for  Winter  and  Early  Spring 
Pasture. — Rye  sown  among  standing  corn 
will  do  almost  equally  as  well  for  winter  and 
early  spring  pasture  as  if  it  had  been  done  at 
the  last  working  of  the  corn,  as  the  first  rain 
will  cause  it  to  sprout  and  take  root  just  as 
well  as  if  it  had  been  put  in  with  cultivators. 
Sow  not  less  than  a  bushel  to  the  acre.  Ewes 
and  lambs  and  yearlings  may  be  then  turned 
on  it  after  Christmas,  and  kept  on  until  the 
1st  of  April,  when  it  may  be  set  apart  either 
tor  turning  under  as  a  manure  or  saved  for  a 
crop. 

Increasing  Farm  Manure. — A  very 
good  plan  for  increasing  the  supply  of  home- 
made manure,  may  be  adopted  by  farmers 
generally  with  equal  success.  It  is  merely  by 
placing  in  alternate  layers  rich  stable  manure 
and  turf  and  tods  until  the  heap  is  some  six 
feet  high  and  as  long  as  you  please,  and  then, 
after  a  time,  beginning  at  one  end  of  tho  pile 
to  turn  the  whole  over.  As  the  turf  and  sods 
rot  they  will  absorb  the  rich  ga.ses  generated 
by  the  manure,  and  which  might  otherwise 
escape  thus  forming  a  most  excellent  compost 
for  all  kinds  of  crops. 

An  Illinois  farmer  who  keeps  twenty 
horses,  some  of  them  worth  fl,500  each, 
writes  that  he  pastures  them  at  all  times  in 
fields  fenced  with  barbed  wire,  has  done  it  for 
years,  and  had  no  harm  result  from  it.  Before 


1882.  J 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


85 


tni-niiig  tliem  out  lift  lirst  leads  lliem  to  the 
feuce  and  lets  tlunn  nib  their  noses  against 
tlie  barbs,  and  the  liinl  is  sufficient.  They 
know  enough  after  that  to  keep  away  from 
the  fences. 

To  jirevc'ut  falling  off  of  hair  from  a  horse's 
mane,  or'  to  restore  the  growth,  rub  the  skin 
of  the  part  witli  the  following  mixture,  viz  : 
One  pint  of  alcohol  and  one  draclmi  of  tinc- 
ture of  eantharidcs.  (Jive  the  horse  a  dose  of 
.salts  (1-2  oz.)  and  feed  Ihem  wheat  bran,whicli 
will  allay  the  irritation  of  the  skin,  to  which 
the  loss  of  hair  is  due. 

WiiKAT  is  more  valuable  cut  at  a  stage 
which  would  be  commonly  considered  a  little 
early  th;in  when  left  to  become  over-ripe. 
The  cellulose  or  woody  fibre  rapidly  increases 
in  the  days  of  over-ripening,  giving  more 
bran  and  less  flour,  thus  materially  reducing 
the  milling  value  of  the  wheat. 

A  cubit  is  two  feet. 

A  pace  is  three  feel. 

A  fathom  is  six  feet. 

A  palm  is  three  inches. 

A  league  is  tlnee  miles. 

There  are  2,750  languages. 

A  great  cubit  is  eleven  feet. 

Two  persons  die  every  second. 

Bran  twenty  pounds  per  bushel. 

Sound  moves  74.'i  miles  per  hour. 

A  square  mile  contains  040  acres. 

A  barrel  of  ice  weighs  300  pounds. 

Slow  rivers  flow  five  miles  per  hour. 

A  barrel  of  pork  weighs  200  pounds. 

A  barrel  of  flour  weighs  196  pounds. 

An  acre  contains  4,840  square  yards. 

Oats,  tliirty-two  pounds  per  bushel. 

Barley,  forty-eight  pounds  jier  bushel. 

A  hand  (liorse-measure)  is  four  inches. 

A  span  is  ten  and  seven-eighths  inches. 

A  rifle  ball  moves  1,000  miles  per  hour. 

A  storm  blows  thirty-six  miles  per  hour. 

A  rapid  river  flows  seven  miles  per  hour. 

Buckwheat,  fifty-two  pounds  per  bushel. 

Electricity  moves  228,000  miles  per  hour. 

A  hurricane  moves  eighty  miles  per  hour. 

The  first  lucifer  match  was  made  in  1829. 

A  firkin  of  butter  weighs  lifty-six  pounds. 

Coar.se  salt,  eighty-five  pounds  per  bushel. 

A  tub  of  butter  weighs  eighty-four  pounds. 

Theaverage  human  life  is  thirty- three  years. 

Timothy  seed  forty-five  pounds  per  bushel. 

.XOniCULTURAL. 

Sorghum  seed  is  readily  eaten  by  poultry, 
and  is  better  for  small  chickens  than  corn. 

Milk  should  stand  at  least  thirty-six  hours 
before  .skimming  to  get  good  results.  Farm- 
ers take  notice. 

Kill  the  dog  lirst  and  hunt  for  his  owner  af- 
terwards, is  the  maxim  of  certain  Georgia 
farmers  who  mean  to  make  sheep-raising 
profitable. 

Cockle  .seed  will  remain  in  the  ground 
many  years  if  untouched  by  the  plow.  As 
soon  as  brought  to  the  surface  they  begin  to 
sprout. 

If  sulphur  is  well  dusted  around  the  sheds 
and  hug-pens  it  will  effectually  drive  oft  lice. 
Dust  it  on  the  hogs  also,  and  leave  a  little  in 
the  trough  for  them  to  eat. 

HoRSERAnisii  is  a  profitable  crop  to  grow 
as  it  finds  sale  at  from  five  to  six  cents  per 


pound  unprepared.  It  is  bought  readily  by 
maimtiicturers  of  the  prepared  article. 

Nearly  all  kinds  of  fruit  do  well  on  a 
mixture  of  sui)i'rphospliate  and  wood  aslies. 
Lime  is  not  suitable  for  strawlierries,  but  ex- 
cellent around  apple,  peach  and  pear  trees. 

Every  fanner  should  select  a  portion  of 
rich  soil,  clear  from  weeds,  which  should  be 
devoted  to  roots,  such  as  beets,  turnips,  ruta- 
bagas or  carrots  for  feeding  cattle  and  hogs. 
They  aregond  slarlers  for  fall  feeiling. 

Contributions. 


COMPARATIVE  VALUE  OK  FARMS  BE- 
TWEEN  NOW    AND    FIFTY 
YEARS   AGO 


Fictitious    Value — Good    Crops — Good     Gov- 
ernments— Tariffs,    Etc. 
Atve    our    Lancaster  county   farms  worth 
what  they   now  bring  at  a  sale  ?    Or,   are 
these  prices  fictitious,  like  they  have  been  at 
different  periods   in  our  history   for  several 
generations    back  ?     These   are   (picstions  of 
some  importance,  raised  among  many  classes 
of  people.     Even  politicians  make  it  a  point 
to    discourse   on    the    subject    of  Lancaster 
county  farms,  apparently  with  a  view  to  les- 
sen the  bulk  of  taxes.     I  say   apprcrcnlbj,  for 
really  it  seems  when  politicians  get  into  office 
they  are  so  much  absorbed  with  ideas  of  per- 
sonal emolument,  in  the  form  of  salaries,  fees 
and  perquisites  that  one  must  doubt  all  pro- 
testations made  in  ohlaining  office.      Many 
politicians,  who  are  such  for  the  sake  of  pelf 
and  gain — for  self  and  spoils — arc   prone  to 
"set  up"    and   manipulate  political  tickets 
that  cannot  but  extort  high  taxes  (from  those 
fine  Lancaster  county  farms)  in  order  to  fill 
their  own  jiockets,  whilst  the  farmers  them- 
selves are  doomed  to  rustic  toil,  earning  their 
bread  by  the  sweat  of  their  brows.      *     *     * 
Many  years  ago  we  heard   that  in  the  east — 
Connecticut  for  in.stance— farmers  and  tobacco 
growers,  were  buying  their  manure  in  New 
York,  and  other  large  towns,  at   a  cost  of 
$10,(10  per  cord,  five  cords  to  the  acre,  making 
$.50,1)0  per  acre  for  the  manure  alone,  which 
we  thought  simply  enormous.     But  we  are 
fast  following  in  their  footsteps,  and   in  ad- 
dition, apply  100  bushels  of  lime  to  the  acre  ; 
in  all  footing  up  .100,01) ;  and,  after  repeating 
this  operation  for  a  number  of  years,    our 
lands,   together  with   the  outlay   for  fences, 
buildings  and  other  improvements— such  as 
houses,    barns,    sheds,     &c.— these    coveted 
farms,  the  eyes  of  which  some  of  the  avericious 
officeholders  are    fixed   upon,  will   cost   from 
$100  to  iffiOl^  per  acre,  not  including  the  origi- 
nal cost  of  the   land.     But  a  farm   in  itself 
alone,  even  wi'h  fences  and  farm  buildings,  is 
like  a  welt  without  water,  unless  it  is  intel- 
ligently and  practically  operated,  and  for  this 
purpose  we  must  add  the  usual  live-stock  and 
implements— for   instance— four   good   horses 
S800,    four    cows    f200,  besides     implements 
such  as  wagons,  plows  and  harrows,  running 
up  to  $2,000  on  a  one  hundred  acre  farm.     A 
good  practical  farmer  will   also   need  $1,000 
woith  of  cattle,  and  SI, 001)  worth  of  sheep  in 
the  fall,  to  make   manure,  finally  running  up 
a  bill  of  $4,000,  for  all  of  which  he  is  com- 
pelled to  pay  a  heavy  burden  of  taxes. 

Now  comes  the  great  problem,    "does   it 


l)ay,"  or,  in  other  words,  can  a  man  realize 
any  amount  of  interest  at  these  figures,  or  are 
the  prices  fictitious?  The  old  sayings  are 
"experience  is  tlie  best  teacher,"  and  "prac- 
tice makes  ])erfect;"  but,  an  inexperienced 
man  may  say,  "Why,  do  not  farmers  realize 
so  many  bushels  of  wheat,  corn, Ac.,  from  an 
acre,  and  lastly  so  many  |)ounds  of  tobacco?" 
which  must  surely  cover  all  the  outlay.  Well 
I  will  only  say,  "try  it."  Buy  a  farm  at  the 
present  prices  of  land- -fictitious  or  otherwise 
— if  you  ever  get  hold  of  so  much  money,  and 
farm  for  yourself,  or  rent  a  farm,  and  at  the 
end  of  the  year,  or  a  number  of  years,  tell  us 
all  about  your  experience  and  success  ;  but, 
the  best  proof  you  can  adduce,  will  be  the 
ability  to  buy  another  farm  in  eight  or  ten 
years  thereafter.  This  ipiestion  is  one  open 
for  consideration, but  to  me  it  looks  as  though 
lands  and  other  properties,  at  the  present  day, 
have  a  more  real  value  than  at  any  previous 
period,  notwithstanding  the  small  profit  real- 
ized out  of  them. 

Taking  into  consideration   the  Interests  of 
the  railroad  as  a  standard    of  values,  in  ad- 
dition, we  are  still  better  off  with   the  $200 
per  acre  farm,  than  we  were  with   the  $50  or 
$100  per  acre  farm  ;  moreover.  In  Pennsylva- 
nia there  is  yet  a  great  deal  of  room  for  im- 
provement.    Fanners  and  growers  of  produce 
are  not  men  uj)  to   England  and  other  coun- 
tries.    We  are  even  gathering  up  the  bones  of 
dead  cattle  to  be  shipped  or  export('d  to  other 
countries,  which  we  could  so  necessarily  use 
here  at  home.     Thousands  of  dollars  worth  of 
manure,  and  material  which  would  make  ma- 
nure, or  fertilizers,   are  lost  here  annually. 
I  contend  that  we   should   not  stop  short  of 
raising — as    an     average— (7(ir<)/    bushels    of 
wheat  or  one  hundred  bushels  of  corn,  or  sixty 
bushels  of  oats,  or  Iwenty-five  hundred  pounds 
of  tobacco  to  the  acre,  and  make  our  farmers 
pay  a  compensating  interest  at  these  figmes. 
I  hope  the  time  will  come  when  all,  witliout 
exception,  shall  become  so  educated  as  to  he 
really  practical  farmers  and  mechanics,  and 
also  up  U>  the  requirements  of  the  times,  and 
not  so  merely  in  i)rctention,  or  name.      That 
we   may   become    able   to    discriminate,    se- 
lect,  and   vote  intelligently    for   such     law- 
makers as  will  make  laws  for  the  people  ;  to 
subserve  their  interest  and  not  their  own,  ex- 
cept so  fivr  as  they  are  integral  parts  of  the 
people:  and   not  to   legislate  in  the  s€'rvice  of 
"treason  stratagem,  and  spoil,"  merely.  Right 
here  I  would  respectfully  ask  my  friend— who 
so  politely  criticised  me  sometime  ago,  when 
In  an  essay  I  stated,  in  allusion  to  the  tariff, 
that  the  "balance  of  trade,"  was  in  our  favor, 
and  that  it  was  a   better   sign  of  prosperous 
times  than  when  the  balance  was  against  us 
— what  he  has  to  s.ay  now,  since  the  balance 
of  trade  is  going  strongly  against  us?    Is  it 
belter  to  sell  our  surplus  to  Europe  than  to 
sell  it  here  at  liome,  unless  we  cannot  po.ssi- 
bly  use  it  here  ?     We  are  Importing  about  $:^,- 
000,000  worth  of  L'oods  per  week,  and   our  ex- 
ports during  last  year  are  far  below  the  year 
1880.  It  seems  to  me  that  this  must  ultimately 
result  to  our  disadvantage.— P.  S.  R.,  Lititz, 
June  8,  1882. 


A  FARMER  should  SO  arrange  his  kitchen 
garden  so  that  he  can  use  both  plow  .and  cul- 
tivator in  its  management. 


86 


THE  LANCASTER    FARMER. 


[June 


ON   WHEAT  CROPS. 


Recollections  of  Over  Fifty  Years  Ago, 
The  winter  of  1827-8  was  so  mild  that  the 
oats  tliat  fell  to  the  ground  in  the  oat  fields  of 
the  previous  summer  remained  all  winter  in 
the  soil  uninjured,  and  grew  up  the  following 
spring  almost  as  rank  as  if  it  had  been  speci- 
ally sowed.  There  has  been  no  such  a  mix- 
ture of  oats  and  wheat  since  that  time.  The 
wheat  crop  was  very  good  ;  the  grains  of  wheat 
were  very  plump  and  full,  weighing  from  60 
to  65  pounds  to  the  bushel,  so  that  the  wheat 
and  the  oats  was  easily  separated  in  winnow- 
ing. 

We  generally  have  but  one  good  wheat  year 
in  six  ;  the  intervening  years  averagiiig  from 
three-quarters  down  to  one-half,  or  even  one- 
quarter  of  a  crop.  The  price  of  wheat  in 
1828  was  seventy-five  cents  per  bushel.  In 
1836  and  in  18.37  the  wheat  crops  were  very 
poor — cause,  the  Hessian-fly.  Many  fields 
were  pastured.  The  kinds  of  wheat  then 
generally  cultivated  were  the  "blue-stem" 
and  the  "red-beardy."  The  latter  variety 
was  usually  sown  on  oat-stubble.  "Supple" 
on  wheat-stubble,  or  second  crop  blue 
stem"  did  very  well  in  good  soil,  but 
soon  commenced  to  get  smutty.  The  price 
of  wheat  in  1835  was  $1.25  per  bushel;  in 
*June  1837,  82.31,  and  in  1838,  »3.00  per 
bushel.  That  was  the  greatt  "  grass-liopper  " 
year,  and  a  drought  also  prevailed.  That 
year  we  had  the  poorest  crop  of  corn  ever 
known  in  Lancaster  county.  About  this  time 
the  Meditetranean  wheat  was  imported.  It 
was  at  first  thought  a  little  rough,  but  was 
supposed  to  be  fly-proof;  it  was  at  least  not 
affected  for  some  time,  and  took  the  place  of 
the  three  old  varieties  and  improved  in  qual- 
ity. In  1844  or  5,  we  had  again  a  very  good 
wheat  crop,  on  high  grounds.  On  low  and 
level  grounds  the  wheat  was  entirely  destroyed 
by  a  black  frost  in  June.  The  Mediterranean 
was  generalljr  sown  up  to  1850,  when  a  man 
in  Paradise  township,  Lancaster  county, 
noticed  a  bunch  of  Red-beardy  wheat  grow- 
ing in  a  wheat  of  a  different  variety.  He 
secured  it  and  propagated  a  new  variety.  It 
was  an  improvement  on  the  old,  or  "white 
Mediterranean,"  as  it  was  named.  Sometimes 
the  1-iew  was  named  the  red,  and  by  1865  it  had 
almost  entirely  taken  the  place  of  the  old. 
About  that  time  "something  new"  appeared, 
several  years  in  succession .  The  wheat  looked  re- 
markably well  all  spring;  made  straw  enough 
apparently  to  yield  from  twenty-five  to  thirty 
bushels  of  grain  to  the  acre,  but  many 
fields  only  yielded  from  five  to  ten  bushels  to 
the  acre.  The  cause  was  never  definitely 
discovered.  Some  said  it  was  the  "  weevil;" 
others  believed  it  was  caused  by  atmospheric 
poisoning  when  the  wheat  was  in  bloom. 
About  1870  we  had  again  a  severe  -wheat  fail- 
ure in  the  larger  portion  of  Lancaster  county 
in  a  new  way.     The   season  was  a  little  dry 

*In  the  spring  of  1S37  we  paid  SU.OO  for  a  barrel  of  flour 
w}iioh  we  believe  was  tlie  only  time  we  ever  paid  that 
pric-e. 

^^  tEitlier  our  oontribntor  or  we  are  in  error  as  to  the 
"  GrnMS-hopper  year,"  unless  there  were  two  such  years 
in  suecessioTi,  On  the  1st  of  September  1839  we  became 
a  resident  of  Lancaster,  and  remained  here  until  April, 
18«,  hoarding  at  the  Cooper  House,  which  was  largelv 
patronized  by  the  farmers  of  Lancaster  county,  and  we 
distinctly  recall  the  advent  of  the  destructive  "hoppers" 
and  the  groups  of  people  in  North  Queen  and  East  and 
West  King  streets,  looking  skyward  where  millions  of 
these  insects  seemed  to  be  hovermgover  the  city  of  Lan- 
caster.—Ed. 


the  previous  fall;  the  winter  was  without 
snow,  dry  and  very  cold,  the  thermometer 
registering  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  degrees 
below  zero;  cold  bleak  winds  prevailed,  with 
occasionally  a  few  inches  of  snow,  which  was 
drifted  from  the  fields  mixed  with  surface  soib 
and  the  bare  ground  could  be  seen  in  many 
fields  in  the  middle  of  May.  The  yield  was 
only  from  five  to  fifteen  bushels  per  acre,  in 
the  greater  part  of  the  county.  About  the 
year  1875  the  "Foltz"  wheat  was  introduced 
into  Lancaster  county,  and  at  first  had  the 
appearance  of  supplanting  the  Mediterranean 
again,  but  the  millers  did  not  like  it  in  the 
manufacture  of  superfine  flour  and  it  is  a 
wheat  also  that  will  not  make  much  straw, 
unless  sown  on  very  rich,  low  lands.  A  great 
many  of  the  farmers  who  raised  it,  went  back 
again  to  the  Red  Mediterranean,  and  at  the 
present  time  we  have  about  three- fob  f 
it  in  a  growing  condition.  Unless  the  Foltz 
wheat  improves  soon,  it  will  likely  be  aban- 
doned altogether.  As  for  the  present  crop 
of  wheat,  it  so  far  promises  to  be  the  very 
best  ever  grown  in  Lancaster  county,  and  a 
poor  field  of  wheat  cannot  be  seen  in  a  whole 
day's  travel  through  the  county.  If  nothing 
unforeseen  happens  the  yield  might  be  from 
twenty-five  to  forty-five  bushels  to  the  acre. 
It  will  depend  entirely  on  the  state  of  the 
weather  in  maturing  and  harvesting,  but  the 
earlier  it  matures,  the  less  it  will  be  in  danger 
of  mildew.  We  have  had  the  different  varie- 
ties of  wheat  in  our  county.  Some  far  pre- 
ferable to  others.  I  have  not  the  least  doubt 
that  new  and  improved  varieties  could  be 
raised,  if  farmers  or  the  men  who  operate  the 
reapers,  would  keep  a  vigilant  watch  for  stray 
heads  of  wheat  that  are  superior  to  those 
around  them;  and  in  that  way  we  might  pro- 
duce a  beardy  and  prolific  variety  of  wheat 
that  would  be  better  adapted  to  our  climate, 
and  make  a  more  sure  crop,  and  less  liable  to 
degeneration  than  any  of  our  past  and  present 
varieties  have  been,  excepting  only  the  variety 
that  originated  in  Paradise  township  about 
twenty  years  ago.  It  would  be  a  very  good 
thing  if  our  local  Agricultural  Society  would 
offer  a  liberal  premium/or  the  best  new  varie- 
ty of  wheat,  selected  from  among  our  own 
wheat  fields.  It  might  originate  a  variety 
that  would  regularly  average  a  yield  of  from 
twenty-five  to  thirty  bushels  per  acre.— i.  S. 
R.,  Oregon  June,  1882. 


Essays. 


INSECTS  AND  SOME  OF  THEIR  RELA- 
TIONS TO    THE    VEGETABLE 
KINGDOM.* 

*'  Creative  wisdom  never  works  in  vaiu  nor  merely  in 
sport." 

Sir  John  Lubbock  estimates  that  there  are 
seven  hundred  thousand  sper.ies  of  animals  iu- 
haWting  this  world  of  ours,  the  smaller  moiety 
of  which  have  been  recorded  and  described, 
and  perhaps  the  larger  number  of  those  de- 
scribed belong  to  the  class  In.secta.  It  may 
assist  you  in  fully  comprehending  the  true 
import  of  species,  when  I  state  that  it  means 
different  kinds  of  animals,  and  that  a  single 
species  may  comprise  millions  of  individuals, 
and  almost  an  endle.ss  number  of  varieties  ; 
and  that  by  a  consecutive  series  of  procrea- 

*Kead  berorc  the  Lancaster  Plant-club,  June  5, 1882 
by  the  Editor. 


tious  each  species  is  capable  of  reproducing 
its  specific  kind  to  an  almost  limitless  extent, 
and  doubtless  would  do  so,  if  it  were  not  that 
in  tlie  economy  of  nature  itself  there  are 
conter-influences,  through  which  a  sort  of 
equilibrium  is  preserved. 

It  has  also  been  carefully  estimated  by  in- 
telligent and  experienced  authorities,  that  the 
los.ses  annually  sustained,  by  the  United 
States  alone,  through  the  depredations  of 
noxious  insects,  amounts  to  the  enormous 
sum  of  four  hundred  millions  of  dollars;  and  this, 
from  the  standpoint  of  experience,  do  not  I 
consider  an  exaggerated  statement.  It  is  not 
difficult  to  make  an  estimate  of  this  kind 
when  we  reflect  that  in  the  single  State  of 
Kansas,  only  a  few  years  ago,  the  almost 
entire  crop  of  the  vegetable  productions  of 
certain  districts  was  totally  destroyed  by  the 
influx  of  the  "Rocky  Mountain  Locusts," 
commonly  called  (jrasshoj^jKrs. 

These  preliminary  statements  bring  me  im- 
mediately to  the  door  of  the  leading  topic  of 
this  essay,  namely:  "The  relations  existing 
between  insects  and  plants  in  the  economy  of 
nature;''^  and,  not  only  in  nature^ s  economy, 
but  also,  correlatively,  in  social,  commercial 
and  domestic  economy.  When  I  s&y plants, 
I  mean  the  entire  vegetable  kingdom,  al- 
though my  remarks  must  necessarily  be  con- 
fined to  a  few  incidental  references  to  either 
insects  or  plants,and  those  mainly  of  a  general 
or  popular  character. 

Notwithstanding  the  admitted  destructive 
character  of  noxious  insects,  it  cannot  be 
positively  demonstrated  that  the  immediate 
extinction  of  insect  life  throughout  the  world, 
is  a  thing  to  be  seriously  desired.  If  the  uni- 
verse, and  all  the  living  Iteings  therein,  are 
the  outbirths  of  a  Divine  Economy,  overruled 
by  an  Infinite  Intellvjence,  then  we  may  ra- 
tionally conclude  that  the  existence  of  noxious 
insects  would  not  have  been  permitted  except 
as  a  lesser  evil,  and  hence  that  they  are  of 
some  use.  All  other  things,  therefore,  re- 
maining just  as  they  at  present  are,  the  sud- 
den removal  of  the  insect  world  from  the 
category  of  animal  life,  might  leave  this 
globe  of  ours  an  "unwholesome"  place  for 
the  human  family  to  dwell  on.  Even  the 
most  annoying,  repulsive,  or  di.sgusting  among 
them,  may  be  the  scavengers,  the  fertilizers 
and  purifiers  of  the  physical  world  ;  and  in 
that  degree,  useful.  It  is  mainly  through 
their  occasional  and  destructive  redundancy, 
and  our  ignorance  of  their  useful  functions, 
as  well  as  their  general  utilization,  that  they 
become  a  pest,  or  a  scourge.  * 

I  pass  by  the  little  domestic  house-fly,  and 
his  immediate  congener8,asbeing'carnivorous, 
or  carrionarious,  in  their  developmental  hab- 
its, and  therefore  not  siieeially  germain  to  the 
present  subject.  But,  if  we  were  entirely  ig-  ■ 
norant  of  the  uses  of  the  common  "silk- 
worm," it  might  be  legitimately  regarded — 
where  it  is  native — as  one  of  tlie  most  de- 
structive insects  to  plant  foliage  that  i<  known 
to  its  class.  Compared  with  its  .size  and 
weight  it  can  consume  a  greater  amount  of 
vegetation,  in  a  given  time,  than  any  other 
insect  extant.  Instead,  however,  of  being  an 
injury  to  the  human  family,  it  has  become 
one  of  the  greatest  factors  in  commercial  and 
domestic  economy.  The  product  of  this,  to 
many,  repulsive  worm,  amounts  annually  to 


1882,] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


87 


many  millions  of  dollais,  and  tlic  various 
fabiics  wrouKlit  out  of  its  silken  fibre  are 
amongst-  the  most  ch^trant  and  brilliant  tliat 
adorn  the  human  haliilation  and  the  human 
body.  The  traffic  in  silk-worm  eggs  alone 
amounts  aiujually  to  many  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  dollars,  and  whole  trains  of  cars 
freighted  wilh  them  pass  through  our  terri- 
tory in  transit  to  Kuropean  ports  every  year. 

Again  ;  if  we  were  entirely  ignorant  of  the 
value  of  the  little  "cochineal  insect  "—so 
small,  indeed,  that  when  they  are  dried  it  re- 
quires 70,000  to  make  a  pound — their  pres- 
ence would  V)o  as  destructive  to  the  vegeta- 
tion they  feed  on,  as  the  famous  "cliiiicli- 
bugs"  of  the  Western  States  are  to  the 
wheat  and  corn  crops.  Where  the  cochineal 
insect  is  indigenous,  the  chief  an.xiety  of  the 
people  is  to  increase  its  numbers,  because 
"there  is  money  in  it."  Therefore  it  becomes 
a  prolific  object  of  human  husbandry,  and  its 
failure  to  multiply  would  be  as  much  of  a  dis- 
aster as  the  failure  of  our  wheat  or  fruit 
crops.  You  will  perceive,  then,  that  the  in- 
crea.se  of  the  silk-worm  and  the  cochineal  in- 
sect are  the  results  of  human  manipulation, 
for  it  is  not  probalile  that  either  of  them 
would  multiply  in  states  of  unprotected  and 
unassisted  nature,  as  they  do  under  human 
intervention.  The  cactus,  the  mulberry  and 
other  silk-producing  trees  are  carefully  culti- 
vated, and  an  abnormal  increase  of  the  in- 
sects is  thus  facilitated. 

We  liave  a  striking  instance  of  tl)e  effect  of 
cultivation  upon  the  increase  of  noxious  in- 
sects in  the  notorious  "Colorada  potato-bee- 
tle." Far  up  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  this 
insect  was  discovered  about  sixty  years  ago, 
in  moderate  numbers,  feeding  on  a  wild  spe- 
cies of  solanum,  and  it  probably  would  have 
remained  there,  content  with  its  rustic  fare, 
but  for  luiman  intervention.  As  soon  as  the 
domestic  potato  was  cultivated  in  its  vicinity, 
it  abandoned  the  harsh  and  comparatively 
sapless  native  plant  and  betook  itself  to  the 
more  succulent  vines  of  the  domestic  potato" ; 
and  perhaps  tiie  whole  secret  of  insect  prolifi- 
cation  depends  more  or  less  upon  the  condi- 
tions produced  by  cultivation. 

The  palatable  quality  of  meats  and  drinks, 
even  among  human  beings,  tends  to  their  in- 
creased eonsumptio)),  and  it  appears  that  in- 
sects are  no  exception  to  the  rule.  The  com- 
mon house-moth  will  cut  a  fine,  soft,  woolen 
fabric  when  it  is  sandwiched  between  two 
coarser  and  harsher  pieces  and  leave  the  latter 
untouched.  Progressive  culture  seems  to  en- 
gender progressive  taste  even  among  such  in- 
significant creatures  as  in.sects.  When  we 
discover  some  mode  of  utilizing  the  Colorado 
potato-beetle,  its  iiresence  and  its  increase 
may  become  objects  of  as  much  solicitude  as 
the  increase  of  the  cochineal  and  silk-worm. 
These  three  examples — although  tlie  utility 
of  the  potato-l)eetle  has  not  yet  been  dis- 
covered— out  of  scores  of  others  that  might 
be  nameu,  amply  illustrate  one  phase  of  the 
intimate  relations  existing  between  insects  and 
plants.  The  silk-worm^  by  the  process  of 
mastication,  digestion,  absorption  and  secre- 
tion, elaborates  the  tissue  known  as  silk  ;  and 
no  matter  how  complicated  tlie  mechanical 
machinery  is,  or  how  endless  the  varieties  of 
the  silken  fabrics  produced  ;  nor  how  brilliant 
and  gaudy  their  external  sheen,  they  are  all 


subordinate  to  the  humble  worm  and  the 
leafy  j(/a>i(.  And  although  the  cochineal  does 
not  consume  the  plant  by  mastication,  yet  it 
absorljH  its  lluid  circulation  by  suction  ;  and, 
by  a  peculiar  chemical  sublimation,  or  distilla- 
tion', appropriates  the  fine  particles  of  coloring 
matter,  which  become  latent  in  its  body  and 
rivals  the  famous  "  Tijri<u\  Dye.'''' 

Passing  to  another  pha.se  of  the  subject  I 
would  briclly  remark,  that  even  among  the 
most  destructive  in.sects  to  vegetation,  there 
is  some  compensation  in  specific  cases.  Dr. 
Ash  Fitch,  of  New  York,  records  an  instance 
of  an  oak  tree  on  his  premi.ses  which  was  in- 
fested by  the  common  "oak-pruning  beetle," 
and  no  liuman  manipulator  of  the  pruning- 
knife  could  have  produced  the  healthful  and 
symmetrical  eti'ect  upon  tlie  tree  that  this  little 
industrious  pruner  did — cutting  off  and  head- 
ing in  the  straggling  brandies — making  it  "a 
thing  of  beauty." 

A  further  illustration  of  the  peculiar  rela- 
tions under  consideration  may  be  (bund  in 
the  growth  of  various  species  of  cryptorjamic 
plants  in  the  bodies  and  the  tissues  of  insects 
and  other  animal  substances.  Waiving  all 
the  microscopic  species,  I  would  only  remark 
that  it  has  long  been  known  to  entomologists, 
and  doubtless  also  to  botanists,  that  frequent- 
ly a  large  fungoid  plant  has  been  found  grow- 
ing out  of  the  body  of  a  subterranean  larva  of 
the  "May-beetle"  or  "June  bug,"  common- 
ly called  the  "  white  grub-worm."  This  grub 
when  mature  is  about  two  inches  in  length, 
and  one  inch  in  circumference,  and  the  largest 
plant,  as  recorded  in  the  American  Ent,omolo- 
ijist,  sometimes  attains  a  length  of  five  inches, 
iind  grows  out  of  the  under  side  of  the  first 
segment  of  the  body. 

Nor  is  this  an  isolated  case.  Mrs.  Mary  Treat, 
a  distinguished  lady  entomologist, .  of  Vine- 
land,  N.  J.,  states  that  in  the  spring  of  1805, 
whilst  botanizing  in  Benton  county,  Iowa, 
she  saw  great  numbers  of  them.  "  There 
were  literally  thousands  of  them  scattered 
over  quite  a  district. "  So  far  ;is  the  matter 
has  been  explored  the  fungus  seems  to  be 
unique,  although  it  probably  would  grow  out 
of  different  species  of  the  ichile  grub. 

Another  link  in  the  chain  of  connection,  or 
relation  between  insects  and  plants,  finds 
illustration  in  what  may  be  termed  (Jarnivor- 
ous  plants.  The  carnivorous  character  of  some 
mammals,  birds,  reptiles,  fishes  and  insects 
is  well  known,  but  it  may  not  be  so  well 
known  that  there  are  certain  species  of  plants 
that  capture  and  appropriate  the  juicy  sub- 
stance of  insects.  They  doubtless  have  other 
sources  of  subsistence,  but  it  is  quite  certain 
that  they  also  capture  and  absorb  the  fluid 
parts  of  insects.  And  this  is  not  all,  for  they 
also  possess,  apparentlj',  in/oc/d,  in  .•itructure, 
in  fragrance  and  in  beaulii,  the  facilities  for 
attracting  and  decoying  unwary  insects  into 
their  fatal  embraces.  But,  as  this  subject  is 
to  be,  or  has  been,  exemplified  in  the  series  of 
papers  read  before  this  society,  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  make  any  more  than  this  general 
reference  on  the  present  occasion. 

But  the  most  important  function  of  insects 
in  the  economy  of  nature,  so  far  as  relates  to 
the  vegetable  kingdom,  is  their  mcdiuuiship 
in  the  fertilization  of  plants.  Although  they 
may  assist,  or  render  more  complete  the 
fertilization  of  nearly  all  plants,  yet  there  are 


quite  a  number  of  plants  that  could  not  be- 
come fruitful — so  far  as  human  observation 
extends— without  the  aid  of  insects,-  and 
especially  those  known  as  Diacious  plants,  in 
whicii  the  male  and  female  flowers  occur  on 
two  diffi  rent  individuals.  In  plants  bearing 
licrmapliiiditr  flowers,  wlicre  the  pistillate  and 
sUitiiinale  organs  are  in  the  same  flower,  the 
usefulness  of  insects  may  not  be  so  api)areut  ; 
and  yet  it  is  very  probable  that  insects  a.ssist 
even  in  energizing  these,  and  especially  pollen 
gathering  insects. 

As  to  rnowi'ciimis  plants— those  in  which  the 
staminate  and  pistillate  flowers  are  entirely 
distinct,  although  both  occur  on  tlie  same 
plant — 1  feel  confident  that  the  function  of 
insects  in  their  fertilization,  is  much  greater 
than  may  be  generally  suppo.sed. 

Take  for  instance  the  "  Gourd  family" — the 
cwntrbitarrons  plants  of  botauLsts— in  which 
the  male  flower  grows  on  a  stem,  or  peduncle, 
from  the  axils  of  the  leaves,  and  the  female 
flower  is  sexsile  and  attached  to  the  apex  of 
the  embryo  fruit.  The.  first-named  flowers 
are  usually  erect  and  oi)en  upwards,  or  nearly 
so,  whilst  the  last-named  are  usually  hori- 
zontal or  nearly  so.  Although  it  is  not  im- 
possible that  these  flowers  should  become  fer- 
tilized without  the  aid  of  insects,  yet  it  is 
very  probable  that  many  of  them  would  be- 
come abortive  without  such  aid.  In  any 
event,  those  who  pay  any  attention  at  all  to 
the  habits  of  insects  will  find  the.se  flowers  of- 
ten visited  during  the  day  by  a  rollicking 
family  of  polleniferous  hijrncnoptera  that  seem 
to  be  perfectly  intoxicated  with  their  foraging 
manipulations.  These  insects  are  provided — 
on  the  broad  tihius  of  their  posterior  limbs,  or 
on  the  under  side  of  tlie  body,  near  the  apex 
— with  bristling  brushes,  and  with  these  they 
gather  the  pollen  wliich  they  bear  off  and  con- 
vert, by  the  admixture  of  nectar,  into  a  sort 
of  "bee  bread,"  or  propolis,  whicli  is  stored 
in  their  cells  for  the  sustenance  of  their 
young  after  tliey  are  "  excluded  "  from  their 
eggs. 

Of  course,  the  bees  are  influenced  by  no 
motive,  either  rational  or  instinctive,  that  re- 
lates to  the  fertilization  of  the  plant.  They 
rush  into  the  flower  cup  impulsively,  and 
seem  to  be  in  a  state  of  buzzing  agitation, 
gyrating  hither  and  thither,  detaching  the 
pollen  and  scattering  it  about,  but  all  the 
while  gathering  a  i)orlion  of  it  with  their 
brushes  and  then  departing  as  hastily  as  tiiey 
entered  ;  visiting  half  a  dozen  or  more  of 
flowers  before  they  make  their  final  departure 
for  their  homes.  It  is  easy  to  perceive 
that  these  manipulations  of  the  bees  facili- 
tate the  fertilization  of  the  plants  they 
visit — indeed.  Professor  Itiley  has  demon- 
strated very  conclusively  that  a  certain  species 
of  yucca  could  not  be  fertilized  at  all  if  it 
were  not  for  the  intervention  of  the  "yucca 
moth."  The  carpenter-bee,  commonly  called 
the  "wood-borer,"  and  the  various  species  of 
liumble  or  "  bumble-bees,"  arc  especially  im- 
bued with  this  habit.  The  little  "leaf- 
cutters  "  are  remarkable  as  pollen  gatherers, 
and  they  perform  a  similar  use — not  only  in 
momrcinus  and  diercious  plants,  but  also  in 
those  bearing  hcrmaphoflitc  flowers.  Darwin 
has  written  a  clever  sized  book,  in  which  he 
conclusively  demonstrates  that  the  orchids,  or 
"air  plants,"  are  fertilized  largely  if  not  ex- 


88 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[June, 


clusively  by  insei-ts ;  and  the  most  effective 
workers  in  tliat  direction  belong  to  the 
Hi/menopterous  order ;  and  this  order,  too, 
happens  to  be  one  that  contains  the  fewest 
enemies  to  vegetation  and  to  man  in  propor- 
tion to  the  number  of  species  it  contains. 
The  destructions  of  the  "saw  flies"  and 
"  wood  l)orers  "  of  this  order  are  compensated 
by  tlie  saccliarine  fluid  and  tlie  wax  of  the 
domestic  "honey-bee,"  to  say  nothing  about 
the  great  number  among  llieni  wliich  are 
parasitic  upon  the  bodies  of  the  noxious  mem- 
bers of  their  own  and  correlative  orders. 

The  relations  existing  between  the  whole 
animal  world  and  plants  are  too  obvious  to 
need  special  illuslration.  It  may  not  be  in- 
appropriate, however,  here  to  introduce  a 
quotation  from  Darwin,  exhibiting  in  a  pecu- 
liar manner  a  short  section  of  the  great  chain 
of  interrelation.  Whatever  we  may  think  of 
Darwin's  ultimate  philosophical  deductions, 
we  need  not  ignore  his  facts. 

"Many  of  our  orchidaceous  plants  abso- 
lutely require  the  visits  of  moths  to  remove 
their  pollen-masses  and  thus  to  fertilize  them. 
I  have  also  reason  to  believe  that  humble- 
bees  are  indispensable  to  the  fertilization 
of  the  heartsease  (Viola  tricolor),  for  other 
bees  do  not  visit  this  flower.  From  experi- 
ments which  I  have  lately  tried,  I  have  found 
that  the  visits  of  bees  are  necessary  for  the 
fertilization  of  some  kinds  of  clover  ;  but 
humble-bees  alone  visit  tlie  red  clover.  (Tri- 
folium  pratense),  as  other  bees  cannot  reach 
the  nectar.  Hence  I  have  very  little  doubt 
that  if  the  whole  genus  of  humble-bees  be- 
came extinct  or  very  rare  in  England  the 
heartsease  and  red  clover  would  become  very 
rare,  or  wholly  disappear.  The  immber  of 
humble-bees  in  any  district  depends  in  a  great 
degree  on  the  number  of  field-mice,  wiiich 
destroy  their  combs  and  nests ;  and  Mr.  H. 
Newman,  who  has  long  attended  to  the  habits 
of  humljle-bees,  believes  that  '  more  than 
two-thirds  of  them  are  thus  destroyed  all  over 
England. '  Now  the  number  of  mice  is  large- 
ly dependent,  as  every  one  knows,  on  the 
number  of  cats,  and  Mr.  Newman  says: 
'Near  villages  and  small  towns  1  have  found 
the  nests  of  humble-bees  more  numerous  than 
elsewhere,  which  1  attribute  to  the  number  of 
cats  that  destroy  the  mice.'  Hence  it  is  quite 
credible  that  the  presence  of  a  feline  animal 
in  large  numbers  in  a  district  might  deter- 
mine, tlirough  tlie  intervention  first  of  mice 
and  then  of  bees,  the  frequency  of  certain 
flowers  in  that  district." 

There  is  a  wonderful  parallel  which  charac- 
terizes the  animal  and  the  vegetable  worlds, 
and  this  parallel  is  as  manifest  in  relation  to 
insects  as  to  any  other  class  of  animals.  The 
organic  world  consists  of  plants  and  animals, 
and  the  line  of  demarkation  between  them  is 
not  as  obvious  as  appears  from  a  superficial 
view  ;  nevertheless  the  revelations  of  geology 
aud  rational  inference  suggest  that  plants 
v/ei-e  Jlrst  created  in  the  category  of  organic 
life  ;  and,  by  a  divine  adaptation  of  means  to 
ends,  it  is  manifest  that  insects  were  not 
necessary  to  the  fertilization  of  the  primitive 
plants,  for  these  were  procreated  by  countless 
millions  of  .sjjore.s,  and  it  "must  needs  be" 
that  asuflicient  number  of  these  would  alway.s 
germinate  to  afford  sufticient  aliment  to  the 
different  herhiceroiis  animals  as  they  succes- 
sively appeared  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  In 
process  of  time,  however,  insects  were  created, 
and  abundant  fossil  remains  of  these  have 
been  brought  to  light ;  and,  as  among  these 
are  butterflies  and  bees,  we  may  naturally  in- 
fer thwt  prior  to  their  advent  the  pollenaceous 
and  honey-bearing  plants  appeared. 


From  that  remote  period  down  through  all 
the  intervening  ages  to  the  present  time, 
these  two  grand  divisions  of  the  organic  world 
have  progressed  side  by  side  in  parallel  lines 
of  interdependence.  Without  the  advent  of 
animal  life,  the  vegetable  kingdom  would  have 
become  either  superaliundant,  rank,  and  pu- 
trescent, or  sterile,  abortive,  and  unfruitful. 
Without  the  prior  development  of  the  vege- 
table world,  the  existence  and  subsistence  of 
animals  would  have  been  a  physical  impossi- 
bility. 

The  normal  balance  of  these  two  organic 
kingdoms  was  mainly  instrumental  in  ren- 
dering the  physical  world  a  fit  place  for  the 
habitation  of  the  human  family.  Man's  pro- 
gress has  not  been  uniformly  and  uniuterupt- 
edly  onward :  it  has  also  been  digressive,  and 
sometimes  retrogressive,  and  through  repeated 
vicissitudes  the  equihbrhim  of  nature  has  been 
disturbed,  it  not  destroyed.  Instead  of  di- 
minishing, as  man  advanced  in  civilization 
and  intelligence,  his  mental  and  physical 
wants  increased,  and  hence  he  struck  out  into 
new  channels  of  improvement,  especially  in  ag- 
ricultural, mechanical  and  domestic  produc- 
tions. 

But,  in  destroying  the  normal  haunts  of  in- 
sects and  insectivorous  animals,  and  devoting 
them  to  the  cultivation  of  improved  species  of 
plants,  he  unconsciously  improved,  and  render- 
ed more  palatable, the  aliment  upon  which  most 
of  the  noxious  insects  feed ;  and  this  illus- 
trates one  of  the  disastrous  relations  between 
insects  and  plants.  Fifty  years  ago,  or  be- 
fore the  general  cultivation  of  the  tobacco 
plant,  as  a  crop,  in  Lancaster  county,  the 
"  Sphinxes  "  or  "  Horn-worms,"  were  mainly 
confined  to  the  common  potato  vines,  and 
subsequently  to  the  tomato  vines,  as  food- 
plants.  The  "Tree-crickets  "  and  "Spectres  " 
fed  upon  the  foliage  of  trees  and  shrubbery  : 
the  "Cut-worms"  and  "Boll-worms"  fed 
upon  garden-vegetables  and  the  young  ears  of 
corn:  the  "  Grass-h.oppers  "  on  the  various 
species  of  grass:  the  "Flea-beetles"  on  the 
various  cucurbitaceous  plants, and  the  "  Wire- 
worms  "  on  cereals. 

But  iiow,  all  these  insects  and  many  more, 
aud  also  in  greatly  increased  numbers,  feed 
on  the  tobacco  ))lant ;  not  only  because  of  its 
greater  succulency,  but  because  of  its  greater 
abundance  and  accessibility. 

And  just  here  it  may  be  suggested  that 
these /acis  may  possess  a  significance  that  can 
only  be  realized  in  the  undeveloped  future. 
For  instance  ;  more  than  a  score  of  species  be- 
longing to  the  insect  world  have  been  recog- 
nized and  described  as  depredators  upon  the 
tobacco  plant ;  and  the  day  may  come  when 
the  cultivation  of  this  plant  will  be  as  precari- 
ous as  that  of  the  plum,  which  has  been  so 
largely  damaged  by  the  notorious  Gnrculio. 
Tlxis  httle  "  Turk"  enhances  the  price  of 
plums  and  prevents  the  possibility  of  a  glut 
in  the  market,  illustrating  one  of  the  many 
commercial  and  domestic  relations  between 
insects  and  plants. 

If  these  things  exist  in  relation  to  a  fruit  so 
luscious,  so  healthful  and  so  popular  as  the 
plum,  what  may  not  come  to  pass  within  this 
century  in  regard  to  the  tobacco  plant.  I  am  not 
arraigning  tobacco,  I  am  merely  alluding  to 
possibilities  that  may  be  realized  in  the  future 
in  reference  to  the  cultivation  of  and  traffic  in 


tobacco.  Is  there  any  other  industry  in  Lan- 
caster county  involving  more  massive  build- 
ings for  its  accommodation,  more  capital  to 
carry  it  forward,  more  anxiety  in  its  develop- 
ment aud  more  solicitude  in  its  results,  and 
yet  more  barren  in  real  itse,  than  tobacco  ;  or 
one,  in  case  of  every  other  crop  failure,  that 
would  furnish  less  support  to  physical  life 
(than  tobacco).  But  conceding  its  univer.sal 
utility,  the  relations  between  this  plant  and 
the  insect  world  are  such  that  it  is  doubtful 
whether  its  production  will  ever  so  far  exceed 
its  consumption  as  to  work  that  ruin  which 
has  been  so  often  anticipated.  The  insect 
world  will  more  and  more  furnish  that  check 
upon  its  redundancy,  which  will  culminate  in 
commercial  and  domestic  equilihrio.  When 
its  production  is  involved  in  those  uncertain- 
ties which  now  distinguish  the  plum  crop,  the 
farmer  will  turn  his  attention  to  something 
else  that  will  pay  him  better.  If  tobacco  is, 
or  ever  becomes  a  bane,  it  will  find  its  antidote 
in  devouring  insecls.  Whatever  may  trans- 
pire within  the  next  hundred  years,  we  may 
feel  assured  that  only  the  least  evil  will  pre- 
dominate, and  that  we  shall  have  one  of  the 
most  striking  illustrations  of  the  relations  be- 
tween insects  aud  plants  in  maintaining  na- 
ture's equilibrium. 

The  mutual  relations  existing  between  the 
vegetable  and  the  insect  worlds  are  likely  to 
continue  as  long  as  plants  exist  and  insects 
subsist  upon  them.  Where  one  is  found,  there 
also  will  be  found  the  other;  and  improved 
cultivation  of  the  former  is  likely  to  result  in 
the  increased  multiplication  of  the  latter. 

All  that  advancing  civilization  and  human 
progress  can  accomplish,  is  perhaps  the  su- 
bordination of  the  in.sect  tribes  to  human 
dominion,  by  discovering  and  applying  anti- 
dotes against  the  possible  redundance  of  the 
destructive  species.  And  to  bear  out  these 
relations  with  .additional  emphasis,  it  is  now 
becoming  manifest  that  one  of  the  most  effec- 
tive insecticides,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
most  harmless  to  human  beings,  comes  from 
the  vegetable  kingdom.  Prominent  among 
the  plants  that  are  destructive  to  insect  life 
are  the  different  species  of  Pyrethncm,  but 
especially  the  roseum  and  the  cineraricefolium. 
These  plants  belong  to  the  composite  order, 
and  are  as  simple  in  their  cultivation  as  com- 
mon asters.  When  the  flowers  of  these  plants 
are  dried  and  pulverized,  they  yield  a  powder 
that  is  fatal  to  insect  life. 

Some  insects  are  indiscriminate  visitants 
or  feeders  on  different  species  or  varieties  of 
plants,  but  others  manifest  a  decided  partiality 
for  a  particular  species  or  genus  of  plants,  aud 
are  seldom  or  never  found  on  any  other,  and 
this  is  the  case  too,  where  they  are  not  known 
to  feed  on  the  plant.  The  Scarlet  Tetraopes  is 
uniformly  found  on  the  Asclepias,  or  wild 
cotton.  The  beautiful  gold  and  green  Chrys- 
ochus  is  always  found  on  the  "Dogbane," 
the  pretty  little  ifHi^itria  always  on  the  cacal- 
ias.  and  the  repulsive  (Jureus  or  "  squash-bug," 
always  on  the  scjuash  or  pumpkin  vines.  Some 
predaceous  insects  and  also  some  spiders  hide 
themselves  in  the  flowers  of  certain  plants, 
for  the  purpose  of  capturing  the  visiting  in- 
sects, upon  which  tliey  prey.  What  special 
benefit  these  insects  may  be  to  the  plimts 
where  they  are  usually  found,  is  not  particu- 
larly manifest,  but  it  seems  very  clear  that 


1 SS3.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


89 


tlie  plants  subserve  a  useful  purpose  to  the 
insects,  eitlier  as  food,  or  in  attracting  the 
Iiarmless  species  iijiou  which  the  rapacious 
species  feed. 

There  is  a  mucilaginous  exudation  from  the 
flowers  of  some  plants  which  captures  or  dis- 
ables certain  species  of  insects  that  visit  tliem 
for  the  purpose  of  extracting  tlieir  nectar  or 
gathering  their  pollen:  whilst  other  species 
habitually  visit  them,  and  ramble  all  over 
thera,  with  perfect  impunity.  I  might  in- 
stance the  AsrJcinas  cornnti,  or  common  •'milk- 
weed," if  indeed,  this  habit  is  not  shared  by 
all  the  members  of  the  genus.  It  is  not  un- 
usual to  find  bees,  wasps,  butterflies,  moths, 
and  various  species  of  flies,  with  their  feet  en- 
tangled in  this  treacherous  gum,  where  they 
finally  perish;  but  the  scarlet  ISftranpcs,  the 
Harlequinized  Li/doeus,  and  the  larva  of  the 
beautiful  Danais  butterfly,  are  perfectly  at 
home  upon  it.  What  the  significance  of  this 
peculiar  relation  may  be  in  all  its  details,  is 
not  in  every  instance  apparent,  but  it  is  quite 
certain  that  the  females  of  butterflies  or 
moths  so  captured,  are  entirely  defeated  in  the 
deposition  of  their  eggs  where  the  development 
of  their  progeny  would  be  assured — if  they 
had  not  performed  that  imi)ortant  function 
before  they  liad  been  so  fatally  captured. 
There  are  also  many  sjiecies  of  subterranean 
insects  which  are  carnivoruus  in  their  habits; 
and  these,  both  in  their  larva,  and  in  their 
adult  states,  feed  upon  the  bodies  of  the  nox- 
ious larva,  which  feed  upon  the  roots  of  vege- 
tation; so  that  a  very  direct  and  intimate  re- 
lation between  insects  and  i)lants  may  be 
here  recognized.  The  French  gardeners  have 
for  many  years  colonized  and  protected  these 
predaceous  species.  Not  only  because  they 
destroy  subtei-ranean  intruders,  but  also  be- 
cause they  come  forth  at  night  and  ascend 
•  plants,  shrubbery,  and  even  trees,  in  quest  of 
tliose  which  feed  upon  the  foliage  of  vegeta- 
tion. I  might  also  mention  the  Carrionarr(>us 
species — notably  the  Burying-beetles— which 
bury  the  carcases  of  dead  animals  upon  which 
they  feed,  and  which  adds  something  to  tlie 
fertility  of  the  soil.  And  tliis  is  also  the  case 
with  stercorarious  insects,  which  bore  holes 
into  the  soil  and  deposit  manurial  pellets 
therein,  as  food  for  their  young  after  they 
issue  from  the  eggs,  all  of  which  benefit  the 
soil  and  the  plants  that  grow  therein. 

Finally — the  Book  of  nature  is  a  sealed 
volume  to  those  who  have  not  taken  the 
trouble  to  learn  its  alphabet,  and,  after  ac- 
<puring  this  much,  to  patiently  persevere  in 
"spelling  out "  and  constructing  its  prolific 
sentences,  until  the  import  of  its  language  is 
Dieasuraljly  learned,  and  its  \arious  phenome- 
na are  fully  understood. 

There  is  little  danger  that  the  subject  will 
become  exhausted  in  a  single  human  life-time: 
It  seems  like  a  never-failing  spring  of  pure 
water  ;  and,  after  imbibing  it  until  our  locks 
become  .silvered  with  age,  we  shall  still  find 
new  aqueous  globules  bubbling  up  from  its 
eubteranean  depths.  Entomology  and  Bota- 
ny have  been  subjects  of  systematic  culture 
from  the  days  of  Ahistotle  ;ind  Pliny 
down  to  the  present  time,  and  m.ay  continue 
so  for  centuries  to  come,  and  still  leave  a 
margin  for  the  future  novitiate  to  work  upon. 
Reasoning  from  those  analogous,  and  often 
anomalous,      phenomena,     which      manifest 


themselves  at  every  progressive  step  wu  take, 
in  exploring  natures  vast  and  varied  domain, 
we  cannot  but  be  impressed  with  the  reflec- 
tion— if  not  with  the  ab.solute  conviction — 
that  iw  created  object  is  isolated,  or  stands 
entirely  alone;  but  that  all  bear  a  near  or 
more  remote  relation  to  each  other;  and  that 
when  we  have  contemplated  the  length,  and 
breadth,  and  depth  of  each,  we  may  discover 
the  elements  of  a  homogeneous  and  harmoni- 
ous whole,  culminating  in  mnteridl  if  not  in 
ini>ral  use.  We  have  no  right,  therefore  to 
conclude,  that  any  object  of  the  physical 
world  has  been  permitted  to  exist  in  vain.  If 
we  cannot  comprehend  its  use,  or  underetand 
its  relations  to  other  things,  the  fault  may  be 
in  our  own  want  of  intelligent  perception  ; 
or  in  oiM"  failure  to  grasp  the  normal  tenor  of 
natures  operations;  and  rightly  interpret  the 
significance  of  her  symbolic  language. 
"  Nature  liatli  nothing  made  so  base,  but  can 
Read  some  instruction  to  ttie  wisest  man." 


Selections. 


THE  BENEVOLENT  SUNFLOWER. 

(ffelianthus  globsus  flstnoxus.)* 

It  is  not  the  pesthetical  nor  sentimental 
view  of  the  sunflower  that  at  ]>resent  com- 
mands our  attention,  but  rather  its  sanitary 
powers  in  warding  off  disease. 

Agriculture  is  always  lavish  of  its  gifts.  It 
feeds  the  hungry,  clothes  the  naked  and 
shields  mankind  from  disease,  sickness  and 
death.  Tlie  grass,  the  tree,  the  flower,  all 
add  to  man's  pleasure,  comfort  and  health. 
Trees  drain  the  wet  places,  and  slowly  but 
surely  fill  up  disease-breeding  swamps.  But, 
in  proportion  to  size,  no  plant  is  so  benefi- 
cent in  warding  off  malaria  as  the  sunflower. 

Sections  of  the  once  malarious  West  have 
became  salubrious  from  the  growth  of  sun- 
flowers, accidentally  dropped  by  some  enter- 
prising citizen  seeking  a  new  home  on  the 
generous  acres  of  the  West.  These  uncared 
for  seeds  took  root,  grew,  and  the  plants 
ripened  their  seeds.  Tliese,  the  birds,  or  tlie 
winds,  or  both,  scattered  broadcast  until  an 
annual  crop  is  furnished  for  whomsoever  will 
partake  of  it.  These  plants  have  furnished 
for  the  emigrants'  horses,  oxen  and  other 
stock  on  his  road  to  a  new  home  a  grateful 
shade  in  midday  ;  and  the  old  stalks  conve- 
nient fuel  to  cook  the  breakfast  dinner  and 
supper  for  the  weary  traveler.  But  the 
greater  blessing  conferred  by  the  sunflower  is 
the  protection  from  malaria  of  the  settlers  on 
the  rich  lands  of  the  praries. 

Whether  the  leaves  inhale  or  absorb  the 
malarial  elements  of  disea.se  ;  or  whether, 
by  exhaling  a  superabundance  of  oxygen, 
simflowers  protect  man  and  beast  from  sick- 
ness, i)hysiologists  haven  ot  yet  determined  ; 
but  that  they  protect  from  malaria,  experience 
and  experiment  have  abuudautly  and  cou- 
vincingly  proven. 

All  plants  absorb  carbonic  acid  gas,  aud 
exhale  oxygen;  while  living  animals  exhale 
carbonic  acid  gas  and  iidiale  oxygen.  Plants 
are  largely  compo.sed  of  the  carbon  obtained 
from  the  air,  while  oxygen  is  the  vitalizing 
element  in  animal  organisms. 

Homes,  districts,   army  stations,  hamlets, 

*Paper  read  at  the  retyular  weekly  nieeliiiff  of  the 
American  Institute  Fanner's  Club  by  Dr.  A.  S,  Heath. 


villages  and  cities  have  been  ))rotected  from 
malaria  by  trees  and  plants;  but  of  all  the 
plants,  none  exert  so  benign  an  influence 
against  malaria  as  does  the  sunflower. 

Recent  experiments  have  shown  that  per- 
sons may  be  inoculated  with  the  malaria  con- 
faiued  in  the  water  of  swamps,  aud  in  the 
alga;  growing  aud  decaying  in  them.  Whether 
the  large  exhalations  of  oxygen  from  great 
numbers  of  sunflowers  or  the  excessive  trans- 
pirations of  water  through  the  broad  excret- 
ing leaves  of  these  plants  exert  the  sanitary 
influences  attributed  to  them,  or  whether 
some  unknown  agency  operates  or  co-oper- 
ates to  produce  this  desirable  result  is  not 
material,  so  long  as  the  result  is  obtained  by 
liberally  planting  sunflowers  around,  or  on 
the  swampy  side  of  habitable  places;  so  that 
there  may  be  interspersed  between  the  human 
domiciles  and  the  malaria-prodncing  regions 
this  ellicient  preventive  agency. 

Efficient  engineering  doubtless  is  tiie  most 
cllectivc^  nu'ans  of  ov(Mcoming  malaria— by 
thorough  drainage.  Arboiicidture  ranks  next. 
15ut  for  tlie  quick  and  ctlicient  iiids  to  both 
of  these,  the  planting  of  simflowers  in  a  prop- 
er manner  is  the  most  prompt  and  reliable 
means. 

The  necessary  excavations  of  the  engineer 
at  first  intensifies  evil,  by  liberating  the  pent- 
up  miasm.  .So  indeed  does  tree  planting,  but 
in  a  less  degree.  The  sunflower  cultivation, 
however,  produces  immediate  good  results 
while  these  more  i)ermanent  mea.sures  are 
being  perfected.  , 

Another  plant,  tlie  Jerusalem  artichoke — 
Helianlhus  tuberosiis — near  akin  to  the  sun- 
flower in  its  anti-malarial  influence,  and  hav- 
ing the  advantage  in  not  requiring  to  be 
planted  annually,  and  of  also  yielding  a  valu- 
able preventive. 

Washington  isaveritalile  hot-bed  of  malaria. 
That  this  state  of  things  should  liave  been  so 
long  permitted  to  have  existed  is  not  credita- 
ble to  Congress,  the  governing  power.  Many 
of  our  most  valuable  representatives  have 
been  sacrificed  by  exposure  to  Washington 
malaria;  aud  vastly  more  have  suffered  in 
health  in  consequence  of  the  unsanitary  con- 
ditions surrounding  the  capital  of  a  great,  in- 
telligent'and  rich  nation. 

While  engineering  and  arboriculture  are 
laying  great  sanitary  plans,  let  the  simple, 
etiicient  aud  immediate  ollices  of  the  i-unflower 
be  brought  to  bear  to  protect  the  President, 
the  Cabinet,  Senators,  Cofigressmen  and  the 
citix,ens  of  Washington  from  a  pestilence  that 
constantly  hovers  over  the  capital. 

This  valuable  protecting  power  of  the  sun- 
flower may  be  utilized  in  any  locality  where 
mia.sma  is  rife. 

To  iirotect  that  part  of  the  city  near  the 
Potomac  flats  there  should  be  planted  a  Itroad 
bijlt  of  sunflowers  between  that  part  of  the 
flats  upon  which  the  engineers  will  operate 
and  the  unoccupied  laud;  as  broad  and  long  a 
a  belt  as  practicable  should  be  well  plowed 
aud  planted  with  the  Russian  mammoth  sun- 
flower, four  feet  apart  in  rows  at  right  angles, 
so  that  a  single  horse-plow  may  cultivate  both 
W'ays.  One  jilant  in  the  .square  thus  laid  out 
will  be  best,  as  the  growth  is  rapid  and  vigor- 
ous. 

Similar  management  will  protect  other  lo- 
calities.     The  occupants  of  farm  houses  and 


90 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[June, 


country  residences  can  be  thus  secured  against 
the  baneful  influences  of  malaria. 

A  few  sunflowers  planted  about  the  farm- 
house might  be  sufficient  to  satisfy  tlie  sesthetic 
taste  of  Oscar  Wilde,  but  they  would  not  be 
numerous  enough  to  ward  off  malaria.  A  belt 
of  sunflowers  and  Jerusalem  artichokes  is  re- 
quired. Tliough  there  would  be  but  little 
variety  in  these  plants  alone,  there  might  be 
interspersed  a  few  plants  of  pearl  millet, 
golden  millet,  or  some  others  to  please  the 
fancy  and  relieve  the  homely  monotony  of  the 
sunflowers  and  artichokes.  Judging  from  the 
display  of  artificial  sunflowers  in  the  shop 
windows  in  New  York  City,  one  might  imag- 
ine that  the  sentimental  malaria  of  aisthetical 
society  has  been  utterly  banished,  yet  the  sun- 
flower aisthetical  malaria  has  spread  far  and 
near.  The  subjects  most  susceptible  are  those 
of  a  peculiar  organization — those  who  are 
more  sensitive  than  sensible. 

It  is  to  be  lioped  that  artifical  sentiment 
and  artifical  sunflowers  will  not  in  any  way 
impede  the  rational  employment  of  natural 
sunflowers  to  protect  mankind  from  real  ills. 

Even  a  considerable  belt  of  sunflowers  plant- 
ed on  hard  ground  without  cultivation,  will 
make  a  poor  show  and  prove  ineffectual  as  a 
prophylactic.  In  this,  as  in  everything  else, 
a  corresponding  efibrt  must  be  made  to  secure 
an  object  of  great  importance.  The  means 
must  be  commensurate  with  the  magnitude 
of  the  object  sought.  To  depend  upon  a  few 
sickly  and  neglected  sunflowers  for  protection 
against  malaria  is  a  sad,  sorry  and  chilly  pros- 
pect, enough  to  bring  down  the  vengence  of 
an  ague  chill  upon  such  a  cultivator.  Plant, 
cultivate  and  harvest  a  large  crop  of  sunflow- 
ers, and  a  large  crop  of  health  at  the  same 
time.  And  at  your  harvest  home  festivities, 
bestow  a  thank-offering  upon  the  Dispenser 
of  all  gracious  gifts. 

Thousands  of  valuable  lives  have  been  ex- 
tinguished by  the  remorseless  venom  of  malaria 
and  if  its  full  powers  can  be  overcome  by  the 
simple  act  of  planting  trees  and  sunflowers, 
God  bless  the  generous  hearts  that  plan,  and 
the  benevolent  hands  that  plant  these  life-pre- 
serving gifts  for  man. 


OUR  TIMBER   LANDS. 
'Our  National   Legislature,"   tritely 


ob- 


serves Bryant,  is  almost  wholly  indiflerent  to 
the  fate  of  our  forests,  and  betrays  a  destitu- 
tion of  statesmen  like  forecast  that  is  painful. 
If  this  was  all  it  would  not  be  so  bad  ;  but, 
aside  from  their  indifference,  the  Congress  is 
constantly  squandering  large  bodies  of  our 
forest  lands  on  public  corporations,  who  are 
obtaining  them  only  for  proflt,  and  who  will 
destroy  them  with  more  rapacity  even  than 
private  individuals.  Candidly,  I  believe  that 
very  many  of  our  Congressmen  do  not  credit 
the  statements  and  theories  that,  by  denuding 
a  country  of  its  forests,  you  can  injure  its 
productiveness.  Some  of  them  have  lived  a 
great  many  years  and  as  yet  have  seen  no 
evil  effects  from  the  cutting  down  of  forests, 
nor  have  they  experienced  any  scarcity  of  fire- 
wood at  home.  Wise  men  ;  to  them  there  is 
no  other  land  than  Spain,  and  no  other  age 
than  that  in  which  they  live.  It  is  now 
nearly  fifty  years  since  Dr.  Drake,  of  Cincin- 
nati, proposed  to  Congress  the  importance  of 
saving  our  forests.     Failing  in  this  he  begged 


the  government  to  at  least  reserve  tracts  of 
woodland    around    the  headwaters    of    the 
principal  streams  as  a  means  of  preventing 
their  diminution.  The  wise  doctor  was  poohed 
at  and  thought  a  little  cracked.     Well,   some 
of  the  streams  he  proposed  to  save  are  almost 
valueless,  and  in  a  half  century  more  will  be 
entirely   useless   for  purposes  of  navigation. 
Probably  the  doctor  did  not  anticipate  the 
time  would  come  when  these  reserves  would 
become  important  as  a  source  of  timber  sup- 
ply ;  and  if  he  had  proposed  such  a  thing  he 
would  have  been  laughed  at  outright.     It  is 
needless  to  say  that  Congress  disregarded  Dr. 
Drake's  advice,   and  to-day  the  children  of 
the  very  men  who  poohed  at  the  doctor  are 
suffering  for    the    follies    of   their    fathers. 
Maine,   New  York    and    Pennsylvania    are 
practically  ruined  as  timber  States,  and  their 
streams  are  gradually  drying  up.     In  tweuty- 
flve  years  more  the  Northwestern  States  will 
be  as  bad,  or  even  worse  oflf,  for  timber  than 
the  Eastern  States  are,   and   in  twenty-five 
years  more  the  timber  famine  in  the   United 
States  will  begin.     Good,  say  the  Congress- 
men and  timber  vandals  of  to-day,    we   shall 
be  dead  by  that  time,  and  why  should  we  care 
what  happens  then  ?    Americans  owe  more 
than  any  other  people  on  earth  to  the  toils, 
sacrifices  and  forethought  of  their  forefathers, 
and  it  is  their  duty— every  man's   duty— to 
transmit  the  inheritance  they  received  from 
them     to     their     descendants     unimpaired 
by  waste  or  neglect.      Saj's  Bryant,    ''the 
length   of  time    required   for  the   growth   of 
timber  from  the  seed  to  maturity  shows  con- 
clusively that  it  was   never  destined  in  the 
order  of  nature  for  the    exclusive  use  of  a 
single  generation."  Nor  is  this  all.     The  man 
who  wantonly  destroys  that  which  he   cannot 
reproduce  in  his  lifetime,  is  not  only  a  coward 
and  a  fool,  but  he  commits  a  flagrant  crime 
against  nature  and  nature's  God.    I  never  see 
a  man  cutting  down  a  fine  tree  but  I  feel  like 
crying  out  "stop  thief!"     What  is  his  life  as 
compared  to  the  life  of  the  tree  ?    If  he  were 
to  immediately  plant  another,  not  in  his  life- 
time, in  that  of  his  children  or  his  children's 
children  would  the  tree  attain  to  maturity. 
All  this  he  knows,  yet  he  fells  it  to  the  earth 
and  does  not  even  plant  another  to  replace  it 
for  future  generations.     Is  not  this  man  a 
vandal  ¥  Surely  ;  and  worse,  for  he  is  a  crimi- 
nal and  his  seed  shall  suffer  for  his  sins.     If 
the  trees  could  talk  what  a  pitiful  tale  they 
would  tell.     How   they  had   for  ages  drawn 
moisture  from   the  earth  and  distributed   it 
through  ten  thousand  leaves   into   the  air  to 
descend  again  in  showers  refreshing  the  earth 
and  watering  the  -gentle   flowers.     Even  the 
tiny  blades  of  green  grass  would  cry  out  : 

"Oh  woodman  spare  the  tree, 
Touch  not  a  single  bouffh." 

But  they  must  perish  from  the  earth  ;  the  flat 
has  gone  forth  and  we  shall  soon  be  able  to 
say  no  more 

"  Thank  God  !  for  noble  trees  1 
How  stately,  strong  and  grand 
These  bannered  giants  lift  their  crests 
O'er  all  this  beauteous  land." 

They  will  be  cut  down  and  gone  and  the  shift- 
ing sands  alone  will  mark  where  they  once 
stood.  The  bleakness  and  barrenness  of 
death  will  cover  the  earth,  the  sun  pour  down 


his  vertical  rays  and  the  scorching  winds  un- 
checked howl  over  the  sterrile  plains. 

I  fear  you  will  think  I  am  becoming  excited 
over  this  subject,  and  I  do  warm  up  a  little 
when  speaking  or  writing  of  the  murder  of 
the  beautiful  trees  which  in  atrocity  is  little 
short  of  human  murder  itself.  But  it  is  not 
fine  phrases  or  grand,  eloquent  expressions  we 
want  in  this  case,  but  facts,  cold  arguments 
to  convince  the  unreasoning  and  the  ignorant. 
The  voracious  monster  who  threatens  to  de- 
vour all  our  young  timber  in  his  insatiable 
maw  is  the  railroad  interest  of  the  United 
States.  Last  year  there  were  101,000  miles 
of  railway  in  this  country,  and  this  year  we 
are  building  16,000  miles  of  new  railway.  All 
these  roads  have  to  be  tied  with  comparatively 
young  timber.  I  have  not  at  hand  an  esti- 
mate of  the  number  of  ties  used  per  mile, 
but  the  annual  consumption  is  very  large. 
Some  j'ears  ago  to  build  71,000  miles  of  rail- 
way required  184,60O,0C0  ties.  Ties  have  to 
be  replaced  every  seven  years,  and  it  i.«  fair 
to  set  down  the  number  of  ties  required  an- 
nually for  future  consumption  at  160,000,000. 
As  every  one  Isuows,  railroad  ties  are  cut  from 
young  timber,  the  ttees  being  from  eight  to 
twenty  inches  in  diameter,  and  this  demand 
strikes  at  the  very  source  of  our  timber  sup- 
ply- 

It  is  a  fact  that  the  fences  of  the  United 
States  have  cost  more  than  the  land,  and 
they  are  to  day  the  most  valuable  class  of 
property  in  the  United  States,  except  build- 
ings, railroads  and  real  estate  in  cities.  To 
keep  up  the  fences  requires  annually  an  enor- 
mous consumption  of  timber.  The  125,000 
farms  in  Kentucky  require  1.50,000,000  panels 
of  fence  to  enclose  them.  The  number  of  rails 
required  is  set  down  at  2,000,000,000  costing, 
875,000,000.  To  repair  and  keep  in  good  or- 
der the  fences  in  this  one  state  alone,  costs 
annually  S10,000,000.  Illinois,  a  comparative- 
ly new  state,  has  S200,000,000  invested  in 
fences,  but  it  costs  her  only  about  $300,000 
annually  for  repairs,  many  of  her  fences  be- 
ing constructed  of  wire.  The  whole  value  of 
the  fences  in  the  United  States,  may  be  set 
down  at  $2,000,000,000,  and  it  costs  flOO,- 
000,000  annually  to  keep  them  in  repair. 

The  City  of  Chicago  alone  last  year  em- 
ployed 17,800  men  in  handling  lumber.  There 
were  500  clerks,  4,000  wood-workers,  2,000 
sailors,  1,000  men  to  load  and  unload  the 
vessels,  and  10,000  men  to  handle  and  prepare 
the  lumber  for  market,  besides  .300  proprie- 
tors. The  luml)er  brought  to  Cliicago  in  188 1 
exceeded  2,000,000,000  feet  and  would  have 
loaded  one  train  of  cars  2,000  miles  long.  No 
less  than  300  square  miles  of  land  were 
stripped  of  trees  last  year  to  supply  the  Chi- 
cago market  with  lumber.  These  figures  are 
indeed  appalling  and  may  well  alarm  any  one 
as  to  the  future  source  of  our  timber  supply. 
There  is  no  hope  of  any  diminuition  in  the  fu- 
ture,for  Chicago  will  require  more  lumber  this 
year  than  she  did  last.  Tlie  demand  is  ever 
increasing  and  the  supply  ever  diminishing. 
Between  the  two  the  end  must  come  soon  and 
the  grand  old  forests  disappear.  After  the 
Saginaw,  Muskegon,  Menomonee,  Manistee 
and  Ludingtou  sources  are  exhausted  the 
Koeky  mountain  slope  and  Washington  terito- 
ry  will  be  stripped  of  their  forests,  and  then 
we  will  have  all  that  is  worth   taking.    Every 


1SS2.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


91 


year  we  demand  8,000,000  acres  of  trees  and 
|iliiiitlcss  than  1,000,000  acres  to  replace  them. 
The  end  is  so  plain  even  a  fool  may  read  it  as 
hr  runs.- — Gen.  Jas.  T.  Brishin  in  JV.  Y. 
World. 


ROOTS   AND    HOW    TO    GROW    THEM. 

The  root-grower  is  the  comiielitor  of  the 
tiisiloer,  if,  indeed,  he  i.s  not  the  original  en- 
siloer  himself  For  in  preserving  viml?.  in  pits 
tlic  process  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  en- 
silage, the  fresh  roots  being  ])reserved  in  pits 
covered  with  earth  to  protect  them  from  de- 
cay and  from  drying,  so  that  they  may  be  fed 
(luring  a  long  season  when  no  crops  are 
grown.  With  abundance  of  roots  no  farmer 
needs  ensilage,  excepting  a  small  supply  to 
carry  him  through  the  summer  months  until 
roots  come  around  again.  The  advantages 
and  economy  of  feeding  roots  are  in  no  way 
le.sser  or  fewer  than  those  appertaining  to  en- 
silage, and,  in  fact,  the  balance  is  even  in  fa- 
vor of  roots,  because  they  can  be  preserved 
much  more  cheaply  than  ensiloed  fodder,  and 
do  not  lose  any  portion  of  their  nutritive 
elements  by  chemical  changes  during  the  pe- 
riod of  their  storage.  The  average  yield  of 
roots,  too,  is  considerably  in  excess  of  that  of 
corn-fodder  or  those  other  crops  which  are 
used  in  ensilage,  and  no  expensive  silo  and 
troublesome  process  of  pressure  under  heavy 
weights  are  required  for  their  keeping.  With 
a  good  stock  of  roots  a  farmer  or  dairyman, 
or  a  feeder  of  beef,  mutton  or  pork,  can  suc- 
ceed perfectly  well  with  pasture  and  a  few 
acres  of  soiling  crops  to  help  him  out  until 
the  winter  comes  around,  when  the  necessary 
succulent  and  digestible  food  is  in  readiness 
for  the  animals.  In  short,  if  every  former 
should  have  a  silo,  as  he  is  advised  by  some 
persons,  he  should  also  have  a  root  cellar  as 
well,  both  to  give  his  stock  a  change  of  food 
and  to  reduce  the  cost  of  the  construction  of 
silos  large  enough  to  furnish  fodder  for  the 
whole  season.  But  it  is  hardly  necessary  to 
try  to  prove  the  enormous  value  of  a  good 
crop  of  roots  to  the  farmer ;  every  one  admits 
that  the  trouble  is  that  few  farmers  know  how 
to  grow  tbera  or  will  take  the  trouble  to  leani. 
They  fear  the  cost,  the  labor  and  the  manure 
required,  forgetting  that  labor  and  manure 
are  the  first  essentials  to  profitable  crojis,  and 
that  without  these  the  soil  has  no  inducement 
to  be  generous,  and  refuses  to  grant  any 
favcus  whatever.  Nothing  comes  out  of 
nothing,  and  it  is  in  vain  to  expect  large 
and  valuable  crops  without  furnishing  the 
elements  out  of  which  they  are  pro- 
duced. 

But  before  we  proceed  fuither  It  may  be 
well  to  enumerate  and  describe  the  various 
root  crops  that  are  known  in  our  ordinary 
agriculture.  These  are — to  begin  with  the 
best  known — turnips,  rutabagas,  carrots, 
mangels  and  sugar-beets ;  of  these  the  first  is 
the  least,  and  the  last  the  most  valuable. 
Every  one  can  grow  turnips,  that  is,  to  .some 
extent,  but  it  is  not  easy  to  grow  a  maximum 
crop  of  30  or  40  tons  to  the  acre,  and  it  is,  in 
fact,  no  easier  to  grow  this  than  to  produce 
the  same  quantity  of  mangels  or  sugar-beets. 
The  white  turnip  is,  however,  a  very  i)oor 
root,  as  may  be  seen  by  comparing  the  figures 
of  the  following  table  : 


Composition  and  Value  of  Root  Crops. 


Turnips 

( 'iirrots 

KutubaKHH 

INtat)K(!lH 

Siij^iir-bwottt 

(ireeii    corn    fod- 
der  


Pkb  Cent,  of 

>■ 

Q 

e-S 

Water. 

is 

Tl 

f^ 

92.0 

1.1 

5.1 

87.0 

1.2 

9.8 

87.0 

1.6 

9.3 

8S.0 

1.1 

9.2 

81.S 

1.0 

1B.4 

SS.T 

0.9 

7.8 

H-:i° 


3-"  = 


Fat. 


0.1 
0.2 
O.l 
0.1 
0.1 

0.1 


A -A 

16 
24 
24 
no 

a") 


The  composition  of  corn  fodder  is  given 
for  comparison.  Turnips  and  rutabagas, 
which  are,  in  fact,  turnips,  are  open  to  the 
serious  objection  that  they  are  not  suitable 
food  for  milch  cows,  giving  a  .strong  odor 
and  Havor  to  the  milk  and  the  butter,  which 
cannot  be  altogether  avoided  by  any  device 
or  method  of  feeding.  Turnips  have  the 
advantage  of  very  quick  growth  so  that  a 
crop  sown  in  August  or  early  in  September 
may  yield  a  very  considerable  amoinit  of 
feed.  Rutabagas  should  be  sown  early  in 
July,  but  white  turnips  not  before  August. 
Two  pounds  of  seed  per  acre  are  used  for 
either.  Phosi)hate  of  lime,  either  in  the  form 
of  bone  dust  or  superphosphate,  is  the  domi- 
nant fertilizer  for  turnips,  and  always  helps 
to  produce  a  good  crop.  One  good  use  for 
the  turnip  crop  is  for  seeding  down  with  grass; 
the  broad  leaves  shade  and  shelter  the  young 
grass  and  the  small  trurnips  left  after  pull- 
ing the  larger  ones  afford  shelter  in  the 
winter  and  manure  in  the  spring.  The  best 
grass  and  clover  seedings  we  have  had  have 
been  with  turnips  in  August.  For  carrots  we 
have  liking  and  an  aversion;  we  like  to  feed 
them,  but  hate  to  grow  them  or  to  harvest 
them,  for  both  are  troublesome  operations. 
As  a  farm  crop  for  cattle  feeding,  no  variety 
but  the  large  orange  Belgian  should  be  grown, 
for  the  roots  of  all  but  this  kind  penetrate  so 
deeply  and  the  crowns  grow  so  near  the  sur- 
face as  to  make  it  very  troublesome  to  harvest 
them.  The  first  growth  of  carrots  is  very 
small  and  slow,  and  unless  the  ground  is  very 
free  from  weeds  the  plants  are  smothered  be- 
fore they  can  be  seen.  But  while  we  have 
mangels  and  sugar  beets,  carrots  may  be  coa- 
fined  to  the  garden,  where  hand-weeding  may 
be  tolerated.  Mangels  are  a  species  of  beet, 
sometimes  called  the  mangold  wurzel-beet, 
and  are  familiarly  spoken  of  by  the  English 
farmers  as  "wuzzles."  Here  we  have  mangled 
the  name  in  our  own  fashion,  taking  the  left 
handle  of  it,  while  the  English  have  taken 
the  right.  But  they  are  a  magnificent  root, 
call  them  by  whatever  name  we  may.  Heacli- 
ing  a  weight  of  24  to  4(1  pounds,  the  single 
specimen,  growing  half  out  of  the  ground 
and  holding  but  very  loosely  to  the  soil,  they 
are  harvested  with  the  greatest  ease.  We 
have  ourselves  loaded  a  two-hor.se  wagon  with 
the  huge  roots,  of  which  120  filled  a  40-bushel 
box  level  with  the  edge  and  made  a  full  ton, 
taking  them  in  the  row  as  they  came  ; 
but  it  was,  to  tell  the  truth,  in  a  spot 
where  the  compost  heap  which  manured 
the  field  had  stood  for  three  months  and 
where  the  soil  was,  of  course,  unusually  ricli. 
But  of  that  crop  fully  10  per  cent,  would 
weigh  over  20  pounds  and  one  root  out  of  20 
would  reach  a  weight  of  24  pounds.  One 
of  these  roots  made  a  good  meal  for  a  cow, 
and  the  tender,  crisp  flesh  literally  melted  un- 


der, or  we  should,  strictly  speaking,  eay  over, 
her  teeth.  But  to  our  text  again.  Mangels 
are  of  several  kinds— the  long  top  rooted;  the 
ovoid  or  egg-shaped,  and  the  globe  ■  they  are 
of  several  colors — red,  yellow,  and  orange. 
The  best,  to  our  mind,  are  the  long  red,  of 
which  kind  was  the  crop  above  referred  to  ; 
the  yellow  globe  is  said  to  be  the  best  suited 
f(u-  light  soils,  jilthough  our  long  reds  were 
grown  on  a  sand  that  .sonictiines  blows  a  live- 
ly fashion  on  a  breezy,  dry  day  ;  the  yellow 
ovoid  is  .said  to  be  the  largest  cropper,  although 
our  long  reds  yielded  at  the  rate  of  1.200 
bushels  per  acre,  or  an  ecpiivalent  of  .'}(j  tons. 
Then  there  is  the  Norbiton  (iiant  long  red 
mangel,  one  whose  name  certainly  justifies  a 
large  crop  if  length  of  name  could  do  this; 
(uid  it  is  credited  with  being  enormon.sly  pro- 
ductive, single  roots  weighing  100  pounds, 
and  the  whole  crop  reaching  72  tons  per  acre, 
or  nearly  half  a  ton  to  a  square  rod.  But 
this  enormous  yield  is  by  no  means  incredible, 
for  roots  growing  14  incthes  apart  in  3  foot 
rows  and  weighing  16|  pounds  each  only 
would  make  a  ton  to  two  square  rods,  or 
about  80  tons  to  the  acre,  and  what  could  be 
done  on  one  two  s(piare  rods  might  surely  be 
done  on  SO  of  them,  if  it  would  pay  to  do  it. 
But,  as  a  rule,  enormous  crops  cost  more  than 
they  come  to,  and  it  is  the  medium-sized 
crops  that  are  the  most  profitable,  and  any 
farmer  may  be  well  ^-satisfied  with  36  tons  of 
good  sound  roots  to  the  acre,  which  is  equiva- 
lent to  the  feeding  of  six  cows  for  a  i)eriod  of 
six  months  of   three  cows  for  a  year. 

Another  excellent  root,  and  even  more  ex- 
cellent than  all  the  rest,  is  the  sugar-beet,  with 
18i  per  cent  of  solid  dry  matter,  of  which  15 
per  cent  is  carVio-hydrates  and  1  i)er  cent  is 
albuminoids:  and  which  thus  makes  an  ex- 
actly complementary  food  for  clover  hay  and 
wheat  bran,  or  cotton-seed  moal,  all  together 
forming  a  perfectly  nutritious,  complete  and 
well-balanced  food.  Of  this  root  there  are 
two  kinds,  the  small  French  sugar-beet,  ex- 
tremely rich  in  sugar,  so  as  to  be  a  tempting 
morsel  to  the  village  boys  on  their  way  to  or 
from  school,  and  the  larger  improved  sugar- 
beet  produced  by  the  Hon.  Henry  Lane,  of 
Cornwall.  Vt.,  after  many  years  of  cultiva- 
tion and  inlireeding,  so  to  speak,  and  which 
has  yielded  .'i">  and  40  tons  to  the  acre. 

All  the  best  tribe  require  tM  .siime  sort  of 
cultivation.  A  light,  warm,  sandy  loam  made 
rich  with  well-rotted  compost,  and  reinforced 
by  500  pounds  per  acre  of  the  special  beet  fer- 
tilizer and  3.50  pounds  per  acre  of  salt,  these 
huge  roots  revel  in;  they  grow  .so  fast  that 
they  cannot  make  their  way  into  the  soil,  and 
so  make  their  way  out  of  it,  standing  in  all 
sorts  of  grotesque  and  comical  ways — upright, 
leaning,  and  nodding  to  each  other,  twin 
roots  irying  to  divorce  themselves,  and  roots 
separated  trying  to  embrace  each  other,  but 
all  stout  and  robust  and  ruddy,  doing  their 
best  to  make  the  farmer  look  as  comical  as 
themselves.  To  reach  this  result  we  must 
plow  the  ground  early  in  April,  and  harrow  ; 
mark  it  out  with  a  furrow-marker  made  of  4 
strips  of  2  by  8,  12  feel  long  plank  set  on  edge 
30  inches  apart,  and  connected  by  3  cross- 
pieces  gained  in  and  firmly  spiked  on  to  the 
•upper  edge,  and  attached  to  a  draught-pole 
well  braced,  that  the  machine  may  not  wabble, 
but  go   steadily    and    evenly,  and    mark  out 


92 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[Junei 


straight  lines  across  the  field;  then  we  open  a 
furrow  right  uu  each  of  these  lines,  deep  und 
broad,  and  returning  on  it  double  it  and  make 
a  double  open  furrow.  Then  we  should  drop 
the  manure  in  this  furrow  and  cover  it  with 
the  plow,  returning  the  soil  previously  thrown 
out,  atid  thus  we  form  a  sort  of  ridge.  After 
this  has  settled  a  few  days,  we  must  go  with 
seed  planter — the  handy  little  "  monitor  " 
seed  drill  is  the  one  we  use — and  drop  the 
seed  immediately  over  the  manure  and  cover 
it  and  roll  the  surface  at  one  operation.  Then 
the  fertilizer  is  scattered  along  the  ridges 
and  all  between,  and  left  for  the  rain  to  carry 
it  down  to  the  roots,  which  will  spread  from 
row  to  row  and  meet  each  other.  When  the 
slender  little  twin  leaves  appear  we  must  run 
on  each  side  of  them  with  the  Planet  Junior 
hand  wheel-hoe,  which  scrapes  the  soil  on 
each  side  of  the  plants  within  an  inch  of  them, 
and  kills  the  weeds  and  loosens  up  the  ground- 
By  and  by  we  run  through  the  middle  with 
the  Planet  horse-hoe,  a  sort  of  universal  tool, 
which  stirs  and  plows  the  middle,  and  either 
scrapes  the  soil  from  the  rows  or  throws  it  to 
them,  just  as  we  may  wish  to  do.  But  the 
four  pounds  of  seed  we  have  sown  to  the  acre 
is  four  times  too  much,  but  necessary  to  se- 
cure a  close  and  even  stand,  and  the  excess  of 
plants  is  to  be  cut  out  with  a  hoe,  leaving 
spaces  of  14  inches  between  the  plants,  or  if 
one  wants  a  few  extra  roots  to  win  a  premium 
with  at  the  fair,  let  him  leave  them  30  inches 
apart  and  add  a  little  extra  fertilizer,  or  give 
them  a  little  liquid  manure  once  a  week.  Last 
of  all,  let  the  cultivator  be  kept  going,  not  to 
keep  the  weeds  down  so  much,  but  to  stir  the 
soil  and  let  in  the  warm  rays  of  the  sun  and 
the  rain,  which  will  carry  the  fertilizer 
down  to  the  feeding  roots  and  fill  the  great 
main  top  root  of  the  plant,  not  one-tenth  so 
large  and  heavy  as  its  root,  with  rich  sap,  and 
force  a  rapid  and  healthful  growth.  By  this 
manner  of  growing  roots,  the  crop  will  bring 
no  disappointment  with  it;  but  if  three  acres 
are  grown  one  may  be  sure  of  finding  the  bulk 
of  the  feeding  for  a  dozen  or  fifteen  cows  for 
at  least  200  days;  that  is  from  the  first  of 
November  to  the  end  of  May. — li.  Stewart  in 
N.  Y.  Tribune. 


GREEN   MANURES. 

Dr.  Alfred'  L.  Kennedy,  the  chemist  and 
geologist  of  the  Pennsylvania  State  Agricul- 
tural Society,  has  issued  an  address  "  To  the 
Farmers  of  Pennsylvania  "  on  the  subject  of 
the  use  of  green  manuring.  We  think  that 
we  may  be  doing  a  service  to  the  agricultural 
interests  of  the  State  by  giving  this  circular  a 
place  in  this  department,  though  it  occupies 
more  room  than  we  have  just  now  to  spare, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  call  the  attention  of 
farmers  to  the  propositions  it  embraces  : 

"  In  many  parts  of  the  State  the  fertility  of 
the  soil  is  economically  increased,  by  sowing 
it  down  with  red  clover  and  plowing  under 
the  crops.  The  crop  which  follows  next,  fre- 
quently finds  in  the  decaying  green  manure 
the  fertilizing  materials  it  needs,  and  finds 
them,  too,  in  the  form  most  readily  assimila- 
ble. Large  tracts  of  land,  both  in  Penn.syl- 
vania  and  Maryland,  have,  at  a  comparatively 
small  cost,  thus  had  their  fertility  so  far  re- 
stored, as  to  be  made  productive.  In  many 
respects  the  red  clover  is  admirably  adapted 


to  the  purpose.  Two  seasons  are,  however, 
often  required  before  it  is  sufficiently  well- 
rooted  and  grown,  to  be  plowed  under  with 
the  greatest  advantage. 

"On  the  continentof  Europe  the  yellow  lupin 
is  preferred  in  green  manuring.  It  Is  a  vigor- 
ous grower,  and  it  matures  in  one  season. 
Here,  as  well  as  there,  it  attains  a  height  of 
over  two  feet,  sending  down  its  strong  tap- 
root to  an  equal  distance,  penetrating  the  sub- 
soil, and  bring  to  the  surface  fertilizing  agents 
lying  below  the  the  reach  of  the  plow.  To 
these  qualities  it  adds  the  yet  more  valuable 
one  of  producing  a  foliage  more  than  eleven 
and  three-quarters  per  cent.  (11.79)  richer  in 
nitrngen  than  the  red  clover. 

"Nitrogen  in  the  soil  is  indispensable  to  our 
crops.  Applied  to  them,  as  it  is  in  the  form 
of  nitrate  of  soda  and  Peruvian  guano,  it 
is  the  most  costly  of  chemical  fertilizers. 
The  plants  which,  like  the  yellow  lupin,  gath- 
er it  and  store  it  up,  must,  under  certain  condi 
tions,  be  the  most  valuable  of  green  manures. 

"  To  determine  what  these  conditions  are, 
is  so  important  to  our  agriculture,  that  to  do 
so  would  be  one  of  the  first  duties  of  Ameri- 
an  agricultural  experiment  stations,  were- 
they. multiplied  and  organized.  At  present 
they  are  too  few  and  too  isolated  to  render 
the  results  of  their  'soil  tests,'  etc.,  truly 
valuable  to  the  mass  of  our  farmers,  whose 
locations,  soils,  subsoils,  and  atmospheric  and 
other  conditions  differ  so  widely.  Fortu- 
nately every  county  in  the  State  contains 
farmers  who  are  perfectly  competent  to  de- 
termine by  experiment  the  comparative  value 
of  green  manures,  and  they  are  cordially  in- 
vited to  aid  in  settling  the  interesting  ques- 
tion of  the  relative  advantages  of  the  red 
clover  and  the  yellow  lupin. 

"These  advantages  are  to  be  ascertained 
through  the  effects  which  the  green  manures 
have  upon  the  crop  of  graia  which  immedi- 
ately follow  them.  A  portion  of  a  field  which 
was  last  year  in  corn,  and  which  this  year  is 
to  be  put  in  oats  or  potatoes,  will  be  found 
convenient,and  that  portion  will  not  be  thrown 
out  of  the  regular  order  of  crop  rotation. 

"Measure  off  for  experimental  purposes  one- 
fourth  of  an  acre,  uniform  in  quality  and  ex- 
posure, and  plow  and  work  it  as  one  '  land. ' 
Forty-five  by  two  hundred  and  forty-two  feet 
will  be  a  good  proportion,  divided  into  two 
plats  twenty-two  and  a  half  by  two  hundred 
and  forty-two  feet,  being  one-eighth  of  an 
acre  each.  In  April,  sow  or  drill  one  of  them 
marked  No.  1,  with  the  quantity  of  red  clover 
usual  in  the  neighborhood,  noting  the  quan- 
tity; the  other  plat,  marked  No.  2,  with  one- 
eighth  of  a  bushel Ajf  yellow  lupin.  Promptly 
after  each  crop  comes  into  full  flower,  plow  it 
under  to  a  uniform  depth,  and  when  the  field 
is  being  made  ready  for  the  fall  grain,  what- 
..ever  harrowing  and  rolling  other  portions  re- 
ceive should  be  given  also  to  the  plats,  and 
the  whole  field  be  similarly  seeded.  If  a  po- 
tassic  or  phosphatic  fertilizer  be  used  on  the 
plants,  the  fertihzer  must  be  absolutely  free 
from  nitrogenous  matter  and  must  be  care- 
fully applied  in  equal  quantity  to  each,  time 
and  quantity  to  be  entered  under  'Additional 
Remarks. ' 

"Next  siH'ing  (1883)  carefully  stake  off  the 
middle  eighteen  feet  of  each  plat,  making  each 
central  plat  eighteen  by  two  hundred  and 


forty-two  feet,  or  exactly  one-tenth  of  an  acre. 
At  harvest,  begin  by  cradling,  binding  and 
cleaning  up  the  space  between  the  two  central 
plats,  and  also  that  outside  of  them,  and  then 
reap  the  plats.  Thresh  and  clean  the  product 
of  each  separately,  and  note  the  weight  and 
measure  of  the  grain,  and  the  weight  of  the 
straw  in  each. 

"A  blank  form  accompanies  the  foregoing 
to  fill  up  as  the  experiment  progresses,  which 
can  be  obtained  by  application  to  Dr.  Ken- 
nedy, at  the  Polytechnic  College,  Philadel- 
phia. By  noting  the  details  accurately  a  vast 
fund  of  information  can  be  obtained,  which 
may  prove  of  great  value  to  this  important 
branch  of  industry. — Germantoitm  Telegraph. 


Our  Local  Organizations. 


LANCASTER     COUNTY      AGRICULTU- 
RAL  AND   HORTICULTURAL 
SOCIETY. 

A  stated  meeting  of  the  Lancaster  County  Agri- 
cultural and  Horticultural  Society  was  lield  in  their 
room   in  City  Hall,  on  Monday  afternooti,  June  5th. 

The  following  named  members  and  visitors  were 
present ; 

Messrs.  Henry  M.  Engle,   Marietta;  .John  0.  Lin-     ' 
ville,  Gap  ;  Casper  Killer,  Conestoga  ;  James  Wood, 
Kirk's  Mills  ;  Simon  I'.  Eby,  city  ;  C.  L.  Hunsecker,      1 
Manheim   township  ;  P.   S.   Reist,   Lititz ;  John   H.     I 
Landis,  Manor;   William  H.  Brosius,  Drumore ;  W. 
W.  Griest,  city  ;  J.  M.  Johnston,  city  ;  Levi  S.  Reist, 
Manheim;  Peter  Hiller,    Conestoga;  Frank   Griest, 
city;  Eph.  Hoover,  Manheim. 

The   president   and  secretary   heine   absent,   Vice 
President  Henry  M.  Engle  took  the  chair,  and  John 
U.  Linville  was  appointed  secretary  pro  tem. 
New   IWembers    Elected. 

John  H.  Landis,  of  Manor,  jjroposed  for  meraber- 
sliip  Washington  B.  Paxson  and  Francis  N.  Scott,  of 
Colerain  township,  and  both  were  elected. 
Crop  Reports. 

Casper  Hiller,  of  Conestoga,  reported  the  cherry 
crop  almost  a  failure,  the  pear  crop  not  much  better, 
the  apples  very  thinly  set,  the  peaches  more  promis- 
ing, grass  rather  thinly  set  but  healthy  looking,  giv- 
ing promise  of  a  good  crop  of  hay. 

Peter  S.  Reist  reported  the  wheat  in  Warwick  and 
Manheim  as  very  promising,  possibly  a  little  too 
rank  in  growth;  grass  in  general  looks  well;  new 
clover  not  so  well;  cherries,  except  in  low-lying 
places,  good;  currants  greatly  damaged  by  worms, 
both  on  the  leaf  and  at  the  root;  other  fruits  promise 
a  fair  average. 

John  H.  Landis  said  that  in  Manor  township,  the 
wheat  never  looked  better  than  it  did  a  week  or  ten 
days  ago,  but  now  it  is  growing  too  rank  and  begin- 
ning to  lodge,  and  the  straw,  near  the  ground,  is  get- 
ting black;  the  grass  looks  well;  there  are  indica- 
tisns  of  a  full  fruit  crop;  apples  and  peaches  are 
plentiful,  though  the  cherries  are  not  very  full. 

John  C.  Linville,  of  Salisbury,  reported  wheat  as 
growing  very  rank,  with  straw  full  of  sap,  and  there- 
fore liable  to  rust  if  the  weather  should  become  hot; 
oats  looks  better  tlian  he  has  seen  it  for  twelve  years 
past  ;  the  grass  is  good  as  far  as  it  goes,  but  is  short 
and  in  some  places  thin  ;  peaches  and  cherries  are 
nearly  all  killed  by  unfavorable  weather;  potatoes 
plenty  and  so  are  the  potato  bugs. 

James  Wood,  of  Little  Britain,  said  that  in  his 
neighborhood  the  fruit  trees  did  not  blossom  well 
and  there  would  not  be  much  fruit ;  wheat  is  strong 
and  healthy  ;  oats  don't  look  so  Well ;  potatoes  com- 
ing np  nicely  ;  corn  healthy  but  backward  in  growth 
for  this  time  of  the  year  ;  clover  well  set. 

Wm.  H.  Brosius,  of  Drumore,  said  that  Mr.  Wood's 
report  will  answer  for  Drumore — wheat  fine  ;  grass 
fair,  but  fruit  unpromising. 

H.  M.  Engle,  of  Mariettta,  said  the  wheat  looked 
remarkably  well,  but    some    of  it    is    beginning  to 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


93 


lodge.     Ite  outcome  will  depend  on  the  condition  of 
the  weather  for  the  next  four  weekt;  if  it  should  re- 
main cool  all  will  be  well ;  but  if  It  should  become 
hot  and  dry  tlie  crop  will   sutler.    The  grass  is  thin 
in  many  places;  the  corn   well   set,  owini;  larjfcly  to 
the  superi'jrily  of  the  seed;  the  heavy  rains,  however, 
have  packed  tlie  ground  and  the  cold  weather  retard 
Its  growth.   Potatoes  look  well,  but  there  are  a  great 
many    bugs.      In  regard   to   the    controversey   liad 
some  months   ago   as   to  whether  exclusively   cold 
I    weather  would  destroy  the  eggs  and  larva?  of  insects, 
'I     Dr.  Rathvon  had  taken  the  position  that  it  would  not 
I    affect  them.      Mr.  Englc  was  inclined  to  think  that 
It  would  destroy  some  species,  but   not  the  iron  clad 
I    potato  hug.     He  noticed  that  the  cabbage  worm  and 
I     eirculio  are  very  scarce  this  year  and   lie  attributes 
i     their  scarcity  to  tlie  cold  and  wet  weather.     Peaches 
and  apples  are   fairly  promising,  but  many  of  them 
are  dropping  fioin  the  trees,  and  there  will  not  be  a 
full  crop  ;  cherries   are   very  poor,  there   not   being 
one-tenth  of  a  crop ;  all  kinds  of  small   fruits    look 
exceedingly  well.     The  rainfall  for  the  month  of  May 
was  nearly  live  inclies. 

Pruning  Apple   Trees. 

John  C.  Linville  read  the  following  essay  : 

Now  is  the  right  time  to  prune  the  apple  trees  if  we 
want  the  wounds  to  heal  over  quickly.  If  the  wounds 
are  large  it  is  well  tn  cover  with  grafting  wax  or 
varnish,  to  exclude  tlie  suu  and  drying  winds.  It  is 
seldom  necessary  to  remove  large  limbs  if  the  trees 
have  been  properly  cared  for  at  the  start.  I  think 
there  is  more  harm  done  Ijy  too  much  th»n  too  little 
pruning.  Vigorous  growing  trees  are  very  impa- 
tient at  havina'  part  of  tlicir  branches  cut  away. 
Dormant  buds  along  the  upper  side  of  the  limbs  push 
out  into  "suckers."  These  have  to  be  removed 
again  and  again,  until  finally  the  bark  along  the  top 
of  the  limbs  dies  and  the  tree  is  ruined.  I  have  al- 
ways met  with  this  trouble  in  attempting  to  thin  out 
dense  heated  trees.  Great  care  should  be  taken  in 
summer  pinning  not  to  jar  the  bark  loose. 

In  old  orchards  there  will  every  year  tie  fo'ind  some 
dead  limbs  that  must  he  cut  away.  This  had  better 
be  done  in  winter,  but  may  be  done  now.  In  many 
orchards  may  be  seen  unsitrhtly  stumps  of  limbs 
left  from  six  inches  to  a  foot  in  length.  I  liavenever 
heard  any  reason  given  for  this  mode  of  pruning.  It 
is  pitiful  to  see  nature  making  desperate  efforts  to 
cover  over  these  deformities,  the  "sap  wood"  creep- 
ing year  after  year  further  and  further  out  on  the 
useless  member,  until  finally  the  dead  stump  decays 
away  and  leaves  a  hole  in  the  trunk  of  the  tree.  This 
makes  a  capital  place  in  which  the  flickers  may 
build  their  nests,  but  it  is  death  to  the  apple  tree. 
Dead  limbs  should  be  sawed  off  at  the  shoulder,  and 
they  will  heal  over  even  if  four  or  five  inches  in  di- 
ameter. 

In  order  to  cut  off  large  limbs  neatly  the  saw 
should  be  put  in  good  order.  After  the  saw  should 
be  laid  on  the  work  bench  and  a  flat  file  run  from 
heel  to  point  along  each  side  of  the  teeth.  This  pre- 
vents the  points  of  the  teeth  from  scratching  the 
wound  and  leaves  it  smooth. 

Casper  Hiller  said  there  can  be  do  particular  rule 
laid  down  for  pruning;  one  kind  of  tree  will  require 
one  method  and  another  kind  another.  In  pruning 
apple  trees,  his  plan  is  to  commence  when  they  are 
young  and  cut  off  the  tops  so  as  to  keep  the  tree  low. 
Ordinarily  the  large  limbs  if  cut  off  close  to  the 
shoulder  and  painted  to  prevent  the  escupe  of  sap; 
but  if  the  tree  is  old  the  limbs  may  be  cut  off  a  few 
inches  from  the  shoulder;  the  slump  will  then  decay 
gradually  for  several  years  and  not  affect  the  tree 
until  it  has  become  too  old  to  be  useful.  He  thought 
an  orchard  ought  not  to  be  allowed  to  stand  more 
than  thirty  years,  and  that  a  young  orchard  might 
be  safely  planted  on  the  same  ground  by  placing  the 
young  trees  in  rows  between  the  old  ones,  removing 
the  latter  when  the  former  comes  into  bearing. 

John  H.  Laudis  took  exce|<tion  to  Mr.  Linville's 
statement  that  too  much  pruning  was  worse  than  too 
little,  especially  as  applied  to  peaches.  If  the  trees 
are  allowed  to  go  unpruned  the  fruit  is  sure  to  be 
small  and  scrubby. 

-  The  question  was  further  discussed  by  S.  P.  Eby, 
Esq.,  Peter  S.  Keist,  Levi  S.  Reist,  Henry  M.  Engle, 
and  John  C.  Linville. 

When  to  Cut  Grass. 

Id  answer  to  a  question  referred  to  him  at  last 
meeting,  Casper  Hiller  answered  as  follows  : 

I  am  not  prepared  to  answer  the  question  :  "At 
what  period  of  growth  should  grass  be  cut  to  make 
the   best  hay  f"    from   actual  test  of  the  feeding 


quality  of  hay  made  at  different  periods  of  cutting. 
If  my  opinion  would  be  of  any  value,  I  would  say 
that  the  proper  time  to  cut  is  when  the  plant  is  past 
full  bloom,  and  up  to  tlie  time  when  the  seed  is  lialf 
formed.  When  grass  and  clover  are  cut  too  young 
they  are  too  watery,  make  no  weight,  and  are  ditll- 
eult  to  cure.  If  left  until  the  seed  is  ripe  the  jilant 
becomes  woody  and  will  lose  its  best  feeding  quality. 
I  believe  It  has  been  satisfiietorily  shown  that  so.'L'liam 
contains  the  most  saccharine  matter  if  cut  when 
nearly  ripe,  and  I  think  the  same  principle  holds 
good  with  tlie  grasses. 

Henry  M.  Engle  said  that  owing  to  a  misapprehen- 
sion he  thought  the  above  question  had  been  referred 
to  him  for  answer,  and  hud  accordingly  prepared  a 
pai>er  on  the  subject,  which  if  there  wa»  no  objection 
he  would  read. 

He  read  it  as  follows  ; 

In  order  to  answer  this  question  satisfactorily  I 
present  it  in  an  essay  rather  than  in  a  few  verbal  re- 
marks According  to  statistics  (which  we  have  no 
reason  to  question)  the  value  of  the  grass  crop  of 
this  county  exceeds  that  of  any  other  crop.  It  re 
quires  but  a  small  amount  of  either  loss  or  gain  to 
each  farmer  in  utilizing  it  to  best  advantage  or  other- 
wise to  swell  the  aggregate  to  millions.  The  period 
to  cut  grass  for  hay  in  order  to  realize  the  greatest 
value  therefrom  is  the  subject  of  a  wide  difference  of 
opinion,  much  wider  indeed  than  should  exist  in  the 
use  of  so  important  an  articl  •  during  thonsamls  of 
years.  It  is,  however,  interesting  to  know  that  for 
some  years  past,  practical  tests  have  been  made  in 
Europe  and  also  in  this  country  by  chemical  analy- 
sis as  well  as  feeding  tests,  which  seem  to  agree  that 
grass  cut  in  bh  oni  will  make  the  most  valuable  hay; 
that  in  proportion  beyond  that  period  until  ripe  it  ap- 
proaches woody  fibre  and  consequently  loss  of  im- 
portant nutritive  qualities.  My  own  experience 
would  dictate  to  err  (if  error  It  be)  by  cutting  a 
little  earlier  than  later,  i.  e.  before  full  bloom, 
especially  clover. 

The  dliiculty  of  curing  is  claimed  as  a  strong 
objection  to  cutting  early,  and  is  perhaps  the  leading 
cause  of  error  on  the  other  side;  the  result  is,  a  very 
large  proportion  of  hay  not  much  better  than  straw. 
As  proper  curing  is  as  important  as  the  proper 
time  of  cutting,  I  would  add  that  possibly  one 
halfof  the  h.ay  made  (in  this  section  at  least)  loses 
much  of  its  value  by  being  gathered  too  dry.  The  old 
adage  "  make  hay  while  the  sun  shines"  I  believe 
to  be  applied  to  excess.  Were  it  always  practicable 
hay  as  well  as  her'is  and  seeds  would  be  better  if 
dried  in  the  shade  and  housed  or  stacked  as  damp  as 
will  allow,  only  so  as  not  to  mould  or  mow  burn,  in 
fact  a  little  of  the  latter  is  preferable  to  housing  it 
in  a  very  dry  and  brittle  condition. 

Although  grass  is  more  difficult  to  cure  when  cut 
young  than  when  more  nearly  ripe,  in  the  former 
condition  it  will  bear  much  more  rain  without  injur 
ing  it,  thap  when  cut  nearer  ripe.  The  difference  in 
bulk  is  in  favor  of  late  cut  grass,  hut  the  difference 
in  weight  is  trifling,  besides  stock  will  relish  the 
early  cut  much  better  than  late  cut,  and  fed  to  milk 
cows,  the  butler  will  have  a  richer  color  from  early 
than  from  late  cut  grass.  Another  important  con- 
sideration applies  to  grasses  which  make  second 
growth, is  that  early  cutting  does  not  stunt  the  plant, 
so  much,  consequently  the  second  growth  will  be  of 
so  much  more  value  as  to  outweigh  any  amount  of 
weight  gained  by  delay  in  cutting  the  finest  crop. 
My  experience  and  observation  of  forty  years  has  con- 
flriiied  me  so  strongly  in  favor  of  early  cutting  of 
grass  that  I  do  not  hesitate  to  recommend  a  trial  to 
all  who  have  any  doubts  of  its  advantages,  and 
would  suggest  that  as  many  members  of  this  society 
as  can  to  test  the  matter  fairly  by  cutting  some  early 
and  other  a  week  or  ten  days  later,  a^d  the  coming 
winter  feed  to  milk  cows  each  kind  alternate  two  or 
three  weeks  at  a  time  and  report  results  to  this 
society,  after  which  we  may  talk  more  intelligently 
on  this  important  subject. 

Peter  S.  Reist,  8.  P.  Eby,  esq.,  John  C.  Linville, 
James  Wood  and  C.  L.  Hunseeker,  discussed  the 
matter  further,  reviving  some  pleasant  recollections 
of  the  old  mode  of  curing  hay,  and  comparing  its  ad- 
vantages with  the  present  mode. 

White-Marked    Tobacco. 

Prof.  Rathvon  sent  to  the  meeting  several  leaves 
of  tobacco  upon  which  there  were  very  pretty  and 
curiously  wrought  lace-like  tracings.  [The  leaves 
were  presented  by  Wm.  Xoeting,  of  Elizabethtown, 
and  Morris  Gershel,  of  this  city,  and  a  description  of 
them  formed  the  subject  of  a  paper  by  Dr.  Rathvon 
which  lias  already  appeared  in  the  Intellioekcer 
— Kepokter.] 

Yellow  Lucan. 

A  printed  circular  from  Alfred  M.  Kennedy,  of 
the  State  Agricultural  Society,  in  which  he  recom- 
mends farmers  to  try  the  experiment  of  substituting 
yellow   lacan  for  red  clover,  was  read;  but  as  the 


season  is  too  far  advanced  to  make  the  experiment, 
DO  action  wa6  taken. 

Double  Peaches. 

Casper  Hiller  brought  to  the  meeting  several  twigs 
pulled  from  peach  trees,  on  which  there  were  a  great 
many  remarkable  growths  of  double  peaches.  Other 
members  present  stated  that  they  had  noticed  the 
same  phenomenon  in  their  several  neighborhoods. 
This  abnormal  growth  was  attributed  to  the  excep- 
tionally dry  and  hot  weather  of  last  autumn. 
Books  for  the   Library. 

Mr.  Engle  presented  to  the  library  bound  copies  of 
the  last  Pennsylvania  ngrieultural  reports;  annual  re- 
port of  the  Michigan  Poniological  Society,  and  the 
sixth  annual  report  of  the  Agricultural  Society  of 
Kansas. 

Ajourned. 


POULTRY    ASSOCIATION. 

The  regular  monthly  meeting  of  the  Lancaster 
County  Poultry  Society  was  held  on  Monday  morn- 
ing June  .5ih. 

The  following  members  were  present :  J.  B.  LIchty, 
F.  R.  Dilfenderffer,  city  ;  George  A.  Geyer,  Florin; 
M.  L.  Grider,  Mount  Joy  ;  J.  M.  Johnston,  city  ;  Dr. 
E.  H.  Witmer,  Neflsvlllc  ;  Charles  LIppold,  W.  W. 
Griest,  city;  T.  Frank  Evans,  Lititz;  John  A.  Sclium, 
city;  E.  C.  Brackbill,  Strasburg ;  L.  H.  Brooks, 
Marticville. 

The  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  President 
Geyer. 

The  minutes  of  the  last  meeting  were  read  and 
approved. 

On  motion,  John  E.  Schum  was  elected  treasurer 
by  acclamation. 

Charles  E.  Long  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy 
created  in  the  Executive  Committee  by  the  transfcr- 
auee  of  Mr.  Schum  to  the  treasurership. 

The  time  for  holding  the  next  society  show  was 
taken  up  and  discussed. 

On  motion,  Thursday,  the  11th  of  January,  was 
chosen  as  the  o|iening  day  of  the  exhibition,  to  con- 
tinue during  a  period  of  six  days,  namely  the  llth, 
I'ith,  i:ith,  1.5th,  Ifith  and  17th  of  the  mouth. 

William  Powden  was  nominated  and  elected  to 
membership. 

On  motion  of  J.  .M.  Johnston,  F.  R.  Diffenderffer 
was  re(|uested  to  prepare  a  paper  on  gapes  Id  chick- 
ens for  the  next  meeting. 

There  being  do  further  business,  the  society  ad- 
journed. 

LINNAiEN  SOCIETY. 

April   Meeting. 

The  Linn^an  Society  held  a  stated  meeting  at  the 
residence  of  Dr.  H.D.  Knight,  Nortli  Queen  street,  on 
Thursday  .evening,  April  26,  18S2,Prof.  Stahr  occu- 
pying the  chair. 

The  Curators  reported  no  donations  to  the  .Mu- 
seum during  the  month. 

The  librarian  reported  the  following  donations  to 
the  library  :  Annotated  list  of  the  birds  of  Nevada, 
by  W.  I.  Hoffman,  M.  D.,  25(5  pp.  octavo,  with  a 
map.  Donated  by  the  author.  Bulletin  of  the 
United  States  National  Museum,  2(i4  pp.  octavo, 
with  a  large  folded  map — a  guide  to  the  flora  of 
WashingtoD— from  the  Department  of  the  Interior. 
Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education  for  1879. 
Same.  Internal  Commerce  of  the  United  States  for 
1880.  Same.  Production  of  gold  and  silver  in  the 
United  States,  1880.  Same.  Transportation  routes 
of  tlie  seaboard,  Nos.  10  to  15,  Official  Oatctte  of  the 
United  States  Patent  Office,  volume  21.  From  the 
Department  of  the  Interior.  Volume  12,  Congres- 
sional Record,  from  Hon.  A.  Herr  Smith,  M.  C. 
Lancaster  Farmer  for  April,  1S82.  Two  envelopes 
containing  twelve  biographical,  historical  and  mis- 
cellaneous "scraps."  SuDdr;  catalogues  aod  circu- 
lars. 

E.  K.  Hershey,  of  Cresswell,  w«s  balloted  for  aud 
unanimously  elected  an  active  member. 

S.M.Seoer  was  proposed  for  associate  member, 
which,  UDder  the  rules,  Is  laid  over  to  the  next  meet- 
ing for  defiDite  action. 


94 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[June, 


The  treasurer  was  authorized  to  subscribe  for 
"Ward's  Quarterly  Bulletin  of  Natural  History." 

Dr.  Knight  kindly  tendered  his  office  for  the  use  of 
the  society  in  holding  its  evening  meetings,  which 
was  thankfully  accepted. 

Mrs.  Zell  read  some  notes  on  technical  terms, 
which  elicited  quite  a  spirited  discussion,  partici- 
pated in  by  Prof.  Stahr,  Dr.  Davis  and  others. 

After  an  examination  of  Dr.  Knight's  objects  of 
vertu,  and  continued  scientifie  gossip,  the  society  ad- 
journed to  meet  in  the  ante-room  of  the  Museum  on 
Saturday  afternoon,  May  27,  1882. 

May  Meeting. 

The  society  met  on  Saturday  afternoon.  May  27, 
188a,  in  the  ante-room  of  the  Museum,  the  presi- 
dent. Prof.  J.  S.  Stahr,  occupying  the  chair. 

After  the  usual  preliminaries  the  Curators  re- 
ported the  following  donations  to  the  Museum  :  Two 
specimens  of  the  "Sea  Robin"  or  "Flying  Gurnard," 
represented  to  have  been  caught  in  the  Susquehanna 
river  and  Conestoga  creek,  but  which  were  identified 
as  Prionotns  carolinnx,  of  Dekay — marine  fishes, 
which  inhabit  the  Atlantic  Coast  from  Nantucket  as 
far  south  as  the  Carolinas.  As  a  specimen  of  the 
"common  sturgeon,''  -4cipcn.se)'  sturio,  was  caught 
in  the  Susquehanna  river  some  years  ago,  near  Bain- 
bridge,  in  this  county,  it  is  not  impossible  the  "Gur- 
nards" may  pass  from  the  ocean  to  the  bays,  and 
from  the  bays  into  the  rivers,  although  it  is  not  very 
probable.  One  tine  specimen  of  well-defined  gran 
Ite,  presumably  from  the  "Granite  State."  Sundry 
botanical  specimens  for  determination. 

Donations  to  the  Library  :  Volume  3  of  American 
Entoniologist\  No.  1,  volume  1,  of  the  Pejinsylvania 
Farm  Journal,  dated  April,  1851,  which  originated 
in  Lancaster  city  thirty-one  years  ago,  under  the  au- 
spices of  A.  M  Spangler  ;  Nos.  17  to  20,  volume  20, 
of  the  Official  Gazette  of  the  U.  S.  Patent  Office  ; 
circulars  1 — 6,  from  the  Bureau  of  Education,  De- 
partment of  the  Interior  ;  two  book  catalogues,  and 
sundry  circulars  ;  the  Lancaster  Farmer  for  May, 
1883  ;  five  envelopes  containing  forty-five  historical, 
biographical  and  scientific  scraps. 

S.  M.  Sener,  Esq.,  was  unanimously  elected  an  ac- 
tive member  of  the  society. 

After  indorsing  a  small  bill  reported  by  the  Cura- 
tors, the  meeting  passed  under  the  rule  of  "Science 
Gossip"  for  a  brief  period,  and  then  adjourned  to 
meet  at  the  rooms  of  Dr.  H.  S.  Knight,  North 
Queen  street,  Lancaster,  Pa.,  on  the  last  Thursday 
evening  in  June  (29th),  1882. 

Agriculture. 

Rotation    of  Crops. 

In  a  well  planned  system  of  farming,  the  subject  of 
crop  rotations  should  be  carefully  considered,  as  one 
of  the  essential  elements  of  success  in  its  highest 
and  best  sense.  It  seems  to  be  the  prevailing  opinion 
that  the  al'ernation  of  crops,  in  systematic  order,  is 
a  modern  invention  that  was  gradually  developed  as 
a  direct  result  of  the  application  of  science  to  the 
art  of  agriculture.  The  early  writers  on  agriculture, 
even  from  the  time  of  the  Romans,  have,  however, 
quite  uniformly  urged  the  advantages  of  a  succession 
of  crops  from  the  teachings  of  experience.  They 
were  satisfied  that  a  variety  of  crof  s  grown  in  suc- 
cession, all  other  conditions  being  equal,  would  give 
a  greater  aggregate  yield  than  could  otherwise  be 
obtained.  The  reasons  for  the  success  of  the  system 
could  not,  it  is  true,  be  given,  but  practical  men 
were  fully  agreed  in  urging  its.  importance,  and 
many  systems  of  rotation,  more  or  less  perfect,  were 
planned,  some  of  which  became  the  prevailing  rule 
of  farm  practice  in  particular  localities.  That  these 
practical  rules  of  alternating  crops  of  ditferent  hab- 
its and  modes  of  growth  are  based  on  correct,  but 
not  explained,  principles,  has  been  shown  by  direct 
experiment. 

Manure  Made  Under  Cover. 

Of  course  all  the  advaniagee  of  making  manure 
in  covered  yards  may  be  secured  by  box  feeding, 
with  less   outlay  for   roofing,  since   no   more    space 


must  be  allowed  for  a  given  number  of  animals 
turned  loose  together  than  when  confined  in  stalls. 
It  is  the  protection  fram  rain  and  sun,  the  abundant 
use  of  litter,  and  its  thorough  incorporation  with  the 
excrements  and  the  exclusion  of  air  by  compact 
treading,  which  go  to  make  the  superior  manure;  all 
these  features  of  the  method  work  against  the  loss 
of  valuable  plant  food.  Nor  does  box.  feeding  and 
constant  accumulation  of  the  manure  under  the  feet 
of  the  animals  necessairly  imply  offensive  stalls. 
Mr.  Lawrence  said  that  everybody  noticed  the  gene- 
ral sweetness  of  his  stalls.  It  is  only  essential  that 
enough  litter  be  used  to  absorb  all  liquid,  and  this 
absorption  is  more  effectual  if  the  straw  is  cut  up. 
One  method  or  the  other,  box-feeding  or  covered 
yards,  should  be  adopted  by  every  farmer  who  lives 
where  manure  is  worth  saving,  and  who  finds  him- 
self compelled  to  supplement  his  stable  manure  with 
commercial  fertilizers.  Stable  manure  must  not  be 
lost  sight  of  in  this  increasingi  interest  in  these  con- 
centrated fertilizers,  for  we  cannot  produce  our  crops 
and  have  enough  for  ourselves  and  others  without 
its  aid  ;  and  there  is  nothing  in  all  the  list  of  com- 
mercial mixtures  which  gives  so  good  an  average 
return  for  the  money  invested  in  it  as  well  made 
stable  manure. — American  Agriculturist. 


Exports  of   Breadstuffs. 

The  following  shows  the  decrease  in  our  exports 
of  breadstuffs  lor  the  eight  (8)  months  ending  Feb- 
ruary 38, 1882,  as  compared  with  the  same  time  last 
year.: 

1882.  1881.  Decrease. 

Flour,  bbls.  3,853,474        5,307,432        1,443,958 

Wheat,  bush.      85,913,1.54    167,059,41G      21,746,262 
Corn,        "  37,048,841       58,770,782      21,931,942 

Rye,  "  502,098        1,6S7,.578        1,085,480 

Barley,      "  172,526  88.3,576  6i;i,0.50 

Oats,  "  440,473  268,.564         *171,817 

Corn  Meal,  bbls.       214,194  265,147  50,9.53 

Of  the  above  we  reduce  wheat  and  corn  to  bushels 
which  give  us  a  to  tal  decrease  in  our  exports  of 
over  forty-eight  million  bushels  (*excepting  oats) 
and  a  total  of  over  forty-seven  million  dollars. 


Corn  Culture  in  Gardens. 

In  field  culture  corn  is  planted  in  hills.  Some  have 
tried  growing  it  in  lines  or  drills,  and  have  obtained 
more  corn.  There  is  not  the  same  chance  for  three 
or  four  plants  feeding  together  in  one  hill,  that  there 
is  for  a  single  plant  alone,  and  with  nothing  nearer 
to  it  than  a  foot  or  so.  Three  plants  a  foot  apart  will 
give  more  corn  than  three  plants  in  one  hill  three 
feet  from  an  other  hill.  This  is  not  only  reasonable 
but  has  been  verified  by  actual  facts.  But  the  in- 
creased crop  does  not  pay.  The  horse-hoe  cannot 
work  but  one  way  when  the  corn  is  in  drills,  and 
then  the  horse  has  to  be  idle  in  the  stable  while  the 
driver  takes  the  slow  hand-hoe  to  clean  out  the 
weeds  in  the  row.  But  the  field-practice,  proper 
enough  in  the  field,  has  been  carried  to  t;he  garden, 
and  sweet  corn  for  the  table  is  treated  just  as  if  it 
were  a  field  crop.  In  gardens  where  hand  labor  is 
exclusively  used,  there  is  no  reason  whatever  for 
growing  corn  in  hills.  One  can  have  better  sweet 
corn  by  sowing  in  rows  than  in  hills,  while  the  labor 
is  in  no  wise  any  more. 

To  insure  a  constant  supply  of  sweet  corn  for  the 
table,  there  should  not  be  less  than  seven  different 
plantings  through  th'e  season.  The  first-planting  (of 
dry  seed)  should  be  made  not  earlier  than  the  20th 
of  April ;  the  next  planting  ten  days  after,  and  then 
follow  the  five  other  plantings  from  ten  to  twelve 
days  apart,  the  last  being  toward  the  end  of  June. 

Hort:cl  yruRE. 


An  Abundant  Apple  Crop. 
During  a  recent  ride  through  a  large  portion  of 
the  State,  we  could  not  fail  to  be  struck  with  the 
enormous  masses  of  apple  blossoms  wherever  there 
were  trees.  The  promise  is  of  a  great  crop  and  vast 
surplus.  Many  thousand  bushels  will  be  wasted  if 
the  fruit  ripens  as  well  as  in  other  seasons,  unless 
efficient  efforts  are  made  to  secure  a  foreign  market, 


and  to  manufacture  large  quantities  at  home  into 
evaporated  fruit,  or  into  apple  jelly  or  vinegar.  [This 
report  of  an  abundant  crop  refers  to  New  Tork  State. 
In  Pennsylvania,  or  at  least  in  this  part  of  the  State, 
the  promise  for  apples  is  far  less  encouraging]. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  supplies  which  are  sent 
to  Europe  will  be  selected  and  put  up  in  a  manner 
creditable  to  the  fruit  growers  of  this  country,  and 
that  some  means  may  be  devised  to  distinguish  such 
growers  and  shippers  as  do  the  work  in  honorable 
and  skillful  manner,  from  those  who  by  carelessness 
and  fraud  do  a  lasting  injury  to  themselves  and 
others,  as  was  too  frequently  the  case  in  1880. 

A  question  of  importance  is  asked  many  times  in' 
this  connection,  "How  can  we  prevent  this  uneven 
bearing  in  alternate  years,  so  as  to  have  a  fair  supply 
every  season  ?"  In  answer,  there  are  three  remedies. 
One  is  to  cultivate  the  ground  well,  so  as  to  keep  up 
the  vigor  of  the  trees  to  such  a  degree  that  the  abun- 
dant crop  the  even  year  will  not  exhaust  the  trees 
and  prevent  hearing  the  odd  year.  This  remedy,  al 
though  operating  more  or  less  in  all  cases,  is  uncer- 
tain or  incomplete.  The  second,  manuring  the  trees 
at  the  right  time,  is  more  efficient.  The  best  time  to 
apply  the  manure — which  must,  of  course,  he  broad- 
cast—is on  the  surface  in  autumn  or  during  winter, 
giving  the  trees  when  they  start  in  spring  so  much 
vigor  that  the  abundant  crop  the  same  year  will  not 
check  the  force  of  the  trees  and  prevent  bearing  the 
following  season.  If  the  manure  is  applied  in  spring 
or  early  in  summer  and  worked  into  the  surface  soil, 
it  would  have  a  similar  tendency  in  less  degree. 
Liquid  manure,  applied  now  to  the  whole  surface 
through  a  sprinkler,  would  probably  answer  nearly 
as  well  as  winter-spread  manure,  and  is  well  worth 
trying  by  those  who  have  facilities  for  this  purpose. 
The  third,  and  most  certain  way  of  changing  the 
bearing  year,  is  to  prevent  a  crop  this  season,  by 
which  all  the  strength  ef  the  growth  will  be  thrown 
into  the  young  shoots  for  a  crop  next  year.  The 
best  time  is  when  the  trees  are  in  blossom,  because 
they  are  easily  seen  ;  and  the  best  tool  for  the  pur- 
pose is  a  pair  of  common  sheep  shears.  The  work 
should  be  done  when  the  trees  are  young,  for  two 
reasons — the  labor  is  much  less,  and  the  change  is 
more  likely  to  be  permanent.  We  find  that  it  re- 
quires a  man  three  hours  to  shear  off  all  the  blos- 
soms from  a  tree  fifteen  years  old  and  large  enough 
to  bear  twelve  bushels  and  only  one  hour  for  a  young 
bearing  tree  seven  or  eight  years  old.  The  value  of 
the  crop  on  either,  during  a  scarce  year,  is  much 
more  than  the  cost  of  the  labor.  The  work  may  be 
done  when  the  young  apples  are  as  large  as  cherries, 
but  they  are  not  so  easily  seen  as  the  blossoms. — 
Country  Oentleman. 


What  Kills  Fruit  Trees. 

Deep  planting  is  one  error.  To  plant  a  tree  rather 
shallower  than  if  formerly  stood  is  really  the  right 
way,  whilst  many  plant  a  tree  as  they  would  a  post. 
Roots  are  of  two  kinds — the  young  and  tender  root- 
lets, composed  entirely  of  cells, _the  feeders  of  the 
tree,  always  found  near  the  surface  getting  air  and 
moisture,  and  roots  of  over  one  year  old,  which  serve 
only  as  supporters  of  the  trees  and  as  conductors  of 
its  food.  Hence  the  injury  that  ensues  when  the 
delicate  rootlets  are  so  deeply  buried  in  earth. 
Placing  fresh  or  green  manure  in  contact  with  the 
young  roots  is  another  great  error.  The  place  to  put 
manure  is  on  the  surface,  where  the  elements  disin- 
tegrate, dissolve  and  carry  it  downward.  Numerous 
forms  of  fungi  are  generated  and  reproduced  by 
the  application  of  such  manure  directly  to  the  roots, 
and  they  immediately  attack  the  tree.  It  is  very  well 
to  enrich  the  soil  at  transplanting  the  tree,  but  the 
manure,  if  to  be  in  contact  with  or  very  near  the 
roots,  should  be  thoroughly  decomposed. — Massa- 
chussetts  Ptowmaii . 


Early  Turnips. 
The  earliest  and  perhaps  the  best  variety  of  tur- 
nips for  table  use  is  the  Early  Flat  Dutch.  It  is  uni- 
versally popular,  and  it  takes  only  a  small  plot  to 
furnish  a  supply  for  a  medium  sized  family.  One 
reason  why  they  so  frequently  fail  in  gardens  is  the 


1882.J 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


95 


richness  of  the  soil  and  tlielr  frequent  growing  in 
Ihe  same  bed.  In  preparing  a  plol  for  turnips  dig 
down  full  spade  deep,  for  the  purpose  of  getting 
some  of  the  virgin  earth,  and  espeehilly  a  little  elay. 
As  a  fertilizer  there  is  none  equal  tci  bone  dust,  and 
nothing  else.  The  turnip  should  grow  slowly,  with 
as  little  top  as  possible.  It  will  not  bear  pushing  or 
forcing. 


Household  Recipes. 


Beefsteak  Koll.s.— Cut  a  beefsteak  quite  thick, 
then  split  it  open  lengthwise,  and  cut  in  strips  four 
or  five  inches  wide;  rub  over  the  inside  with  an  onion, 
and  in  each  strip  roll  up  a  thin  slice  of  bread,  but- 
tered on  both  sides;  stick  two  cloves  in  the  bread, 
and  sprinkle  sonic  salt,  pepper,  celery  seed  (cut  or 
thin  slices  of  nice  celery  stalk  if  in  season),  and  put 
into  the  gravy.  Tie  each  roll  with  a  thread;  dredge 
It  with  Hour,  and  fry  in  hot  butter.  Then  put  these, 
when  a  delicate  brown,  into  a  stewpan,  with  only 
water  enough  to  stew  them.  Make  a  nice  thickened 
gravy  from  the  liquor  in  which  the  steaks  were 
stewed,  and  serve  with  the  rolls,  very  hot.  The 
rolls  should  stew  slowly  two  hours.  Veal  or  mutton 
is  good  prepared  in  this  way. 

Devilled  Ham. — One  pint  of  boiled  ham  chopped 
fine  with  a  good  proportion  of  fat,  one  tablespoonful 
of  flour,  one  half  cup  of  boiling  water.  Press  in  a 
mould  and  cut  in  slices. 

Yankee  Plum  PunDiNU. — Take  a  tin  pudding 
boiler  that  shuts  all  over  tight  with  a  cover.  Butler 
it  well.  Put  at  the  bottom  some  stoned-raisins,  and 
then  a  layer  of  baker's  bread  cut  in  slices,  with  a 
little  butter  or  suet,  alternately,  until  you  nearly  fill 
the  tin.  Take  milk  enough  to  till  your  boiler  (as 
vary  in  size),  and  to  every  quart  add  three  or  four 
eggs,  some  nutmeg  and  salt,  and  sweeten  with  half 
sugar  and  half  molasses.  Drop  it  into  boiling  water, 
and  let  it  boil  three  or  four  hours,  and  it  can  be  eaten 
with  a  comparatively  clear  conscience. 

French  Beefsteak. — Cut  the  steak  two-thirds 
of  an  inch  thick  from  a  fillet  of  beef ;  dip  into  melted 
fresh  butter,  lay  them  on  a  heated  gridiron  and  broil 
over  hot  coals.  When  nearly  done,  sprinkle  pepper 
and  salt.  Have  ready  some  parsley  chopped  flue 
and  mixed  with  softened  butter.  Beat  them  together 
to  a  cream,  and  pour  into  the  middle  of  the  dish. 
Dip  each  steak  into  the  butter,  turning  them  over, 
and  lay  them  round  on  the  platter.  If  liked,  squeeze 
a  few  drops  of  lemon  over  and  serve  very  hot. 

Siit'ASH  Pie. — Make  the  same  as  pumpkin  pie  with 
the  addition  of  one  egg  to  each  pie. 

Delightful  Pudding. — Butter  a  dish,  sprinkle 
the  bottom  with  finely  minced  candied  peel,  and  a 
very  little  shred  suet,  then  a  thin  layer  of  light 
bread,  and  so  on  until  the  dish  is  full.  For  a  pint 
disli  make  a  liquid  custard  of  one  egg  and  one-half 
pint  of  milk,  sweeten,  pour  over  the  pudding,  and 
bake  as  slowly  as  possible  for  two  hours. 

To  Make  Tough  Meat  Tender. — Soak  it  in 
vinegar  and  water;  if  a  very  large  piece,  for  about 
twelve  hours.  For  ten  pounds  of  beef  use  three 
quarts  of  water  to  three-quarters  of  a  pint  of  vine- 
gar, and  soak  it  for  six  or  seven  hours. 

Cadbaqe  Salad. — Shave  a  hard  white  cabbage 
Into  small  white  strips;  take  the  yolks  of  three  well- 
beaten  eggs,  a  cup  and  a  half  of  good  cider  vinegar, 
two  teaspoonfuis  of  white  sugar,  three  tablespoon- 
fuls  of  thick  cream,  one  teaspoonl'ul  of  mustard 
mixed  in  a  little  boiling  water;  salt  and  pepper  to 
suit  the  taste.  Mix  all  but  the  eggs  together  and 
let  it  boil;  then  stir  In  the  eggs  rapidly;  stir  the  cab- 
bage into  the  mixture,  and  stir  well.  Make  enough 
for  two  days,  as  it  keeps  perfectly  and  is  an  excellent 
relish  to  all  kinds  of  meats. 

The  regulation  French  salad  dressing  is  composed 
of  three  parts  of  salad  oil  to  one  of  vinegar,  with  a 
palatable  seasoning  of  pepper  and  salt. 

Scalloped  OrsxEits.— Crush  and  roll  several 
handfuls  of  Boston  or  other  friable  crackers.  Put  a 
layer  in  the  bottom  of  a  buttered  pudding  dish.  Wet 
this  with  a  mixture  of  oyster  liquor  and  milk  slight- 


ly warmed.  Next  have  a  layer  of  oysters;  sprinkle 
with  salt  and  pepper,  and  lay  small  hits  of  butter 
upon  them.  Then  another  layer  of  moistened  crumbs 
and  soon  until  the  dish  Is  lull.  Let  the  top  layer  be 
of  crumbs,  thicker  than  the  rest,  and  beat  an  egg 
into  the  milk  you  pour  over  ihcin.  Stick  bilsof  but 
ter  thidcly  over  it,  cover  the  dish,  set  in  the  oven, 
bake  half  an  hour.  If  the  dish  is  larjre,  remove  the 
cover,  and  brown  by  setllng  It  upon  the  upper  grat- 
ing of  the  oven  or  by  holding  a  hot  shovel  over  It. 

Roast  Siiuulder  op  Veal. — Time,  twenty  min- 
utes for  each  pound.  A  shoulder  of  veal  some  oys- 
ters, or  mushroom  sauce.  Kemove  the  knuckle  from 
a  shoulder  of  veal  for  boiling  and  roast  what  re- 
mains as  the  fillet,  either  stuffed  or  not  with  veal 
sturting.  If  not  stuffed,  serve  It  with  oysters  or 
mushroom  sauce,  and  garnish  with  sliced  lemon. 

Western  Cookies. — One  cup  of  sour  milk,  one 
cup  of  powdered  sugar,  a  little  salt,  one  tcaspoonful 
of  soda,  mix  as  soft  as  possible;  roll  thin  ;  sprinkle 
with  sugar;  slightly  roll  out,  and  bake  In  a  quick 
oven. 

Fairy  Apple.— Bake  ten  nice  tart  apples.  When 
soft,  remove  skins  and  cores,  and  mash  fine  with  a 
silver  or  wooden  spoon.  While  hot,  add  the  white  of 
one  egg  beaten  to  a  stiff  froth,  and  beat  one  minute. 
Place  in  a  glass  dish  and  pour  over  it  a  soft  custard 
made  of  the  yolk  of  the  egg,  one  teispoonful  of 
corn  starch,  three  tablespoonfuls  of  white  sugar  and 
one  pint  of  milk.  Pour  this  over  the  apple,  flavor  or 
not,  as  vou  like.     Serve  cold.    This  is  nice  for  tea. 


Live  Stock. 


Improving  the  Stock  on  the  Farm. 

The  season  for  calves  and  lambs  is  about  over,  and 
on  a  majority  of  farms  there  will  be  a  surplus  to  be 
fitted  for  slaughter,  and  sold  to  the  itinerant  butcher 
or  huckster.  In  making  the  selection  of  this  surplus 
be  sure  to  choose  the  inferior  ones  and  keep  the  best 
on  the  farm  for  breeding  purposes.  Remember  that 
the  young  stock  grown  this  year  are  destined  to  pro 
duce  the  calves  and  lambs  which  you  will  want  to 
sell  a  few  years  hence,  and  in  order  to  have  them 
average  better  than  this  year's  product  you  must  re- 
tain and  breed  only  from  the  best.  The  dollar  or  so 
extra  offered  by  the  purchaser  for  the  beet  animals 
of  your  lot  will  prove  a  temptation  to  part  with 
them,  but  it  will  be  money  in  your  pocket  to  resist  it 
and  regard  the  money  as  an  evidence  of  the  greater 
worth  of  the  animals  to  you  as  breeders.  Look 
upon  the  dilTerences  in  price  simply  as  an  investment 
in  improved  stock.  Pursue  this  course  constantly, 
from  year  to  year,  and  you  will  eflect  a  gradual  im- 
provement in  your  stock  which  will  in  time  result  In 
your  having  none  but  "  the  best "  to  oft'er.  If,  on 
the  contrary,  you  suffer  the  young  animals  to  be  car- 
ried away  and  slaughtered  year  after  year,  you  will 
just  as  certainly  be  depreciating  the  quality  of  your 
stock,  and  approaching  the  time  when  you  will  have 
none  of  "  the  best  "  to  offer. — Ayricultural  Epitom- 
ist. 


Keep  Up  the  Flow  of  Milk. 
The  mouth  of  August,  is  perhaps,  the  most  trying 
of  the  year  to  the  dairyman  who  has  determined  to 
keep  up  an  even  flow  of  milk  during  the  whole  sea- 
son. And  all  dairymen  who  have  studied  the  profits 
of  the  business  know  that  any  large  falling  off  In 
the  flow  of  milk  in  midsummer  is  seldom  or  never 
recovered.  This  reduction  of  milk  will  largely  affect 
the  whole  yield,  and  thus  the  profits  of  the  whole 
season.  Special  green  crops  of  corn,  millet,  etc.,  are 
seldom  ready  early  enough  to  reach  an  August 
shrinkage  in  pasture.  Those  who  make  a  specialty 
of  clover  will  be  best  able  to  meet  the  short 
pasture  with  green  food.  A  second  crop  of  clover 
will  be  just  in  its  glory,  and  when  that  is  fed, 
corn,  millet,  etc.,  may  be  ready.  As  cows  can  only 
produce  a  large  yield  of  milk  on  full  feeding,  let  the 
dairyman  be  as  liberal  to  his  cows  as  he  desires  to 
be  rewarded  by  them  in  return.  When  the  second 
cutting  of  clover  and   green  corn  are  both  ready  at 


once,  they  should  be  both  fed  together;  for  the 
clover  is  rich  In  the  nitrogenous  element,  which  Is 
deficient  in  corn;  thoy  conipleinent  each  other. 

Care  of  Dairy  Vessels. 

Prof.  Arnold  has  the  following  to  say  about  the 
absolute  cleanliness  required  In  dairy  utensils  and 
the  influence  of  such  neatness  upon  the  quality  of 
the  butter  :  0 

'■  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  wherever  the 
finest  butler  Is  made  the  milking  Is  done  in  the  most 
cleanly  manner.  It  is  so  neatly  done  that  strain- 
ing Is  *(  very  little  use  ;  It  might  even  be  dispensed 
with  but  for  the  occasional  dropping  of  a  stray  hair. 
Whoever  places  much  dependence  on  the  strainer  for 
securing  clean  milk  will  never  make  gilt-edge  but- 
ter. Allowing  dirt  to  get  into  the  milk,  and  then 
depending  on  the  strainer  to  get  it  out,  is  a  poor 
apology  for  cleanliness.  .More  or  less  of  the  dirt, 
especially  everything  of  a  soluble  nature,  and  some 
that  Is  not.  Is  sure  to  find  its  way  through  the  meshes 
of  the  strainer  with  the  crowded  current  of  milk. 
The  practice  of  using  one  cow's  milk  to  wash  the 
fllth  collected  from  another  cow's  milk,  as  Is  fre- 
quently done  by  continuing  to  strain  mess  after  mess 
through  the  same  strainer  without  cleaning,  does 
not  contribute  anything  toward  gilt-edge,  and  is  not 
allowed  where  the  best  butter  is  made.  Then  the 
tin  pails  (for  I  notice  wooden  pails  are  not  used 
where  I  find  the  best  butter)  and  all  the  veesele 
used  for  holding  or  setting  milk  are  kept  scrupulously 
clean.  When  used,  they  are  not  left  for  the  milk, 
and  particularly  the  milk  sugar,  to  dry  and  form  a 
gummy  coating  to  serve  as  a  reservoir  for  infection, 
and  which  it  is  difficult  to  get  off.  They  are  at- 
tended to  promptly,  rinsed  In  cold  water,  washed  In 
warm  and  scalded  in  water  actually  boiling  hot,  to 
avoid  contamination  from  a  sour  dish  clolh,  are  left 
to  drain  and  dry  without  wiping.  They  are  kept 
bright  by  scouring  with  salt,  and  as  a  protection 
against  greasy  and  infectious  matter  sal  soda  is  cm- 
ployed  instead  of  soft  soap,  which,  though  it  may 
possibly  be  clean,  is  generally  too  filthy  to  be  used 
about  milk  vessels,  to  say  nothing  of  the  injury  it 
does  to  tinware  from  the  potash  it  contains. 


Raise  the  Good  Cow's  Heifer  Calf. 
A  large  majority  of  dairymen  have  cows  in  their 
herds  that  do  not  pay  their  keeping;  and,  as  they 
do  not  apply  a  test  to  individual  cows,  they  con- 
tiuue  not  only  to  keep  them,  but  to  breed  from  thenj. 
This  is  a  most  suicidal  i>oliey.  Although  we 
strongly  recommend  dairymen  to  raise  their  own 
cows,  we  are  far  from  advising  them  to  perpetuate 
their  poor  cows.  It  would  be  even  better  policy  to 
give  them  away  to  some  favorite  brotherin-law. 
The  heifer  calves  from  only  the  best  cows  should  be 
raised,  and  the  weeding  out  should  go  ou  still 
further.  When  these  heifers  come  into  milk,  those 
that  do  not  come  up  to  the  proper  standard  should 
be  discarded.  A  careful  testshould  always  be  made 
of  each  cow  In  the  herd  and  of  each  heifer  during 
her  first  period  of  milking.  If  the  heifer  has  the 
appearance  of  a  well-formed  milker  and  of  having 
had  a  good  dam,  it  may  not  be  judicious  to  pass 
upon  her  during  her  first  milking  season  if  her 
quality  is  below  the  standard,  for  the  next  season 
may  develop  her  satisfactorily. — Live  Stock  Journal. 


Poultry. 


One  Variety. 

As  a  rule,  one  variety  of  fowls  is  enough  for  almost 
any  person  to  manage  successfully  and  profitably, 
and  this  is  especially  true  with  beginners,  who  have 
to  gain  their  experience  in  all  the  varied  details  of 
poultry  management.  If  a  breeder  has  been  success- 
ful with  one  variety,  has  not  merely  made  good  sales, 
but  has  produced  birds  of  such  a  high  order  of  merit 
that  the  stock  makes  a  good  advertisement,  and  a 
permanent  one,  for  the  breeder,  it  can  be  taken  for 
granted  that  it  will  pay  to  take  up  one  or  more 
breeds,   provided   the  same  caie  Is  bestowed  upon 


96 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[June,  x882, 


each  variety  as  was  formerly  accorded  to  the  single 
breed,  and  provided  there  are  ample  conveniences, 
room  and  quarters  for  them.  It  seldom  pays  to 
attempt  raising  pure  bred  poultry,  and  several  vari- 
eties, unless  there  is  ample  room,  both  in  yards  and 
houses,  for  they  must  have  this  to  insure  their  health- 
fulness  and  consequent  prolit. 


Treatment  of^Young  Ducks. 

I  haven't  much  faith  in  the  maternal  instinct  of 
ducks.  They  have  a  way  of  taking  to  the  water  with 
their  offspring  that  is  not  at  all  to  my  liking;  and  for 
that  reason  I  generally  set  my  duck  eggs  under  hens, 
who  do  not  seem  at  all  anxious  to  go  in  swimming 
with  their  wed  footed  charges.  I  never  believe  in 
giving  a  hen  all  the  eggs  she  can  possibly  cover. 
Duck  eggs  are  very  large,  and  five  of  them  are 
enough  to  give  a  small  hen;  a  Brahma  or  Cochin  will 
cover" seven  or  eight.  Duke  eggs,  like  turkey  eggs, 
should  either  be  set  on  the  ground,  or  on  several 
inches  of  fresh  earth  in  a  nest-box,  and  should  be 
sprinkled  often  with  tepid  water  during  the  last  two 
weeks  of  incubation.  As  soon  as  the  ducklings  are 
all  hatched,  remove  the  hen  to  a  coop  previously  pre- 
pared for  her.  If  the  coop  was  used  last  season,  it 
should  be  thoroughly  cleaned  with  an  old  broom  and 
hot  soapsuds,  and  then  whitewashed  inside  and  out 
several  days  before  it  is  wanted.  When  there  is  a 
running  stream  or  pond  on  the  premises,  the  coop 
must  be  placed  at  a  respectable  distance  from  the 
water,  for  ducklings  are  liable  to  cramps,  and  must 
be  kept  away  from  cold  water  until  settled  warm 
weather  comes. 

Novices  in  duck  raisirhg  should  always  remember 
that  turtles,  minks,  muskrats,  stray  cats  and  rats  are 
remarkably  fond  of  young  ducks,  and  take  suitable 
precautions  to  guard  against  their  depredations. 
Ducklings  should  be  fed  cooked  food  until  they  are 
six  weeks  old.  For  the  first  two  or  three  days  after 
they  are  hatched  they  should  be  fed  on  boiled  eggs 
and  stale  bread  soaked  in  milk;  afterward  almost 
any  kind  of  cooked  food  will  do.  Do  not  feed  too 
soon  after  ihey  are  hatched;  twelve  hours  is  soon 
enough,  and  do  not  feed  too  much.  Young  ducks 
are  not  overburdened  with  sense,  and  if  permitted, 
will  eat  until  they  kill  themselves.  Many  promising 
broods  of  ducklings  are  killed  by  over  feeding.  If 
hatched  before  the  young  grass  and  insects  make 
their  appearance,  ducklings  will  require  an  addition 
to  their  bill  of  fare  in  the  shape  of  green  food,  and 
an  occasional  feed  of  boiled  meat.  For  this  reason 
1  don't  think  it  pays  to  hatch  ducks  very  early.  If 
hatched  in  May  and  the  fore  part  of  June,  they  will 
attain  a  good  size  for  w  nter  market.  Give  plenty  of 
water  to  drink,  and  after  they  are  two  weeks  old 
give  water  that  has  the  "  chill"  taken  oflf  to  bathe 
in. — Fannjj  Field. 


A  Profitable  Hennery. 
James  Wilson,  who  resides  a  short  distance  from 
Milford  Square,  Bucks  county,  has  a  two-story  hen- 
nery, IS  by  20  feet,  well  lighted  and  ventilated,  with 
all  the  appurtenances  and  conveniences  of  and  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  most  approved  plans  of  buildings 
of  this  kind.  Mr.  Wilson  has  at  present  270  chick- 
ens, only  eight  of  which  are  males.  During  the  se- 
vere weather  of  the  last  three  months  his  hens  have 
yielded  him  thirty-eight  eggs  per  week,  averaging 
over  five  dozen  per  day.  The  chickens  are  in  the 
main  of  the  Leghorn  variety.  In  the  morning  the 
feed  is  a  mixture  consisting  of  six  quarts  of  wheat 
bran  and  six  quarts  of  chopped  oats,  or  wheat 
screenings,  at  noon  six  quarts  of  oats  and  in  the 
evening  six  quarts  of  cbrn.  A  handful  of  salt  and 
pepper  thrown  into  the  morning  feed.  Mr.  Wilson 
believes  in  giving  hie  bene  a  warm  breakfast  during 
the  winter  season,  and  always  uses  warm  water  in 
mixing  the  feed,  and  frequently  gives  them  a  morn- 
ing mess  of  boiled  turnips  and  potatoes.  The  drink- 
ing water  is  also  slightly  heated.  Pounded  bones 
and  oyster  shells  are  scattered  in  the  hennery  once 
or  twice  a  week.  The  chickens  are  allowed  to  be 
out  several  hours  each  day,  when  the  weather  is  not 


extremely  severe.  About  half  a  dozen  barrels  of 
manure  are  collected  each  month,  worth  several  dol- 
lars, which  with  the  sale  of  eggs  at  the  present 
market  price  makes  a  total  yield  from  the  hennery 
of  about  g70  per  month,  the  net  profit  being  not  far 
from  S.'JO. 


Literary  and  Personal. 


The  Planters'  Journal. — The  ofHcial  organ  of 
the  National  Cotton  Planters'  Association  of  Amer- 
ica, which  represents  all  thecotton  Statss.  Office  of 
publication  at  Vlcksburg,  Miss.,  with  branches  at 
New  Orleans,  .Memphis  and  Philadelphia,  11.5  South 
5th  street.  Pronounced  by  a  united  press  the  most 
important  movement  of  modern  times  for  the  South. 
The  May  number  of  this  most  excellent  journal  has 
reached  the  table  of  our  sanctum,  and  is  not  surpassed 
by  any  publication  that  comes  there.  It  is  a  Royal 
quarto  of  36  pages,  in  illustrated  colored  covers,  and 
aontains  a  rich  fund  of  knowledge,  not  only  relating 
to  the  cotton  industry  of  the  country,  but  also  to 
science,  mechanics,  agriculture  and  general  litera- 
ture, and  with  all  endowed  with  more  than  ordinary 
ability.  Its  illustrations  are  very  fine,  and  especially 
the  full  page  picture  in  this  number  of  •'  The  conval- 
escent," which  is  one  of  the  prettiest  and  most  char- 
acteristic "expressions"  we  have  seen  for  a  long 
time.  The  fashion  illustration  ef  "Cotton  Dresses  " 
is  a  reflection  of  living  intelligence,  and  not  merely 
stiff,  simpering  doUism.  The  determination  of  choice 
between  two  such  beings  as  are  here  represented, 
could  only  be  made  by  the  "  casting  of  the  die;"  and 
we  are  reminded  by  it  of  one  of  the  songs  of  our 
early  days — 

"To  lady'.s  eyes  around,  Boys, 

We  cant  refuse — we  cant  refuse, 
Where  bright  eyes  abound,  Boys, 

'Tis  hard  to  choose — 'tis  liard  to  choose." 

In  t"he  Literary  department,  we  notice  a  poem  en- 
titled "  3Iij  Sletinug  Fet,"  by  Dr.  I.  E.  Nagle;  the 
sentiment  of  which  is  beautifully  sad,  from  the 
standpoint  on  tliis  side,  but  would  be  beautifully  joy 
ful,  when  viewed  from  the  olher  side  of  the  boundary 
line  between  time  and  eternity.  But,  it  is  the  name 
of  the  author,  just  now,  that  elicits  our  attention 
more  than  the  poem;  for,  it  carries  us  back  more 
than  half  a  century.  Dr.  N.,  we  presume,  is  the  son 
of  an  old  esteemed  friend  and  "  fellow-craftsman  " 
of  ours — in  the  art  decorative  of  all  artizans — and 
many  years  ago  was  a  resident  of  Mount  Joy,  in  the 
county  of  Lancaster.  By  a  marginal  imprint,  we 
observe  also  that  Dr.  N.  is  the  editor  of  the  journal 
which  is  the  subject  of  this  notice.  He  need  not  he 
ashamed  of  the  responsible  fatherhood  of  such  an 
offspring. 

Southern  Industries,  devoted  to  agriculture, 
horticulture,  fish  culture,  live  stock,  mining  and 
manufacturing,  Kolfe  S.  Saunders,  editor.  Published 
by  the  Southern  Industries  Publishing  Company, 
Nashville,  Tennessee,  at  §3.00  a  year.  Office,  162>^ 
Union  street.  This  (No.  1,  May,  ISSS,)  is  the  noviti- 
ate of  a  demi-quarto  of  forty-eight  pages  of  charac 
teristic  letter  press,  exclusive  of  ten  pages  of  adver- 
tisements and  embellished  covers.  The  editor,  in  his 
introductory,  says,  among  other  equally  important 
things,  "We  propose  to  make  the  /Southern  Indus- 
tries rigidly  authentic  in  its  matter;  "  and  a  realiza- 
tion of  such  a  proposition  is  just  what  is  needed  all 
over  the  country,  and  what  we  presume  every  editor 
and  publisher  aims  to  accomplish.  It  is  a  great 
promise,  and  in  scanning  the  the  pages  of  the  journal 
before  us,  we  think  wo  discover  a  very  encouraging 
effort. in  that  direction.  Nothing  speaks,  just  now, 
more  emphatic  in  behalf  of  the  industrial  progress 
of  the  "Sunny  South"  than  the  rapid  increase  of 
her  industrial  journals  and  the  ability  with  which 
they  are  conducted.'  In  point  of  material,  typo- 
graphical execution,  illustration  and  literary  ability 
they  compare  favorably  with  the  best  journals  of 
the  North,  if  they  do  not,  as  a  whole,  excel  them. 
This  number  contains  ten  first-class  contributions, 
J"rom  as  many  able  contributors,  and  if  it  can  com- 
mand such  a  continuation,  it  will  not  only  succeed, 
but  it  will  deserve  success.  The  editorials  are 
pointed  and  practical,  but  "  too  numerous  to  men 
tion."  A  progressive  spirit  seems  to  pervade  the 
columns  of  this  juvenile  in  the  ranks  of  industrial 
journalism  that  would  do  honor  to  older  heads. 
"Mourrl  no  more  over  the  past,  but  rise  to  the 
times,"  which  the  editor  suggests  "should  be  the 
motto  of  every  Southern  man,"  is  advice  every  one 
should  heed,  both  North  and  South,  who  desires  to 
marcli  to  tlie  music  of  industrial  progress.  The 
pregnant  events  of  the  last  twenty  years  were  bound 
to  eventually  come,  and  happy  is  that  man,  or  that 
people,  in  whom  exist  the  elements  of  a  harmonious 
acquiescence  in  the  inevitable. 


"  In  spite  of  pride,  in  erring  re.'t.«;on's  spite, 
One  truth  is  clear,  whatever  is.  is  riglit." 

There  is  nother  arbitrary  or  absolute  about  this,  he- 
cause  it  is  in  perfect  harmony  with  that  law  of  Y)\- 
vine  permission,  through  which  a  lesser  evil  only 
transpires  in  order  to  prevent  a  greater  evil.  The 
sooner  any  country  can  comprehend  this  philosophy, 
the  sooner  it  will  work  out  its  own  political,  social. 
Industrial  and  domestic  salvation. 

Banner  op  Chosen  Friends.— "Fraternity,  Aid, 
Protection."  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  April  39th,  1882. 
A  supplementary  issue  of  this  little  sheet,  (4  p.  4  to.) 
No.  7,  Vol.  2,  has  been  placed  upon  our  table,  which 
seems  to  be  the  official  organ  of  a  secret  beneficial 
or  insurance  organization,  now  extending  over  por- 
tions of  our  country — especially  in  the  west — which 
affords  terms  more  favorable  than  other  societies  and 
companies  organized  for  a  similar  purpose.  The 
order  which  this  journal  represents  for  the  adminis- 
tration of  its  afl'airs  is  divided  into  l^uprem,e.  Grand 
and  Snhordi7tate  Councils,  and  the  following  expose 
Illustrates  the  objects  of  its   establishment. 

1.  To  unite  in  bonds  of  fraternity,  aid  and  protec- 
tion all  acceptable  white  persons  of  good  character, 
steady  habits,  sound  bodily  health  and  reputable 
calling. 

2.  To  improve  the  condition  of  its  membership 
morally,  socially  and  materially,  by  timely  counsel 
and  instructive  lessons,  by  encouragement  in  busi- 
ness, and  by  assistance  to  obtain  employment  when 
in  need. 

3.  To  establish  a  relief  fund,  from  which  mem- 
bers of  this  organization,  who  have  complied  with 
all  its  rules  and  regulations,  may  receive  the  benefit 
of  a  sum  not  exceeding  $3,000,  which  shall  be  paid 
upon  the  following  conditions,  viz  :  First.  When  a 
member  reaches  the  age  of  seventy-tive  years. 
Second.  When  by  reason  of  disease  or  accident  a 
member  becomes  permanently  disabled  frum  follow- 
ing his  usual  or  some  other  occupation.  Third.  Upon 
satisfactory  evidence  of  the  death  of  a  member. 

Seven  reasons  are  given  why  persons  should  join 
the  Chosen  Fkiends  for  protection. 

1 .  It  furnishes  its  benefits  at  actual  cost 

2.  Its  plans  are  equitable  and  just. 
?..  Its  fraternal  obligations  are  binding  and   forci- 
ble. 

4.  No  distinction  made  between  ladies  and  gentle- 
men. 

5.  Benefits  paid  at  the  age  of  seventy-Jive  years. 

6.  One  half  of  benefits  paid  when  a  member  be- 
comes permanently  disabled. 

7.  It  offers  all  the  special  inducements  that  other        \ 
orders  do  and  these  additional. 

This   much    for   the   benefit   of  our    patrons   and 
readers   who  may  desire  to  take  stock  in  insurance        ■ 
associations  on  the  score   of  economy.     As  for  our        I 
self  we  are  ten  years  beyond  the  bounds  of  reception,        \ 
as  no  member  is  received  who  is  over  Gl  years  of  age, 
and  none  who  are  less  than  18. 

No  councils  are  organized  within  yellow  fever  dis- 
tricts, showing  more  than  the  ordinary  degree  of 
caution  in  such  associations. 

The  Nation,  Weekly  Edition  op  the  New  j 
York  Post:  Price  10  cents  a  number.  A  3  column,  \ 
30  page  Royal  Quarto  of  choice  current  literature, 
embracing  politics,  science,  domestic  affairs,  reviews, 
criticisms,  commerce,  manufactures,  and  general 
news,  both  foreign  and  domestic.  (Volume  34,  No. 
8S0),  and  is  teeming  with  able  and  interesting 
matter;  and,  as  the  above  title  indicates,  contains  the 
choice  daily  gleanings  of  New  York  condensed  in  a 
charming  form.  But  the  Nation  is  too  well  known 
to  need  any  commendation  of  ours;  for,  anything  we 
could  say,  would  not  ''  change  one  hair  white  or 
black."  It  isa  journal  of  rare  merit,  especially  val- 
uable to  men  of  letters. 

Illustrated  Circular  of  Bee-keeping  Supplies 
and  Bees,  being  the  11th  annual  edition,  for  ls82,  by 
Alanson  C.  Hill,  Kendalville,  Ind.  Invaluable  to 
bee-keepers,  both  amateur  and  professional,  for  it 
tells  them  what  they  want,  and  how  and  where  to 
get  it. 

Report  upon  the  condition  of  winter  grain,  and 
upon  the  numbers  and  condition  of  farm  animals  of 
the  United  States,  to  April  1882,  being  special  report 
No.  42  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  82  pages 
octavo,  executed  in  the  usual  good  style  of  the  re- 
cent publications  of  the  department. 

Haney's  Journal.  A  workshop  companion,  pub- 
lished by  Jesse  Haney  &  Co.,  119  Nassau  street,  N. 
Y.  An  S  paered  Demi-folio,  being  a  repository  of 
practical  recipes  and  useful  information.  New  series, 
vol.  1,  No.  12,  established  in  1868.  The  subjects  of 
mural  decoration,  historic  reviews,  texture,  the 
pleasures  of  nearsightedness,  how  to  prevent  plugs 
from  showing,  silvering  glass,  the  use  of  colors, 
painting  tin  roofs,  sign  writing  and  glass  embossing, 
how  to  repair  the  watch,  anatomy  for  artists,  and 
many  other  items  of  a  similar  character,  attest  the 
usefulness  of  such  a  journal  to  the  practical  me- 
chanic, or  to  amateurs  in  art. 

Price  List  and  manual  of  Prize  Holly  and  Demas 
scroll  saws,  lathes  and  detachments  for  buzz  sawing, 
dove-tailing,  moulding,  grinding  and  polishing,  N. 
W.  Ayre  &  Son,  corner  Eighth  and  Chestnut  streets, 
Philadelphia.    Illustrated. 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER 


III 


THE  WORLD   OF  NATURE 

The  world  of  aniinateil  nature  is  more  splendidly 
rf|iresented  under  the  canvas  of  Forepauifh's  Great 
Show  than  in  any  zoological  collection  existent.  Not 
since  the  day  Noah  lifted  his  hawser  olf  the  snub- 
Mni^  post  have  so  many  distinct  varieties  of  rare  ani- 
i[i;il6  been  collected  under  one  cliarpe.  This  iinuor- 
i^int  fiK't  should  not  be  lost  siglit  of  by  schools 
aiiil  ii;iirnts.  Boys  and  jrirls  can  learn  more  in  an 
alli  riKinn  of  natural  history,  in  the  f;reat  MenaKO'ie 
111  Forepaugh's  Show,  than  by  months  of  book 
sliuly.  Kecoffniziup:  this,  Mr.  Forepaugh  makes  re- 
duced rates  to  schools,  arid  admits  all  children  in 
orphan  asylums  free  of  charge.  This  Great  Show 
will  exhibit  in  Lancaster,  Monday,  April  i;4. 


THE 


OFFICE 


No.  9  North  Queeo  Street, 


LANCASTER,  PA.. 


THE  OLDEST  AND  BEST. 


THE  WEEKLY 

LANCASTER  EXAMINER 

One  of  the  largest  Weekly  Papers  in 
the  State. 

Published  EveryiWeddnesay  Morning, 

la  an  old,  well-established  newspaper,  and  contaiuB  just  the 
news   desir.ible    to  make    it  au  iuterestiug  and   valuable 
Family    Newspiper.    The  postage  to  suberibers  residiug 
outside  of  Lancaster  coiiutyis  paid  by  the  publisher. 
Send  foi"  a  specimen  copy. 


STTSSCTail'I'IOIT  : 


Two  Dollars  per  Annum. 


THE   DAILY 


LANCASTER  EXAMINER 

The  Largest  Daily  Paper  in  the 
county. 

Published  Daily  Except  S   oday* 

The  daily  is' published  every  evening  during  the  week. 
It  is  delivered  iu  the  City  and  to  surrounding  Towns  ac- 
cesHible  by  railroud  and  dully  stage  hues,  for  10  cents 
a  iveek. 

Mull  Subscription,  free  of  postage—One  month,  60 
irents;  one  y«ar,   85.00. 


JOHN  A.  HIESTAND.  Proprietor, 

No.  9  NortU  Queen  St., 

Lik-NCASTBiR,  PA- 


Important  to  Grocers,  Packers,  Hucksters,  and  the 

General  Public. 

THE  KING  FORTUNE-MAKER. 


A  Neiv  l*roceits  for  Preserrhuf  all 
Perishable  Articles,  Animal  and 
Veffetable  from  Fermentation  and 


OZONE 

IHitrefactiinij  Ixefainimj  tluir  Odor  and  Flavor, 

**  OZONE—Purified  air,  active  state  of  Oxygen."— '''^'»»'^»"- 

This  preservative  is  not  a  liquid  pickle,  or  any  of  the  old  and  exploded  processes,  but  is  simply  and  purely 
OZONE,  as  produced  and  applied  by  an  entirely  new  process.  Ozone  is  the  antiseptic  principle  of  every 
substance,  and  possesses  the  power  to  preserve  animal  and  vegetable  structures  from  decay. 

Thi'Viis  uothiug  o}}  the  fare  of'  the  earth  liable  toiteeaffortipoU  which  Ozone,  the 
new  Vvesei'vative,  will  -not  jjreserve  for  all  time  in  a>  ptrfecily  fresh  anilpalatable 

condition. 

The  value  of  Ozone  ns  a  natural  preserver  has  H'en  known  to  our  ahlcr  ehcmi.stM  for  yearn,  but,  until  now,  no 
uicany  of  producing  it  in  a  practical,  incxj>cnsive,  and  .simple  manner  have  been  (li.sfovcred. 

IVIieroseopie  observations  prove  that  decay  is  due  to  scplie  maltrr  or  minute  ;;ern)N,  that  develop  and  feed  upon 
animal  and  veKelable  ulruetnres.  Ozone,  applied  by  the  I*remue  method,  seizes  and  deMrovh  these  Kerm?*  al  once. 
and  thus  preserves  Al  our  othee  in  Cincinnati  can  be  .seen  almost  every  article  Mail  can  he  tiiou^ht  of,  preserved  by 
this  proecs-s,  and  every  visitor  is  welc<mied  to  come  in.  taste,  .smell,  lake  away  with  liim,  and  ic.st  in  every  way  the 
merits  <)f  Ozone  as  a  preservative.  We  will  also  preserve,  free  of  charKe.  any  article  thai  is  brought  or  sent  prepaid 
to  us,  and  return  it  to  the  sender,  lor  him  to  keep  and  test. 

FKKhII  MIO.VTS.  such  as  beef,  mutton,  veal,  i)urk,  poultry,  t;anie,  (ish,  itc..  preserved  by  this  methoil.  can  be 
shipped    to  Euroije,  sidyectcd  to  atmoMphcric  changes  and  return  to  this  country  in  a  slate  of  perfect  preservation. 

KiiilJK  can  be  treated  ala  cost  of  less  than  one  dollara  thousand  dozen,  and  be"  kept  in  an  ordinary  moni  six  months 
or  more,  thoroughly  preserved  ;  the  yolk  held  in  its  normal  condition,  and  the  ej^jpa  as  fresh  and'  perfect  us  on  the 
day  they  were  treated,  and  will  sell  as  .strictly  "choice."  The  advantatje  hi  i»reservin(f  eKK^  •«  readily  seen;  there 
are  seasons  when  they  can  be  bou$;ht  for  8  or  10  cents  a  dozen,  and  by  holdiuK  them,  can  be  sold  for  an  advance  of 
from  one  hundred  to  three  liundred  ])er  cc   t.     One  man.  with  this  ineth(»d.  can  i>rescrve  5,(K»0  dozen  u  day, 

FRUITS  may  be  permitted  to  ripen  in  their  native  climate, and  can  be  transi)orted  to  any  part  of  the  world. 

The  juice  cxi)reysed  from  fruits  can  be  held  for  an  indctinitc  period  without  fermentation— hence  the  ^feat  value 
of  this  process  for  producing  atempcrance  beverage.     Cider  cim  be  held  perfectly  sweet  for  an v  length  of  lime. 

Vf:<i«KT-*Bl*KS  can  be  kept  for  an  indefinite  perioil  in  their  natural  condition,  retaining  their  od«>r  and  flavor, 
treated  in  their  original  packa^^es  at  a  small  expense.  All  t;rains,  flour,  meal,  etc.,  are  held  in  their  normal  condition. 

Kiri"l'KK.  after  being  treated  by  this  process,  will  not  become  rancid. 

Dead  human  bodies,  trcidcd  before  de<'omposition  sets  in.  can  l)e  hel'i  in  a  natural  condition  for  weeks,  without 
puneturiny  the  skm  or  mutilatinj;- the  body  in  any  way.     Hence  the  threat  value  (»f  Ozone  to  undertakers. 

There  is  no  change  in  the  slightest  particular  in  the  api>earanec  of  any  article  thus  preserved,  and  no  trace  of  any 
foreign  or  unnatural  odor  or  taste. 

The  process  is  so  simple  that  a  chiid  can  operate  as  well  and  as  successfully  as  a  man.  There  is  no  expensive 
apparatus  or  machinery  required. 

A  room  filled  wiUi  diflcrent  articles,  .such  as  eggs,  meat,  fish,  etc.,  ciui  be  treated  at  one  time,  without  additional 

ouble  or  expense. 

^jii^I"  lael,  lliere  is  iiotliinB:  that  <»zoiie  will  iio(  prosoi've.    Think  of  evervthing  you  can  that  is 

e  to  sour,  decay,  or  spoil,  and  then   remember  that  we  guarantee  that  Ozone  will  preserve   it    in  exactly  tho 

ilion  you  want  it  for  any  length  of  time.    If  you  will  rcmcmlier  this  it  will  save  asking  (|ucsti<jns  us  to  wbcther 

conde  will  preserve  this  or  that  article— it  will  prewt^rve  aiiyfliiitjf  iiikI  4*v<*ry  tliiii;;  yoii  «'an  lliiltk  of. 

There  is  not  a  toM-iiship  in  the  United  Stales  in  which  a  live  man  <-an  not  make  any  am'ount  of  money,  from 
SI, 000  to  Slu,nu0  a  year,  (hat  be  pleases.  AVe  desire  lo  yet  a  live  man  intcreslcd  in  each  county  in  the  Tailed  Stales, 
in  whose  hands  we  can  jilace  tliis  I^reservative,  and  through  him  secure  the  business  which  every  counly  ought  to 
roduce. 

Apr^D'T'I  IKTtr    Awaits  any  Man  wlio  Secures  Control  of  OZONE   in  any 
r  \jr\   1    KJ  i\Cu  Township  or  County. 

A.  C.  Bowen,  Marion,  Ohio,  has  cleared  52,000in  two  months.    %'*  for  a  lest  ]»ackage  was  his  first  investment. 

Woods  Brother.^.  Lebanon,  Warren  Ctamty,  Ohio,  made  ?<j,000  on  eggs  imrchased  iu  August  and  sold  November 
Isl.    S2  for  a  lest  package  was  their  first  investment, 

F.  K,  Raymond,  Morri.stown,  Belmont  Co.,  Ohio,  is  clearing  $2,000  a  montli  in  handling  and  selling  Ozone.  $2  for 
a  test  package  was  his  first  investment. 

D  F.  Webber,  Charlotte,  Eaton  Co.,  Mich.,  has  cleared  $1,000  a  month  since  August.  $2  fora  test  package  was  his 
first  investment. 

J.  B.  Gaylorcl,  SO  La  Salle  St.,  Chicago,  is  preserving  eggs,  fruit,  etc.,  for  the  commission  men  of  Cliicago,  charging 
l^c.  per  dozen  forcggs,  and  other  articles  in  proportion.  lie  is  preserving  5,0(X)  dozen  eggs  per  <hiy,  and  on  his 
business  is  making  S.'!.<KW  a  month  clear.    :52  for  a  lest  j>ackage  was  his  first  investment. 

The  Cincinnati  Feetl  Co.,  West  -liW  Seventh  Street,  is  making  S.'i.OO  a  month  in  liandling  brewers'  nmlt,  preserving 
and  shipping  it  as  feed  to  uU  parts  of  tlie  country.  i\Ialt  unpreservcd  sours  in  2-1  hours,  I*reserved  by  Ozone  it  keeps 
perfectly  sweet  for  months. 

These  are  instances  which  we  have  asked  in  the  privilege  of  publishing.  There  arc  scores  of  others.  Writeloany 
of  the  above  parties  and  get  the  evidence  direct. 

Now,  to  prove  the  absolute  truth  of  every  Ihing  we  ha%c  said  in  this  j)aper,  we  propose  to  plaoo  in  your 
haiKiN  the  nieaiiH  of  proviiiy:  f*»i*  .voiir.*«elf' tliat  we  have  %\t*t  elaiiiiecl  hair  f^iioiiifh.  To  any 
per.son  who  doubts  any  of  these  stalements,  and  who  is  intiircsted  suflicienlly  to  make  the  tri|>,  we  will  pay  all 
traveling  and  hotel  expenses  for  a  visit  to  this  city,  if  we  fail  to  prove  any  statement  that  we  have  made. 

How  to  Secure  a  Fortune  with  Ozone. 

A  test  package  of  Ozone,  containing  a  sutlicient  quantity  to  preserve  one  thousand  dozen  eggs,  or  other  articles 
in  proportion,  will  be  sent  lo  any  applicant  on  receipt  of  &2,  Tliis  package  will  enable  the  api>licant  to  pursue  any 
line  of  tests  and  cxpi^rnnents  he  desires,  and  thus  satisfy  himself  as  to  the  extraordinary  merits  of  Ozone  as  a 
I*rcservative.  After  having  llms  satisfied  himself,  and  liad  time  to  look  the  field  ove  lo  tictcrmine  what  lie  wishes 
to  do  in  the  future — whetlicr  lo  sell  the  ;irticle  toothers  or  to  <-onfiue  it  to  his  own  use,  or  any  other  line  of  i>ohcy 
which  is  best  suited  to  hijn  and  to  his  l<»wnship  or  county — we  will  enter  into  an  arrangement  with  hiiu  thai  will 
make  a  fortune  for  him  and  give  us  good  profits.  We  will  give  exclusive  township  or  county  privileges  to  the  first 
responsible  applicant  who  or<icrs  a  test  package  and  desiresto  control  the  business  in  his  locality.  The  man  who 
f^eetireHCMMirol  of  Ozone  lor  any  Npevial  territory,  will  enjoy  a  monopoly  whieh  will  Hurely 
cnrieh  liini. 

Don't  let  a  day  Tiush  until  you  have  ordered  a  Test  Package,  and  if  you  desire  to  secure  an  exclusive  privilege  we 
assiirc  you  that  delay  may  deprive  you  of  it,  for  the  apj)li<-ations  come  in  tons  by  scores  every  nuiil— many  by 
telegrajdi,     '"  First  come  first  serve<I  "  is  our  rule. 

If  you  do  not  care  to  send  money  in  advance  for  the  test  package  we  will  send  it  C,  O,  D.,  but  this  will  put  you  to 
the  expense  of  charges  for  return  money.  Our  correspondence  is  very  large;  we  have  all  we  can  do  to  attend'to  tho 
shipping  of  orders  and  giving  attention  to  our  working  agents.  Therefore  we  can  not  give  any  attention  to  letters 
which  do  not  order  Ozone.  If  you  think  of  any  article  that  you  are  doubtful  about  Ozone  preserving  iv:iuen)ber  wo 
gitarantee  that  it  ivill preserve  it,  no  matter  what  it  is. 

We  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  a  class  ^  references  which  no  enterprise  or  firm  based  on  anything  but  the 
soundest  business  success  and  highest  commercial  nieril  could  secure. 

We  refer,  by  permission,  as  to  our  integriiy  and  to  the  value  of  the  Prentiss  Preser\-ative,  to  the  following 
gentlemen  :  Edward  C.  Koyce,  Member  Board  of  Public  Works;  E.  O.  Kshclby.  City  Comptroller;  Amor  Smith,  jr., 
Collector  Internal  Revenue;  Wulsin  &  Wortlnngton,  Attorneys;  Martin  H.  Harr'ell  and  B.  F.  Hopkins,  (Vunty 
Commis-sioners;  W.  S.  Cappeller,  Counly  Auditor;  all  of  Cincinnati,  Hamilton  County,  Ohio.  These  gentlemen  are 
each  familiar  with  the  merits  of  our  I'reservative.and  know  from  actual   observation  that  wc  have  without  question 

The  Most  Valuable  Article  in  the  World. 

The$2  you  invest  in  a  test  package,  will  surely  lead  you  to  secure  a  township  or  county,  and  then  your  way  im 
absolutely  clear  to  make  from  S2,U00  to  ?10,0O0  u  year. 

Give  yourfuU  address  in  every  letter,  ami  send  vour  letter  to 

PRENTISS  PRESERVING  COMPANY.    Limited,) 

Nov-»m  S.  jK.  Cor.  A'inth  «i-  liace  Sts,,  Cincintiati,  O. 


IV 


THE   LANCASTER  FARMER 


[June.  1882. 


WHERE  TO  BUY  GOODS 

IN 

LANCASTER. 


BOOTS  AND   SHOES. 


MARKKA  1.1.  A  SON.  No.  12  Centre  Square,  Lan- 
caster, Dealers  in  Boots,  Shoes  and  Rubbers.    Re- 
pairing? promptly  attended  to. 

M1.KVY,  No.   3  East  King:  street.     For  the  bes 
•     Dollar  Shoes  in  Lancaster  go  to  M.  Levy,  No.  3 
East  Kin^  street. 

BOOKS   AND   STATIONERY. 

JOHN  BAKK'M  S4»X-S,  Nos.  15  and  17  North  Queen 
Street,  have  the  largest  and  best  assorted  Book  and 
Paper  Store  in  the  City. 


FURNITURE. 


HEINITSH-S,  No.  15S.  East  King  st.,   (over  China 
Hall)  is  the  eheapest  place  in  Lancaster  to   buy 
Furniture.     Picture  Frames  a  specialty. 


CHINA  AND  GLASSWARE. 

HIGH  A  MARTIN,  No.  15  East  King  st.,  dealers 
in  China,  Gla.ss  and  Queenaware,   Fancy  Goods, 
Lamps,  Burners,  Chimneys,  etc. 


CLOTHING. 


MTKBS  A  RATHFON,  Centre  Hall,  No.  12  East 
King  St.    Largest  Clothing.House  in  Pennsylvania 
outside  of  Philadelphia 


DRUGS  AND   MEDICINES. 

GW,  HULL,  Dealer  in  Pure  Drugs  and  Medicines 
«    Chemicals,   Patent  Medicines,  Trusses,  Shoulde 
Braces,  Supporters,  &c.,  15  West  King  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa 

JOHN  F.  LONG  A  RON,  Druggists,  No.  12  North 
Queen  St.    Drugs,   Medicines,   Perfumery,    Spices, 
Dye  Stuffs,  Etc.    Prescriptions  carefully  compounded. 

DRY  GOODS.  ~ 

GIVLKR,  BOWERS  A-  HITRST,  No.  25  E.  King 
St.,  Lancaster,  Pa.,  Dealers  in  Dry  Goods,  Carpets 
and  Merchant  Tailoring.    Prices  as  low  as  the  lowest. 

HATS  AND  CAPS. 

CH    AMKR,  No.   39  West  King  Street,   Dealer  in 
•    Hats,  Caps,  Furs,  Robes,  etc.    Assortment  Large. 
Prices  Jx)w. 

JEWELRY  AND  V^ATCHES. 

HZ.  RHOAOS  «fc  BRO  ,    No.  4  West  King  St. 
•     Watches,   Clock  and  Musical  Boxes.      Watches 
and  Jewelry  Manufactured  to  order. 

PRINTING. 

JOHN    A.    HIEMTANO,   9   North  Queen   st..  Sale 
Bills,   Circulars,  Posters,  Cards,   Invitations,   Letter 
and  Bill  Ileads  and  Envelopes  neatly  printed.    Prices  low^. 


Thirty-Six  Varieties  of  Cabbage;  2G  of  Corn;  28  of  Ou- 
umber;  41  of  Melon:  33  of  Peas;  28  of  Beans;  17  of 
Squash;  23  of  Beetand  40  of  Tomato,  with  other  varieties 
in  proportion,  a  large  portion  of  which  were  grown  on 
my  five  seed  farms,  will  be  found  in  my  Vegetable 
anil  Floiver  Seed  CatHlog^ne  for  ISk'Z.  Sent  free 
to  all  wiio  apply.  Customers  of  last  Season  need  not 
write  for  it.  All  Seed  sold  from  my  estal^lisliment  war- 
ranted to  be  fresh  and  true  to  naftie,  so  far,  that  shouid 
it  prove  otherwise.  I  will  refill  the  order  gratis.  The 
ori^lnai  intr'^diieer  of  Early  Ohio  and 
Bnrbaiik  I^olato^^N.  iflarbleli4>a(l.  Early  Corn, 
the  Hiibbar<l  S4|Ha*4h.  i>larbl(>lio.%(l  Cabbag^e, 
Phinney'«4  Melon,  and  a  score  of  other  New  Vegeta- 
bles, I  invite  the  patronage  of  the  public.  New  Vegeta- 
bles a  specialty. 


Nov-6mo] 


JA9IES  J.  H.  GREGORY, 

Marblehead,  Mas 


EVAPORATE  YOUR  FRUIT. 

ILLUSTRATED    CATALOGUK 

FREE  TO  AXL. 

AMERICAN  DRIER  COMPANY, 

Cbambersbare:,  Pa. 

Apl-tf 


FARMING  FOR  PROFIT. 

Tt  is  conceded  that  this  large  and  comprehensive  book, 
(advertised  in  another  column  by  J.  C.  McCurdy  &.  Co., 
of  Philadelpliia,  the  well-known  publisliers  of  Standard 
works,)  is  not  only  the  newest  and  handsomest,  but  alto- 
gether the  BEST  work  of  the  kind  which  has  ever  been 
published.  Thoroughly  treating  the  great  subjects  of 
general  Agriculture,  Live-Stock,  Fruit-Growing,  Busi- 
ness Principles,  and  Home  Life;  telling  just  what  the 
farmer  and  the  farmer's  boys  want  to  know,  combining 
Science  and  Practice,  stimulating  thought,  awakening 
inquiry,  and  interesting  every  member  of  the  family, 
this  book  must  exert  a  mighty  influence  for  good.  It  is 
highly  recommended  by  the  best  agricultural  writers 
and  the  leading  papers,  and  is  destined  to  have  an  ex- 
tensive sale.    Agents  are  wanted  everywhere.         jan-lt 

BLOOMSDALE 

LARGE  LATE  FLAT  DUTCH  CABBAGE. 

Large,  Flat,  Solid  Heads,  Short  Stems. 


A  HOME  ORGAN  FOR  FARMERS. ; 


For  a  long  period  of  time  we  have  had  this  stock  of 
Cabbage  in  cultivation,  originally  obtained  from  the 
German  and  Sweedish  market  gardeners.  It  has  been  a 
part  of  our  business  occupation  to  keepit  undefiled,  and 
t«-day  we  offer  it  in  itsorig:innl  purity,  equal 
in  quality  with  the  very  befeit  in  the  country, 
even  thOugh  the  best  should  cost  a  hundred 
^dollarw  per  pound. 

We  have  made  this  crop  a  study  and  give  our  cus- 
tomers the  result  of  many  years  close  observation,  for 
which  our  opportunities  may  be  judged  by  the  fact  that 
we  have,  each  and  every  year,  Hbout  one  hundred  and 
fifty  acres  of  cabbage  raised  expressly  to  produce  seed 
for  the  ensuing  season,  afid  from  which  selections  are 
made  with  scrupulous  care,  guided  by  experience.  Not 
a  single  grain  of  seed  is  raised  from  Stalks  all  from 
Selected  Heads.  , 

We  will  mail  our  Catalogue  free  of  charge  to  all  appli- 
cants. 

D.    LANDRETH   &   SONS, 
Nos.  21  and  23  South  Sixth  Street, 

Between  Market  and  Chestnut  Sts., 

BRANCH  STORE— S.  W.  CoE.  Delaware  Ave.    aNd 

Arch  Street, 

apr-6m  PHILADELPHIA. 

MERCHANT  TAILORING. 

1848     (The  Oldest  of  All.)     1881 

RATHVON  &  FISHER, 

MERCHABIT  TAILORS  ASD  DRAPERS, 

respectfully  inform  the  public  that  having  disposed  of 
their  entire  stock  of  Ready-Made  Clothing,  theynow  do, 
and  for  the  future  shall,  aevoie  their  whole  attention  to 
the  CUSTOM  TRADE. 

All  the  desirable  styles  of  CLOTHS,  CASSIMERE^, 
WORSTED-i,  COATINGS,  SUITINGS  and  VESTINGS 
constantly  on  hand,  and  made  to  order  in  plain  or  fash- 
ionable style  promi-it'y,  and  warranted  satisfactory. 

AU-Wool  Suit  from  SIO  00  to  $30.00. 

All- Wool  Pants  from  3.0O  to    10.00. 

All-Wool  Vests  from  2  00  to      6.00. 

Union  and  Cotton  Goods  proportionately  less, 

Cuttttjg.  Repairing,  Trimming  and  Making,  at  reason- 
able prioes. 

Goods  retailed  by' the  yard  to  those  who  desire  to  have 
them  made  elsewhere. 

A  full  supply  of  Spring  and  Summer  Goods  just 
opened  and  oi  band. 

Thankful  to  a  generous  public  for  past  patronage  they 
hope  to  merit  its  continued  reeognitioaln  their  "new  de- 
parture." 

RATHVON  &  FISHER. 

PRATI  !ALT,\.[LORS, 

]V(^  lOl  North  Queen  Street, 

LANCASTER,  PA. 

1848  1881  i 


rp 


IE  Mill 


t— I 

79- 


GLOVES,  SHIRTS,  UNDERWEAR. 
SHIRTS  MAdFtO  order, 

AND  WARRANTED  TO  FIT. 

£.  J.  ERISMAX, 

56  North  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

-i-m 


A  MONTHLY  JOURNAL, 

Devoted  to  Agriculture,  Horticulture,  Do- 
mestic Economy  and  Miscellany. 


Founded  Under  the  Auspices  of  the  Lancas-I 
ter  County  Agricultural  and  Horti- 
cultural Society. 


EDITED  BY  DR.  S.  S.  RATHVON. 


TERMS  OF  SUBSCRIPTION  : 


ONE  DOLLi^R  PER  ANNUifJ 

POSTAGE  PREPAID  BY  THE  PROPRIETOR. 


All    subscriptions    will    commence    with    the 
January  number,  unless  otherwise  ordered. 


Dr.  S.  S.  Rathvon,  who  has  so  ably  managed  the  editorial 
department  in  the  past,  will  continue  in  the  position  of 
editor.  His  contributions  on  subjects  connected  with  the 
science  of  farming,  and  particularly  that  specialty  of  which 
he  is  80  thorouhly  a  master — entomological  science— some 
knowledge  of  which  has  become  a  necessity  to  the  success- 
fiU  farmer,  are  alone  worth  much  more  than  the  price  of 
this  publication.  He  Is  determined  to  make  *'The  Farmer* 
a  necessity  to  all  households. 

A  county  that  has  so  wide  a  reputation  as  Lancaster 
county  for  its  agricultural  products  should  certainly  be 
able  to  support  an  agricultural  paper  of  its  own,  for  the 
exchange  of  the  opinions  of  farmers  Interested  in  this  mat- 
oter.  We  ask  the  co-oporation  of  all  farmers  interested  Ib, 
this  matter.  Work  among  your  friends.  The  "Farmer"  i 
only  one  dollar  per  year.  Show  them  your  copy.  Try  and 
induce  them  to  subscribe.  It  is  not  much  for  each  sub. 
scriber  to  do  but  it  vnW  greatly  assist  us. 

All  communications  in  regard  tothe  editorial  management 
should  be  addressed  to  Dr.  S.  S,  Rathvon,  Lancaster,  Pa.,, 
and  all  business  letters  in  regard  to  subscriptions  and  ad- 
vertising should  be  addressed  to  the  publisher.  Rates  of 
advertising  can  be  had  on  application  at  the  office. 


lOHN  A.  HIESTAND, 

No.  9  North  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 


$72 


A  WEEK.    $12  a  day  at  home  easily  made.    Costly 
Outfit  free.  Address  Trub  4c  Co.,  Aue:usta,  Main* 


02TF  DOLLAR  PEH  ANNUJil.-SINGLE  COPIES  10  CENTS. 


Dr.  S.  S.  RATHVON,  Editor. 


CONTENTS  0M[HI8  NUMBER. 

EDITORIAL. 

Egg  Culture  in  Krance 97 

Gapes  lu  Chickcus 97 

Entomolotrical  Notes S7 

DircftioiiM  for  SpndinK  Insects, 
Kitchen  Garden  for  July Qg 

Qiu^lity  an<l  Vitality  of  Seeds, 
How  to  Kill  Wheat  Moth 98 

Keniedies  for  the  Army  Worm — Melons — Bugs — 
Coal-Tar — Inseet  l*ow<Ier. 

Our  Local  Crops  98 

Destroyinij  Weevil 99 

Effects  of  Baking  on  Flour 99 

Phosphoric  Acid  in  Plants 99 

A  Mare's  Nest  100 

Excerpts 100 

Thrae  Wonders 100 

CONTRIBUTIONS. 

The  Uses  of  Pruning 102 

Balance  of  Trade 102 

SELECTIONS. 

U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture 103 

To  the   Manufacturer  of  Sufjar    from    Sorghum, 
Beets  and  other  Sur-Producing   Plants  in  the 
United  States — Sugar  Beets — Other    Sugar-Pro- 
ducing Plants. 
The  Happy  Granger 103 

Underdraining   104 

Profe.ssor  .).  M.  ^I'Bryde  in  .lournal  of  American 
Agricultural — Silo  and  Knsilage. 

Education  for  Farmers 104 

Success  in  Farming 1(M 

Importance  of    Rotation  and  Clover  and    Grass 

Crops. 

The  Department  of  Agriculture 105 

Fancy  Butter 106 

All  about  Poultry 106 

Talks  About  Fruit 107 

OUR  LOCAL  ORGANIZATIONS. 
Lancaster  County  Agricultural  and  Horticultural 

Society 107 

;  Crop  Reporti— Shall  we  Have  a  Fair  ?    No— The 

Immigration  Question — Grain  and  Fruit  E.\hibi- 

ted. 

The  Poultry  Society 108 

Gapes  in  Chicks— How  Do  They  Get  There? 

Llnnaean  Society 109 

AGRICULTURE. 

Green  Crops 108 

Loading  Hay 108 

Manure  Under  Cover 103 

Plaster 108 

The  Largest  Land  Owner  on  the  Contineot 108 

Best  Pasture  Grass 109 

Pacific  Coast  Wheat  Items 109 

HORTICULTURE. 

Summer  Grays  Prunning 109 

The  Care  and  Pruning  of  Peach  Trees 109 

The  Delaware  Peach  Crop 109 

Strawberry  Beds 109 

QulncejCulture 109 


LANCASTER.  PA.    JULY.  1882. 

HOUSEHOLD    RECIPES. 

Deep  Apple  Pie '■'^ 

Pan-dowdy HO 

Fjied  Apples H" 

Apple  Toast HO 

Apple  and  Bread  Pudding HO 

Racket  Club  Pudding HO 

Jelly  Pudding HO 

Cheese  Crusts HO 

Pumpkin  Pie HO 

Plain  Mince  Pie    HO 

Welsh  Rare  Bit HO 

Omelette HO 

Chicken  aud  Green  Peas UO 

Bean  Soup 

Codfish 

Broiled  Birds i 

Sago  and  Wine 

Beef  Juice  

Wine  .Jelly HO 

Toast HO 

Barley  Water - HO 

EgE-and  Wine HO 

Milk  Punch HO 

LIVE  STOCK. 

Spoiling  a  Young  Horse 110 

The  Pig  in  AErriculture UO 

Sheep  Kaisiug  in  Dakota ......Ill 

Treatment  of  the  Cow HI 

POULTRY. 

Floors  for  Poultry  Houses HI 

Fowl  Fattening Ill 

Onions  for  Chicken  Cholera Ill 

Crammintr  Poultry Ill 

Wild  Chickens.... lU 

Good  Matching Ill 

Literary  and  Personal Ill 


JOHN  A.  HIESTAICD,  Publisher 


SILK-WORM  EGGS. 

Amateur  Silk-srowers  can  be  Muppliod  with  g\ipcrior 
silk-worm  cj^gs,  o'l  reasonable  terms,  by  ap[)lying  imme- 
ciiately  to 

<.li:0.  O.   IIKXHEI., 


may-.tm] 


Xo.  ^."-^  F:ist  Oran- 


'Stre.-(.  T.niM 


^ior.V.i. 


$1000  Reiivarcl 

For  tmu  uutdtiur  hulling 
much  cluccT  3£cJ  in  1  tui 
as  tiie 


VICTOR 


Illiis- 

traicd 

P.imphlet 

mailed 

Krwrrk  narhlnv 

A'firRrk.O.  F».-mcflTthe 

UaiCeretowo  AgT.Imp.MfgCtk 


july-3m] 


SEND  IN  YOUK   SUBSCKIPTIONS 

—  FOR — 

rOR  18S2. 

Tlie  cheapest  and  one  of  the  best  Agricultural  pape 
in  the  country. 

Only  $1,00  per  year. 

JOHN  A.  HIESTAND,  Publisher, 

No,  9  North  Queen'st..  I^aneaster,  Pa. 

a  week  in  your  owu  town.     Terms  and  So  outfit 
free.  Address  H.  Hallktt  A  Co.,  Portland,  Maine. 


$66 


U  ill  tw  iiiailcti  Fnxr.  lo  >11  ftppllcsoti,  uid  t^r  i>ti:mrn  wif&oot 
'>rdcrine  tt.  It  contamt  Cve  colored  pUtn,  •.<iU  cnKrsvlnri, 
nbout  lm  pa(;«s,  tinri  full  dcM:ri)<t:'>Di.  prkri  kji  i  dircLtit-'ni  tor 
T<l:iiitingl!iOU  varlctietof  V-ceUbl«and  ^'lo^tl:,  S««Jt.  Tla^U, 
fruit  Tree*,  ctr.     Invalualle  to  ail.    H«ud  for  lu     Ad.trcii, 

B.  M.  FEABY  &  CO..  Detroit,  Mich. 

.Tan-4in 


$66^11. 

juii-I.vr» 


eelt  in  your  own  town.     TcrniH  aud  $.'>o\Ulit  free 
res8  li.  Hai.lktt  is  Co.,  I'urtlaud.  Maine. 


WE  WA>r  01.11  nooKs. 

\Vi.:  Wast  Gkkm.an  Books. 

WE  WANT  BOOKS   I'HINTED  IN  LANCASTER  00. 

We  Want  All  Kinds  of  Old  Book.s. 

LIBRARIES,  ENCil.ISII  OR  GERMAN    BOUGHT. 

Cash  paid  for  Hooks  in  any  <piantity.    Scn<l  your  addreas 

and  we  will  call. 

KEES  M'l'.I.SH  A:  CO.. 

2.3  South  Ninth  Street,   rliiladclphia. 

LIGHT  BRAHMA  EGGS 

For  liatfhiiitr.  now  rcaily— from  the  ln'^t  Plrain  in  the 
county— al  tlu-  nuKh-rate  price  of 

$lp50  foru8ettiuKof  X3  X^SS^. 
L.  KATllVON, 
Ne.  9  North  Queen  st..  Examiner  Ofliec,  Ijinoaster,  Pa. 

WANTED.-<-ANVASsKi:s  f,.,-  (h.- 
LANCASTER  WEEKLY  EXAMINER 
In  Every  Townslii[)  in  the  County.    Gootl  Wages  can  be 
made.     Inquire  at 

THE  EXAMINER  OFFICE, 

No.  9  North  <iuL'f  n  Street,  L;mc;ister,  Pa 

(PTOA  \V]:eK.    $12  a  d.iy  :it    home   **j8ily    nini.".     Cobtly 
(j)/  Zouttit  frt-e.    AddrcjaTni'E  &  Co.,  Anguhta,  Maine. 
ju:i-Iyr" 

SEND  FOR 

On  Concord  GraprVmes^  Traunplauted  EverxreenH,  Tulip, 
I'oi<l;ir,  I,,inden  Maple,  elc.  Troy  Seedlings  and  Trees  for 
timber  pluutationn  by  the  10*i,000 

J.  JK.\K1XS*  >'t*KKERY. 


3-2-T9 


WINONA.  COI  UMIIIANA  CO.,  OHIO. 


MARBLEHEAD 

Early  Sweet  Corn 

Is  the  most  protitablf  of  all,  beeaiisc  it  matures  before 
any  other  kind,  Kivinf?  farmers  complete  control  of  the 
enrly  market.  I  warrant  it  to  l>c  at  least  a  week  earlier 
than  Minnesota,  Narnijvaiihctt  or  Crosby,  an<i  decidedly 
earlier  than  Dolly  Dutton,  Tom  Thumb  or  Eiirly  Boyn- 
ton.  Of  size  of  Minnesota,  aud  very  sweet.  The  orif^inal 
introducer,  I  tend  pure  Htock.  postpaid,  per  packi^^  IS 
cents;  per  (juart,  7»»  (-enlM;  per  peck,  by  cxpresis,  $3.00. 
In  my  culaloj^ue,  (free  lo  all,  i  are  empliatie  recommen. 
dutions  froiQ  furmcra  and  ^trdenerti. 

JAMES  .J.  H.  GREGORY. 
apr-3t  Marbleliead,  MaflB. 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


^ENNSYLVAKflA  RAILROAD  NrHEDVLG. 

Trains  leave  the  Depot  lu  tliia  city,  as  follows : 


WE  TWARD, 

Pacific  Express* 

Way  Passeagert    

Niagara  Express 

Hanover  Accommodation,. 

Mail  train  via  Ml.  Joy 

No.  2  via  Columbia 

Sunday  Mail 

Fast  Line* 

Frederick  Accommodation. 

HariiBbur<?  Accom 

Columbia  Accommodation., 

flarrisburg  Express 

Pittsburg  Express 

Cincinnati  Express* 


1  eav 
Lancaster. 

2:40  a.  m. 

5:('0a.  m. 
11:00  a.  m. 
11:05  p.  m. 
10:20  a.  m, 
11.25  a.  m. 
10:50  a.m. 

2;30p.  m. 

2:35  p.  m. 

5:15  p.  m. 

7:20  p.  m. 

7:30  p.  m. 

8:50  p.  m. 
11:30  p.m. 


Arrive 

Harrisburg. 

4:05  a,  m. 

7:50  a.  m. 

11:20  a.m. 

Col.  10:40  a.  m. 

12:40  p.  m. 

12:55  p.  m. 

12:40  p.  m. 

3:25  p.  m. 

Col.  2:45  p.  m. 

7:40  p.  m. 

Col.  8:20  p.  m. 

8:40  p.  m. 

10:10  p.  m. 

12:15  a.  m. 


Philadelphia 

3:00  a.  m. 

7:40  a.  m. 
10:00  a.  m. 
12:0    p.  m. 

3:40  p.m. 

5:00  p.  m. 

5:30  p.  m. 

7:20  p.  m. 

9:30  p.  m. 


EASTWARD.  Lancaster. 

Cincinnati  Express 2.55  a.  m. 

Fast  Line* 5:08  a.  m. 

Harrisburg  Express 8:05  a.  m. 

Columbia  Accommodation..        9.10  p.  m. 

Pacific  Express* :40  p    ra. 

Sunday  Mail 2:00  p.  m. 

JohustowTi  Express 3:05  p.  m. 

Bay  Express* 5:35  p  m . 

Harrisburg  Accom G:25  p.  m. 

The  Hanover  Accommodation,  west,  couuectB  at  Lancaster 
with  Niagara  Express,  west,  at  9:35  a.  m.,  and  will  run 
through  to  Hanover. 

The  Frederick  Accommodation,  west,  counectaat  Lancas- 
ter with,F:i8t  Line,  west,  at  2:10  p.  m.,  and  runs  to  Frederick. 

The  Pacific  Expresp,  east,  ou  Sunday,  when  flagged,  will 
stop  at  M'ldletown,  EUzabethtowu,  Mount  Joy  and  Laudis- 
ville. 

*Tht  only  trains  which  run  daily. 

tRuna  daily,  except  Monday. 


NORBECK  SMILEY, 


PRACTICAL 


^ 


ferriage  M\im 

cox  &  CO'S  OLD  STA»D, 

Corner  of  hk  and  Vine  Streets, 

LANCASTER,  PA. 


THE  LATEST  IMPROVED 

SIDE-BAR  BUGGIES, 

PH.^TONS, 

Carriages,  Etc, 


Prices  to  Suit  the  Times. 

REPAIRING  promptly  attended  to.     All  work 
guaranteed. 

19-2- 

S.  IB.  C02S., 

Manufacturer  of 

Cirriages,  Buggies,  Phaetons,  etc, 

CHURCH  ST.,  NEAR  DUKE,      LANCASTER,  PA. 

Large  Stock  of  New  and  Secan-haud  Work  on  hand 
very  cheap.  Carriages  Made  to  Order  Work  Warranted 
or  one  year.  [T*  -9-ia 


EDW.  1.  ZAHM, 

DEALItR   IN 

AMERICAN  AND   FOREIGN 

WATCHES, 

SOLID  SILVER  &  SILVER  PLATED  WARE, 
CLOCKS. 

JEWELRY  I  TABLE  CUTLERY. 

Sole  Agent  for  the  Arundel  Tinted 

SPECTACLES. 

Repairing  strictly  attended  to. 

North  Queen-st.  and  Centre  Square,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

79-1-12 


13.  IE*,  DSO  WIMC-A-KT, 


ATL,OWE.«.'r  P<»SSIBI>E  PKICES, 

Fully  guaranteed. 

No.  106  EAST  KING  STREET, 

79-1-12]  Opposite  J.eopnrd  Hotfl. 

ESTABLISHED  1832. 


G.  SENER  &  SONS, 

Manufacturers  and  de^ilers  in  nil  kinds  of  rough  and 
finished 

The  best  Sawed  SHI  :V«!,KS  in  the  country.     Also  Sash, 
Doors,  Blind.",  Mouldings,  &c. 

PATENT  0.  G.  WEATHERBO.^RDING 

aud  PATENT  BLINDS,  which  are  far  superior  to  auy 
other.    Also  best  i'OAly  constantly  on  hand. 

OFFICE  AND  YAUD  : 

Northeast  Corner  of  Prince  and  Walnut-sts., 

XjANCA-STER,  'PA.. 

79-1-12] 

PRACTICAL  ESSAYS  ON  ENTOMOLOGY, 

Embracing  the  history  aod  habits  of 

NOXIOUS  AND  INNOXIOUS 


INSECTS, 

and  the  best  remedies  for  their  expulsion  or  extermination. 

By  S.  S.  RATHVON,  Ph.  D. 

LANCASTER,  PA. 

This  work  will  be  Highly   Illustrated,  aud  will  be  put  in 
press  (as  soon  after  a  sufficient  number  of  subscribers  can 
be  obtained  to  cover  the  cost)  as  the  work  can  possibly  be 
accomplished. 
79-2- 

^'^  \f\  C()A  per  day  at  home.   Samples  worth  $5  free] 
9  J    LU   4)ijU  Addre.-^  Stinson  &l  Co.,  Portland,  Maine 


Fruit,  Shade  and  Ornamental  Trees. 

Plant  Trees  r.iised  in  tliis  couuly  and  suited  to  this  climate  . 
Write  for  prices  to 

LOUIS  C.  LYTE, 

Bird-in-Hand  P.  O.,  Lancaster  co.,  Pa. 

Nursery  at  Smokelowu,  six  miles  east  of  Lancaster. 
79-1-12 

WIDMYER  &  RICKSECKER, 

UPHOLSTERERS, 

And  Manufacturers  of 

FURNITURE  PD  CHAIRS, 

WAREROOM!<i: 

102  East  King  St.,  Cor.  of  Duke  St. 

LANCASTER,  PA. 

79-1-12] 

Special  Inducements  at  the 

NEW  FURNITURE   STORE 
\V.    A.   HEINITSH. 

ISTo.    XS    X-2    IE.    3S.X]V<3r     STUIEIKIT 

(over  Bursk's  Grocery  Slorei,  Laucaster.  Pa. 
A  general  assortment  of  furniture  of  all  kiuda  constantly 
ou  hauii.     Don't fOiget  the  nluuber. 

Nov-ly]  (over  Bursk's  Giocery  Store.) 

For  Good  and  Cheap  Work  go  to 

F.  VOLLMER'S 

FURNITURE  WARE  ROOMS, 

No   S09  NORTH  QUEEN  ST., 

(Opposite  Northern  Market), 
Also,  all  kinds  of  pictnre  iruiues.  uov-ly 

GREAT  BARGAINS. 

\  large  assortment  of  all  kinds  of  Carpets  are  still  sold  at 
lower  rates  than  ever  a.t  the 

CARPET  HALL  OF  H.  S.  SHIRK, 

No.  202   Wist  Khif/  St. 

Call  aud  examine  our  stock  and  satisly  yonrself  that  we 
can  show  the  largest  assortment  of  these  Brnssels,  three 
plies  and  ingrain  at  all  prices — at  the  lowest  Philadelphia 
prices. 

Also  oa  hand  a  large  and  complete  assurtment  of  Rag 
Carpet. 

Satisfaction  guaranteed  bath  as  lo  price  and  quality. 

Yon  are  invited  to  cull  aud  see  my  goods.  No  trouble  m 
showi'jg  theai  even  if  you  do  nut  want  to  purchase. 

Dou't  forget  this  notice. -You  can  save  mouey  here  if  you 
want  to  buy. 

Particular  attention  given  to  customer  v  ork 

Also  on  hand  a  full  assortment  of  Couutorpanes,  Oil 
Cloths  aud  Blankets  of  every  variety  fnov-lyr. 


PHILIP  SCHUM.  SOW  «fc  CO.. 

38  and  40  "West  King  Street. 

We  keep  on  liaud  of  our  own  manufacture, 

QUILTS,  COVERLETS, 

COUNTEKPAXES,  CAKPETS, 

Bureau  aud  Tidy  Covers.  Ladies'  Furnishing  Goods,  No- 
tions, etc. 

Pariicnlar  atteotion  paid  to  custouier  Rag  Carpet,  and 
Bcoweriug  and  dyeiu{;of  all  kinds. 

PHILIP  SCHUM,  SON  &  CO.. 

Nov-ly  Laucjster,  Pa. 

THE  HOLMAN  LIVER  PADI 

Cures  by  absorption  without  medicine. 

Now  is  the  time  io  apply  these  reniedit-s.  They  will  do 
for  you  what  nothiug  else  on  earth  can.  Hundreds  of  citi- 
zens of  Lancaster  b'ij  so.     Get  the  genuine  at 

LANCASTER  OFFICE  AND  SALESROOM, 

22  East  Orange  Street. 

Nov-lyr 

G.  R.  KLINE 
^ttoi^NEY-at-|jAW, 

OFFICE :    15  NORTH  DUKE  STREET, 

Nov-ly 


The  Lancaster  Farmer. 


Dr.  S.  S.  EATHVON,  Editor. 


LANCASTER,  PA.,  JULY,  1882. 


Vol.  XIV.  No.  7. 


Editorial. 


EGG  CULTURE   IN    FRANCE. 

Many  small  farmers  in  France  pay  their 
rents  from  their  poultry  yards.  The  fowls  in 
Normandy,  France,  are  almost  exclusively  of 
the  Creve  C(eur  breed  in  its  dillercnt  varie- 
ties; and  the  number  of  jioulti-y  in  Normandy 
is  estimated  at  three  million  live  hundred 
thousand,  valued  at  -f:2,4iiO,UUO,  and  the  an- 
nual value  of  fowls'  ei^gs  alone,  is  ,i;ii.)0,UOU  to 
tlie  farmers;  the  average  annual  produce  per 
hen  is  about  one  hundred  eggs,  and  a  hen  will 
contiiuie  to  lay  for  five  years. 

In  1875  England  imported  eight  hundred 
million  eggs,  valued  at  .•fl 2, .5(10,000,  including 
charges,  of  which  France  furnished  live- 
sixths;  that  is  to  .say,  more  than  two  millions 
per  day  during  the  yeai\  In  France,  liardly  a 
meal  is  eaten  at  any  taljle  without  eggs  or 
poultry  forming  a  part  of  it.  Normandy  fur- 
nishes nearly  two  million  head  of  poultry  of 
various  kinds  to  the  Paris  markets  annually, 
yet  falls  behind  the  supply  from  other  provin- 
ces. Six  millions  of  e^gs  are  sold  weekly  in  the 
Paris  markets.  Many  are  used  in  glazing 
ornamental  cakes  aud  sweetmeats.  One  pastry 
cook  alone  buys  two  millions  of  eggs  a  year 
for  these  purposes.  Another  large  dealer  uses 
Ave  hundred  thousand,  of  which  he  separates 
the  whites  from  the  yolks — the  whites  being 
sent  to  the  manufacturing  districts  in  the 
north,  and  the  yolks  being  eraploj'ed  in  dress- 
ing skins  for  gloves.  Agricultural  writers  in 
France  are  continually  urging  that  more  at- 
tention should  be  paid  to  poultry  raising  by 
farmers,  and  they  declare  the  production 
might  be  easily  doubled. — English  Dairyruan. 

Our  puuniug  remarks  on  eggs  in  the  May 
number  of  the  Fakmek,  were  regarded  by 
some  readers  as  a  sheer  «/(/s-aggeration,  but  the 
above,  from  unquestionable  authority,  will 
illustrate  that  the  real  amount  of  the  French 
egg-trallic  is  far  in  advance  of  estimates  made 
in  said  remarks.  The  above  relates  to  the 
traflic  some  years  ago;  hence,  at  the  present 
date,  it  may  he  prnr/resiiively  larger;  for  in 
matters  of  domestic  production  France  is  not 
retrogressive,  especially  if  it  pays.  The  egg- 
statistics  in  our  own  country  do  not  appear 
to  have  elicited  sutticiently  that  detailed  atten- 
tion, through  which  alone  the  amount  and 
value  of  the  product  could  be  accurately  stat- 
ed. The  impulse  given  to  Galliniculture  of 
late  years  will,  however,  ultimately  manifest 
this,  for  "Hen-Fruit"  cannot  be  ignored 
any  more  than  can  tlie  hen. 


GAPES  IN  CHICKENS. 

A  correspondent  of  the  I  ondon  Ayricid- 
tiiral  Gazette  says  : 

"I  have  frequently  lost  large  numbers  of 
chickens  from  gapes,  and  have  never  until 
this  spring  been  successful  in  curing  them. 
About  six  or  seven  weeks  ago  the  old  com- 
plaint made  its  appearance  iu  about  thirty 
chickens,  some  the  size  of  jiigcons  and  others 
less.  As  an  experiment  Itricd  sulpliur,  com- 
monly called  Hour  of  brimstone,  and  salt, 
namely,  two  parts  suli)hur  and  one  part  .salt 
mixed  with  water  to  the  consistency  of  thick 
cream  (it  is  best  to  use  the  linger  in  mixing, 
as  sulphur  will  not  readily  mix  with  water.) 
I  then  applied  it  with  a  feather  from  a  fowl's 
wing,  dipping  it  in  the  mixture,  and  putting 
it  down  in  the  chicken's  throat  about  three 
inches,  worked  the  feather  up  and  down  a  few 


times,  and  then  applied  .some  more  in  the 
same  way  again. 

"  I  soon  found  tliey  were  improving  very 
rajiidly  and  so  repeated  the  operation  three 
or  four  times,  two  or  three  days  between  each 
application.  They  are  now  all  cured  and 
doing  well.  I  have  not  lost  one,  although 
some  of  them  were  very  bad  indeed  wlien  the 
remedy  was  lirst  applied.  I  may  add  that  the 
feather  requires  to  have  about  half  the  broad 
side  clipiied  oil',  or  it  would  be  too  large  for 
the  purpose  required." 

It  is  fully  half  a  hundred  years  or  more 
.since  we  lirst  knew  of  the  "gapes  in  chickens, " 
and  it  is  questionable  whether  the  average 
poultry  breeders  know  anything  more  about 
it  now  than  they  did  then.  We  think  it  was 
then  called  "  pips,"  but  it  was  all  the  same — 
little  red  worms  in  the  windpipe— and  the 
chickens  would  yajx  and  pip  and  die,  almost 
without  remedy.  Mechanical  means  were 
already  employed  fifty  years  ago  for  their  re- 
moval, although  perhaps  not  so  skillfully  as  it 
can  be  done  now.  "We  think  a  thin  wire  was 
used,  but  about  nine  out  of  every  ten  died,  if 
not  under  the  operation,  a  short  time  after  it. 
Mr.  D.,  in  his  essay  before  the  Lancaster 
Poultry  Society,  does  not  advance  the  subject 
one  peg  beyond  where  it  was  before,  nor  did 
he  pretend  to  do  so.  We  think,  however,  he 
is  iu  error  when  he  states  that  the  subject  is 
one  that  belongs  to  the  domain  of  the  scientist 
alone.  We  believe,  the  man  who  habitually 
contemplates  the  chicken  in  the  egg,  who 
rears  it  from  its  pristine  condition  to  its  full 
development,  who  has  a  natural  and  a  pecu- 
niary interest  in  its  physical  existence,  who 
!5"es  it  every  day  and  provides  its  food  and 
shelter,  is  the  very  man  who  is  in  a  situation 
to  get  at  the  origin  and  cure  of  the  disease. 
Even  if  he  never  should  be  able  to  discover 
its  origin,  if  he  discovers  a  certain  and  safe 
cure,  he  will  be  a  benefactor. 

Ercolani  has  found  gapes  living  thirty 
days  after  they  had  been  expelled  from  a  fowl 
and  exposed  to  the  weather.  From  their  pe- 
culiar organization  they  must  necessarily  be 
very  local ;  hence,  they  may  exist  iu  one  en- 
closure and  not  in  another,  although  there 
may  be  only  a  fence  between  them,  provided 
the  chickens  have  been  kept  separate.  They 
appear  to  be  something  like  the  California 
resurrection  plant,  becoming  vitalized  as  soon 
as  moisture  is  given  them,  although  they  may 
have  remained  dry  for  years.  AVe  think  not 
sutVicient  importance  may  have  been  attached 
to  the  total  annihilation  of  the  gapes,  after 
they  have  been  expelled  from  the  fowl.  We 
must  not,  however,  be  too  sanguine  iu  any 
direction,  with  all  the  light  we  have  on  the 
subject,  at  the  present  time  (of  their  origin). 
In  the  meantime,  expertness  in  the  mechani- 
cal removal  of  them  should  be  carefully  culti- 
vated. 


ENTOMOLOGICAL  NOTES. 

Prof.  Rath  von— Dior  Sir:  I  send  you  a 
worm  by  mail,  and  enclose  a  stamp— and  wish 
you  would  write  me  and  give  the  name  of  the 
worm,  &c.  We  noticed  them  last  year  for  the 
first  time.    Then,  there  were  but  few — now. 


they  are  mucl>  more  plentiful.    Tliey  destroy 
the  tomato  plants,  night  and  day. 
Very  respectfully, 

AV.  II.  II.  W. 
Darlington,  Md.,  June  20,  1882. 

Being  in  the  midst  of  a  multitude  of  secular 
engagements,  we  sent  the  box  and  worm  to 
Prof.  Uilcy,  Entomologist  of  the  Department 
of  Agriculture,  Washington,  1).  (J.  Not, 
however,  because  it  was  entirely  new  to  us, 
but  because  we  had  never  noticed  it  on  the 
tomato  plants,  nor  had  heard  any  complaints 
about  it  here:  and,  we  supposed  it  niiijlu  be 
something  new.     Prof.  11.  writes  as  follows : 

X>ear  Sir:  I  have  your  note  of  the  .30th 
ult.,  with  accompanying  box.  The  larva  de- 
structive to  the  tomato  plants  is  that  of 
Prvdenin  lineatcHn,  which  is  known  to  feed 
upon  a  great  variety  of  plants.  The  unusually 
moist  weather  we  had  this  spring,  greatly 
favored  the  development  of  this  and  other 
cut-worms,  and  complaints  at  their  destruc- 
tion have  reached  me  from  almost  every 
State  east  of  the  Kocky  Mountains. 
Vours  truly, 

C.  V.  R. 

Washington,  D.  C,  July  0,  1882. 

Since  the  rapidly  increased  cultivation  of 
tobacco  in  Lancaster  county,  the  tomato 
plant  as  well  as  its  fruit,  is  tolerably  free 
from  insect  infestation — only  here  aud  there 
and  now  and  then — a  Sphinx,  a  Boll-worm,  a 
Potato-beetle,  or  a  Cut-worm,  are  to  be  found 
feeding  upon  them.  It  will  be  observed  that 
the  "  worm  "  under  discussion  belongs  to  the 
great  family  of  "  Cut-w^orms  "  (Noctuad.e), 
many  of  which  are  destructive  to  vegetation, 
"day  and  night,'"  and  we  may  infer  that  any 
remedy  that  would  kill  the  one,  would  kill 
the  other. 

Id  couclusion,  we  commend  the  efficnent 
manner  in  which  this  larva,  in  a  living  state, 
was  sent  to  us  through  the  U.  S.  mail:  and 
also  append  the  directions  of  the  Department 
of  Agriculture,  for  sending  insects  to  it  by 
mail,  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  may  be 
concerned: 

Directions  for  Sending  Insects. 

All  inquiries  about  insects,  injurious  or 
otherwise,  .should  be  accompanied  by  speci- 
mens, the  more  the  better.  Such  specimens, 
if  dead  should  be  packed  in  some  soft  mater- 
ial, as  cotton  or  wool,  and  inclosed  in  some 
stout  tin  or  wooden  box.  They  will  come  by 
mail  for  one  cent  per  ounce.  Inserts  sliould 
never  he  inclosetl  loose  in  the  letter.  Whenever 
possible,  larvaj  (i.  e.  grubs,  caterpillars,  mag- 
gots, etc.),  should  be  packed  alive  iu  some 
tight  tin  box — the  tighter  the  better,  as  air- 
holes are  not  needed — along  with  a  supply  of 
their  appropriate  food  sufficient  to  last  them 
on  their  journey;  otherwise  they  generally  die 
on  the  road  and  shrivel  up.  Send  as  full  an 
account  as  possible  of  the  habits  of  the  in.sect 
respecting  which  you  desire  information;  for 
example,  what  plant  or  plants  it  infests; 
whether  it  destroys  the  leaves,  the  buds,  the 
twigs,  or  the  stem;  how  long  it  has  been 
known  to  you;  what  amount  of  damage  it  has 
done,  etc.  Such  iiarticulars  are  often  not 
only  of  high  scientific  interest,  but  of  great 
practical  importance.  In  sending  soft  insects 
or  larvae  that  have  been  killed  in  alcohol,  they 
should  be  packed  in  cotton  saturated  with  al- 
cohol, fn  sending  pinned  or  mounted  insects, 
always  pin  them  secure.ly  in  a  box  to  be  in- 
closed in  a  larger  box,  the  space  between  the 


98 


tHE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[July, 


two  boxes  to  be  packed  with  some  soft  or 
elastic  material,  to  prevent  too  violent  jarring. 
Packages  should  be  marked  with  the  name  of  the 
sender. 


KITCHEN   GARDEN    FOR   JULY. 

In  the  Middle  States,  this  month,  lilte  June, 
is  tlie  montli  of  labor  in  the  garden.  Weeds 
are  in  rapid  growth,  plants  are  to  set  out. 
Seeds  saved,  and  various  matters  require  at- 
tention. 

Beans,  plant  for  succession.  BeHs,  the  long 
blood  and  sugar  ;  also  Mangold  Wurzel  may 
be  planted  for  stock  as  late  as  July.  June  is, 
however,  much  Ijetter.  Beets,  for  late  winter 
and  spring  use,  may  now  Ijc  sown.  Cabbage, 
plant.  The  winter  sorts  of  cabbage  should 
now  be  planted  out.  Where  many  are  to  be 
transplanted  it  is  proper  to  await  a  suitable 
time — a  heavy  rain,  or  showery  weather — but 
in  a  small  garden  cabbages  may  be  trans- 
planted almost  at  any  season,  by  careful  wa- 
tering, and,  if  need  be,  shading.  Velery.  plant. 
Endive,  sow.  Peas,  a  few  may  be  sown;  they 
seldom  do  well  this  season.  Turnips,  sow. — 
Rural  Register. 

Quality  and  Vitality  of  Seeds. 
Seeds  properly  ripened  are,  with  fow  excep- 
tions, as  good  the  second  year  as  the  first — in- 
deed, many  are  so  well  protected  by  natural 
envelopes  that  they  germinate  freely  after 
many  years.  The  vitality  or  germinating 
power  of  seeds  is  not,  however,  the  most  im- 
2)ortant  question  of  the  gardener,  for  if  seeds 
fail  to  sprout,  the  first  cast  is  the  principal 
loss.  The  quality  of  the  vegetables  seeds  may 
produce  is  the  all  important  question,  and  that 
can  only  be  determined  when,  perhaps,  it  is 
too  late  in  the  season  to  remedy  the  imposi- 
tion of  bad  seeds  which  we  may  have  suffered. 
Absolute  security  against  seed-frauds  can 
only  be  found  in  patronizing  seed-houses  of 
acknowledged  reputation.  It  no  doubt,  in 
the  "long  run,"  woulu  be  well  to  reject 
seeds  peddled  through  the  country  and  sold 
on  commission  by  irresponsible,  and  often  un- 
known, if  not  unprincipled,  seed  venders. 
Time  is  too  precious,  and  the  outcome  too  im- 
portant, to  hazard  much,  speculatively,  in 
gorden  seeds. 


HOW   TO   KILL  WHEAT   MOTH. 

A  gentleman  of  experience  remarks  as  fol- 
lows in  regard  to  the  wheat  moth  : 

"  I  know  of  but  of  one  efficient  remedy  for 
this  insect,  and  that  applies  as  well  to  the 
weevil  and  to  the  Angoumois  grain  moth, 
which  is  said  to  do  no  little  damage  in  the 
southern  and  southwestern  part  of  the  coun- 
try. I  have  frequently  seen  every  kernel  of 
corn  in  samples  from  the  Gulf  States  per- 
forated by  this  moth  larva.  The  remedy  pro- 
posed is  bisulphide  of  carbon.  We' have  only 
to  pour  a  quantity  of  this  into  the  bin  at  the 
bottom  of  the  grain  to  kill  all  of  the  insects. 
It  is  very  penetrating  and  volatile  and  equally 
deadly  to  all  the  iu.sect  tribes.  I  think  that 
half  a  pint  of  the  liquid  would  destroy  the  in- 
sects in  a  Ijin  of  50  to  100  bushels  of  grain. 
Not  having  experimented  with  grain  in  such 
quantities  1  cannot  give  the  precise  quantities 
of  the  liquid  to  he  used  in  the  different  sized 
bins  of  grain,  but  this  can  be  easily  deter- 
mined by  trial.  To  try  this  remedy  it  is  de- 
sirable to  pour  the  liquid  in  at  the  bottom  of 
the  grain.  To  do  this  we  can  take  a  hollow 
iron  cylinder— a  gas  pipe  will  do— and  fit  into 
it  a  wooden  rod,  which  should  be  a  little  longer 
than  the  iron  tube.  One  end  of  the  rod  is  to 
be  made  sharp  ;  now  place  the  rod  inside  the 
tube,  and  with  the  sharp  end  down  force  them 
both  to  the  bottom  of  tlie  grain  ;  then,  having 
withdrawn  the  rod,  turn  in  the  liquid  through 
the  tube,  which  should  then  be  pulled  out. 
The  insecticide,  of  course,  is  left  at  the  bot- 


tom of  the  grain,  and  being  very  volatile,  soon 
difl'uses  through  the  mass  and  converts  the 
bin  into  an  insect  cemetery.-A?ner(can  Miller. 

If  such  is  absolutely  a  fact,  established  by 
experience,  we  confess  we  have  more  confi- 
dence in  it,  even  for  destroying  the  larvfe  of 
the  weevil,  than  we  have  in  any  "  best 
remedy  "  involving  the  mere  ''  stirring  of  the 
grain."  Exactly  what  insect  is  meant  by  the 
"  wheat  moth  '"  in  the  above,  we  do  not  clear- 
ly understand.  Perhaps  Pyralis  farinalis — 
perhaps  something  else,  for  wheat  or  grain 
moths  are  many.  Many  years  ago  a  small  ear 
of  corn  was  sent  to  us  by  mail,  every  grain  of 
which  contained  the  larva  of  a  moth,  which 
was  determined  for  us  as  the  "  Angoumoise 
grain  moth"  [Butali  cercalis).  When  the  moths 
evolved  they  left  a  hole  in  the  centre  of  the 
grains  as  round  and  sharp  as  if  drilled  in  ; 
and  we  do  not  think  they  could  have  been 
destroyed  save  by  some  remedy  analogous  to 
that  described  in  the  above  paragraph. 

Remedies  for  the  Army  Worm. 

To  meet  a  general  demand  that  will  proba- 
bly soon  be  felt  and  made  for  the  best  means 
of  coping  with  the  army  worm,  I  would  here 
repeat  in  condensed  form  what  I  have  in  pre- 
vious years  recommended.  Experience  has 
established  the  fact  that  burning  over  a 
meadow,  or  prairie,  or  field  of  stubble,  either 
in  winter  or  spring,  usually  prevents  the 
worms  from  originating  in  such  meadow  or 
field.  Such  burning  destroys  the  previous 
year's  stalks  and  blades,  and,  as  a  consequence 
of  what  I  have  already  stated,  the  nidi  which 
the  female  moth  prefers.  Burning  as  a  pre- 
ventive, however,  loses  much  of  its  practical 
importance  unless  it  is  pursued  annually,  be- 
cause of  the  irregularity  in  the  appearance  of 
the  worm  in  injurious  numbers.  .Tudicious 
ditching,  i.  e.,  a  ditch  with  the  side  toward 
the  field  to  be  protected  perpendicularly  or 
sloping  under,  will  protect  a  field  from  inva- 
sions from  some  other  infested  region  when 
the  worms  are  marching.  When  they  are 
collected  in  the  ditch  they  may  be  destroyed 
either  by  covering  them  up  with  earth  that  is 
pressed  upon  them,  by  burning  straw  over 
them,  or  by  pouring  a  little  coal-oil  in  the 
ditch.  A  single  plow-furrow,  six  or  eight 
inchesdeep  and  kept  friable  by  dragging  brush 
in  it,  has  also  been  known  to  head  them  off. 

From  experiments  which  [  have  made  I  am 
satisfied  that  where  fence-lumber  can  be  easi- 
ly obtained  it  may  be  used  to  advantage  as  a 
substitute  for  the  ditch  or  trench,  by  being 
secured  on  edge  and  then  smeared  with  kero- 
sene or  coal-tar  (the  latter  being  more  parti- 
cularly useful)  along  the  upper  edge.  By 
means  of  laths  and  a  few  nails  the  boards  may 
be  so  secured  that  they  will  slightly  sloi)e  away 
from  the  field  to  be  protected.  Such  a  barrier 
will  prove  etfectual  where  the  worms  are  not 
too  persistent  or  numerous.  When  they  are 
excessively  abundant  they  will  need  to  be 
watched  and  occasionally  dosed  with  kerosene 
to  prevent  their  piling  up  even  with  the  top  of 
the  board  and  thus  bridging  the  barrier.  The 
lumber  is  not  injured  for  other  purposes  sub- 
sequently.—Pc)/'.  C.  V.  Riley. 

Melons — Bugs— Coal-Tar. 

Among  the  most  effective  applications  that 
I  have  ever  known  to  keep  bugs  off  of  vines 
is  tar-water.  Stir  coal-tar  in  a  vessel  of 
water,  let  it  stand  over  night  till  the  water  is 
scented  and  colored  with  the  coal-tar  ;  then, 
morning,  noon,  and  evening,  or  as  often  as 
convenient,  go  and  sprinkle  the  vines  and 
hill  with  the  liquid  ;  it  will  both  keep  the  bugs 
away  and  make  the  plants  grow  more  vigor- 
ously, being  a  good  stimulant  to  such  plants. 
Sprinkling  the  ground  freely  over  the  hill  will 
almost  wholly  kill  or  keep  away  the  cut- 
worms and  grubs.  Very  freely  applied  it 
does  much  to  kill  off  the  potato  beetle,  which 
is  so  destructive  in  some  localities. 


Insect  Powder. 

Wm.  Saunders,  of  London,  Ontario,  well 
known  for  his  horticultural  experience,  as 
well  as  distinguished  as  the  editor  of  the 
Canadian  Entomologist,  linds  tlie  Dalmatian 
Insect  powder,  made  from  Pyrethrum  cinera- 
riffifolium,  an  excellent  insectitnde.     He  says: 

"House  files  are  very  sensitive  to  the  effects 
of  these  powders.  A  few  puffs  of  the  dust 
from  an  msect  gun,  blown  into  the  air  of  a 
room  with  the  doors  closed,  the  discharges 
directed  toward  tliose  parts  where  files  are 
congregated,  will  stupefy  and  kill  them  with- 
in a  very  short  time.  The  powder  is  some- 
what pungeut,  and  to  breathe  an  atmosphere 
charged  with  it  will  frequently  cause  a  slight 
sneezing,  but  beyond  this  the  operator  need 
not  anticipate  any  annoyance.  Frequently 
during  the  past  summer,  when  flies  have  been 
troublesome,  we  have  pretty  thoroughly 
charged  the  air  in  our  dining-room  and 
kitchen  at  night,  dossing  the  doors,  and  in 
the  morning  found  all.  or  nearly  all  the  flies 
lying  dead  on  the  floor.  A  few  minutes  after 
its  use  they  begin  to  drop  on  th.  ir  backs,  and 
after  a  very  short  time  die;  if  a  room  be 
closed  for  half  an  hour  after  using  the  powder, 
few,  if  any  will  escape." 

He  finds  it  as  good  against  Aphides  and 
other  plant  lice.  Much  superior  in  its  results 
to  tobacco  smoke. 


OUR  LOCAL  CROPS. 

As  we  go  to  press  our  farmers  have  about 
finished  gathering  their  hay,  wheat  and  rye 
crops;  and  the  present  indications  are  that 
they  have  been  unusually  bountiful — consider- 
ably more  than  a  fair  average.  Of  course 
there  will  be  some  exceptions  to  the  general  \ 
result,  influenced  by  local  causes,  both  favor- 
able and  unfavorable. 

The  oats  crop  is  also  promising,  and  some 
very  "tall  oats"  is  reported  in  various  locali- 
ties. Perhaps  no  season  has  passed  for  a 
long  time  in  which  a  more  vigorous  cereal 
growth  has  occurred. 

The  late  rains  have  also  had  a  stimulating 
effect  upon  the  corn,  potato,  and  tobacco 
crops,  although  in  some  localities  great  in- 
juries from  noxious  insects  have  been  re- 
ported, and  especially  by  the  notorious  cut 
worm. 

The  term  "cutworm"  covers  a  large  num- 
ber of  species,  and  many  varieties,  all  of 
which  are  "maliciously"  destructive  to  vege- 
tation— cutting  oft'  much  more  than  they  can 
possibly  devour.  This  season  we  have  many 
complaints  against  them,  as  being  severe 
upon  the  young  tobacco  plants,  often  necessi- 
tating two  or  three  different  plantings.  The 
tobacco  growers  cannot  go  far  wrong  in 
concluding  that  this  enemy  to  their  cherished 
plant  has  "come  to  stay."  It  has  in  fact 
always  been  here,  but  nothing  furnishes  it 
such  a  luscious  food  as  tobacco,  and  therefore 
it  must  be  classed  with  "consumers."  If 
this  plant  had  no  enemies  at  all,  it  would 
soon  become  a  mere  drug,  and  no  sale  could 
be  found  for  all  of  it.  The  cutworm  will  be 
the  great  regiUator  of  the  quantity,  of  th& 
quality,  and  also  of  the  price.  Like  the 
"Colorado  Potato  Beetle,"  means  must  be 
found  for  its  destruction,  and  this  will  in- 
volve a  perpetual  labor.  It  can  never  be  said 
that  "they  are  now  .extinguished,"  for  per- 
haps when  least  expected,  they  will  be  most 
abundant.  Fortunately  for  themselves,  but 
unfortunately  for  the  tobacco  grower,  they 
can  and  do  thrive  on  other  plants  than  the  to- 
bacco. When  they  attack  this  plant  they  are 
already  well  grown,  and  nearly  mature,    and 


1882. 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


&9 


hence  must  havo  been  in  the  soil  before  the 
tobacco  was  planted,  or  in  proximity  to  it. 
We  raise  as  many  and  as  s^ood  potatoes  now 
as  we  did  before  the  advent  of  the  potato 
beetle,  because  we  apply  the  remedies  for 
their  dislruetiou  when  they  become  tooabnn- 
dant,  and  this  must  also  be  resorted  to  in  re- 
gard to  the  tobacco.  Of  course,  it  will  be 
more  dillieult  to  contend  with  tlie  cutworm 
Hum  witli  the  potato  beetle,  iiiasniucli  as  the 
former  is  a  "midnight  marauder,"'  wliilst  the 
latter  is  an  "open  enemy."  With  all  these 
counter  influences,  there  will  b ;  an  immense 
crop  of  almost  everything  the  present  season 
and  tliere  may  be  some  anxiety  to  know  what 
to  do  witli  it — it  would  be  unchristian  to  wish 
for  war  as  an  outlet. 


DESTROYING  WEEVIL. 

The  best  remedy  yet  found  for  their  exter- 
mination is  frequently  stirring  the  grain.  It 
is  more  than  |)robable  that  fully  saturating 
the  bins  with  the  fimies  of  sulphur  will  kill 
the  insects,  and  this  would  not  lie  dillieult  to 
do  by  means  of  asnitableappavatus.  Altliough 
Curtis  says  that  turpentiue  and  the  fumes  "of 
sulphur  did  not  seem  to  incommode  the  in- 
sects. Kiln-drying  at  a  heat  of  l;!0  degrees 
will  kill  them  without  injuring  the  germinat- 
ing poweis  of  the  grain.  Placing  the  infect- 
ed grain  in  close  bins,  without  moving,  is  the 
best  possible  way  to  contiuue  their  ravages, 
since  they  deliglit  in  darkness,  and  in  grain 
that  is  not  handled.  We  do  not  suppose  that 
the  present  scare  in  weevil  in  grain  in  the 
Chicago  elevators  will  affect  prices  seriously, 
but  if  the  weevil  becomes  generally  dissemi- 
nated in  the  west,  it  will  become  a  most  seri- 
ous matter  :  not  among  farmers  themselves, 
if  the  means  we  have  indicated  are  closely 
followed  (moving  and  fanning  the  grain  often), 
but  in  elevators  the  means  of  destruction  will 
not  be  so  easily  managed,  though  there  is 
little  doubt  if  the  fumes  of  sulphur  be  driven 
into  the  bins,  and  there  retained  for  ten  hours, 
the  destruction  of  the  insects  will  be  complete. 
— Prairie  Farmer. 

"Frequently  stirring  the  grain,"  seems  a 
very  simple  remedy  for  the  extermination  of 
the  weevil,  and  if  it  is  the  "best  yet  found," 
it  should  be  ijy  all  means  universally  adopted. 
It  might  he  of  some  use  in  expelling  the 
mature  beetles  from  the  bin,  but  we  don't  see 
how  it  would  exterminate  the  larva,  which  is 
snugly  en.sconsed  within  the  grain,  and  which 
cuidd  not  leave  it  if  it  wmdd,  until  its  final 
evolution  from  the  pupa  state.  This  stirring 
the  wheat  is  equivalent  to  jarring  fruit  trees 
for  the  expulsion  of  the  curcidio,  but  the  jar- 
ring is  only  intended  to  disturb  or  expel  the 
mature  beetle,  and  not  at  all  the  larva,  which 
is  beyond  the  influence  af  the  jarring,  it  being 
inside  the  fruit,  and  not  inclined  to  come 
forth  until  it  has  fully  matured  as  a  larva. 
The  grain  weevil  is  the  Sitopholis  granurius, 
of  Linnaeus,  and  when  it  has  fully  matured  it 
leaves  the  grain  of  its  own  accord,  and  hides 
itself  in  some  convenient  nook  or  crevice  and 
there  hibernates,  and  comes  forth  in  due 
season  to  deposit  its  eggs  on  the  grains  of 
wheat  of  a  subsequent  crop. 


EFFECTS  OF  BAKING  ON  FLOUR. 
Good  bread  should  be  full  of  small  pores, 
and  xiniforndij  light.  Such  bread  is  produced 
by  strong  flour  ;  that  is,  such  as  will  rise  well, 
retain  its  bulk  and  bear  the  largest  quanti- 
ty of  water.  The  largest  proportion  of  gluten 
usually  contained  in  the  flour  of  wheat,  gives 
the  higher  value  it  has  over  that  of  other 


grains.  If  the  gluten  be  washed  out,  and 
put  alone  in  the  oven,  it  will  swell  and  be- 
come full  of  pores,  and  the  comparative  bak- 
ing qualities  of  different  samples  of  flour  can 
be  tested  by  the  height  to  which  specimens, 
so  treated,  rise. 

Dry  starch,  when  heated,  is  generally 
changed  into  a  species  of  gum,  and  of  sugar 
completely  soluble  in  water.  According  to 
Vogel  100  jiarts  of  flour,  and  of  the  bread 
made  from  the  same  wheat,  respectively 
tested,  shows  a  gain  in  the  latter  of  18  parts 
of  gum  at  the  expense  mainly  of  the  starch. 
The  yeast  added  to  the  dough  induces  fermen- 
tation, by  which  the  sugar  of  the  flour  is 
changed  into  carbonic  acid  and  alcohol.  The 
carbonic  acid,  liberated  in  the  form  of  minute 
bubbles  of  gas,  permeates  the  whole  substance 
of  the  dough,  causing  it  to  rise.  If  too  much 
water  has  been  added— or  if  not  sufliciently 
kneaded — or  if  the  flour  be  too  (inely  ground— 
or  the  paste  not  sufliciently  tenacious  in  its 
nature— W\%  bubbles  will  run  together,  form- 
ing large  airholes,  and  that  irregular  appear- 
ance so  disliked  by  the  skillful  baker.  The 
quantity  of  water  which  bread  retains,  when 
baked,  depends  in  some  degree  on  the  quality 
of  the  flour.  The  Acts  of  Parliament,  Eng- 
land, assume  that  280  pounds  of  flour  will 
produce  320  pounds  of  bread— thus  calculat- 
ing the  retention,  when  baked,  of  one-seventh 
of  its  weight  of  water.  But  the  quantity  of 
water  retained  by  the  flour  now  in  use  is  much 
greater. 

Johnston,  in  his  lecture  on  Agricultural 
chemistry,  states  that  home-made  bread 
(white  and  brown)  baked  in  his  own  house, 
whether  of  first  or  second  quality,  as  well  as 
that  baked  in  two  other  private  houses,  lost 
by  prolonged  heating,  at  a  temperature  not 
exceeding  220°  F.,  from  42.9  to  44.1  per  cent, 
of  water.  So  that  wheaten  bread,  one  day 
old,  contains  about  44,  and  two  days  old,  43 
per  cent,  of  vvatei-.  This  proportion  is  almost 
exactly  the  same  as  Dumas  estimates  the 
white  bread  of  Paris. 
Bread  baked  for  public  institutions,  not  gen- 
erally being  so  well  fixed,  or  baked  with  many 
loaves  stuck  together,  contains  more  water. 
The  barracks  bread  of  England  and  Paris 
contains  about  £1  per  cent  of  water.  English 
wheaten  flour  contains  naturally,  on  an  aver- 
age, 16  per  cent,  of  water.  If,  therefore,  the 
bread  baked  from  it  contains  44  per  cent., 
33i  per  cent,  will  have  been  added  to  the 
natural  amount,  or  the  flour  in  baking  takes 
up  half  its  weight  of  water.  A  sack  then  rf 
280  pounds  of  flour  ought  to  give  421  pounds 
of  well  baked  bread.  Deducting,  say  5  per 
cent.,  for  fermentation  and  dryness  of  the 
crusts,  there  would  remain  400  pounds  of 
bread  of  the  best  quality. 

Chemical  writers  have  assumed  that  the 
quantity  of  water  absorbed  depend.s  mainly 
upon  the  proportion  of  gluten  the  flour  con- 
tains. Tlie  following  facts,  says  Prof.  John- 
ston, do  not  accord  with  this  supposition.  (1) 
Household  bread,  made  respectively  from  the 
flour  of  French  wheat,  and  of  wheat  from 
Taganeog,  Russia,  retained  nearly  the  same 
amount  of  water;  tho'  a  sample  of  the  latter 
contained  more  than  twice  as  much  gluten  as 
the  French.  (2)  The  flour  from  Odessa  wheat 
contains  about  one-fourth  more  gluten  than 
French  flour  in  general,  yet  it  absorbs  very 


little  more  water.  (3)  Rice  is  said  to  contain 
very  little  gluten — not  estimated  at  more 
than  6  or  7  per  cent. — and  yet,  as  the  result 
of  numerous  tiials,  it  is  .said  that  an  admix- 
ture of  a  seventh  part  of  rice  flour  causes 
wheaten  flour  to  absorb  more  water.  (4)  If 
hard  wheats  are  ground  too  line  they  lose  a 
part  of  their  apparent  strength,  the  flour  re- 
fuses to  rise  as  it  would  do  if  sent  to  the  baker 
in  a  more  gritty  and  less  impalpable  state.  (5.) 
Lastly,  the  admixture  of  very  minute  quan- 
tities of  foreign  matter,  by  way  of  adultera- 
tion, increases  the  water  ab.sorbing  power  of 
flour.  In  some  parts  of  Belgium  it  is  said  to 
have  been  the  practice  to  adulterate  the 
bread  with  a  small  quantity  of  blue  vitriol 
(sulphate  of  copjier).  A  solution  of  the  salt 
added  to  the  dough,  in  iiroportion  of  about 
one  grain  to  two  pounds  of  flour,  gives  the 
bread  a  fawn  color  and  thus  permits  the  use 
of  inferior  flour,  and  cau.ses  the  bread  to  re- 
tain about  0  per  cent,  more  water,  without 
appearing  more  moist.  Alum  improves  the 
color  of  bread,  raises  it  well  and  cau.ses  it  to 
keep  water,  but  requires  to  be  added  in  larger 
quantities  than  the  poisonous  salt  of  copper. 
Common  salt  also  strengthens  the  paste  and 
causes  it  to  retain  more  water,  so  its  addition 
is  a  real  gain  to  the  baker. — American  Miller. 

PHOSPHORIC  ACID   IN    PLANTS. 

The  substance  especially  important  to  the 
farmer  is  undoubtedly  phosphoric  acid,  which 
is  found  in  combination  with  lime,  as  plants 
assimilate  the  same  in  considerable  (piantity, 
while  it  is  sparinszly  contained  in  the  soil. 

Plants  rc(fdreplios2>horicund  in  the  foUmoing 
proportion  to  1,000  pounds  : 

Wlicat 8  1-5  lbs.  equal  to  17H  'bs.  bone  phos. 

W  Ileal  Straw 2'A     "  "         5         

liailcy 7  1-5"  "  15         

Hurley  Straw 19-10"  "         41-10 

Oats 6ii      "  "  121-10 

OatsStraw 18-10"  "  39-10 

live 81-5    "  "  17K      " 

HveStraw 19-10"  "  41-10 

forii 55-10"  "  121-10" 

Corn  Stalk  i  Leaf.  3S-10"  "  8         

Peas 88-10"  "  193-10"        " 

I'ea. Straw 38-10"  "  8         

Beans 110-10"  "  2.^4     " 

Hean  Straw 41-10"  "  81-5" 

Potatoes 18-10"  "  4         "        "        " 

(Jreen    Potato 

Vines 6-10"  "  13-10 

Heet  Rc)ots(sugar)  1  1-10  "  "  24-10" 

(ireen  Keet  Tops.  13-10"  "  28-10"         "         " 

Hemp     (whole 

iilant) 33-10"  "  71-5 

Linseed 74-10"  "  161-5    ' 

Tolmeoo 71-10"  "  156-10 

rloverlliay) 56-10"  "  12  ' 

Meadow   (.hay) 41-10"  "  81-5    " 

If  grain,  potatoes,  etc.,  are  to  nourish  us 
and  our  cattle,  they  must  contain  phosphoric 
acid,  as  our  growing  bones  require  one-third 
of  this  substance  in  the  form  of  phosphate  of 
lime,  in  addition  to  considerable  contained  in 
blood  and  muscles. 

Innunieiable  experiments  have  proven — 

1st.  That  plants  cannot  perfectly  develop 
unless  the  soil  contains  suflicient  phosphoric 
acid. 

2nd.  That  the  application  of  phosphate  in- 
creases the  weight  and  quality,  and  frequently 
shows  a  dilVerence  of  more  than  twenty  per 
cent,  in  the  particles  of  starch.— .Fro«i  ''What 
of  Fertdizcrs." 

We  cannot  ignore  the  fact  that  all  vegeta- 
ble, as  well  as  animal,  growth,  require  for 
their  normal  development  a  suflicient  quan- 
tity of  inorganic  and  mineral  substances  aa 
stimulants  to  that  end,  and  that  phosphoric 
acid  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  among 
them. 


Co.'UMON  hydraulic  cement  mixed  with  oi\ 
forms  a  good  paint  for  roofs  and  out-buildinge. 
It  is  waterproof  and  incombustible. 


ICO 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[July, 


"A  MARE'S  NEST, 

I  have  been  unable  to  find  any  explanation 

of  the  origin  of  tliis  oft  used  phrase,  unless  a 
German  story,  often  heard  in  my  childhood 
in  Pennsylvania,  may  furnish  it. 

The  Swabians  (called  "Schwopes"  in  Penn- 
sylvania) are  among  G-ermaris  what  the  Irish 
are  among  English-speaking  people,  but  less 
volatile,  witty  and  frulic-loving — like  them 
in  their  ai>titiide  for  blundering,  and  iu  con- 
founding and  intertaiigliug  subjects  so  as  to 
form  wliat  are  called  "Irish  Bulls."  Of  course 
every  comic  blunder  and  burlesque  speech  is, 
by  the  rest  of  the  Germans,  ascribed  to  the 
Schwopes.  So  much  by  way  ot  jireface.  Now 
for  the  story. 

A  Schwope  in  passing  through  a  cornfield 
saw  a  number  of  punii)kius,  and  inquired 
what  they  were.  He  was  told  they  were 
mare's  eggs.  He  bought  one  of  the  largest 
and  carried  it  it  on  his  journey  until  he 
reached  the  top  of  a  long  hill.  Wearied  with 
his  walk  and  his  burden,  he  laid  down  the 
pumpkin  and  sat  down  on  it  for  the  double 
purpose  of  resting  himself,  and  also  aiding  in 
hatching  out  the  mare's  egg.  As  he  rested, 
meditatina  on  the  advantages  and  pleasure 
of  having  a  horse  on  which  to  ride,  instead  of 
trudging  on  foot,  he  fell  asleep,  lost  his  bal- 
ance, and  awav  rolled  the  pumpkin  down  the 
hill !  Now  there  was  a  heap  of  dried  brush 
at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  in  that  brush  heap 
a  rabbit  had  made  his  home.  On  rolled  the 
pumpkin  with  increasing  speed,  and,  striking 
the  brush  b.eap,  broke  into  pieces.  The  as- 
tounded -'Bunny,"  thinking  "the  day  of 
doom  "  had  come,  bounded  away  in  affrighted 
haste.  The  poor  Swaljian,  who  awoke  in 
time  to  see  all  this,  verily  thought  that  the 
rabbit  was  a  colt  released  from  his  pumpkin, 
ran  after  "Bunny,"  whinneying  like  a  mare 
after  her  foal,  and  crying  out,  in  what  he 
meant  for  the  most  endearing  terms  in  horse 
language— "  Hee-haw!  Hee-haw!  Hutchelie, 
da  ist  dein  mutter!" — in  English — "Hee- 
haw! Hee-haw  !  Coltie,  here  is  your  mother!" 
If  any  of  your  numerous  readers  can  give 
us  a  better  or  truer  explanation  of  the  origin 
of  the  phrase,  "finding  a  mare's  nest,"  I 
cheerfully  "vield  him  the  floor,"  and  will  be 
obliged  for  his  explanation.  That  the  above 
has  an  unsatisfactory  ending,  but  makes  it  in 
accord  with  the  result  of  "finding  a  mare's 
nest."— G. 

[Although  the  term  "  mare's  nest  "  was 
known  long  before  the  childhood  of  the  writer 
of  the  above,  and  also  beyond  the  borders  of 
Pennsylvania,  it  is  doubtful  whether  any  bet- 
ter account  can  be  given  of  its  origin  than 
the  one  he  alludes  to ;  be  the  locality  of 
its|birth  Pennsylvania  or  Ssvabia.  It  is  a  sort  of 
Ijariigram,  which  probably  had  its  origin  in 
some  trivial  circumstance  that  never  was  re- 
corded, but  which  was  sufticiently  expressive 
to  become  popular  among  common  people. 
To  find  a  mare^s  nest  is  to  make  what  you  sup- 
pose to  be  a  great  discovery,  but  which  turns 
out  to  be  all  moonshine.  According  to  Dr. 
Brewer  what  we  call  a  "  nightmare  "  was  by 
our  forefathers  supposed  to  be  the  Saxon 
demon  mara  or  viare,  a  kind  of  vampire,  sit- 
ting on  the  sleeper's  chest.  The  vampires 
were  said  to  be  the  guardians  of  hidden  treas- 
ures, over  which  they  brooded  as  a  hen  does 
over  her  eggs,  and  the  place  where  they  sat 
was  termed  their  7iidus  or  nest ;  hence  the 
big-eyed,  many-horned  and  long-tailed  night- 
mares which  so  many  see,  may  only  be  imagin- 
ary personations  hatched  out  of  a  superabun- 
dance of  soft-crab,  buckwheat  cakes  and 
sausages,  packed  into  an  overwroguht  stomach 
just  before  going  to  bed. 

When  any  one  supposes  he  has  made  a  great 
discovery  we  ask  if  he  has  discovered  a  mare's 
nest,  or  the  place  where  the  vampire  keeps 


guard  over  hypothetical  treasures.  "  Why 
dost  thou  laugh  ?  What  Hinre's  nest  hast  thou 
found?" — Bemc.  and  Fletcher. 

Dr.  Brewer  says,  farther,  in  some  parts  of 
Scotland  the  people  use  a  sfcate'.s  nest  in.stead 
of  mare's  nest,  and  iu  Gloucestershire  a  long- 
winded  tale  is  called  a  horse-nest.  In  Devon- 
shire any  kind  of  nonsense  is  called  a  blind 
niare^s  nest,  and  in  Cornwall  they  say  you 
have  foimd  a  mvc's  nest  and  are  laughing  over 
the  eggs.  The  word  mare  in  England  has 
various  legendary  phrases  associated  with  it. 
For  instance,  the  Cromlech  at  Gorwell— a 
large  stone  resting  ou  two  or  more  others, 
like  a  table — is  called  the  -white  mare,  and  the 
Barrows,  near  Efambleton — tumuli  or  mounds 
— are  called  the  grey  mare.  Away  with  the 
mare  meant  off  with  the  blue-devils,  or  good- 
i>ye  to  care.  This  mare  is  the  incuhits  called 
the  nightmare. 

To  win  the  mare  and  lose  the  halter,  was  to 
play  "double  or  quits,"  a  reckless  kind  of 
speculation  or  gambling,  which  impover- 
ishes nineteen  where  it  enriches  one. 

In  Herefordshire  and  Shopshire,  to  cry  the 
mare  was  a  singular  harvest  custom.  When 
the  ingathering  was  completed,  a  few  blades 
of  corn,  left  for  the  purpose,  would  have  their 
tops  tied  together.  The  reapers  then  placed 
themselves  at  a  certain  distance  and  flung  their 
sickles  at  the  "  mare."  He  who  succeeded  in 
cutting  the  knot  would  cry  out  "  I  have  her." 
"  What  have  you  ?"  "A  mare."  "Where 
is  she  y  The  name  of  some  farmer  whose 
fields  had  been  reaped  would  here  be  men- 
tioned. "Where  will  you  send  her  t"' 
The  name  of  some  farmer  whose  corn 
had  not  yet  been  harvested  would  then 
be  given,  and  then  all  the  reapers  would  give 
a  final  shout — "  the  mare." 

The  gray  mare  is  the  better  horSe :  means  that 
the  woman  is  paramount.  It  is  said  that  a 
man  wished  to  buy  a  horse,  but  his  wife  took 
a  fancy  to  a  gray  mare,  and  so  pertinaciously 
insisted  that  "the  gray  mare  was  the  better 
horse,"  that  the  man  was  obliged  to  yield  the 
point.  When  a  woman  is  paramount,  the 
French  say:  "  'Tis  a  hawk's  marriage,"  be- 
cause the  female  hawk  is  generally  both 
larger  and  stronger  than  the  male  bird. 
Prior  wrote  : 

■'  As  long  as  we  huve  eyes,  or  hands,  or  breath, 
We'll  look,  or  write,  or  talk  you  all  to  death, 
Yield,  or  she — Pegasus  will  gaia  her  course. 
And  the  gray  mare  will  prove  the  better  horse." 

In  a  work  on  Old  Glees  and  Catches,  the  fol- 
lowing is  given  as  the  origin  of  that  popular 
maxim,   "  money  makes  the  mare  go." 

"  Will  you  lend  me  your  mare  to  go  a  mile?" 
"  No,  she  is  lame  leaping  over  a  stile." 
"  But  if  you  will  her  to  me  spare, 

You  shall  have  money  for  your  mare." 
"Oh,  ho  !  say  you  so  ? 
Money  will  make  the  mare  go." 

It  will  be  observed,  however,  that  all  this 
historical  evidence  is  based  upon  the  tradi- 
tional— "It  is  said  :"  but  who  said  it,  whereit 
was  said,  or  when  it  was  said,  no  deponent 
sayeth.  We  must  therefore  take  it  as  we  And 
it,  and  for  what  it  is  worth.  If  we  limited 
our  knowledge  within  the  scope  of  our  own 
practical  experience,  perhaps  we  should  know 
but  precious  little,  and  that  little  would  be 
circumscribed  by  our  opportunities,  and  our 
habits  of  observation.  If  along-winded  story 
may  be  properly  regarded  as  a  ?)ia)-e's  nest, 
then  our  readers  may  have  found  one  in  these 
cogitations.  [Ed. 


THREE  WONDERS. 

It  is  related  of  an  aged  Friend  (or  Quaker) 
that,  "moved  of  the  spirit "  to  rise  and 
speak  in  meeting,  she  said  there  were  three 
things  in  life  which  caused  her  to  wonder 
greatly.  The  first  was  that  boys  worried 
themselves  by  throwing  sticks  and  stones  into 
the  tiees  to  knock  down  the  ajiples;  when,  if 
they  would  but  wait,  the  apples  would  fall  of 
themselves.  The  second  was,  that  men  took 
so  much  pains  and  spent  so  luuch  money  in 
going  to  war  to  kill  each  (jtlier;  when,  if  they 
would  but  wait  a  few  years,  their  enemies 
would  die  of  tlunnselves.  And  the  third  was, 
that  the  boys  took  so  much  trouble  and  spent 
so  much  time  in  ruuning  after  the  girls;  when 
if  they  would  but  minci  their  work  and  stay 
at  home,  the  giiis  would  run  after  them! 

I,  too,  have  a  triad  of  wonders,  but  they 
are  not  exactly  like  those  of  the  good  old 
Friend  preacher — as  the  reader  may  see. 

The  first  is,  that  the  makers  and  vendors  of 
alcoholic  drinks  assert  that  all  prohibitory 
laws  only  iacrca.se  the  sale  and  use  of  intoxi- 
conts,  when  they  oppose  all  such  laws  as 
being  injurious  to  their  business]  The  second  is, 
that  the  makers  of  Olemargarine  declare  that 
their  article  is  better  than  most  kinds  of  but- 
ter— equal  to  any  butter  except  the  very 
finest — cheaper,  more  pure  and  wholesome — 
and  that  it  is  preferred  to  common  butter  by 
all  who  have  trird  it;  and  yet  they  do  not 
advertise  it  as  Olemargarine,  nor  label  it  as 
Oleomargarine,  but  palm  it  oft'  as  butter,  and 
oppose  all  legislation  requiring  it  to  be  sold 
only  for  what  it  is.  And  the  third  wonder  is, 
that  farmers,  who  color  their  butter  with  un- 
known coloring  matters,  that  they  may  palm 
it  off  as  grass  or  June  butter,  and  who  de- 
clare that  people  prefer  it  colored,  and  pay 
more  for  it,  do  not  label  or  advertise  their 
butter  as  "  colored,"  so  as  to  induce  buyers  to 
take  it,  and  to  pay  more  for  the  adulterated 
article  than  they  would  pay  for  the  ".Simon- 
pure  "  and  honestly  genuine  article! 

Some  may  wonder  that  brewers  and  distil- 
lers, and  Oleomargarine  men,  and  all  lard- 
cheese  and  colored  butter  makers  do  not  com- 
bine, and  urge  our  legislatures  to  pass  pro- 
hibitory laws,  and  laws  compelling  all  adul- 
terators of  cheese  and  butter  to  label  their 
articles,  and  sell  them  for  what  they  are! — O. 


EXCERPTS. 


Good  feeding  is  the  secret  of  success  in 
sheep-husbandry. 

Theiie  is  no  portion  of  our  country  where 
sheep  husbandry  can  be  more  profitably 
carried  on  than  in  the  Virginias,  the  Caroli- 
nas,  Tennessee,  and  portions  of  Georgia  and 
Alabama. 

Gardening  is  regularly  and  practically 
taught  in  more  than  20,000  primary  schools  in 
France.  Every  schoolhouse  has  its  garden, and 
teachers  must  be  not  only  good  gardeners,  but 
qualified  to  teach  horticulture,  or  they  cannot 
pass  examination. 

The  celebrated  English  farmer.  Alderman 
J.  J.  Mechi,  Tietree  Hall,  has  but  six  acres 
of  permanent  pasture,  and  yet  manages  to 
keep  as  an  average  200  sheep,  and  from  fifteen 
to  twenty  head  of  cattle.  All  food  is  cut  up, 
no  roaming  at  large  is  allowed,  and  supple- 
mental food  is  invariably  given.  The  sheep 
are  always  within  iron  hurdled  folds,removed 
morning  and  evening. 

Hen  manure  should  not  be  composted  with 
unleached  ashes  unless  it  is  to  be  used  imme- 
diately. It  is  better  to  mix  it  after  being 
thoroughly  pulverized  with  dry  earth,  which 
is  one  of  the  very  best  absorbents.  All  of  the 
valuable  constituents  of  the  fertilizer  will  then 
be  saved. 

What  is  needed  is  that  our  American  far- 


1882.  J 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


401 


mers  should  exhibit  the  same  inlolligunt 
spirit  of  enterprise  disiilnyed  by  the  inventor 
and  manHfacturer;tliat  tliey  should  appreciate 
the  new  spirit  of  American  civilization  and 
rush  forward  to  mako  agrieulturo  not  the 
mere  follower  and  servant  of  manufactures, 
hut  tlie  great  leadint;  and  advancing  interest. 

Says  tlie  Live  Utoi-k  .Tnunial :  The  stock 
ranch  and  summer  residence  of  ex-Governor 
Stanford,  of  California,  contains  about  300 
highly-bred  horses,  and  it  requires  a  mile  of 
stable  to  accommodate  them.  lie  is  breeding 
his  thoroughbred  mares  to  trotting  stallions; 
not  especially  with  a  view  to  the  production 
of  fast  trotters,  as  some  of  our  contemporaries 
would  have  us  think,  but  as  a  means  of  laying 
the  foundation  of  permanent  improvement  in 
the  horse  stock  of  this  ^tate,  for  general  pur- 
po.ses;  and  in  this  he  is  not  far  out  of  the  way. 

The  longest  line  of  fence  in  the  world  will 
be  tlie  wire  fence  extending  from  the  Indian 
Territory  west  across  the  Texas  Panhandle, 
and  thirty-live  miles  into  New  Mexico.  We 
are  informed  that  eighty-five  miles  of  this 
fence  is  already  under  contract.  Its  course 
vv'ill  be  in  the  line  of  the  Canadian  river,  and 
its  purpo.se  is  to  slop  the  drift  of  the  northern 
cattle.  It  is  a  bold  and  splendid  enterpri.se 
and  will  pay  a  large  percentage  on  the  invest- 
ment.    The  fence  will  be  over  200  miles  long. 

The  oat  crops  of  Georgia,  South  Carolina, 
and  North  Carolina,  according  to  all  accounts 
is  the  largest  ever  made  in  those  Stales.  The 
crop  is  now  being  harvested.  It  is  estimated 
that  Wilkes,  Lincoln  and  Hancock  counties, 
in  Georgia,  will  produce  one  million  bushels 
each.  The  Waf  hington  Gazette  says  the  en- 
tire small  grain  crop  of  Wilkes  county  has 
been  estimated  at  one  and  a  quarter  million 
bushels.  One  planter  iu  that  county  has  a 
thousand  acres  of  oats  and  the  yield  will  be 
fully  forty  thousand  bushels.  A  i)lanter  near 
Augusta  will  make  twenty  thousand  bush  els 
of  oats  and  wheat.  With  this  immense  crop 
there  will  be  more  than  sutHcicnt  for  home 
consumption  and  a  large  quantity  can  be  sold, 
bringing  a  considerable  amount  of  money  into 
the  State. 

The  capital  investment  in  railroads  in  this 
country  has  becu  divided  as  follows:  Jay 
Gould  and  associates,  $563,000,000;  the  Penn- 
sylvania Central,  »G29,000,000;  Vanderbilt 
combination,  S?iti-l, 000,000,  Huntington  com- 
bination, .1821,000.000;  .Jewett  and  the  Erie 
combination,  S317,.j00,000;  Garrett,  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  combination,  $194,000,- 
000;  the  Pennsylvania  coal  roads,  $508,000,- 
000;  Alexander  Mitchell  management,  $129,- 
000,000;  Garrison  management,  $62,000,000. 
— Exchange. 

A  Hint  for  Coffee  Drinkers.— While 
"dining  out"  one  day  recently,  the  coffee, 
which,  tliough  the  last,  was  by  no  means  the 
least  of  the  good  thiTigs  furnished,  was  so  un- 
usually excellent  that  it  was  the  subject  of 
general  remark,  and  a  word  in  the  ear  of  the 
charming  hostess  after  retiring  to  tlie  drawing 
room  called  fiutli  the  following  explanation 
of  how  the  good  result  was  obtained:  The 
coffee  furnished  was  a  clear  amber  in  color,  i 
rich  in  flavor  and  deliciously  aromatic.  To  | 
give  the  hostess'  method  a  fair  test  it  will  be 
no  more  than  just  to  don  one's  apron  and  ad- 
journ to  the  kitchen.  The  coffee  to  be  used 
is  Maracaibo  and  Java,  equal  parts  of  each. 


finely  ground.  One  large  cup  of  coffee,  one 
cup  of  cold  water,  one  well  beaten  egg,  mix 
thoroughly  ;  add  four  cups  of  cold  water  and 
place  over  the  fire.  After  it  reaches  the  boil- 
ing j)oint  allow  live  minutes  to  liiiish  the  pro- 
cess ;  strain  and  serve  immediately.  This 
seems  a  very  simple  process,  hut  in  the  hands 
of  a  servant,  if  allowed  to  boil  too  long,  it 
would  be  easily  spoiled. 

The  Strength  of  IIorse.s. — Lieut.  Roder 
of  the  German  Army,  has  been  riding  to 
Granada  from  St rasburg  in  order  to  find  out 
how  far  it  is  possible,  under  certain  condi- 
tions, to  draw  upon  the  strength  of  horses. 
He  left  the  latter  place  on  September  29,  and 
arrived  in  the  former  on  November  20,  a 
period  of  53  days,  including  8  days  of  rest 
and  a  distance  of  2,.")00  kiloineires.  His  ani- 
mal was  a  Prussian  mare,  9  years  old,  and 
when  he  arrived  in  Granada  he  found  no  diffi- 
culty in  selling  her  to  advantage.  He  wore 
no  spurs,  and  bis  baggage  comprised  only  a 
water-[)roof  and  a  pair  of  capacious  saddle 
pockets,  in  which  were  a  guide-book,  some 
maps  and  a  few  other  objects.  The  pace  at 
which  he  rode  was  a  steady  trot  when  the 
ground  permitted,  and  a  fast  walk  when  he 
could  not  trot.  Roder  concludes  from  this  ex- 
perience, and  in  sjnte  of  the  ap|)arent  good 
results  of  it,  that  so  much  work  is  too  great 
for  good  horses  and  vigorous  men. 

How  TO  Cook  Rice. — Rice  is  becoming  a 
much  more  popular  article  of  food  than  here- 
tofore. It  is  frequently  substituted  for  pota- 
toes at  the  chief  meal  of  the  day,  being  more 
nutritious  and  much  more  readily  digested. 
At  its  present  cost,  it  is  relatively  cheaper 
than  potatoes,  oatmeal  or  grain-grits  of  any 
kind.  In  preparing  it  on'ly  just  enough  cold 
water  should  be  poured  on  to  prevent  the  rice 
from  burning  at  the  bottom  of  the  pot,  which 
should  have  a  close-fitting  cover,  and  with  a 
moderate  fire  the  rice  is  steamed  rather  than 
boiled  until  it  is  nearly  done  ;  then  the  cover 
is  taken  off,  the  surplus  steam  and  moisture 
allowed  to  escape,  and  the  rice  turns  out  a 
mass  of  snow-white  kernels,  each  separate 
from  the  other,  and  as  much  superior  to  the 
usual  soggy- mass,  as  a  fine  mealy  potato  is  su- 
perior to  the  water-soaked  article. 

How  to  Catch  Crows. — A  gentleman 
writes  us  that  he  has  succeeded  in  catching 
several  crows  from  his  corn-field  in  the  fol- 
lowing novel  manner:  "  I  arranged  a  number 
of  large  twine  strings  with  a  slip-uoose  in 
each,  and  placed  them  on  stumps  in  the  fields 
in  such  a  manner  that  when  pulled  the  stump 
would  not  interfer  with  the  closing  of  the 
noose.  I  stood  hidden  at  a  convenient  dis- 
tance, and  would  almost  invariably  catch  the 
crow  when  he  alighted  on  the  stump.  I 
caught  eleven  in  one  morning  in  this  manner." 

The  First  Balloon.— In  June,  1783, 
Stephen  and  Joseph  ^Montgolfier  sent  up  the 
first  lialloon.  To  commemorate  the  centenary 
of  the  event,  it  is  proposed  that  an  interna- 
tional exhibition  of  "  aerial  arts  "  be  held  at 
Paris  next  year.  The  "aerial  arts"  are  to 
include  every  industry,  science  orart,  relating 
to  gas  or  the  atmosphere,  which  is  supposed 
to  have  any  connection  directly  or  indirectly 
with  aerostatic  experiments. 

Fattening  Sheep  in  Winter.— In  the 
first  place  a  good  way  is  to  begin  early  in  De- 
cember by  giving,   in  addition  to  straw,    to 


each  sheep,  each  day  for  a   couple  of  months, 
a  pound  of  meal,  grain,  or  oil  cake. 

If  the  roots  of  tulips  and  hyacinths  are  left 
in  the  bed  where  they  have  bloomed  and  the 
stalks  cut  after  blooming  and  the  bed  sufli- 
ciently  protected  in  the  winter  there  will  be 
annual  blooming.  The  reason  why  hyacinths 
that  are  flowered  in  water-glasses  are  ex- 
hausted and  make  so  poor  a  growth  is  that 
the  flowers  and  stems  are  produced  at  tlie  ex- 
pense of  the  bulb,  and  this  is  not  renewed  in  any 
way.  When  grown  in  rich  soil  this  exhaustion 
does  not  occur  and  the  bulbs  are  able  to  bloom 
repeatedly. 

Save  the  middle  grains  of  the  fine  ears  of 
corn  for  seed. 

Hogs  should  be  allowed  to  have  a  heap  of 
coal  ashes.  They  will  be  all  the  healthier  for 
it. 

Beef  and  mutton  are  not  flavored  by  feed- 
ing turnips  to  the  animals — at  least  this  is  the 
statement  of  some  who  have  tried  it. 

Thk  amount  of  fruit  shipi)ed  from  Califor- 
nia during  the  present  season  will  bring  about 
$1,000,000  profit  to  the  State. 

It  costs  the  people  of  Tennessee  81,000,000 
annually  to  sneeze  and  use  snuff.  This  is  a 
Nashville  merchant's  estimate  of  the  annual 
consuniiition  of  the  article. 

An  orchard  should  never  be  planted  in  a 
clay  soil  unless  the  latter  is  underdrained, 
after  which  it  becomes  one  of  the  best  soils  for 
apples  and  pears. 

Let  every  farmer  keep  all  the  stock  he  can 
possibly  afford  to — and  generally  he  can  afford 
to  keep  more  than  he  does.  The  dependence 
of  farming  for  all  time  must  be  mainly  on 
stock. 

A  Wisconsin  farmer,  twenty-three  years 
ago,  planted  a  piece  of  waste  land,  unfit  for 
cultivation,  with  black  walnut  trees.  The 
trees  are  frem  sixteen  to  twenty  inches  in 
diameter  and  have  been  sold  for  $27,000. 

France  produced  last  year  7o0,000,0(X)  gal- 
ions  of  wine.  Of  these,  47,000,000  were  made 
from  sugar,  51,000,000  from  raisins,  while 
154,000,000  gallons  were  imjiorted  from  Spain 
and  Italy,  to  "blend  "  with  their  home  pro- 
duct. No  wonder  everybody  wants  to  drink 
French  wines;  they  are  so  pure. 

In  a  small  grove  which  adjonis  the  Schoen- 
berger  residence  near  Cincinnati,  an  army  of 
crows  take  shelter  every  night.  They  assem- 
ble by  thousands  an  hour  before  dark,  and  an 
old  man  living  near  the  place  says  that  to  his 
personal  knowledge  the  same  grove  has  been 
their  dormitory  for  sixty  years. 
Don't  Do  It. 

Don't  sleep  in  a  draught. 

Don't  go  to  bed  with  cold  feet. 

Don't  stand  over  hot-air  registers. 

Don't  eat  what  you  do  not  need  just  to  save 
it. 

Don't  try  to  get  cool  too  quickly  after  ex- 
ercising. 

Don't  sleep  with  insecure  false  teeth  in  your 
-mouth. 

Don't  start  the  day's  work  without  a  good 
breakfast.  . 

Don't  sleep  in  a  room  without  ventilation 
of  some  kind. 

Don't  .stuff  a  cold  lest  you  be  next  obliged 
to  starve  a  fever. 

Don't  try  to  get  along  without  flannel  un- 
derclothing iu  winter. 


102 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[July, 


Don't  use  your  voice  for  loud  speaking  when 
hoarse. 

Don't  try  to  get  along  with  less  than  eight 
or  nine  hours'  sleep. 

Don't  sleep  in  the  same  undergarment  you 
wear  during  the  day. 

Dou't  toast  your  feet  by  the  Are  but  try 
sunlight  friction  instead. 

Don't  try  to  keep  awake  upon  coflee  and  al- 
coholics when  you  ought  to  go  to  bed. 

Don't  drink  ice  water  by  the  glass  ;  take  it 
in  sips,  a  .swallow  at  a  time. 

Don't  strain  your  eyes  by  reading  or  work- 
ing with  insufHcient  or  flickering  light. 

Don't  use  the  eyes  for  reading  or  fine  work 
in  the  twilight  of  evening  or  early  morn. 

Don't  try  to  lengthen  your  days  by  cutting 
short  your  nights'  rest ;  it  is  poor  economy. 

Don't  wear  close,  heavy  fur  or  rubber  caps 
or  hats  if  your  hair  is  thin  or  falls  out  easily. 

Don't  eat  anything  between  meals  except- 
ing fruits,  or  a  glass  of  hot  milk  if  you  feel 
faint. 

Don't  take  some  other  person's  medicine 
because  you  are  troubled  somewhat  as  they 
were. 

Don't  blow  out  a  gaslight  as  you  would  a 
lamp  ;  many  lives  are  lost  every  year  by  this 
mistake. 

What  the  Farmers  Must  Feed.— The 
Census  Bureau  has  issued  a  bulletin  showing 
that  the  live  stock  of  the  United  States  on 
farms  on  Junel,  1880,  was  as  follows:  Horses, 
10,357,981;  mules  and  asses,  1,812,932;  work- 
ing oxen,  993,97C;  milch  cows,  12,443,593; 
other  cattle,  22,488,500  ;  sheep,  35,191,656; 
swine,  47,683,951.  The  rate  of  increase  from 
1870  to  1880  was,  in  horses,  45  per  cent; 
mules  and  asses,  61  per  cent;  working  oxen,  a 
decrease  of  25  per  cent;  milch  cows,  an  in- 
crease of  39  per  cent;  other  cattle,  66  per 
cent;  sheep,  24  per  cent,  and  swine,  90  per 
cent. 

Selections. 

THE  USES  OF  PRUNING. 

Pruning  is  to  the  tree  what  education  is  to 
the  mind,  or  the  "polishment"  of  the  marble 
after  it  is  taken  from  the  quarry.  Pruning  is 
absolutely  beneficial  to  all  kinds  of  fruit  trees 
at  least.  Of  course  we  mean  pruning  as  a 
use,  and  not  as  an  abuse. 

As  to  the  best  time  for  pruning,  in  my  view, 
it  is  to  begin  as  soon  as  the  trees  are  two  feet 
in  height.  You  then  can  use  your  pocket- 
knife,  which  ought  to  be  used  constantly 
whenever  "suckers"  appear.  This  gives  the 
tree  a  good  shape  and  takes  all  the  surplus 
wood  away.  This  work  can  be  done  any 
time  during  the  year,  with  little  exception. 
There  are  only  about  two  or  three  weeks 
during  which  I  generally  avoid  pruning — that 
is,  from  the  time  the  sap  begins  to  flow  until 
the  leaves  are  developed.  Most  fruit  trees  re- 
quire continual  pruning  and  shaping,  to  make 
them  bear  better  and  larger  fruit,  and  with-, 
al,  impart  them  to  beauty.  Yet,  tliere  is  a 
great  difference,  especially  in  apple  trees. 
Some  trees  need  much  more  pruning  than 
others,  nearly  all  the  time,  or  they  would  be- 
come like  a  hedge-fence.  Tlie  Pennsylvania 
Ked-streak,  Munson-sweet,  and  the  Wagner 
require  very  little  pruning  with  me.  Cherries 
also  require  little  shaping,  but  plums,  prunes 


and  pears,  are  much  improved  by  early  and 
judicious  pruning.  The  peach  is  also  improv- 
ed, and  we  all  know  that  the  grape  needs  a 
yearly  thinning-out  to  bring  it  to  perfection, 
unless  it  is  mainly  desired  for  shade,  over  an 
arbor,  pump,  shed,  or  a  south-side  exposure  to 
the  summer  sun. 

Nearly  all  kinds  of  trees  need  training  and 
pruning,  unle.'^s  growing  in  a  dense  forest,  and 
no  man  possessing  an  "  arboricultured  "  eye 
and  mind,  can  even  pass  through  a  forest, 
without  speculating  on  improvements,  here 
and  there,  that  would  have  resulted  from 
pruning,  or  the  removal  of  ob.struction.  I 
have  now  a  limited,  but  dense,  forest  of 
locusts,  poplars,  walnuts  and  chestnuts,  in 
which  the  trees  are  growing  straight  up  from 
forty  to  fifty  feet  in  height,  with  the  side 
branches  dying  and  dropping  off ;  but  the 
same  trees  elsewhere,  want  trimming,  or  they 
would  get  too  "  forky',  or  spreading.  Along 
a  road  or  in  a  yard,  such  trees  require  con- 
stant shaping,  in  order  to  make  good  "butts," 
and  beautiful  and  symmetrical  tops.  This  is 
however  controled  very  much  by  fashion, 
fancy  or  individual  ta.stes. 

When  on  a  recent  visit  to  the  Central  Park 
in  NewY^ork,!  was  astonished  at  the  luxuriant 
growth  of  the  many  varieties  of  trees  in  that 
magnificent  enclosure.  They  have  all  kinds 
of  ornamental  and  common  forest  trees,  all 
over  the  park.  These  trees  are  almost  in- 
variably trained  to  grow  with  low  tops,  and 
long  side  or  lateral  branches,  from  two  feet 
from  the  ground  upward,  many  of  them  look- 
ing very  strange,  if  not  unslightly,  for  what 
purpose  I  could  not  understand.  If  I  had  had 
the  control  of  the  park,  I  would  have  trim- 
med every  tree  up  from  eight  to  ten  feet  from 
the  ground,  so  that  persons  could  easily  pro- 
menade under  their  branches  But  as  it  is 
now,  it  could  not  be  done  any  more,  as  the 
trunks  of  s^me  of  them  are  a  foot  in  diameter 
near  the  ground.  The  Elm  is  a  favorite  tree 
in  the  park,  and  in  fact  is  also  a  leading  tree 
all  over  the  west,  as  well  as  many  parts  of  the 
east. — L.  8.  B.,  Oregon,  July.  1882. 

[In  relation  to  the  Elm,  we  do  not  hazard 
much  in  saying  that  it  is  and  always  has  been 
a  favorite  tree  in  Pennsylvania,  and,  the  very 
first  event  which  signalized  the  origin  of  the 
State,  transpired  under  the  spreading  branches 
of  an  Blm,  on  the  banks  of  the  Shackamaxoii, 
in  the  old  "Northern  Liberties"  of  Philadel- 
phia. Boston  common  had  at  one  time,  and 
perhaps  still  has,  some  fine  old  elms.  There 
were  many  of  them  in  Lancaster,  and  some 
are  still  remaining.  But  the  fact  is,  of  late 
years  they  have  been  so  much  subjected  to 
the  ravages  of  the  I'Elmleaf  Beetle,"  that 
many  persons  have  been  compelled  to  cut 
them  down.  This  beetle  is  so  exclusively  de- 
destructive  to  the  foliage  of  the  Elm,  and  oc- 
Ciirs  in  such  immense  numbers, producing  two 
or  three  broods  during  the  season — that  when 
the  trees  are  large,  there  seems  to  be  no 
practical  remedy  but  to  remove  them  entirely. 

In  regard  to  the  low  branched  trees  to 
which  our  contributor  alludes,  perhaps  the 
authorities  don't  want  people  to  promenade 
under  them,  lest  they  also  trespass  upon  the 
grass.  They  i)rovide  special  promonades, 
seats,  canopies,  pavilions  and  trees,  suBicient 
forthe  shelter  and  the  exercise  of  pedestrians, 
unless  there  should  happen  to  be  an    unusual 


crowd  in  the  park,  and  as  to  sightliness,  or 
unsightliness,  that  depends  altogether    on  the 

peculiar  taste  of  theviewing individual. —£d.] 

^ 

BALANCE  OF  TRADE. 
Editor  Farmer. — Your  correspondent 
P.  S.  R.,  in  the  last  number  of  The  Farmer, 
referring  to  a  discussion  between  him  and 
myself  two  or  three  years  ago  on  the  "Bal- 
ance of  Trade"  question,  credits  me  with  hav- 
ing denied  that  it  was  a  better  sign  of  pros- 
perous times  when  the  balance  of  trade  was 
in  our  favor  than  when  the  balance  is  against 
ns,  and  asks  what  I  have  to  say  uojo,  since  the 
balance  is  going  strongly  against  us  and  see- 
ing that  we  are  importing  about  .$3,000,000 
worth  of  goods  per  week,  and  our  exports  last 
year  were  far  less  than  in  1880.  This  state 
of  affairs,  Mr.  R.  thinks,  must  result  to  our 
disadvantage,  and  I  do  not  dispute  it. 

But  according  to  my  recollection  I  never 
denied  that  it  is  better  to  have  the  balance  of 
trade  "  in  our  favor. "  I  simply  denied  that 
the  fact  that  we  import  more  value  than  we 
export  proves  there  is  a  balance  against  us; 
and  the  reasons  I  gave  for  that  opinion  have 
not  been  answered,  or  scarcely  attempted  to 
be,  from  that  day  to  this,  so  far  as  I  have  seen. 
See  my  several  articles  in  The  Farmer  of  Feb- 
ruary, April  and  June,  1879. 

It  is  of  course  disadvantageous  to  us  that 
we  had  short  crops  last  year,  and  that  conse- 
quently we  had  less  of  agricultural  products 
to  export.  And  it  is  also  disadvantageous  to 
the  country  if  the  .$3,000,000  of  goods  im- 
ported per  week  are  not  paid  for,  but  are 
bought  on  credit,  to  be  paid  for  out  of  our 
future  earnings,  just  as  is  the  case  with  an 
individual  who  runs  in  debt  beyond  his  earn- 
ings or  his  means  to  pay.  The  reason  there 
is  so  much  confusion  of  ideas  and  wrong 
notions  on  this  subject,  it  seems  to  me,  is  that 
people  have  been  led  to  imagine  that  the  ex- 
change of  productions  between  two  nations  is 
governed  by  different  principles,  and  its  ad- 
vantages or  disadvantages  are  gauged  by  an 
entirely  different  rule  than  the  trade  between 
individuals.  That  this  is  an  erroneous  notion 
is  evident  from  the  fact  that  the  trade  of  one 
nation  with  another  is  not  between  the  two 
nations  as  such, but  merely  between  individuals 
of  those  nations  ;  and  the  profits  or  losses,  the 
advantages  or  disadvantages  of  any  trading 
transaction  in  which  a  man  engages,  of  course 
are  not  in  the  least  affected  by  the  nationality 
of  the  person  with  whom  he  deals. 

Everybody  knows  and  will  acknowledge 
that  if  an  individual  sells  property,  the  more 
value  he  gets  for  it  the  better  he  is  off,  but 
strange  to  say,  there  are  thousands  of  people 
in  this  country  who  will  seriously  contend 
that  in  our  trade  with  foreign  countries  the 
less  value  we  receive  in  return  for  what  we 
part  with,  the  more  prosperous  we  must  be- 
come! 

Now  if  a  farmer  in  Lancaster  county  sends 
abroad — exports— to  Europe  or  elsewhere, 
grain  or  tobacco  worth  at  home  1100,  his  aim 
and  object  of  course  is  to  get  in  return  more 
than  $100,  either  m  money,  or  money's  worth 
in  some  other  property.  If  he  did  not  expect 
that,  he  would  not  send  it  away.  Well,  sup- 
pose he  gets  for  it,  say  $125  (after  paying  all 
expenses)  either  in  cash  or  clothing  or  any- 
thing else  that  he  may  prefer,  it  is  perfectly 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


103 


clear  that  he  is  $25  riclier,  and  so  is  the  coun- 
try. But  liere  the  inipirt  has  exi;ee(lcd  tlie 
export  by  $2.5,  and  if  tlie  balanco  of  trade 
theory  of  Mr. 'R.  Is  correct,  il  is  a  most  un- 
fortunate transaction  for  the  country!  On 
the  other  hand,  if  owinj;  to  a  fall  in  tlie 
market  at  tlie  place  to  which  the  produce  was 
exported,  or  other  cause,  only  $80  is  realized 
for  it  and  brought  home,  then,  aceordinij;  to 
tlie  .same  theory — our  exports  haviiif;  ex- 
ceeded the  imports— it  shows  a  liiglily  pros- 
perous condition  of  our  foreign  trade  !  It 
seems  to  rae  that  a  theory  leading  to  such 
a  conclusion  ought  to  be  explained  or  aban- 
doned. 

Is  it  not  clear,  in  the  li<;lit  of  common 
sense,  that  the  only  advantage  to  the  country 
from  its  exports  is,  that  we  are  thereby  enabled 
to  import  in  their  place  something  more  val- 
uable or  desirable  than  what  was  exported  ? 
Is  not  every  dollar's  worth  exported  for  which 
we  do  not  or  cannot  imjiurt  something  of 
equal  or  greater  value,  etlbrt  wasted  and 
money  tlirown  away?—/.  P.,  LancMster,  July 
7,  1882. 


US.  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

To  the  Manufacturers  of  Sugar  from  Sorghum, 

Beets    and   Other  Sugar-Producing 

Plants  in  the  United  States. 

Congress  in  the  appropriation  for  this  De- 
partment, for  the  fiscal  year  cornraeiiciug  July 
1st,  1882,  has  provided  for  "experiments  in 
the  manufacture  of  sugar  from  sorghum, beets 
and  other  sugar-producing  plants  " 

In  view  of  the  experiments  which  have  al- 
ready been  made  at  this  department,  I  have 
determined  to  institute  the  following  plan  for 
the  coming  season,  in  obedience  to  the  act  re- 
ferred to. 

Provision  has  been  made  for  continuing  the 
chemical  analyses  of  sorghum  at  the  labora- 
tory of  the  department,  should  this  be  deemed 
necessary,  in  order  to  add  to  the  information 
already  obtained  by  investigations  not  only 
here  but  also  in  the  Agricultural  Colleges  of 
this  country. 

On  assuming  the  duties  of  my  office  in  1881, 
I  found  IS.')  acres  of  sorghum  containing  'y2 
varieties  which  had  been  planted  in  Wash- 
ington for  use  of  the  department.  On  being 
informed  that  time  had  arrived  for  manufac- 
turing sirup  and  sugar,  I  engaged  the  services 
of  an  expert  in  sugar  making  who  had  been 
highly  recommended  for  the  position  of  super- 
intendent, and  operations  were  commenced 
on  September  20,  at  the  mill  erected  by  my 
predecessor,  on  the  grounds.  These  opera- 
tions were  continued  with  slight  interruptions 
until  the  latter  part  of  October,  at  which 
time  the  supply  of  cane  became  exhausted. 
Forty-two  acres  of  the  crop  were  overtaken 
by  frost  before  being  sufficiently  ripe  for  use, 
and  this  portion  of  the  crop  was  so  badly 
damaged  as  to  be  unlit  tor  manufacture.  The 
yield  of  caue  per  acre,  on  the  93  acres  gath- 
ered was  two-and-a-half  tons  ;  the  number  of 
gallons  of  sirup  obtained  was  2,977  ;  and  the 
number  of  pounds. of  sugar  was  1(3.5.  The  ex- 
pense of  raising  the  caue  was  $0,;589.4;5;  and 
the  expense  of  converting  the  cane  into  sirup 
and  sugar  was  $1,607.59— an  aggregate  of 
$8,557.04. 


The  manufacture  of  sorghum  at  the  de- 
partment therefore  has  been  found  to  be  so 
expensive  and  unsatisfactory  that  the  work 
can  evidently  be  better  conducted  elsewhere. 
To  repeat  the  experiment  of  last  year  would 
be  uifwise  under  any  circumstances,  and  it  is 
made  doubly  so  by  the  impossibility  of  procur- 
ing the  sorghum  caue  at  any  reasonable  price 
in  this  neighborhood,  after  the  discouraging 
crops  of  hist  year,  and  by  the  additional  fact 
that  the  appropriation  is  not  available  until 
too  late  in  the  season  for  planting  to  begin. 

Wliile  therefore  such  scientific  investiga- 
tion as  is  deemed  necessary  at  this  department 
will  be  continued — the  experiuunt  of  manu- 
facturing can  better  be  conducted  by  those  who 
have  thus  far  furnished  us  all  the  vauable  in- 
formation we  have  ;  and  this  work  I  refer  to 
the  niiinufacturers  thetnselves,to  whom  I  sub- 
mit the  following  proposition. 

Each  manufacturer  is  requested  to  submit 
an  account  of  his  work  to  this  department, 
covering  the  following  points,  viz  : 

1.  An  accurate  account  of  the  number  of 
acres  of  sorghum  brought  to  his  mill;  the 
number  of  tons  of  cane  manufactured;  the 
yield  of  sorghum  )ier  acre;  the  mode  of  fer- 
tilizing; the  time  of  planting;  the  time  re(iuir- 
ed  for  maturing  the  iilant;  and  the  value  of 
the  crop  as  food  for  cattle  after  the  juice 
has   been  expressed. 

2.  The  amount  of  sugar  manufactured  ;  the 
amount  yielded  per  ton  of  caue;  the  quality 
of  the  sugar;  the  amount  of  sirup  manufac- 
tured; the  process  of  manufacturing;  the  ma- 
chinery used;  the  success  of  the  evaporator, 
the  vacuum-pan  and  the  centrifugal  in  the 
work  of  manufacturing. 

3.  The  number  of  hands  employed  in  the 
mill;  the  cost  of  fuel;  the  cost  of  machinery; 
the  wages  paid  for  labor;  and  the  price  of  sor- 
ghum raised  at  the  mill  if  not  raised  by  the 
manufacturer. 

The  returns  when  received  will  be  submit- 
ted to  a  competent  committee  for  examina- 
tion, and  in  order  to  compensate  the  manu- 
facturers for  the  work  of  making  these  returns 
I  propose  to  pay  for  the  ten  best  returns  the 
sum  of  $1,200  each,— the  decision  to  be  made 
by  the  aforesaid  committee.  Each  return 
must  be  sworn  to  before  a  competent  otHcer. 
Sugar  Beets. 

I  have  distributed  to  ninety  persons  a  sup- 
ply of  the  best  sugar  beet  seed  which  I  could 
obtain;  and  I  would  request  each  person  hav- 
ing received  tliis  seed  to  .send  to  this  depart- 
ment a  statement  of  the  amount  of  land 
planted  by  him;  the  yield  per  acre;  the  fertili- 
zers used;  the  value  of  the  crop  in  the  market. 
I  also  request  each  person  making  this  experi- 
ment to  forward  to  this  department  a  sample 
of  the  crop  for  analysis.  The  directions  for 
this  will  be  issued  hereafter.  An  accurate 
statement  of  the  process  of  manufacturing 
beet  sugar  in  this  county  is  of  great  impor- 
tance, and  I  propose  to  compensate  the  man- 
ufacturers for  preparing  such  statement  by 
the  payment  of  the  sum  of  .$1,200  for  each  of 
the  two  best  returns  submitted  to  a  committee 
SIS  in  the  case  ot  sorghum. 

Other  Sugar- Producing  Plants. 

The  promise  of  1000  pounds  of  corn-stalk 
sugar  per  acre,  which  was  made  in  1841,  and 
has  often  been  repeated  with  great  confidence 
but  at  the  expense  of  the  com  crop  and  in  ad-  ( 


dition  to  it,  not  yet  havitig  been  fulfilled  in 
manufacture,  the  experiments  not  having 
been  sati.sfaclory,  and  the  business  not  having 
been  followed  up,  it  is  not  deemed  necessary 
to  institute  sugar  making  experiments  in  this 
direction  during  the  jiresent  year.  The  same 
may  be  said  of  many  esculents  which  have 
been  classed  as  sugar  producers. 

All  proposals  to  enter  upon  this  work  for 
the  department  must  be  laid  before  the  Com- 
missioner on  or  before  August  Ist,  1882. — 
Geo.  B.  Lnring  Cotnmissioncr  of  Agriculture. 
Washiwjton,  D.  C,  June  &h,  1882. 


THE   HAPPY  GRANGER. 

Statistics  show  that  so  far  this  season  the 
•South  has  drawn  on  the  North  tor  wheat  to  the 
value  of  $55,(100,000  ;  corn,  $50,000,000  ;  pro- 
visions, $72,000,000— making  an  aggregate  of 
$177,01  0,000.  The  sum  indicated  will  make 
a  very  large  hole  in  the  net  value  of  the 
South's  cotton  crop.  The  les.son  of  the  past 
season,  it  is  satisfactory  to  know,  howe'ver, 
has  not  been  without  some  excellent  results 
in  inducing  the  planting  of  an  extended  acre- 
age in  brcadstulfs  during  the  present  year. 
As  far  as  Texas  is  concerned  at  lea.st,  the 
prospect  for  crops  is  simply  the  best  that 
has  ever  blessed  the  State.  From  all  quar- 
ters and  in  all  directions  reports  come  in  that 
the  prosjiect  for  corn,  wheat,  oats,  barley, 
millet,  etc.,  was  never  better  than  at  the 
present  time,  and  that  the  State  is  fairly 
groaning  under  the  abundance.  The  oat  and 
wheat  crops  are  the  largest  ever  grown  in  the 
State,  the  question  now  being  to  find  markets 
for  the  product.  Both  these  cereals  are  as- 
sured, subject  to  the  contingencies  of  harvest- 
ing. Fruit  of  all  descriptions  is  plentiful  and 
assured.  Corn  is  in  fine  condition  and  well 
advanced,  while  fat  cattle  and  splendid  grass 
are  the  universal  rule  in  every  portion  of  the 
State.  In  fact,  everything  in  the  eatable  line 
that  grows  in  Texas  has  never  been  known  to 
be  in  greater  abundance  or  in  better  condition 
than  at  the  present  time,  with  the  prospect 
that  the  State  will  not  only  have  enough  to 
supply  all  wants  for  those  who  are  here  and 
who  are  daily  coming  in,  but  large  surplus  to 
sell  to  the  outside  world.  There  has  not  been 
a  great  increase  in  the  acreage  planted  in  cot- 
ton in  Texas,  perhaps  5  percent,  covering  the 
excess  over  last  year,  as  applied  to  the  whole 
State.  The  plant  is  backward  throughout, 
from  all  that  can  he  ascertained,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  Brazos  bottom  district  and 
some  few  spots  in  Southern  Texas.  Yet  the 
stand  is  generally  very  fine,  the  crop  clean, 
and  the  plant  is  healthy.  'With  favorable 
weather  from  now  on  as  much  cotton  will  be 
made  in  the  State  as  can  be  well  picked,  but 
of  course  the  contingencies  based  on  a  late 
crop  have  always  to  be  considered  in  this  con- 
nection. The  bread  and  meat  question  has 
been  attended  to,  however.  Should  the  cotton 
crop  turn  out  short  the  chances  are  that  fair 
Iirices  for  the  staple  will  more  than  make  up 
the  dill'erence,  and  Texas  this  year  will  be  a 
buyer  of  neither  bread  nor  meat  in  Western 
or  Northern  markets.  Altogether,  tlie  sturdy 
granger  has  a  right  to  bo  haiipy  over  the  pros- 
pect generally,  in  Texas,  and  with  him  the 
commercial  interests  of  the  State,  so  closely 
identified  with  agricultural  prosperity. — Oal- 
veston,  Texas,  News. 


104 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[July, 


UNDERDRAINING. 


Professor  J.  M.  M'Bryde  in  Journal  of  Ameri- 
can Agriculture. 
Modern  writers  on  uuderdrainiug  generally 
assume  that  tlie  practice  is  of  comjiaratiYcly 
recent  origin.  Waring,  in  his  work  on  drain- 
ing, remarks; 

The  effort  (probably' an  unconscious  one)  to 
raake  the  theories  of  modern  underdraining 
conform  to  those  advanced  by  the  early  prac- 
titioners seems  to  have  diverted  attention 
from  some  more  recently  developed  principles 
which  are  of  much  importance. 
He  then  goes  on  to  observe: 
Joseph  Elkington,  of  Warwickshire,  Eng- 
land, about  100  years  ago  discovered  that 
tapping  underground  springs  where  the  land 
was  wet  would  relieve  and  and  improve  the 
soil,  and  this,  the  Elkington  system,  may 
hence  be  considered  the  germ  or  beginning  of 
the  present  practice  of  thorough  drainage. 

He  admits,  however,  that  catch-water 
drains,  made  so  as  to  intercept  a  flow  of 
water,  have  been  in  use  from  time  immemor- 
ial, and  are  described  by  the  earliest  writers. 
Now,  without  dwelling  upon  the  passage 
wherein  Virgil  speaks  of  "drawing  off  from 
the  absorptive  soil  water  there  collected  after 
the  manner  of  a  marsh,"  I  would  ask  what  is 
to  be  thought  of  the  following  passage,  writ- 
ten by  Columella  nearly  17  centuries  before 
Elkington  was  born.  In  his  chapter  on  soils, 
while  treating  of  wet  land,  he  observes: 

If  it  be  wet,  let  the  abundance  of  moisture 
be  first  dried  up  by  ditches.  Of  these  we  are 
acquainted  with  two  kinds,  covered  and 
open.  In  compact  and  calcareous  soils  they 
are  left  open;  but  where  the  ground  is  more 
porous,  some  of  them  are  left  open  and  some 
covered,  so  that  the  free  vents  of  the  latter 
may  discharge  into  the  former.  It  is  necessary 
however,  to  raake  the  open  ones  wider  at  the 
top  and  sloping  and  contracted  at  the  bottom, 
like  inclined  pan-tiles,  for  those  with  perpen- 
dicular sides  are  soon  damaged  by  water  and 
filled  up  by  the  falling  in  of  the  sides.  In  ad- 
dition to  this  the  covered  ones  should  be  sunk 
three  feet  deep,  and  after  being  half  filled  with 
small  stones  and  coarse  gravel,  should  be 
made  level  with  the  surface  by  returning  the 
earth  thrown  out  in  digging  them.  If  neither 
stones  nor  gravel  are  convenient,  then  a  bun- 
dle of  twigs  twisted  together  like  a  rope 
should  be  made  of  such  thickness  as  to  exact- 
ly fit  and  fill  the  bottom  of  the  ditch.  This 
should  be  stretched  along  the  bottom  and 
cypress  or  pine  branches,  or  any  other  kind 
if  these  cannot  be  obtained,  pressed  down 
above  it  and  the  soil  thrown  back  over  all, 
first  placing  at  the  head  and  mouth  of  the 
drain  two  large  stones,  one  against  each  of 
the  sides,  and  a  single  stone  across  these  after 
the  manner  of  a  little  bridge,  in  order  to  sup- 
port the  sides  and  keep  them  from  filling  in 
and  obstructing  the  ingress  and  egress  of  the 
water.  (Lib.  11,  Cap.  2.) 

Pliny,  in  Lib.  XVIII,  Cap.  6,  evidently  has 
this  passage  before  him  when  he  writes,  a  few 
years  afterwards: 

It  is  hijjhly  advisable  to  cut  up  and  drain  a 
Wetter  field  with  ditches — moreover, in  claj'ey 
places,  that  the  ditches  should  .be  left  open; 
in  looser  soils,  that  they  should  be  strength- 
ened with  supports  or  pantiles,  or  sunk  with 
sloping  sides  in  order  tliat  they  may  not  fall 
in;  that  certain  kinds  should  be  covered  and 
led  into  others  larger  and  more  open,  and,  if 
occasion  required,  filled  in  below  with  peb- 
bles or  gravel,  also  that  the  months  of  these 
should  be  strengthened  on  each  side  with  two 
stone  and  covered  ou  top  with  another. 

Palladius  also,  nearly  three  centuries  later 
discusses  the  same  subject  in  almost  similar 
language.  Here  we  have  assuredly  something 
more  than  "the  germ"  of  underdraining. 


Silos  and  Ensilage. 
Not  a  few  of  our  farmers  are  prejudiced 
against  the  so-called  new  process  of  preserv- 
ing green  forage  by  reason  of  the  novelty  of 
the  descriptive  terms  employed — "silo"  and 
"ensilage."  Who  ever  heard  of  these  be- 
fore ?  It  will  perhaps  surprise  them  to  learn 
that  the  French  word  silo  is  identical  in  form 
with  the  latin  ablative  sim,  the  suVistitution 
of  I  for  r  being  a  cometymological  change. 
The  word  "  siro"  can  in  fact  be  traced  back 
to  the  Persian.  In  all  these  languages  its 
meaning  is  the  same — an  underground  exca- 
vation or  pit  used  for  the  storage  of  grain  or 
perhaps  forage.  Columella  speaks  of  grain 
being  in  pits  as  "  in  certain  transmarine  pro- 
vinces, where  the  ground  hollowed  out  into 
excavations  resembling  wells,  which  are  call- 
ed siros,  receives  back  its  own  produce."  (Lib. 
I,  Cap.  6:  15.) 

Varro  also  mentions  these  siros  and  states 
that  they  were  in  use  in  Cappadocia  and 
111  race,  and  also  formerly  in  Spain  and  around 
Carthage.  Their  bottoms,  he  says  were  cov- 
ered with  straw,  and  every  precaution  taken 
to  prevent  the  access  of  moisture  and  air  to 
the  grain  until  it  was  brought  out  for  use,  for 
it  was  held  that  the  weevil  would  not  breed 
where  the  air  was  excluded.  He  adds  that 
the  wheat  thus  stored  away  kept  50  years  and 
millet  upward  of  100.     (Lib.  I,  C/'ap.  57.) 

Pliny,  referring  to  different  methods  of  pre- 
serving grain,  and  quoting  from  Varro,  says  : 
They  (corns)  keep  well-stored  away  in  the 
ear,  but  they  are  best  preserved  in  trenches 
which  they  call  siros,  as  in  Cappadocia  and 
Thrace  and  Spain  and  part  of  Africa.  They 
use  every  precaution  to  make  these  in  a  dry 
soil,  next  strew  them  with  straw,  and  then 
store  the  grain  away  in  them  in  the  ear.  If 
no  air  penetrates  the  cereals  thus  stored  it  is 
certain  that  they  continue  uninjured.  Varro 
is  authority  for  saying  that  wheat  tlnis  buried 
keeps  50  years  and  millet  even  100;  that  the 
bean  and  pulse  smeared  with  ashes  are  pre- 
served for  a  long  time  in  olive  oil  casks,  and 
that  the  bean  continued  uninjured  in  a  certain 
cave  of  Ambracia  from  the  reign  of  King 
Pyrrhus  even  down  to  the  piratical  war  of 
Porapey  the  Great,  a  period  of  220  years. — 
Nat.  Hist.  Lib.  XVIII. ,  Cap.  30. 

Several  months  ago  an  article  appeared  in 
an  agricultural  paper  warning  farmers  against 
descending  incantiously  into  a  partially  filled 
silo  in  the  morning.  The  writer  stated  that 
the  carbonic  acid  produced  during  the  process 
of  filling  collects  over  night,  and  that  a  laborer 
near  Sing  Sing,  N.  Y.,  very  nearly  lost  his  life 
by  going  down  early  in  the  morning  into  a 
half-filled  silo.  After  this  it  seems  strange  to 
learn  from  Varro,  in  the  days  when  Priestly 
and  oxygen  were  not,  that  whenever  they 
opened  these  siros  .they  waited  for  some  time 
before  going  down  into  them  for  fear  of  the 
noxious  air  collected  therein. 

It  would  appear,  then,  that  the  process  of 
^ensilage  (or  ensirage)  has  claims  to  a  very  re- 
spectable antiquity,  and  that  it  was  used,  only 
for  preserving  grain,  but  very  probably  green 
forage  also,  for  the  amount  of  carbonic  acid 
given  off  by  grain  as  long  as  it  was  perfectly 
preserved  and  germination  prevented,  would 
scarcely  have  been  sufficient  to  attract  the  at- 
tention of  the  husbandman.  This  supposition 
is  greatly  strengthened  by  a  passage  in  Cur- 
tius,  a  Latin  historian  of  the  first  century.  In 
his  6th  Book  he  remarks: 

The  barbarians  around  Caucasus  call  these 


siros  which  they  conceal  so  incougeniously 
that  none  save  those  who  dig  them  are  able 
to  find  them.  In  these  their  crops  are  stored 
away. 

Now  the  word  frwjes,  which  occurs  in  this 
passage  is  a  much  broader  term  than  the 
word  fnmientum,  used  by  Varro  or  Pliny,  or 
ihan  friiclus,  the  one  employed  by  Columella. 
The  classical  writers  carefully  distinguish  be- 
tween these  several  terras.  According  to 
the  best  authorities,  frumentum  signifies 
grain,  (halm-fruit),  while  fructus  denotes 
more  particularly  tree  fruits,  and/r!«;  {fruges) 
"the  fruits  of  the  earth,  or  the  produce  of  the 
fields,  pod  fruits,"  &c. 

And  finally,  Ansonius  Popma,  an  accurate 
grammarian  and  scholar  of  the  16th  century, 
in  his  treatise  on  Farm  Implements,  ("De  In- 
strumento  Fundi,'''')  a  work  which  concerns 
itself  chiefly  with  the  ancient  instruments  of 
husbandry,  in  referring  to  the  subject  of  gra- 
naries, and  citing  authorities,  appears  to  use 
the  term  fruges  advisedly.  In  Chap.  XV  he 
writes. 

Instead  of  these  (granaries  above  ground) 
in  some  provinces,  siros  are  used,  dug  out  in 
the  ground  after  the  manner  of  caves  or  wells 
for  receiving  and  preserving  the  crops. 

It  should  be  remarked  in  this  connection 
that  the  term  silo  was  in  common  use  in 
French  husbandry  long  before  the  days  of 
Goffort.  For  example,  the  pits  in  which  root 
crops,  &c.,  are  stored  are  called  silos.  See  in 
Cassanova's  Pes  Premiers  Pas  Dans'  V Agri- 
culture (edition  of  1866,]  page  112,  under  the 
head  of  Silos,  the  passage  beginning  "Ban, 
ce  cas  ilfauilra  faire  des  silos.  &c. 

Palladius  speaks  of  a  modification  of  this 
process  not  altogether  unworthy  of  the  atten- 
tion of  the  vine-dresser  of  to-day  : 

The  Greeks  [so  he  stated]  assert  that  you 
can  preserve  the  grapes  on  the  vine  even  to 
the  beginning  of  spring  if  you  will  dig  near 
the  plant,  on  the  shady  side,  a  ditch  three  feet 
deep  and  two  feet  wide,  and  fill  in  the  bottom 
with  gravel  and  strew  reeds  upon  this.  You 
must  entwine  the  branches  full  of  fruit 
among  these  reeds,  binding  together  the  un- 
injured branches  so  that  the  soil  cannot  touch 
them,  and  after  filling  up  the  trench  with 
earth  cover  it  over  in  order  to  keep  out  the 
rain. 


EDUCATION   FOR   FARMERS. 

To  the  average  mind  the  word  education  is 
limited  in  its  definition  to  what  one  learns  at 
school,  but  that  is  altogether  too  narrow. 
Education  means  growth,  culture,  develop- 
ment, as  well  as  the  acquisitiou  of  knowledge 
and  knowledge  again  is  not  monopolized  by 
the  schools ;  indeed,  one  who  knows  only 
what  he  learns  at  school  is  much  more  justly 
entitled  to  the  epithet  of  ignoramus  than  he 
who,  having  no  opportunity  to  attend  school, 
has  been  a  diligent  student  of  nature  and  of 
men.  There  were  wise  men  before  letters 
were  invented,  or  schools  established.  Schools, 
good  schools,  are  excellent  auxiliaries  to  edu- 
cation, but  they  are  nothing  more.  It  is  ad- 
mitted by  all  that  no  amount  of  book-learning 
will  suffice  to  fit  a  young  man  for  the  duties  of 
a  physician,  a  lawyer,or  a  clergyman,  and  the 
idea  that  it  would  fit  him  for  the  profession 
of  agriculture  is  absurd.  Yet  each  profession 
lias  its  literature,  which  can  be  reached  only 
through  the  portal  of  the  school  or  the  aid  of 
private  instructors,  and  the  literature  of  each 
profession  is  of  prime  importance  to  those 
who  would  pursue  successfully  a  profession. 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


105 


The  literature  of  a  iirofession,  fanning,  for 
example,  concerves  the  wisdom  of  the  past 
and  record.s  the  experiments  of  the  present. 
But  the  wisdom  of  the  past  preserved  in  books 
is  like  wheat  before  it  is  winnowed,  mixed 
with  the  chaff  of  ignorance  and  the  cheat  of 
prejudice.  So,  also,  is  much  of  the  scientific 
knowledge  of  the  present.  They  are  both  mis- 
leading and  injurious  to  him  who  accepts 
them  without  question.  But  they  are  great 
helps  to  him  whose  mind  has  been  trained  to 
criticise  all  things,  and  who  accept  only  that 
which  stands  this  crucial  test. 

Colleges  confer  degrees,  yet  these  are  often 
misleading;  the  young  man  with  A.  M.  or  M. 
1).  after  his  name  is  not  necessarily  a  master 
of  arts  or  of  medicine.  He  is  only  prepared  to 
enter  upon  a  career  of  practical  exjierimcnt, 
which,  if  he  possesses  the  talent,  the  industry, 
and  the  perseverance  necessary  to  the  com- 
pletion of  his  education,  may  ultimately  make 
him  worthy  of  the  title  conferred  upon  him 
prematurely  by  the  school. 

No  amount  of  theoretical  training  will  fit  a 
man  for  the  successful  pursuit  of  agriculture; 
yet,  without  theoretical  training,  a  man  rare 
ly  rises  to  the  dignity  of  an  intelligent  farmer. 

Farming  is  a  profession  in  the  same  sense 
that  the  practice  of  law  or  of  medicine  is  a 
profession;  hence  the  youth  who  is  destined 
to  become  a  farmer  should  be  educated  with 
reference  to  that  i)rofession.  The  public 
schools  of  this  coimtry  furnish  the  facilities  for 
all  the  literary  training  absolutely  needed, 
and,  in  the  larger  cities,  thescientific  branches 
are  taught  as  well  as  they  are  in  our  colleges, 
and  these  are  important.  While  it  were  a 
waste  of  time  to  study  the  dead  languages, 
the  prospective  farmer  should  become  familiar 
with  the  elements  of  natural  history,  botany, 
chemistry,  geology,  and  natural  philosophy. 
These  branches  of  science  have  a  direct  rela- 
tionship to  his  future  business,  and  the  young 
farmer  who  enters  the  profession  versed  m 
them  will  find  that  he  is  not  only  prepared  for 
a  larger  measure  of  success,  but  that  his  mind 
is  fitted  for  communion  with  nature,  whose 
secrets,  hid  from  others  are  constantly  reveal- 
ed to  him,  aftbrdlng  an  inexhaustible  source 
of  pleasure  as  well  as  profit.  To  him  every 
expanding  leaf  or  opening  flower  has  a  beauti- 
significance,  and  every  phenomenon  involved 
in  the  growth  of  plants  has  for  him  a  meaning 
unknown  to  the  ignorant  plodder.  All  nature 
is  to  him  one  grand  illustrated  encyclopedia 
filled  with  lessons  of  wisdom,  from  the  pen 
and  pencil  of  the  original  author  and  artist  of 
the  universe. 

To  the  educated  farmer  the  rocks  present 
their  own  history,  written  in  unmistakable 
characters  by  the  finger  of  God.  The  soil 
whispers  to  him  of  its  fertility  or  complains  of 
its  poverty  in  language  perfectly  intelligible, 
and  the  treasures  of  Flora,  Pamona  and 
Ceres,  are  shown,  in  rich  abundance  at  the 
feet  of  him  who  wields  the  magic  wand  of  in- 
telligent labor 


SUCCESS   IN   FARMING. 


Importance  of  Rotation  and  Clover  and    Grass 
Crops. 

The  necessai'y  steps  toward  an   improved 
husbandry  are: 
1.  To  cultivate  less  land. 


2.  To  make  that  which  is  cultivated  rich 
in  plant  food,  so  that  it  may  produce  large 
crops. 

3.  The  i)ractice  of  a  rigid  .system  of  rota- 
tion of  crops  and  mixed  fanning. 

4.  The  cultivation  of  th(!  grasses  and  less 
of  the  cereals,  and  the  feeding  upon  the  farm 
the  most  of  its  products. 

5.  Raising  clover  and  enriching  the  land  by 
turning  under  green  crops. 

1  believe  that  the  faithful  practice  of  such 
a  system  of  tilling  would  in  ten  years  increase 
the  value  of  real  estate  100  per  cent.,  and 
place  the  farming  population  in  an  indepen- 
dent position.  All  observation  and  experience 
go  to  show  that  those  sections  of  the  country 
are  more  prosperous  where  a  mixed  system  of 
farming  prevails.  Tiie  farmer  who  finds  in 
his  own  garners  that  which  is  needed  to  su])- 
ply  his  daily  wants  is  far  removed  from  the 
vexation  and  losses  attendant  upon  outside 
purchases,  which  so  severely  tax  his  means. 
It  is  not  infrequently  the  case,  when  he  pro- 
duces but  a  single  article  for  the  market,  that 
it  commands  a  price  which  but  poorly  com- 
pensates him  for  his  labor,  while  he  has  to 
pay  exorbitant  prices  for  that  which  he  is 
compelled  to  purchase.  This  is  "selling  the 
hide  for  a  penny  and  buying  back  the  tail  for 
a  shilling,"  which  surely  is  not  a  profitable 
transaction.  Mixed  agricultural  necessarily 
leads  to  a  system  of  rotation  of  crops,  which 
is  the  key  to  successful  farming.  That  there 
is  a  vast  recuperat  i ve  power  ia  the  land  where 
a  succession  of  different  crops  are  grown,  no 
one  can  deny  in  the  light  of  universal  experi, 
ence.  Thousands  of  those  who  have  hitherto 
devoted  themselves  to  a  sicgle  production, 
such  as  cotton,  tobacco  or  grain,  now  ac- 
knowledged this  error. 

Successive  crops  of  the  same  character  ex- 
haust lands  of  tlie  particular  food  they  require 
with  great  rapidity.  The  aid  which  nature 
so  freely  renders,  where  crops  rotate,  is  with- 
held in  such  a  system  of  civilization,  because 
the  farmer  is  violating  her  laws.  To  fight 
against  nature  is  to  war  at  fearful  odds,  and 
it  is  not  difficult  to  forcast  the  result.  To 
work  in  harmony  with  her  insures  a  compara- 
tively easy  victory.  One  of  the  most  beautiful 
of  her  provisions  is,  that  while  one  crop  ex- 
hausts the  soil  of  that  element  which  enters 
most  largely  into  its  composition  by  the  opera- 
tion of  some  mysterious  law,  it  prepares  that 
some  soil  for  some  other  crop  of  a  different 
character.  This  is  a  very  curious  and  inter- 
esting process  of  nature,  which  results  im- 
mensely to  our  advantage  if  we  accept;heraid. 
As  an  illustration  of  this  principle,  we  know 
that  clover  does  not  successfully  follow  itself, 
although  it  leaves  the  ground  in  the  best  pos" 
.sible  condition  for  corn  or  wheat.  One  crop, 
therefore,  restores  in  a  measure  what  anothe.i 
has  taken.  By  raising  continuously  the  same 
plant  you  interfere  with  this  beautiful  contri- 
vance of  nature  to  rebuild  her  wasted 
strength.  How  this  is  done  is  imperfix-tly 
understood.  We  do  know,  however,  that  the 
deep  rooted  iilants  like  clover,  will  pump  from 
the  depths  below  for  the  use  of  those  that 
grow  near  the  surface  that  food  which  has 
been  carried  beyond  their  reach.  And  not 
only  that  this  element,  when  brought  to  the 
surface,  acts  chemiciiUy  upon  what  it  finds 
there,  and  renders  soluble  and  available  as 
plant  food  what  before  was  inert  and  resisted 
a.ssimilation. 


Nature,  therefore,  will  do  much  of  our  work 
for  us  if  we  only  second  lier  eflbrts  and  give 
full  cope  to  her  beneficial  laws.  It  is,  therefore 
a  <piestion  for  the  farmer  to  determine  whether 
he  will,  by  a  rotation  of  crops,  have  this  soil 
enriched  by  drafts  on  nature's  trea.sury  or 
draw  entirely  upon  his  own.  I  do  not  mean  to 
argue  thai  there  is  nothing  for  the  farmer  to 
do  but  follow  this  rotation  to  make  his  lands 
productive.  Far  from  it.  But  I  do  argue 
that  he  may  make  nature  a  co-worker  with 
him  in  attending  a  desirable  end.  Change  is  a 
prominent  feature  in  nature's  economy.  Cut 
down  the  forest  of  hard  wood  and  the  pines 
succeed.  Again,  remove  the  pine  and 
the  hard  wood  reappears.  One  kind  of 
grass  succeeds  another,  and  nature  supplies 
the  seed.  These  changes  give  the  soil  rest,to 
the  end  that  the  process  of  re-invigoration 
may  go  on. — Hon.  Wni.  Fullerton  in  Nash- 
ville, (7'enii.)  Soulhern  Industries. 


THE  DEPARTMENT    OF  AGRICUL- 
TURE. 

Nothinsr  is  more  remarkable  in  our  history 
than  the  fact  that  the  most  important  of  our 
national  interests  should  be  entirely  unrepre- 
sented at  the  national  capital.  Agriculture, 
which  at  all  periods  of  our  progress  has  been 
the  most  i)rominenl  of  our  productive  powers 
in  the  creation  and  development  of  our  natural 
resources  and  positive  wealth,  is  wholly  un- 
recognized as  an  element  of  national  i)ower, 
or  as  an  object  of  legislative  concern. 

The  army  of  2o.000  has  a  department  to 
manage  its  minutest  movement.  It  expends 
$40,000,000  annually.    It  produces  nothing. 

The  navy,  limited  to  11,000,  almost  desti- 
tute of  ships,  a  mere  burlesque  on  efficiency, 
as  compared  with  any  European  power — 
made  up  of  officers,  navy  stations  and  foreign 
squadrons  to  lloat  favorite  commanders  in 
foreign  climes,  expends  ?"20,000,000  annually. 

The  post-ofilce  is  an  institution  by  it.self ;  it 
is  worthy  of  the  Government,  the  i)eople,  and 
the  age. 

The  State  Department  is  what  it  is  vener- 
able in  precedent,  dogmatic  in  practice  ;  .slow, 
aristocratic,  it  is  the  least  American  of  our 
departments.  If  it  were  to  drop  out  it  would 
not  be.  missed.  It  is  the  Uip  Van  Winkle  ele- 
ment in  our  Government  machinery. 

The  Interior  Department  is,  after  the  Post- 
Ollice,  the  only  real  representative  of  the  i>efl- 
ple.  It  is  the  source  of  titles  for  all  our  pub- 
lic lands  ;  it  issues  all  oui  patents  ;  it  controls, 
manages,  and  provides  for  our  Indians  ;  it 
distributes  and  settles  our  pension-rights  •, 
it  i-egulates  our  mines  and  controls  oiu'  rail- 
road grants.  Its  duties  are  immense;  they 
are  performed  with  consummate  ability,  but 
red  tape  hangs  from  every  window,  garlands 
every  alcove,  and  ties  up  in  stupid  uniformity 
of  dullness  every  intellect  not  bold  enough  to 
say  its  soul  is  its  own. 

The  Treasury  is  a  marvel.  More  than  -i?!,- 
000,000  daily  passes  under  its  control.  The 
care,  precision,  accuracy,  and  brilliancy  of 
the  management  is  equal  to  the  grandest  hopes 
of  American  supremacy.  It  is  the  treasure- 
home  of  the  people.  Its  vaults  to-day  hold 
more  coin  than  is  treasured  in  any  other  gov- 
ernment bnilding  in  the  world. 

But  agriculture,  which  creates  the  wealth 
managed  by  the  Treasury,  and  without  which 


106 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER- 


[July, 


neither  the  army  nor  navy  could  exist,  has  no 
department  at  Washington.  But  the  voice 
has  gone  forth  demanding  the  establishment 
of  a  department  for  agriculture.  There  is  no 
government  in  the  world  whose  progress  in 
agriculture  development  has  been  equal  to 
ours.  All  the  European  governments  have 
special  departments  for  agricultural  protec- 
tion, improvement  and  encouragement.  Ag- 
riculture is  the  bed-rock  on  which  we  build  ; 
it  is  the  foundation  of  wealth;  it  gives  us  sub- 
sistence, atd  subsistence  is  life. 

Twenty-eight  million  of  our  people  are 
directly  or  indirectly  dependent  on  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  farms.  The  value  of  our  farms, 
according  to  the  lastcensus,  was  110,197,1(31,- 
905.  The  yearly  product  is  now  nearly  if  not 
quite  $4,000,000,000.  We  have  more  than 
5,000,000  farms,  and  out  of  the  $883,925,947 
of  our  foreign  exports,  $729,650,016  was  agri- 
cultural. Last  year  we  paid  for  $642,664,628 
for  foreign  exports  besides  bringing  $91,160,- 
000  of  European  gold  to  enrich  our  people 
with  farm  products. 

We  have  10,357,981  horses,i,812,932  mules, 
993,970  working  oxen,  12,443,593  milch  cows, 
22,448,590  other  cattle,  35,191,656  sheep,  and 
47,683,951  swine,  making  an  aggregate  of 
farm  stock  worth  $1,500,503,807.  Behold  the 
means  of  production  a  single  century  has  ac- 
cumulated. And  yet  we  are  but  in  the  dawn 
of  our  achievements.  We  have  the  broadest 
fields,  the  finest  climates,  the  grandest  resour- 
ces, and  the  most  limitless  opportunities  to 
become  the  most  indeijeudent,  the  best  sup- 
plied, and  by  all  means  the  most  thoroughly 
educated  agriculturists  oi  the  globe.  The  last 
two  weeks  have  developed  the  national  inter- 
est in  agricultural  advancement  in  a  manner 
worthy  of  Congress,  worthy  of  the  people, 
and  worthy  of  the  country.  Le  Fevre  and 
Updegraff,  of  Ohio;  Grant,  of  Vermont;  Lacy, 
of  Michigan;  Mr.  Morey,  of  Ohio;  Mr.  Dwight, 
of  New  York;  Mr.  Scales,  of  North  Carolina; 
Mr.  Williams,  of  Wisconsin,  and  others,  have 
discussed  the  question  of  an  agricultural  de- 
partment, with  an  earnestness  and  ability  de- 
serving of  its  importance. 

The  fact  that  during  the  year  ending  June 
31,  1881,  we  imported  into  the  United  States 
$285,681,008  in  agricultural  products  is  suf- 
ficient evidence  that  we  have  yet  much  to 
learn  in  the  way  of  adapting  our  infinite  va- 
riety of  soils  and  climates  to  the  production 
of  prime  articles  of  necessity  we  are  capable 
of  producing,  for  which  we  are  yet  paying 
tribute  to  other  lauds.  It  has  been  well  said 
that  "the  application  of  machinery,  steam, 
and  electricity  to  agriculture  is  but  in  its  in- 
fancy," They  are  all  to  be  applied  to  lessen 
toil  and  increase  production.  Every  wheel, 
every  lever,  every  physical  appliance  that  re- 
leases a  human  muscle  wakes  up  the  brain 
and  gives  it  a  chance.  The  farm-house  of  to- 
day is  a  palace  in  comparison  to  what  it  was 
in  1830,  light  has  illumed  it,  machinery  has 
elevated  and  refined  it;  the  school-room  and 
the  newspaper  have  made  it  a  home  of  intelli- 
gent comfort.  The  tiller  of  the  soil  is  sove- 
reign over  nature,  just  in  proportion  as  he  is 
educated  to  comprehend  it,  and  why  should 
not  the  Government  of  the  United  States  de- 
vote itself  by  all  the  appliances,  concentrated 
ability  and  intensified  means  can  bring  to- 
gether in  departmental  instruction  to  make 


the  science  of  production  equal  to  the  oppor- 
tunities our  unequalled  country  affords.  As 
Mr.  Updegraff  truly  says,  no  country  on  earth 
has  an  agricultural  interest  comparable  with 
ours.  "  It  is  confessedly  the  largest  interest 
in  the  nation,"  and  yet  is  without  a  depart- 
ment to  enlarge,  enlighten,  protect,  and  in- 
crease its  benificence.  Our  grain  crop  in  1880, 
was  2,697,362,465  bushels.  The  grain  crop  of 
Caifornia  for  ten  years  is  shown  to  have  been 
of  the  value  of  .$313,231,046,  or  nearly  double 
the  gold  and  silver  taken  from  its  mines, 
which  amounted  to  $186,406,248  for  the  same 
period.  A  single  attested  fact  is  enough  to 
demonstrate  the  importance  of  Governmental 
aid  in  .securing  the  best  seeds  and  the  best 
modes  of  cultivation.  The  seeds  dis- 
tributed by  the  Goverument  in  1878,  in- 
creased the  yield  nearly  50  per  cent,  where- 
ever  they  were  tested.  In  Prussia,  Austria, 
Italy,  Spain,  Bussia,  France,  and  Brazil,  the 
Agricultural  Departments  of  the  Government 
are  regarded  as  of  the  first  importance. 

"The  farmers  are  the  tax-iiayers, "  and,  as 
Jefferson  says,  "the  revenue  is  the  State." 
And,  as  Mr.  Updegraff  truly  says,  "  when  our 
great  financial  fabrics  went  down,  burying 
fortunes  and  enterprise  in  their  ruins  when 
commerce  was  stagnant,  when  our  manufac- 
tories were  overwhelmed  and  pulseless,  then 
the  great  agricutral  productive  forces  of  the 
country  displayed  its  full  measureless  affiuence 
to  bring  back  prosperity  and  to  fortify  the 
nation's  credit  with  the  bounty  of  the  nations 
surest  wealth." 

There  is  every  reason  why  we  should  have 
an  Agricultural  Department  worthy   of  the 

nation  ;  there  is  not  one  why  we  should  not. 

^ 

FANCY  BUTTER. 

For  fancy  butter,  says  Dr.  Heath,  the  first 
requisite  is  the  perfect  cow.  The  Guernsey 
and  Jersey  cows  are  undoubtedly  the  first 
choice  for  making  high-priced  butter.  But  by 
this  choice,  the  Aryshire,  Holstein,  grades  or 
common  cows  are  not  excluded,  for  any  and 
all  of  them,  with  the  proper  requisites,  may  be 
made  to  produce  fine  butter. 

Pasture  and  food  are  also  essentials  ele- 
ments in  the  production  of  fancy  butter. — 
Weeds,  sour  grass,  nor  coarse  swamp  tufts, 
will  fill  the  pasture  requirements.  Well  kept 
old  pastures,  containing  blue  grass,  meadow 
fescue,  sweet-scented  vernal,  orcliard  grass, 
red  and  white  clover,  timothy,  red-top  and 
wire  grass  as  the  prevailing  forage  plants, 
together  with  the  sweet  grasses,  which  natu- 
rally carpet  the  mature  and  well-kept  pas- 
tures, are  the  prime  necessity  for  the  stock  of 
cows  from  which  we  would  make  good  butter. 

Next  in  order  is  an  unfailing  supply  of 
good,  cool  running  water,  for  every  one  hun- 
dred parts  of  milk  contains  eighty-seven  parts 
gi  water,  and  unless  the  cows  can  have  free 
access  to  good  water,  no  matter  how  good 
the  pasture,  the  milk  must  be  defective. 

Though  we  have  good  cows,  good  pasture 
and  good  water,  yet  there  are  many  other 
considerations  of  indispensable  necessity  in 
the  treatment  and  management  of  the  butter 
diary.  The  cow  must  be  treated  with  kind- 
ness— yes,  even  with  affectionate  care.  She 
must  not  be  driven  far  or  fast  to  or  from  pas- 
ture. When  stabled,  she  must  be  clean,  com- 
fortable and  fed  with  good,  sound  and  rich 


food.  The  cow  is  a  quiet,  easy-going,  luxuri- 
ous living  animal,  manufacturing  her  best 
products  under  the  most  favorable  circum- 
stances and  only  from  the  best  materials.  The 
milking  must  be  regularly  performed,  and  ab- 
solute cleanliness  is  a  necessity  with  the  cow; 
her  food,  her  care,  her  milk,  with  the  cream, 
the  butter  and  the  atmosphere  of  the  cow, 
must  be  pure  and  sweet.  The  temperature 
must  be  proper,  from  the  pasture  to  the  butter 
package. 

Cool,  shady  pastures  are  most  desirable.  No 
cow  ever  manufactured  her  best  products  at 
90  degrees  Fahrenheit.  The  milk  should  be 
58  degrees  as  near  as  possible  summer  and 
winter,  either  by  means  of  flowing  water  or 
the  never  varying  temperature  of  the  air 
vault. 

The  cream,  when  set  for  butter,  should  be 
frequently  stirred  to  prevent  irregular  scour- 
ing, or  more  important,  the  formation  of 
dried  casein  on  the  surface,  which  flecks  and 
embitters  the  butter. — Bural  World. 


ALL  ABOUT   POULTRY. 

In  whitewashing  a  hennery  put  some  kero 
sene  into  the  mixture,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
hen  lice. 

The  time  is  coming  when  eggs  will  be  sold 
by  weight.  It  is  the  only  fair  way.  Massa- 
chusetts has  already  a  law  to  that  effect. 

Every  nest  box  should  be  scalded  after 
hatching,  or  painted  with  kerosene  in  order  to 
kill  lice.  This  sort  of  vermin  is  the  worst 
pest  of  the  hennery. 

A  hen  that  is  very  quiet  for  the  first  two  or 
three  days  after  hatching  is  better  than  a  fussy 
or  gadding  one.  She  knows  that  chicks  of 
that  age  can't  travel  much. 

A  flock  of  fowls  that  are  frequently  chased 
by  dogs  or  often  frightened  by  the  owner,  can 
not  be  expected  to  return  heavy  dividends  in 
eggs.  They  want  quiet,  and  constant  anxiety 
for  their  lives  does  not  conduce  to  natural  de- 
velopment. 

When  a  chicken  picks  a  hole  within  the 
shell  at  hatching  the  access  of  air  is  apt  to 
dry  its  down  to  the  shell,  and  then  it  fails  to 
turn  over,  and  must  be  helped  out.  This  is 
always  a  bad  sign.  A  little  warm  water  on 
the  shell  then  may  be  of  service. 

Hens  need  to  be  in  good  order  aud  sound 
health  before  they  begin  incubation,  and  given 
plenty  of  good  food  while  continuing  in  it.  A 
sitting  hen's  "sedentary  habits"  are  poorly 
calculated  to  promote  an  increase  of  flesh. 
Always  give  her  access  to  food,  water  and  the 
dust  bath. 

If  guinea  hens  will  eat  potato  bugs,  and 
make  a  business  of  it,  get  a  few,  or  many,  ac- 
cording to  your  needs.  Oue  guinea  screecher 
to  each  half  acre  of  potatoes  is  hinted  at  as 
the  proper  average. 

Give  fowls  as  much  liberty  as  is  compatible 
with  a  general  good  of  the  farm.  Restrant  is 
in  opposition  to  nature,  aud  tends  to  bad  and 
dangerous  habits.  But  when  restraint  is  nec- 
essary, see  to  it  that  they  have  as  many  com- 
forts as  is  possible  in  confinement,  or  you  will 
suffer  from  it. 

When  hens  do  not  sit  on  the  ground  their 
eggs  should  always  be  lightly  sprinkled  with 
tepid  water  every  day  or  two  after  the  first 
week  or  ten  days.  This  is  a  matter  real  im- 
portance, and  if  attended  to  will  prevent  a 


1882,] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


107 


good  many   disappointments,   because  many 
chicks  will  ollierwisp  die  in  the  shell. 

Plant  sunrtowers  now.  The  seeds  are  just 
as  good  for  poultry  as  ever,  but  you  can  also 
wear  the  delicate  flower  in  your  buttonhole  if 
you  are  a  Wildo  ffisthete,  or  may,  perhaps,sell 
tliem  to  some  aesthete  snob  or  snobcss.  Pl;\nt 
sunflowers,  we  say.  The  flour  or  meal  is  also 
good  for  feeding  cows. 

For  ducks,  if  there  is  no  good  stream  or 
pond  at  hand,  a  big  extemporized  basin,  if 
not  more  than  a  mud  hole,  will  do.  Hut  while 
they  will  not  scratch  much  in  the  flower-beds 
or  gardens,  Ihcy  arc  worse  nuisances  among 
flowers  or  vegetables  than  chickens,  and  their 
feet  are  anything  but  favorable  to  grass  pro- 
duction. 

When  a  chicken  has  to  be  assisted  out  of  its 
shell,  it  is  a  nice  point  to  doit  at  just  the  right 
time.  The  food  for  the  first  day  is  derived 
from  the  yolk  absorbed,  and  some  should  be 
left  in  the  shell.  On  the  other  hand,  too  long 
a  delay  is  equally  bad.  Chickens  that  bleed 
when  assisted  out  will  generally  die,  but  not 
always.  It  is  a  sign  that  they  are  not  quite 
"ripe." 

A  separate  room  for  setting  hens  where 
they  can  have  food  and  water  at  will,  and 
bathe  in  ashes  or  dust,  is  perhaps  the  most 
convenient  way  to  manage  them  where  quite 
a  number  are  hatching  at  once.  If  an  out- 
door run  can  be  provided  in  which  they  ca^ 
get  grass,  it  is  still  better.  But  as  some  hens 
don't  know  enough  to  always  go  back  to  their 
own  nests,  they  need  a  good  deal  of  superin- 
tendence when  a  dozen  or  two  are  quartered 
in  one  room. 

Pure  breeds  are  rather  more  satisfactory  to 
most  poultry  raisers  than  all  sorts  of  odds 
and  ends  ;  still,  if  well  cared  for,  the  dift'er- 
ence  is  not  so  very  important.  When  a 
farmer  desires  frequently  to  draw  upon  his 
poultry  for  a  meal  he  don't  want  an  entire 
flock  of  "  everlasting  layers,"  which  are  usu- 
ally small  and  wild,  and  not  much  to  boast  of 
as  to  quality.  The  Brahmas,  Plymouth  Rocks 
or  Cochins  are  better,  and  will  furnish  a  good 
supply  of  eggs  without  running  all  over  the 
farm  or  neighborhood. 

H.  P.  Clarke,  of  Indiana,  makes  a  recom- 
mendation in  the  Germantown  Tdajraph 
about  breaking  up  a  broody  hen,  that  may 
have  sense  in  it.  It  is  to  shut  her  up  in  a  box 
with  a  raised  bottom  of  narrow  strips  or 
laths,  so  that  when  she  sits  her  breast  is  con- 
stantly exposed  to  cold  air.  If  one  side  of 
the  box  is  elevated  so  that  it  does  not  stand 
exactly  level,  it  might  add  to  her  dissatisfac- 
tion. But  after  all,  close  confinement  with 
plenty  of  food  and  water  aud  the  company  of  a 
social  rooster,  is  probably  as  good  way  as  any. 
It  is  sad  to  see  men,  assuming  to  be  teach- 
ers of  farmers,  to  say  that  poultry  "  will  pre- 
serve plum  trees  against  the  ravages  of  the 
curculio."  The  curculio  is  a  winged  insect, 
with  no  occasion  to  visit  the  ground,  and 
fowls  cannot  catch  it  if  they  would,  aud  will 
rarely  eat  them  when  offered— at  least,  not 
when  dead,  for  we  have  seen  it  tried.  How 
is  a  clumsy  hen  to  catch  a  curculio  that  lights 
on  a  plum  eight  or  ten  feet  above  her  head, 
and  the  plum  at  the  end  of  a  long  liml),  per- 
haps ?  The  statement  is  as  absurd  as  that 
bottles  of  sweetened  water  will  keep  the  in- 
sect away. 


Talks  About    Fruit. 

Plenty  of  soil  stirring  will  always  be  a  par- 
tial substitute  for  mamire  in  fruit  growing. 
It  is  better  than  piles  of  mainue  with  no  cul- 
ture. That  means  weeds,  and  weeds  mean 
ruin. 

The  cold  weather  in  April  destroyed  a  good 
deal  of  tlie  grape  blossoms  in  the  vicinity  of 
Nasliville,  Tenn.  Peaches  there,  as  else- 
where, ])romise  the  best  on  high  land. 

Coal  oil  will  kill  any  insect  it  touches,  and 
hence,  as  it  is  easily  applied  to  the  trunks  of 
young  trees  some  fruit-growers  are  tempted 
to  use  it  in  this  way.  But  they  had  better 
not.  It  will  kill  the  tree  also  if  heavily  ap- 
plied. Better  experiment  with  it  first  on 
some  tree  of  little  value  before  applying  to  a 
good  tree. 

AVe  see  it  stated  that  if  half  a  pound  of  am- 
monia and  the  same  of  nitre  be  put  into  a 
hogshead  of  rain-water,  it  makes  an  excellent 
fertilizer  for  strawberries.  Very  likely;  but 
the  rain-water  itself,  applied  to. strawberries 
during  a  dry  period,  will  be  excellent,  and  no 
doubt  did  much  of  the  good  which  has  been 
referred  to  this  experiment.  There  is  little 
reason  to  believe  that  infinitesimal  doses  of 
costly  fertilizers  are  to  produce  extraordinary 
results. 

Judge  Edmund  H.  Bennett,  writing  on  the 
legal  rights  of  farmers,  says  :  "  That  when  a 
fruit  tree  stands  exactly  in  the  line  of  two 
properties,  it  belongs  jointly  to  both  owners  ; 
but  if  it  merely  stands  near  the  line,  but  over- 
hangs in  part  the  next  owner's  land,  the  lat- 
ter has  no  legal  claim  to  the  fruit,  nor  any 
right  to  destroy  its  limbs.  The  common  im- 
pression that  any  mau  is  entitled  to  the  fruit 
which  drops  upon  or  overhangs  his  land,  he 
says  is  incorrect. 

Fruit  trees  are  often  scraped,  not  specially 
to  make  them  look  well,  but  to  prevent  insect 
enemies  from  liaviug  a  hiding  place  under  the 
scales  of  the  bark  whicli  accumulate.  Sci'ape 
the  trunk  in  some  way  so  as  not  to  injure  the 
living  bark,  then  wash  it  with  whale  oil  soap. 
Then  you  have  a  trunk  free  from  insects,  and 
one  that  looks  also  "as  nice  as  can  be."  Ap- 
ple and  pear  trees  are  the  ones  most  in  need 
of  this  sort  of  care. 

Some  writers  recommend  fruit  growing  for 
women  as  "  a  light,  pleasant  and  profitable 
occupation."  Parts  of  the  business  are  light 
and  pleasant ;  but  when  a  woman  attempts  to 
manage  all  departments  of  it — planting,  ma- 
nurins,  hand  and  horse  culture,  picking, 
packing,  loading,  marketing,  handling  crates, 
etc.,  etc.,  it  will  be  found  that  a  good  deal  of 
the  work  is  anything  but  "light."  But  wo- 
men can  greatly  assist  in  fruit  growing,  and 
this  is  where  their  agcucy  is  most  needed. 
Some  women  can  also  be  managers,  but  men 
must  aid  in  the  heavy  work. 


Our  Local  Organizations. 

LANCASTER     COUNTY      AGRICULTU- 
RAL  AND   HORTICULTURAL 
SOCIETY. 


M.  D.  Kendlg,  Creswell ;  C.  L.  Hunsecker,  Manheim 
iwp.;  J.  M.  Jolineton,  city;  I.  L.  LanJIe,  city  ;  Peter 
S.  Kelsl,  LllilE ;  W.  B.  Paxson,  Colcraln. 

In  the  absence  of  tlie  secretary  and  his  minutes, 
M.  Kcnillg  was  temporarily  elected  to  the  seat  of  the 
former,  and  the  latter  were  not  read.  What  the 
questions  for  discussion  were  only  the  minutes  knew, 
and  consequently  the  nieelln;j;  was  much  sliorleued. 
Crop  Reports. 
Ilcnry  Kurtz  said  that  around  Mount  Joy  the 
wheat  is  very  proniisinjj,  and  he  expects  forty  bush- 
els per  acre  ;  grass  pretty  good,  and  sells  from  J18 
to  $25  per  load  ;  some  tobacco  is  middling  good  and 
some  not  yet  planted;  the  cut  worm  Is  unusually 
plenty  ;  oats  and  corn  look  well. 

In  Levi  Heist's  section  wheat  Is  better  than  for 
years  ;  apples  ard  dropping  ofT,  through  the  York 
Imperial  aud  Baldwin  are  hanging  [well ;  tobacco 
Mr.  Heist  never  saw  so  indllTerent.  As  a  whole  the 
crop  is  promising.  In  regard  to  chcrriis  It  is  very 
curious  that  in  some  spots  they  hang  plenty  while  to 
others,  not  a  quarter  of  mile  distant,  the  limbs  are 
bare. 

C.  I..  Hunsecker  said  that  Lancaster  county  never 
had  a  better  wheat  promise ;  oats  has  not  looked 
better  for  years ;  corn  crop  will  probably  be  Im- 
mense ;  tobacco  may  yet  equal  former  crops  in  this 
county  ;  potatoes,  there  will  be  enough  of  and  some 
to  spare.  Prospects  are  very  good  all  along  the 
line. 

John  H.  Landis  reported  that  the  rankness  of  the 
Manor  wheat  has  disappeared  and  It  now  looks  as 
tine  as  ever  was  seen  there  or  elsewhere  ;  hay  full 
crop  ;  oats  fine ;  tobacco  Is  being  cut  in  s[iots  all 
over  the  township  ;  apples  will  not  be  so  plenty  as 
indicated  four  w(  cks  ago  ;  the  peach  crop  will  be 
tolerably  good  in  quality,  though  lacking  In  quan- 
tity ;  no  cherries. 

Mr.  PaxBon,  of  Colerain,  said  that  in  bis  country 
there  never  were  better  prospects  for  a  wheat  crop  ; 
bay  long  and  well  set ;  corn  healthy  but  backward  ; 
oats  rather  poor ;  no  peaches,  not  so  much  as  five 
bushels  in  the  township  ;  of  cherries  there  are  none  ; 
those  who  set  tobacco  out  early  did  well,  but  cut 
worms  aud  drought  are  doing  damage. 

President  Witmer  gave  a  promising  report  for 
Paradise,  with  the  exception  of  tobacco.  One  gen- 
tleman says  he  has  lost  9,000  out  of  12,000  plants. 
Shall  We  Have  a  Fair.'  No. 
Hcury  Kurtz  brought  up  the  well  worn  fair  ques- 
tion. Some  of  his  neighbors  were  taking  an  interest 
in  the  matter,  and  they  wanted  to  know  whether 
there  was  any  chance  of  having  a  fair.  Though 
silence  sometimes  gives  consent,  yet  the  ominous 
quiet  which  followed  Mr.  Kurtz's  remarks  showed 
plainly  that  those  present  had  no  desire  to  undertake 
the  celling  up  of  a  fair,  and  the  president  then  sug- 
gested the  inadvisabilily  of  action  on  this  question 
when  so  lew  were  present. 

The  Immigration  Question. 
C.  L.  Hunsecker  proposed  that  as  the  society  was 
doing  nothing,  it  discuss  the  immigration  question 
indulging  the  Chinese,  Dutch,  Irish,  aud  everybody 
else.  Mr.  Hunsecker  pictured  the  poverty-striekcn 
condition  of  the  over-crowded  foreign  lands,  aud 
thought  it  but  right  and  humane  that  this  country 
with  all  its  uusetiled  lauds  should  extend  a  hclpiue 
hand  to  suffering  humanity. 

The  business  on  the  programme  for  this  meeting 
was  continued  until  the  August  meeting. 
Grain  and  Fruit  Exhibited. 
Henry  Iviutz  displayed  some  slalksof  Fiiltz  wheat 
raised  on  Ihc  Kurtzlarm  near  .Mount  Joy.  Thev 
were  five  feet  eight  inches  long  and  were  a  fair 
sample,  Mr.  Kurtz  declared,  of  the  whole  of  his 
forty-lwo  acres  of  wheal. 

Levi  S.  Heist  had  three  varieties  of  cherries— the 
Little  Britain,  tine  large  black  juicy  ones;  a  seetUing 
somewhat  similar  in  appearance;  and  Molkenkinsche, 
small,  red  and  sweet — and  some  sharpless  strawber- 
ries of  flue  flavor. 


The  July  meeting  of  the  Agricultural  Society  was 
held  on  Monday  afternoon,  July  3d,  and  was  at- 
tended by  the  following  named  persons  : 

Levi  S.  Kci9t,  Oregon;  Henry  Kurtz,  Mt.  Joy; 
F.  K.  Ditfenderffer,  city;  W.  W.Griest,  city  ;  Joseph 
F.  Witmer,  Paradise ;  John  H.  Landis,  MlUersville  ; 


POULTRY  ASSOCIATION. 

The  Lancaster  County  Poultry  Association  met  In 
the  agricultural  room  of  city  hall,  on  Monday,  July 
3rd, 1882. 

The  following  named  members  were  present: 


108 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[July 


Charles  Lippold,  Ja'-obB.  Lichty,  F.R.  Diffenderf- 
fer,  C.  A.  Gael,  John  E.  SchumjCha-leB  E.  Long:,  J. 
M.  Johnston. 

Frank  K.  DiflFenderffer  read  the  following  essay  on 
Gapes  in  Chicks. 

"I  may  as  well  say  at  the  beeinning  of  these  re" 
marks  that  I  am  not  posted  in  the  literature  of  gapes' 
I  do  not  know  what  laas  been  written  on  the  subject. 
I  am  only  aware  that  they  have  been  on  my  own 
place  during  the  past  four  years,  and  what  I  shall  say 
is  confined  entirely  to  my  own  experience  with  them. 
Most  persons  whe  raise  poultry  know  what  the 
gapes  are,  and  are  acquainted  with  the  cause.  A 
thread  like  worm,  of  a  bright  red  color,  and  fully  an 
inch  long  when  full  grown,  is  the  cause  of  all  the 
mischief.  It  is  a  member  of  the  Entozoa  family,  a 
name  given  to  parasites  that  live  within  other  living 
bodies.  There  are  many  kinds  of  these,  but  the  pecu- 
liar one  under  consideration  is  called  by  naturalists 
Syngainus  tracheolix.  Its  a  pretty  bad  name  to  begin 
with  and  the  doings  of  the  little  worm  are  still  worse. 

This  parasite  has  its  its  home  in  the  windpipe  of 
young  chicks  and  turkeys.  Even  when  quite  small, 
while  still  only  a  quarter  of  an  inch  long,  it  begins 
to  inconve'nience  the  young  peeps,  and  as  they  in- 
crease in  size,  which  they  do  very  rapidly,  they 
gradually  close  the  windpipe,  making  respiration, 
difficult,  and  unless  removed  in  most  cases  bring 
about  the  death  of  the  young  chick.  The  earliest 
symptom  of  their  presence  is  a  frequent  opening  of 
the  mouth,  a  gaping  for  air  as  it  were,  and  the 
gravity  of  the  case  grows  rapidly  until  it  terminates 
in  death. 

How  does  this  parasite  find  its  way  into  the  chick's 
windpipe  ?  A  good  many  theoi'ies  have  been  ad- 
vanced from  time  to  time,  but  nobody  knows  The 
general  opinion  is  that  tliey  are  taken  up  from  the 
ground  with  the  food,  while  in  an  undeveloped  state, 
and  finally  find  full  development  in  their  natural 
home.  It  may  be  so,  but  as  somewhat  similar  para 
sites  are  found  in  the  brains  of  certain  birds,  and  in 
the  eyes  of  horses,  that  theory,  reasoning  from  ana- 
logy, falls  to  the  ground.  A  current  belief  with 
which  even  our  worthy  secretary  seems  tainted,  is 
that  they  are  developed  from  that  other  troublesome 
parasite,  the  louse  or  its  eggs.  Now,  the  louse  be- 
longs to  a  family  as  widely  separated  from  the  gape 
worm  as  a  monkey  is  from  a  whale,  and  the  Dar 
winian  theory,  when  stretched  to  its  utmost,  fails  to 
bring  them  together.  The  nit  of  a  louse  will  produce 
a  louse,  and  it  won't  produce  any  thing  else.  Be- 
sides, the  gape  worm  is  amply  provided  with  means 
of  perpetuating  its  species.  It  is,  like  many  other 
members  of  the  genus  Inmbricitx  or  worms,  sexually 
perfect  in  itself.  It  is  in  fact  a  forked  or  double  crea- 
ture, the  one  part  being  the  female  and  the  other 
the  male.  The  body  is  lengthened  beyond  the  point 
of  attachment,  and  the  prolonged  portion,  we  are  in 
formed  by  mieroscopists,  contains  numerous  ova  or 
eggs,  each  of  which  is  a  microscopic  gape  worm. 
This  fact  seems  fatal  to  all  these  theories,  and  is  in 
fact  decisive  as  to  the  origin.  But  how  these  em- 
bryo ovules  reach  their  development,  and  where,  is  a 
mystery  no  one  has  yet  been  able  to  fathom,  and 
there  we  will  leave  them. 

How  Do  They  Get   There  ? 

How  the  gapes  first  get  to  a  place  I  do  not  know. 
Where  mine  came  from  four  years  ago  I  can't 
imagine.  None  of  my  neighbors  had  them  to  my 
knowledge,  and  none  have  them  now  :  but  I  think  I 
can  confidently  say  I  have  not  raised  a  chilken  in  all 
that  time  that  was  not  attacked  by  gapes.  I  have 
tried  every  plan  to  keep  them  away  that  I  have  ever 
seen  suggested  and  all  were  equally  worthless.  Be- 
tween the  ages  of  two  and  six  weeks  the  gape  worm 
is  invariably  developed.  I  never  tried  the  camphor 
cure  until  this  spring.  I  had  a  promising  brood  of 
young  turkeys  and  I  put  them  in  a  patch  of  lawn 
about  40  feel  wide  and'  100  feet  long.  Twice  a  day 
I  put  camphor  in  their  drinking  water  and  other- 
wise took  extra  care  of  them.  On  the  day  they  were 
two  weeks  old  one  developed  gape  symptoms,  and  I 
promptly  removed  nine  worms  from  its  windpipe — 
the  largest  number  I  ever  took  from  one  bird.  The 
rest  got  them,  and  I  have  relegated  the  camphor 
preventative  to  other  innumerable  "  humbugs."  The 
latest  remedy  comes  from  a  Chester  county  farmer 
who  feeds  whole  corn  to  his  chicks  when  the  gapes 
come  on.  If  this  was  a  remedy  it-would  aet  by  com-, 
pression,  thus  killing  the  worm.  But  who  ever  had 
turkeys  or  chicks  two  weeks  old  capable  of  swallow- 
ing whole  corn?  Mine  never  could,  and  t  believe  you 
will  agree  with  me  when  I  say  that  they  would  not 
at  that  age  even  if  they  could. 

Another  thing  I  confess  myself  unable  to  under- 
stand. Why  ar6  chickens  and  turkeys  afflicted  with 
this  parasite  and  not  ducks  ?  I  believe  there  is  no 
case  on  record  of  this  kind.  I  have  now  running  to 
gether  14  young  ducks  and  17  peeps  nearly  of  the 
same  age — three  weeks;  most  of  the  chicks  have  had 
the  gapes  and  the  rest  will  have  them,  while  the 
ducks  running  and  feeding  with  them  escape  the  dis- 
ease altogether.  If  the  origin  of  the  disease  lay  in 
filth,  or  was  taken  up  from  the  ground  with  thefood, 
why  would   not  ducks  also  be  subject  to  it  ?    Ducks 


also  get  lousy,  I  believe,  so  that  is  another  heavy 
blow  at  the  louse  theory,  which,  however,  was  not 
necessary  to  kill  it. 

M-ost  poultry  raisers  have  their  remedy  for  extri- 
pating  the  gape  worm.  Most  of  these  are  mechani- 
cal, and,  of  course,  effective.  There  is  one  which  is 
often  recommended,  but  I  have  never  known  of  a 
solitary  cure  effected  by  it.  I  allude  to  shutting  the 
bird  in  a  closed  box  and  subjecting  it  to  the  fumes  of 
powdered  lime.  This,  it  is  alleged,  will  set  the  chick 
to  sneezing  or  coughing,  if  I  may  so  call  it,  and  in 
this  way  the  worms  are  dislodged.  I  have  no  faith 
whatever  in  any  remedy  extept  a  removal  by  actual 
force  through  mechanical  means.  Cat-gut,  twisted 
wire  and  feathers — all  have  their  advocates.  The 
latter,  I  believe,  does  as  much  harm  as  good.  The 
flufly  part  is  cut  down  on  both  sides  nearly  to  the 
quill.  This  leaves  a  rough  edge,  which  irritates  and 
injures  the  delicate  coating  of  the  windf  ipe.  I  have 
tried  most  of  these,  but  have  given  them  all  up.  I 
now  use  several  stands  of  horse  hair  doubled,  sam- 
ples .of  which  1  have  present.  This  is  smooth, 
flexible  and  d  es  not  readily  suffocate  the  chicks.  My 
method  of  operating  is  this:  An  assistant  holds  the 
chick  in  its  natural  sitting  position;  with  my  left 
hand  I  open  the  bill  and  seize  the  tongue,  which  is 
gently  drawn  forward;  this  brings  the  oriface  of  the 
windpipe  well  forward,  and  into  this  the  horse  hairs 
are  then  thrust.  I  have  several  sizes  to  suit  chicks 
of  various  ages;  the  hairs  are  pushed  down  until  the 
end  of  the  wind  pipe  is  reached,  when  the  end  in  the 
hand  is  rapidly  twirled  around  in  both  directions;  ih 
this  way  the  eqtire  inner  surface  of  the  windpipe  is 
brought  into  contact  with  the  horse  hair;  the  worms 
are  dislodged  from  their  place  of  attachment, become 
entangled  among  the  hair,  and  are  then  slowly 
wi  hdrawn.  Generally  all  are  not  brought  out  at 
the  first  attempt;  I  make  two  and  even  three  when  1 
think  it  necessary  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance 
that  this  operation  should  he  performed  at  the  first 
symptoms  of  the  disease.  If  let  run  on  the  chick  soon 
ceases  to  eat,  becomes  enfeebled  and  may  die  during 
the  operation,  as  many  did  for  me  before  I  caught 
the  trick  of  operating  early.  It  is  a  most  severe 
remedy  and  the  strongest  chick  feels  it  severely,  but 
if  done  in  the  early  stages  it  recovers  rapidly,  will 
begin  to  eat  in  a  few  hours  and  never  show  any  bad 
result.  If  performed  in  time,  a  chick  ought  rarely 
to  be  lost  by  gapes.  It  takes  time  and  is  a  little 
troublesome,  but  not  more  so  than  the  nurseries, 
raised  platforms  and  other  devices  recommended  to 
ward  off'  the  disease,  and  what  is  still  belter  is  effec- 
tual. 

But  it  is  not  a  remedy  we  need  so  much  as  a  pre- 
ventative. It  is  a  little  to  the  credit  of  the  thou- 
sands of  poultry  fanciers  that  they  have  not  been 
able  to  discover  means  to  prevent  or  eradicate  this 
fatal  disease.  Perhaps  this  can  only  be  done  when 
all  the  various  metamorphoses  of  the  gape  worm  ova 
are  known.  Strictly  speaking  this  is  the  work  of  the 
scientists,  and  poultry  raisers  are  seldom  such.  Once 
every  stage  of  progression  in  the  existence  of  these 
parasites  is  known,  we  shall  have  no  difficulty  in 
keeping  them  from  our  poultry  yards." 

The  thanks  of  the  society  were  tendered  to  Mr. 
Diffenderffer  for  the  essay. 

Mr.  Chas.  E.  Long  suggested  that  before  the 
horse  hair  is  inserted  into  the  wind  pipe  of  the  chick 
the  hair  be  immersed  in  a  weak  solution  of  carbolic 
acid.  The  worms  not  drawn  out  would  by  this 
means  probably  be  killed. 

The  secretary  reported  that  the  executive  commit- 
tee were  at  work  on  the  catalogue  for  the  next  an- 
nual exhibition  and  would  have  it  ready  for  distri- 
bution by  November. 


LINEAN  SOCIETY. 

The  society  met  on  Thursday  evening,  June  29,  in 
the  office  of  Dr.  H.  D.  Knight,  Prof.  Stahr  in  the 
chair.  The  meeting  was  "sparsly"  attended,  the 
weather  exceedingly  warm  and  nothing  of  special 
interest  was  brought  before  it. 

The  following  donations  and  additions  were  made 
to  Lthe  library:  Parts  23,  24  and  2.5,  Vol.  XXI,  Of- 
ficial  Gazette  of  the  United  States  Patent  Office. 
Proceedings  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Ge- 
olgical  Society  to  February,  1882.  Proceedings  of 
the  Philadelphia  Academy  of  Natural  Science.  The 
Lancaster  Farmer  for  June,  1883.  Sundry  cata- 
logues, circulars  and  book  notices. 

After  a  brief  session  under  Science  Gossip  the  so 
ciety  adjourned  to  meet  in  the  anteroom  of  the  mu- 
seum on  the  last  Saturday  afternoon  of  July,  1882 
(29th). 


Agriculture. 


Green  Crops. 

Green  crops  for  manuring  should  not  be  plowed! 
deeper  than  four  inches;  if  they  are  turned  under] 
more  than  this  they  will  not  receive  enough  of  solarj 
heat  and  atmospheric  air  to  insure  rapid  decay,  and! 
when  covered  too  deep  their  beneficial  effect  cannot  1 
be  realized  till  the  next  plowing,  when  they  are] 
brought  nearer  the  surface. 

Loading  Hay. 
To  properly  dispose  of  the  hay  as  it  is  pitched  I 
upon  the  wagon  requires  considerable  skill.  Long, 
wide  and  low  loads  are  much  better  than  the  oppo- 
site, for  both  the  pitcher  and  the  loader;  besides, 
there  is  much  less  danger  of  the  load  slipping  eff,  or 
the  wagon  being  upset  by  an  unequality  in  the  sur- 
face of  the  fieln.  If  a  horse-fork  is  used  for  un- 
loading the  person  who  manages  the  loading  should 
bear  this  in  mind,  and  so  place  the  hay  as  it  is 
pitched  to  him  that  the  fork  will  work  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage. 


Manure  Under  Cover. 

Of  course  all  the  advantange  of  making  manure 
in  covered  yards  may  be  secured  by  box  feeding,  with 
less  outlay  for  roofing,  since  more  space  must  be  al 
lowed  for  a  given  number  of  animals  turned  loose 
together  than  when  confined  in  stalls.  It  is  the  pro- 
tection from  rain  and  sun,  the  abundant  use  of  litter 
and  its  thorough  incorporation  with  the  excrements, 
and  the  exclusion  of  air  by  compact  treading,  which 
go  to  make  the  superior  manure.  All  these  features 
of  the  method  work  against  the  loss  of  valuable 
plant  food.  Nor  does  box  feeding  and  constant  ac- 
cumulation of  manure  under  the  feet  of  the  animals 
necessarily  imply  offensive  stalls. 

One  method  or  the  other,  box-feeding  or  covered 
yards,  should  be  adopted  by  every  farmer  who  lives 
where  manure  is  worth  saving,  and  who  finds  him- 
self compelled  to  supplement  his  stable  manure  wi  h 
commercial  fertilizers.  Stable  manure  must  not  be 
lost  sight  of,  in  this  increasing  interest  in  these  con 
centrated  fertilizers,  for  we  cannot  produce  our  crops 
and  have  enough  for  ourselves  and  others,  without 
its  aid  ;  and  there  is  nothing  in  all  the  list  of  com- 
mercial mixture,  which  gives  so  good  an  average  re- 
turn for  the  money  invested  in  it,  as  well-made  stable 
manure. 


A  Merino  ram  crossed  on  a  flock  of  common 
sheep,  will  double  the  yield  of  wool  through  the  first 
cross  alone,  thus  paying  for  the  ram  the  first  season. 


Plaster. 
Land  plaster,  or  gypsum,  is  sulphate  of  lime.  One 
hundred  pounds  of  common  sypsum  consist  of  forty- 
six  pounds  of  sulphuric  acid,  thirty-three  pounds  of 
lime  and  twenty-one  pounds  of  water.  It  is  ground 
flne  and  thus  applied  to  land  or  crops.  When  it  is 
heated  to  redness  the  water  is  driven  off  and  the  res- 
idue is  easily  reduced  to  a  very  flne  powder,  and  is 
known  as  the  plaster  of  Paris  used  by  masons.  The 
theory  of  the  beneficial  action  of  land  plaster  upon 
crops  has  long  been,  and  still  is,  a  subject  of  dispute. 
That  it  supplies  lime  and  sulphuric  acid  to  plants  to 
some  extent  is  probably  true,  but  it  is  now  generally 
admitted,  we  believe,  that  gypsum  is  chiefly  useful  by 
its  powder  of  solidifying  and  retaining  the  ammonia- 
cal  gases  of  the  earth  and  air.  For  wheat  and  corn 
it  has  not  proved  satisfactory,  but  on  clover,  sanfoin 
and  lugumiuous  plants  generally  its  useful  effects  are 
not  questioned. — Prairie  Farmer, 


The  Largest  Land  Owner  on  the  Continent. 
Col.  Dan  Murphy,  of  Halleok's  Station,  Elko 
county,  came  to  California  in  1844,  and  may  be  said 
to  have  made  the  country  pay  him  well  for  his  time. 
He  is  now  probably  the  largest  private  land  owner 
on  this  continent.  He  has  4,000,000,000  acres  of 
land  in  one  body  in  Mexico,  60,000  in  Navada,  and 
23,000  in  California.  His  Mexican  grant  he  bought 
four  years  ago  for  §200,000  or  five  cents  an  acre.  It 
is  sixty  miles  long  and  covers  a  beautiful  country  of 
hill  and  valley,  pine  timber  and  meadow  land.  It 
comes  within  twenty  miles  of  the  city  of  Durango, 


1S82.J 


TME  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


109 


which  Is  to  be  a  station  on  the  Mexican  Central. 
Mr.  Murphy  raises  wheat  on  his  California  Iiuul,  and 
and  catlle  on  Miat  in  Navacla.  He  ijot,  5.i,000  sacljs 
last  year  and  ships  fi. 000  head  of  cattle  a  year  rifjht 
along. — Jieno  {Xei'.)  Gar.t'tte. 


Best    Pasture   Grass. 

The  best  pasture  grasses  have  creeping  or  wholly 
lilirous  roots,  the  creeping  root  running  horizontally 
under  ground  and  pushing  up  sterns  every  few  inches 
iri'in  this  creeping  part  of  the  root  or  rhizorr.e.  Tliis 
creeping  root  is  not  likely  to  be  injured  by  close 
cropping,  and  retains  its  vitality  better  througli  se- 
vire  droughts  after  close  feeding,  when  a  bulbous 
rciots  would  be  destroyed.  The  function  of  the  bulb 
ill  bulbous  grasses  is  evidently  to  store  up  materials 
for  luturc  growth,  and  if  these  bulbs  are  injured  or 
eaten  otfthe  root,  is  destroyed.  The  nutriment  in  all 
grasses  is  gathered  by  fibrous  roots  alone,  and  these 
tibrous  roots  are  joined  to  the  rhizome  or  the  bulb 
in  creeping  or  bulbous  roots.  Tlie  best  specimens  of 
creeping  rooted  pasture  grasses  are  blue  grass,  June 
grass  (Poa  prateiixii:)  and  wire  grass,  also  called 
blue  grass  (Poa  comprcsm).  Both  of  these  grasses, 
when  well  established  in  the  soil  mentioned,  will  re 
tain  their  foothold  against  many  discouragements. 
Both  of  these  grasses  start  quickly  after  cropping. 
Orchard  grass  {l)ac(yHs  glomorata)  is  one  of  the 
very  best  pasture  grasses  when  once  established.  !t 
starts,  perhaps,  more  rapidly  afier  cutting  or  crop- 
ping than  any  other  grass.  It  will  grow  in  the  night 
almost  as  much  as  cropped  off  in  the  day.  Red  top 
{Agrostis  vuli/itris)  should  be  included.  White  and 
red  clover  should  always  be  mingled  with  the  seeds 
for  pasture.  There  are  many  other  grasses  that 
might  be  sown,  but  the  seeds  are  difficult  to  be  ob- 
tained. A  good  mixture  of  these  seeds  is  the  follow- 
ing :  Timothy,  six  pounds;  Kentucky  blue  grass, 
four  pounds;  wire  grass,  three  pounds;  orchard 
grass,  four  pounds;  red  top,  three  pounds;  red 
clover,  four  pounds  ;  white  clover,  three  pounds,  and 
sweet-scented  vernal  grass,  two  pounds.  A  pasture 
well  stocked  with  these  grasses  and  clovers  will  cer- 
tainly produce  the  milk  for  "gilt-edge"  butter. 
Too  little  attention  has  been  as  yet,  paid  to  the 
stocking  of  pastures.  The  subject  needs  careful  ex- 
amination and  discussion,  and  we  shall  be  glad  to 
have  the  views  of  some  of  our  experienced  readers 
upon  it. — National  Live  Stock  Journal,  Chicago. 


Hort:cl  ,ture. 


Pacific  Coast  Wheat  Items. 

Washington  Territory  promises  to  be  as  great  a 
wheat-growing  State  as  Oregon  or  California.  A  few 
items  will  interest  farmers. 

Walla  Walla  Union:  At  the  depot  in  Walla  Walla 
tons  of  wheat  are  being  stacked  out  of  doors,  the 
warehouses  being  full.  At  Valley  Grove,  (Nelson's 
place  on  dry  creek)  a  large  platform  is  nearly  covered 
with  stacked  wheat.  At  Hadley's  another  platform 
is  full.  At  Prescott  a  platform  is  full  andjtous  are 
piled  upon  the  ground.  At  Waitsburg,  Kinnear  & 
Weller's  warehouse  is  overflowing  and  great  piles  of 
grain  being  made  outside.  W.  N.  Smith's  plat- 
form is  nearly  full,  and  wagons  are  being  constantly 
unloaded  at  both  places.  A  mile  above  Waitsburg 
another  platform  is  full.  At  Huntsville  there  is 
wheat,  at  Long's  there  is  more  wheat,  and  at  Dayton 
the  wheat  is  piled  up  in  warehouses  and  on  plat- 
forms, "till  you  can't  rest."  Parties  from  Blue 
Mountain  station  and  Milton  report  the  warehouses 
and  platforms  there  filled  to  overflowing  with  sacked 
wheat,  and  great  stacks  of  sacks  in  adjacent  fields. 
Buyers  are  asking  producers  to  "let  up"  on  delivery, 
while  the  railroad  men  are  worked  night  and  day 
trying  to  carry  the  wheat  away.  But  is  like  trying  to 
empty  a  barrel  by  the  spigot  while  a  big  stream  is 
flowing  into  the  bung.  Parties  who  have  visited  the 
farming  region  say  "the  farmers  have  not  begun  to 
haul  in  wheat  yet.  Just  wait  until  they  have  got 
through  threshing  if  you  want  to  see  wheat." 

A  farmer  on  Whidby  Island  harvested  a  field  of 
wheat  which  harvested  60  bushels  to  the  acre  and  a 
field  of  oats  which  cut  103  bushels  per  acre.  Such  a 
yield  for  any  other  than  reclaimed  tide  land  is  re- 
markable. 


Summer  Grape  Pruning. 

About  this,  as  in  nearly  every  other  horticultural 
subject,  there  is  considerable  ditt'crence  of  opinion. 
We  have  ktown  vines  lo  he  "  pruned  to  death"  in 
following  out  some  wild  theory  that  some  addle- 
headcd  fellow  had  started,  while  others  would  prune 
so  sparingly  as  to  be  of  no  benefit  at  all.  Manyttrip 
the  vines  of  three-fourHis  their  leaves  to  allow  the 
sun  and  air  to  get  in,  as  they  say,  while  others  allow 
the  grapes  to  be  smothered  for  want  of  a  judicious 
removal  of  the  leaves.  Pinching  the  ends  olf  the 
vines,  or  clipping  off  a  portion  of  the  sprouts  where 
they  are  growing  rampantly,  so  far  as  It  appears  to 
be  necessary  to  any  reasonable  judgment,  will  greatly 
benefit  the  crop,  just  as  the  reverse  will  damage  It. 
The  thinning  out  of  the  surplus  bunches,  by  remov- 
ing from  a  third  to  a  half  of  them  as  they  usually 
show  themselves,  is  of  the  greatest  importance.  In 
doing  this  be  sure  always  to  remove  the  weakest  and 
most  imperfect.  The  laterals  of  the  fruit  bearing 
branches,  which  have  been  pinched  or  clipped,  will 
throw  out  more  branches,  and  these  also  should  be 
pinched,  so  as  to  leave  only  a  single  leaf.  The  later 
als  on  the  canes,  remember,  are  to  be  the  fruit  bear- 
ing canes  lor  next  year,  and  should  be  allowed  to 
grow  unchecked.  Care  must  be  taken  to  tie  up  such 
of  the  branches  containing  bunches  which  are  too 
heavy  to  bear  its  own  weight.  Tliere  should,  also, 
be  no  more  wood  allowed  to  grow  than  is  needed  for 
the  following  year's  fruiting.  These  simple  general 
hints  may  be  of  service  to  those  whose  knowledge  of 
grape-growing  is  limited.  In  a  little  while^a  few 
years  of  experience,  which  may  be  greatly  aided  by 
examining  the  way  that  good  grape-growers  follow — 
will  soon  put  one  in  the  plain  road  to  success. — 
Oermantoiiin  Telegraph. 


The  Care  and  Pruning  of  Peach  Trees. 

It  is  a  rare  thing  to  find  an  orchard  that  has  been 
kept  properly  pruned  and  cut  back,  and  most  of 
them  are  found  with  bean-pole  stems  or  main 
branches  bare  of  any  fruit  or  foliage,  except  such  as 
are  crowded  closely  together  at  their  extreme  tips, 
resulting  in  overcrowded  leaves  and  fruit,  and  poorly- 
colored,  late  ripening  and  small  fruit,  with  a  ten- 
dency to  rot  from  overcrowding  and  shade. 

The  model  peach  tree,  for  the  best  results,  we 
think,  should  have  a  clean  stem  about  three  feet.  At 
this  point  a  regular  whorl  of  four  or  five  branches 
should  be  started.  When  these  are  started,  the  tree 
should  have  vigor  enough  to  give  each  a  growth  of 
at  least  three  feet  the  first  season.  These,  early  the 
next  spring,  should  be  cut  back  to  eighteen  inches, 
being  careful  to  leave  on  them  any  sub-branches 
near  their  base.  The  next  spring  the  resulting  or 
next  crop  of  branches  should  be  cut  back  in  about 
the  same  way,  aud  the  sub-branches  half  of  them 
cut  clear  away,  leaving  every  other  one,  aud  those 
not  cut  away  cut  back  one-third  to  one-half.  The 
summer  after  this  the  trees  should  give  a  splendid 
crop  of  fine  fruit  that  will  need  no  thinning.  The 
after-cutting  back  and  pruning  should  be  after  the 
same  general  plan,  thinning  out  and  cutting  back  the 
upper  and  outer  branches,  but  never  thinning  out 
the  small  branches,  except  as  above.  As  the  trees 
grow  older  it  will  be  necessary  to  cut  back  and  thin 
out  more  year  by  year,  and  eventually  it  will  be 
necessary  to  cut  back  half  of  the  main  branches  to 
near  their  base,  at  some  point  just  above  where  a 
thrifty  young  twig  is  growing,  so  as  to  form  a  new, 
vigorous  head, aud  to  cut  back  the  remaining  branches 
the  next  year,  and  then  follow  again  the  same  sys- 
tem of  training  gives  above.  We  think  that  this 
system,  carefully  followed,  will  give  continuously 
crops  of  fine  fruit,  with  but  little  or  no  thinning  ;  or, 
in  other  words,  that  by  this  renewal  system  of  train- 
ing trees  can  be  kept  in  a  young,  vigorous  condition 
for  a  great  many  years.  Who  can  find  fault  with  it? 
Who  will  give  us  a  belter  system  ?  Our  preference 
would  be  to  have  our  trees  with  lower  heads,  rather 
than  higher,  were  it  not  necessary  to  run  the  curcullo- 
catcher  in  the  orchard.  On  strong  soils  trees  might 
do  well  with  four  feet  of  bare  trunk.-iVairie  Farmer. 


The  Delaware  Peach  Crop. 
In  view  of  the  certainty  that  announcement  will  be 
duly  made  in  the  early  spring  of  the  melancholy  fact 
that  the  Delaware  peach  crop  was  almost  totally  de. 
stroyed  by  the  terribly  cold  weather  in  January,  it  Is 
interesting  to  note  the  following  paragraph  in  The 
M'ibninglon  Republican :  "  Especially  in  the  cold  snap 
bright  with  promise  to  the  fruit  growers  of  the  penin- 
sula. Their  great  dread  of  short  crops  has  always 
been  open  mild  winters,  which  forced  on  the  buds 
prematurely  onl}  to  be  killed  by  the  more  severe 
spring  frosts.  The  lale  Samuel  Townsend,  consider- 
ed good  authority  on  peach  growing,  has  maintained 
that  healthy  peach  trees  could  stand  a  temperature 
of  five  degrees  below  zero,  depending  somewhat  upoD 
the  forwardness  of  the  buds  when  the  frost  occurs. 
Assuming  this  to  be  correct,  the  crop  of  peaches 
south  of  us  Is  still  safe,  as  the  mercury  only  fell  two 
and  three  degrees  below  zero  in  some  of  the  most  ex- 
posed points  around  Wilmington,  which  is  the  enter- 
ing door  of  the  great  peach  grounds  of  the  peninsula 
south  of  us.  So  far,  therefore,  as  the  present  season 
has  developed,  the  indications  are  favorable  to  next 
spring's  agricultural  operations." 


Strawberry  Beds. 

A  writer  in  the  New  York  Trihuiie  says  :  "  The 
time  lor  seeing  to  the  security  of  next  yearns  ittraio- 
berry  yield  is  immediately  on  stopping  picking  this 
year.  Dig,  plough  or  scarify  deeply  between  the 
rows  or  In  lines  through  the  mass,  and  clear  the  hills 
or  rows  left  of  every  weed,  however  small.  Some 
add  to  this  severe-looking  treatment  that  of  mowing 
olf  the  old  leaves,  and  they  declare  that  the  plant 
gets  its  summer  rest  all  the  better  and  more  com- 
pletely for  it,  starting  then  with  the  August  rains 
into  a  luxuriant  September  growth  which  Is  the 
making  of  the  fruit  beds  for  next  year's  expansion. 


Quince  Culture, 

Almost  every  good  housekeeper  who  has  a  garden 
wishes  there  were  quinces  in  it.  No  fruit  seems 
more  desirable  in  tiie  kitchen,  but  It  Is  seldom 
that  it  is  seen  there  They  are  planted  in  the  gar- 
den lime  and  again,  but  seldom  seem  to  do  much 
good.  They  just  live,  growing  but  little,  and  that 
little  seldom  of  the  vigorous,  healthful  kind.  The 
whole  plant  is  knotty  and  scrubby,  and  though  they 
may  Uower  freely,  the  young  fruit  drops  premature- 
ly, and  a  bush  of  a  dozen  years  old  will  often  not 
give  a  dozen  sound  fruit. 

Now,  some  say  that  the  trouble  is  in  the  soil,  that 
it  is  very  peculiar  and  particular  in  this  respect,  hut 
but  we  think  this  is  an  error.  Certainly  we  havn 
DOW  and  then  seen  quince  trees  doing  well  In  all 
sorts  of  soil  and  in  all  sorts  of  situations.  It  Is  more 
than  probable  that  much  of  failure  comes  from  in- 
juries by  tlie  borer,  which  saps  the  strength  of  the 
whole  tree.  The  borer  enters  the  stem  at  or  near  the 
ground,  and  boring  into  it  cuts  offa  largo  portion  of 
its  supplies.  Some  trees,  like  the  apple  and  plum, 
when  attacked  by  the  borer  soon  die,  but  the  quince 
roots  out  so  readily  from  every  part  of  its  bark  that, 
unless  very  badly  attacked,  it  will  manage  to  live  on 
in  a  lingering  sort  of  way  for  a  go.id  many  years 
without  any  but  a  practical  eye  suspecting  what  the 
real  matter  is. 

But  sometimes  the  quince  gets  what  gardners  call 
hide  bound.  The  bark  has  a  hard  scrubby  look, and 
the  growth  is  puny  and  not  at  all  what  we  expect  to 
see  on  a  healthy  tree.  Whether  this  hide  bound 
condition  is  the  result  of  some  disease,  or  is  a  dis- 
ease, in  itself,  is  not  clear;  but  it  is  removed  tolerably 
well  by  scraping  and  washing  the  stem  with  soapy 
water  occasionally,  and  a  trimming  out  of  the 
weaker  shoots.  This  course  seems  to  lead  to  a  vig- 
orous growth,  after  which  the  bark  seems  to  expand 
as  nsiturally  as  any  one  can  desire. 

It  is  frequently  recommended  in  the  newspapers 
that  salt  should  be  given  as  a  manure  to  the  quince, 
and  perhaps  in  some  cases  it  may  do  good.  The 
quince  does  not  send  its  roots  far  away,  but  has  an 
immense  number  in  a  small  compass.  It  will  there- 
fore require  good  feeding  to  a  greater  extent  than 


110 


THE  LANCASTER   FARMER. 


[July, 


those  trees  which  can  send  their  roots  long  distances 
in  search  of  feed.  Salt  is  a  great  promoter  of  moist 
Ure,  and  as  these  numerous  roots  will  make  the 
earth  about  them  very  dry  it  may  be  beneflcial  in 
this  respect.  But  any  good  manure  will  benefit  the 
quince,  and  it  should  have  plenty  of  it. 


Household  Recipes. 


Deep  Apple  Fie. — To  make  plain  pastry  mix  to- 
gether lightly  quarter  of  a  pound  of  lard  or  butter,  a 
teaspoonful  of  salt,  a  pound  of  flour,  and  sufticient 
cold  water  to  make  a  paste  stiff  enough  to  roll  out. 
One  way  of  mixing  is  to  put  these  ingredients  into  a 
chopping  tray,  and  chop  them  together  with  a  large 
knife;  another  is  to  make  a  paste,  stiff  enough  to  roll, 
of  the  flour,  salt,  and  water,  roll  it  half  an  inch 
thick,  spread  quarter  of  the  shortening  over  it,  fold  it 
and  roll  it  out  again,  and  use  another  quarter  of  the 
shortening,  repeating  this  process  until  all  is  used; 
the  pastry  is  then  ready  for  the  making  of  pies. 

For  a  deep  apple  pie,  pare  and  slice  tart  apples 
enough  to  fill  a  deep  earthen  baking  dish  heaping 
full;  line  the  edges  of  the  dish  an  inch  down  with  a 
strip  of  pastry;  put  in  the  apples,  sweeten  them  to 
taste,  and  flavor  the  pie  with  a  little  grated  lemon 
rind  or  a  little  ground  cinnamon;  cover  the  top  with 
pastry  wet  at  the  edges  with  cold  water  to  make  it 
adhere  to  the  strips  on  the  side  of  the  dish;  cut  small 
holes  in  the  top  crust,  brush  it  over  with  beaten  egg 
or  with  a  little  sugar  dissolved  in  water,  and  bake  it 
until  the  apples  are  done  in  a  moderate  oven.  For  a 
test  for  the  proper  heat  of  the  oven  refer  to  the  re- 
cipe for  Home  made  Bread. 

Pan-dowdt. — Wash  a  quart  of  dried  apples,  soak 
them  over  night  in  cold  water,  stew  them  soft  in  the 
same  water  with  sugar  and  spice  to  make  them 
palatable  ;  put  the  sauce  thus  made  into  an  earthen 
baking  dish  with  a  teaspoonful  of  butter,  and  cover 
it  with  pastry  made  as  directed  in  the  recipe  for 
Deej)  Apple  Pie ;  bake  the  dowdy  until  the  crust  is 
done  ;  then  remove  it  from  the  oven,  and  break  the 
crust  down  into  the  apple  with  a  spoon  ;  use  it  hot 
or  cold.  Apple  sauce  made  from  green  or  ripe  apples 
can  be  used  in  the  same  way. 

Fried  Apples. — Pare  sound  apples,  slice  them 
half  an  inch  thick,  remove  the  cores  without  break- 
ing the  slices,  fry  them  in  hot  butter  until  tender,  lay 
them  in  little  piles  with  sugar  and  spice  dusted  over 
them,  and  serve  them  on  slices  of  toast. 

Apple  Toast. — Pare  and  core  tart  apples  without 
breaking  them  ;  put  them  on  slices  of  stale  bread, 
fill  them  with  sugar,  put  a  little  butter  and  spice  on 
each  one,  and  bake  them  tender  in  a  moderate  oven. 

Apple  and  Bread  Pudding. — Soak  a  quart  of 
stale  bread  in  cold  water  five  minutes ;  pour  off  as 
much  water  as  will  escape  without  squeezing,  and 
put  the  bread  in  a  buttered  baking  dish  ;  pare  and 
slice  a  quart  of  apples,  lay  them  on  the  bread,  add 
sugar  and  spice  to  taste,  and  bake  the  pudding  in  a 
moderate  oven. 

Racket  Cldb  Pudding. — Buttered  slices  of  stale 
bread,  enough  to  cover  the  bottom  of  a  two-quart 
baking  dish  ;  put  a  layer  of  raisins  on  the  bread ; 
add  another  layer  of  bread,  pour  over  it  a  custard 
made  of  four  eggs  beaten  with  four  tablespooufuls 
of  sugar  and  pint  of  milk  ;  pare,  quarter  and  core  a 
quart  of  apples,  lay  them  on  the  pudding,  dust  them 
with  powdered  sugar,  and  bake  the  pudding  half  an 
hour  in  a  moderate  oven.  Serve  it  hot  with  pow- 
dered sugar  or  jelly  sauce. 

Jelly  Pudding. — Mix  together  one  teaspoonful 
of  corn  starch  or  arrow  root,  one  tablespoouful  of 
jelly,  four  of  sugar,  and  a  pint  of  cold  water;  put 
the  sauce  over  the  fire  and  stir  it  until  it  boils  one 
minute  ;  then  use  it. 

Cheese  Crusts. — Cut  some  slices  of  stale  bread 
two  Inches  square  and  half  an  inch  thick,  butter 
them,  lay  them  on  a  baking-pan,  put  onetablcspoon- 
ful  of  grated  cheese  on  each,  and  brown  them  in  a 
quick  oven  ;  serve  them  hot  or  cold. 

Pumpkin  Pie. — Peel  and  slice  a  pumpkin,  or  part 
of  one,  boil  it   in  boiling  water  until   it  is  tender 


enough  to  rub  through  a  sieve  with  a  potato-masher; 
mix  with  each  quart  a  custard  made  of  six  eggs 
beaten  with  eight  tablespoonfuls  of  sugar  and  a 
quart  of  milk  ;  flavor  the  mixture  with  spice  and 
grated  lemon  rind,  and  bake  it  in  deep  earthen  pie 
plates  lined  with  plain  pastry.  Squash  pie  is  made 
in  the  same  way. 

Plain  Mince  Pie. — Chop  fine  half  a  pound  of  cold 
boiled  beef  or  cold  boiled  tongue;  remove  the  fibre 
fromhaif  a  pound  of  suet  and  chop  that  fine;  stone 
half  a  pound  of  raisins,  cutting  them  in  halves;  pick 
over  and  wash  half  a  pound  of  currants;  slice  thin 
two  ounces  of  citron;  pare,  core,  and  chop  a  pound  of 
apples;  grate  the  rind  and  squeeze  the  juice  of 
an  orange  and  a  lemon,  if  they  are  available;  mix  all 
these  ingredients  in  a  glass  or  earthen  jar  with 
enough  sweet  cider  to  moisten  them,  sufficient  sugar 
to  sweeten  them  palatably,  salt  enough  to  be  just 
perceptible,  and  plenty  of  mixed  ground  spices;  last 
of  all  add  quarter  of  a  pint  of  good  brandy  for  the 
purpose  of  preserving  the  mince-meat.  Pack  it 
down  tight  in  the  jar,  and  keep  it  closely  covered  two 
or  three  weeks  before  using  it.  When  brandy  is  not 
used  the  mince-meat  should  not  be  kept  long.  In 
making  pastry  for  mince  pies  use  from  halfto  three- 
quarters  of  a  pound  of  shortening  to  a  pound  of  flour. 
If  mince-meat  has  become  dry  by  long  keeping, 
moisten  it  with  cider  before  using  it. 

Welsh  Rake-Bit. — Stir  togethei  in  a  saucepan 
over  the  fire  one-quarter  of  a  pound  grated  cheese, 
two  tablespoonfuls  of  butter,  a  quarter  of  a  tea- 
spoonful each  of  salt,  dry  mustard,  and  pepper,  with 
a  dust  of  cayenne,  pour  these  on  a  large  slice  of  but- 
tered toast  and  serve  at  once. 

Omelette. — Break  three  eggs  and  beat  for  one 
minute  with  a  half  spoonful  of  salt  and  a  fourth  as 
much  pepper  ;  have  your  pan  hot,  with  a  tablespoon 
ful  of  melted  butter  in  it,  pour  in  the  eggs,  scatter 
over  them  three  crushed  square  crackers,  and  when 
cooked  sufficiently  roll  the  omelette  toward  one  side 
of  the  pan  by  slipping  a  fork  under  one  side  and 
turning  it  over.  Place  the  omelette  on  a  hot  dishjand 
serve  at  once. 

Chicken  and  Green  Peas.— Cut  cold  roast  or 
boiled  cl]icken  in  small  pieces,  brown  them  in  butter, 
stir  in  a  tablespoouful  of  flour,  and  when  it  is  brown 
add  a  pint  of  stewed  peas  with  their  liquor,  (or  one 
can  if  green  peas  are  not  in  season,)  add  salt  and 
pepper,  heat  five  minutes,  and  serve  on  toast. 

Bean  Soup. — Pick  over  one  pint  of  dried  beans 
and  wash  them  in  cold  water;  peel  and  slice  an 
onion,  put  in  a  saucepan  and  fry  it  brown,  with  a 
tablespoouful  of  drippings;  ham  or  bacon  fat  prefer- 
able. When  brown,  put  the  beans  in  with  the  onion 
pour  on  three  quarts  of  cold  water,  and  boil  slowly; 
every  fifteen  minutes  add  one  cup  of  cold  water  until 
a  quart  has  been  used;  mix  one  tablespoouful  eacli 
of  flour  and  butter  to  smooth  paste,  and  fry  some 
half-inch  bits  of  stale  bread  with  a  little  butter.  As 
soon  as  the  beans  are  soft  put  them  througli  a  sieve 
with  a  potato  masher;  put  them  again  in  a  saucepan 
with  their  broth,  stir  in  the  paste,  let  the  soup  boil 
once,  and  serve  with  the  fried  bread  in  it. 

Codfish. —Parboil  fish  in  successive  waters  until 
freshened,  taking  care  to  have  skin  upward — if 
below  it  will  gather  and  hold  the  salt.  Peel  and  slice 
a  pint  of  onions,  and 'when  the  water  is  changed  on 
the  fish  the  last  time  put  the  onions  into  another  fry- 
ing pan,  with  two  tablespoonfuls  of  hot  fat  and  fry 
slowly;  when  the  fish  is  hot  remove  it,  take  off  the 
skin  and  the  bones  which  are  on  the  surface,  then 
put  it  in  the  pan  with  the  onions,  brown  slightly  on 
both  sides,  dust  it  with  pepper,  and  serve  with  the 
onions  over  it. 

Broiled  Birds. — Carefully  pluck  and  singe  the 
birds;  cut  off  the  head  and  feet,  or  if  the  head  re 
mains  be  sure  that  no  feathers  are  left  on  it;  remove 
the  crop  and  windpipe,  and  wipe  the  birds  on  a  wet 
towel;  split  them  down  the  back,  take  out  the  en- 
trails without  breaking  them;  lay  the  birds,  without 
washing,  between  the  bars  of  a  buttered  wire  gird- 
iron,  and  brown  the  inside  first  over  a  quick  fire;  then 
turn  the  outside  toward  the  fire  and  brown  that,  but 


be  careful  to  avoid  burning;  the  birds  may  be  cooked 
rare  or  well  done,  as  the  physician  permits,  and 
slightly  seasoned.  Toast  is  usually  served  under 
them. 

Sago  and  Wine. — Wash  an  ounce  of  sago  in  cold 
water;  put  it  over  the  fire  in  a  pint  of  cold  water,  let 
it  slowly  approach  the  boiling  point,  and  boil  it  gent- 
ly until  tender;  then  stir  into  it  two  tablespoonfuls  of 
sugar  and  a  glass  of  Madeira  or  sherry  wine,  and  , 
serve  it  hot  or  cold. 

Beef  Juice. — Slice  juicy  lean  beef,  from  the 
round,  an  inch  thick;  broil  it  quickly  over  a  very 
hot  fire,  but  without  burning,  until  it  is  brown  on 
both  sides  ;  lay  it  in  a  hot  soup  plate,  cut  it  through 
in  all  parts  with  a  very  sharp  knife,  and  set  another 
hot  plate  on  it,  with  the  bottom  against  the  meat; 
then  grasp  both  plates  firmly  and  press  them  to- 
gether, squeezing  the  juice  from  the  meat ;  let  it 
run  into  another  dish,  or  upon  a  slice  of  delicate 
toast,  and  serve  it  at  once  ;  the  physician  will  indi- 
cate the  seasoning. 

Toast. — To  prepare  toast  suitable  for  invalids  cut 
stale  bread  in  slices  half  an  inch  thick,  and  trim  off 
the  crust ;  then  hold  it  far  enough  away  from  the 
fire  to  dry  it  before  browning  it ;  it  should  be  of  a 
delicate  brown  color  and  quite  dry  in  the  middle  of 
the  slice  ;  in  this  condition  it  is  more  easily  digested 
than  when  made  so  quickly  that  the  moisture  of  the 
bread  remains  in  it. 

Wine  Jelly. — Dissolve  one  ounce  of  isinglass  or 
gelatin  in  half  a  pint  of  hot  water  ;  add  one  ounce  of 
sugar  and  one  pint  of  wine,  and  cool  the  jelly  in  a 
mould. 

Barley  Water. — Wash  two  ounces  of  pearl  bar- 
ley in  plenty  of  cold  water  until  the  water  is  clear; 
put  it  over  the  fire  with  half  a  pint  of  water,  let  it 
slowly  approach  the  boiling  point,  and  boil  five  min- 
utes ;  then  strain  it,  put  it  again  over  the  fire  in  two 
quarts  of  cold  water,  and  boil  it  until  the  water  is  re- 
duced to  one-half;  then  strain  and  cool  it ;  it  may  be 
sweetened  and  flavored,  if  desirable,  according  to  the 
physician's  direction. 

Egg  and  Wine.— Beat  one  egg  to  a  froth  with 
two  teaspoonsful  of  wine  and  use  at  once.' 

Milk  Punch. — For  hot  punch  mix  together  quar- 
ter of  a  glass  of  brandy,  rum  or  whisky,  with  three- 
quarters  of  a  glass  of  hot  milk  ;  add  sugar  and  nut- 
meg to  make  the  punch  palatable.  For  cold  punch 
use  the  same  proportion  of  liquor,  but  fill  the  glass 
with  shaved  or  finely-cracked  ice,  with  spice  and 
sugar  to  taste. 

Live  Stock, 

Spoiling  a  Young  Horse. 

When  a  young  horse  acts  badly  in  harness,  it  is  be- 
cause he  has  not  been  properly  taught  his  business. 
To  whip  and  misue  him  is  to  spoil  him.  A  horse  is 
naturally  willing  and  docile,  if  well  used,  and  much 
may  be  done  by  kindness,  patience  and  judgment  in 
removing  the  ill  effects  of  wrong  treatment.  A  colt 
should  be  trained  when  young,  and  gradually  taught 
his  duties,  the  greatest  care  should  be  taken  to  avoid 
frightening  or  irritating  the  animal, 'and  much  pa- 
tience should  be  exercised.  If  the  animal  refuses  to 
de  what  is  required,  punishment  will  make  matters 
worse,  something  should  be  dsne  to  distract  its  at- 
tention when  it  will  generally  become  docile. — 
America7i  Agriculturist, 


The  Pig  in  Agriculture. 
The  pig  has  been  recently  spoken  of  in  contempt 
when  compared  with  our  other  domestic  animals. 
But  if  we  examine  his  good  qualities  at  all  critically 
we  must  award  him  a  high  place  in  our  agriculture. 
He  is  found  to  produce  a  pound  of  product  from  less 
food  than  either  cattle  or  sheep,  and  is,  therefore, the 
most  economical  machine  to  manufacture  our  great 
corn  crop  into  marketable  meat.  Our  people  are  be- 
coming wiser  every  year,  and  exporting  less,  propor- 
tionately, of  the  raw  material  and  more  of  condensed 
product.    If  it  takes  seven  pounds  of  corn  on  the 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


Ill 


^iverage  to  make  a  pound  of  pork,  as  is  no  doulit  tlie 
liise,  the  fanner  begins  to  see  tlie  econamy  of  ex- 
porting one  imunil  of  pork,  bacon  or  linm,  instead  of 
b<ven  pounds  of  eorn.  Tlie  ditl'erence  In  cost  of 
freight  makes  a  line  prolit  of  itself;  besides,  the 
[uiuudofmeat  is  usually  worth  more  than  seven 
pounds  of  corn  in  the  foreign  market.  The  produc- 
1  ion  of  pork  should  be  encouraged  on  the  further 
consideration  that  It  carries  otf  less  of  the  valuable 
constituents  of  the  soil  than  beef.  The  fat  pig  con- 
tains only  three-fourths  as  much  mineral  matter  per 
owt.  as  the  fat  steer,  and  only  two  llfths  as  much 
nitrogen  per  cwt.;  and  therefore  the  production  of  a 
ton  of  pork  on  the  farm  will  carry  off  only  a  little 
more  than  half  the  fertility  carried  off  by  a  ton  of 
beef.  Besides,  a  ton  of  beef  will  require  nearly  lifty 
per  cent,  more  to  produce  it.  This  gives  in  round 
numbers  the  comparative  effect  of  producing  pork 
and  beef.  It  is  thus  evident  that  the  pig  should 
have  a  high  place  in  our  agriculture;  should  be 
fostered  in  every  way;  his  caiiabilities  studied  and 
pushed;  his  di^cases  carefully  noted  and  prevented — 
for  he  is  the  most  proliitable  meat  producing  animal 
ou  the  farm.  The  pig  is  an  excellent  adjunct  to  the 
dairy,  turning  all  refuse  milk  and  even  whey  into 
cash.  As  he  is  king  of  our  meat  e.\ports,  so  let  us 
treat  him  with  great  consideration. — .Muor's  Rural 
New  Yorker, 


Sheep  Raising  in  Dakota. 

Sheep  farming  in  Dakota  has  been  demonstrated 
by  practical  men,  who  have  had  experience  in  and 
understand  the  business,  to  be  a  sale  and  profitable 
enterprise.  The  dryness  of  the  atmosphere  in  win- 
ter time,  and  its  purity  and  health  fulness  at  all  sea- 
sons, the  abundance  and  nutritiousness  of  the  native 
grasses,  and  other  favorable  conditions,  insure  the 
health  and  tood  condition  of  the  flocks  at  all  sea- 
sons. These  facts  are  becoming  known  to  and  are 
being  taken  advantage  of  by  practical  wool-growers, 
and  a  number  of  them  have  recently  located  in  our 
territory  and  engaged  in  the  business.  Among  the 
number  is  B.  C.  Bagley,  who  owns  a  range  about 
fifteen  miles  from  Yankton,  in  the  northwestern 
part  of  Clay  county.  He  owns  a  fine  flock  of  Span 
ish  Merino  bucks  and  Cotswold  sheep,  in  fine  condi- 
tion and  health,  and  returning  a  handsome  profit  on 
the  capital  invested.  Mr.  Bagley  called  on  us  a  few 
mornings  since  and  showed  us  a  fieece  weighing  203^ 
pounds,  and  it  is  the  finest  and  best  quality,  worth 
in  the  market  at  present  prices  from  thirty-two  to 
thirty-five  cents  per  pound.  Mr.  Bagley  was  form- 
erly engaged  in  sheep  raising  in  Vermont— a  State 
which  produces  the  finest  sheep  in  the  world,  and 
may  be  said  to  be  the  world's  market  for  the  pur- 
chase of  the  best  and  the  purest  bloo^— and  is, 
therefore,  thoroughly  posted  in  the  business.  He  is 
confident  that  Dakota  possesses  as  good,  if  not  su- 
perior, natural  advantages  as  Vermont  for  success- 
ful and  profitable  slieep  farming,  and  founds  his 
faith  upon  his  personal  experience  in  our  territory. — 
Yankton  Press. 


Treatment  of  the  Cow. 

There  are  conflicting  opinions  among  good  dairy- 
men in  regard  to  the  treatment  of  cows  after  calv- 
ing— some  preferring  a  low  oi  moderate  diet,  at 
most  nothing  more  than  good  hay,  with  free  access 
to  the  usual  watering  place  and  an  avoidance  of  all 
warm  drinks. 

The  arguments  in  favor  of  this  course  for  the  first 
few  days  after  parturition  are,  that  it  is  better  calcu 
lated  to  allay  fever  and  sooner  brings  the  cow  round 
to  a  healthy  condition.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is 
urged  that  the  animal  during  labor  becomes  more  or 
less  exhausted,  and  that  if  the  weather  is  cold,  the 
taking  of  considerable  quantities  of  cold  water  to 
slake  thirst,  has  a  tendency  to  chill  the  animal  and 
impede  circulation,  and  hence,  a  gruel  made  of  bran 
or  oaten  meal,  and  tepid  water  can  be  given  soon 
after  calving  with  the  best  results.  The  tatter  course 
has  been  our  practice,  and  uniformly  with  success. 
After  a  lapse  of  several  hours  the  cow  is  allowed  to 


drink  as  usual.  It  Is  perhaps  unnecessary  to  say  that 
stock  at  this  season  of  the  year  should  be  entrusted 
to  careful  hands — they  demand  almost  constant 
oversight  and  attention.  They  should  not  be  hur- 
ried In  or  out  of  the  stables,  or  allowed  to  fight  or 
worry  each  other  at  the  water  trough  or  in  the  yard. 
Accidents,  of  course,  will  occasionally  occur,  under 
the  most  careful  treatment,  but  by  the  adoption  of  a 
uniform  system  of  kindness  to  all  neat  stock,  with  a 
reasonable  share  of  attention,  there  ueed  be  little,  If 
any  "  bad  luck  "  to  be  anticipated. 

One  thing  we  regard  as  imperatively  demanded  for 
success  In  the  management  ofstock.  Never  allow  a 
cow  to  be  kicked  or  In  any  way  abused  by  hired 
help.  •  Whatever  good  qualities  a  man  may  have, 
better  part  with  him  at  once  If  found  disobeying 
orders  In  this  respect.  State  the  ease  plainly  at  the 
time  of  hiring,  and  make  as  a  condition  the  forfel 
ture  of  a  part  or  the  wliole  of  the  man's  wages  who 
Is  found  guilty  of  kicking  or  beating  cows.  The 
practice  has  become  common  and  should  be  broken 
up.  The  animal  losses  from  this  source  are  im- 
mense. If  every  dairyman  would  make  it  a  rule  that 
his  milch  cow,  must  l)e  treated  kindly,  and  that  no 
excuse  can  be  taken  for  blows  and  kicks,  and  that  no 
person  would  be  employed  who  maltreats  stock,  the 
whole  country  would  be  greatly  benefitted.  We  have 
known  of  valuable  animals  being  lost  by  a  kick,  and 
others  rendered  valueless  for  the  season  by  an  ap- 
parently slight  thump  with  a  milking  stool  from  bad 
tempered  persons.  Laborers  of  this  kind  are  danger- 
ous, and  the  sooner  one  is  rid  of  them  the  better 
Much  can  be  effected  in  this  matter  by  good  example, 
for  if  the  owner  so  far  forgets  himself  as  to  abuse 
stock  he  cannot  expect  the  men  in  his  employ  to  do 
otherwise.  The  business  of  the  year  is  about  to  com- 
mence, and  the  start  should  be  made  with  sound, 
healthy  and  vigorous  stock,  and  from  such,  reason- 
able results  may  be  anticipated. —  Western  Rural. 


Poultry. 


Floors  for  Poultry  Houses 

Experienee  has  proved  board  floors  for  poultry 
houses  to  be  Injurious  to  the  flowls.  No  amount  of 
cleaning  can  keep  them  free  from  vermin  and  bad 
odors.  Clean,  dry  earth  is  the  proper  flooring  for 
hen  houses.  It  should  have  an  under  strata  of  solid, 
packed  earth.  This  should  be  scraped  at  least  once 
a  week  and  again  sprinkled  with  road  dust  mixed 
with  air-slaked  lime. 


Fowl  Fattening. 

The  greatest  curiosity  In  the  Jardin  d'AccIimatlon 
is  the  singular  fowl  fattening  machine  which  has 
been  In  operation  for  but  a  short  time,  but  which  is  a 
great  success — remarks  a  lady,  writing  from  Paris. 
Imagine  the  top  of  a  round  tea  table  divided  off  into 
sections,  with  a  partition  between  each  section  and  a 
board  in  front  of  with  a  half  moon  shaped  aperture 
In  it.  In  each  of  these  sections  an  unhappy  duck  or 
chicken  Is  confined  by  a  chain  to  each  leg,  and  under 
each  Is  fitted  a  tray,  which  receives  the  dirt  and  is 
emptied  dally.  Through  the  centre  of  this  structure 
goes  a  round  po.st,  and  there  Is  a  series  of  such  tea- 
table  tops  to  the  roof  of  the  building,  each  with  Its 
divisions  and  Imprisoned  fowls.  At  stated  intervals 
a  man  comes  around  with  a  somewhat  complicated 
machine,  filled  with  a  kind  of  thin  gruel,  and  fitted 
with  a  pipe  at  the  end  of  a  long  India-rubber  tube. 
He  introduces  this  pipe  down  the  throat  of  a  duck, 
presses  down  a  pedal  with  his  foot,  and  a  certain 
quantity  of  food  is  forced  into  the  creature's  craw,  a 
disc  above  showing  exactly  what  amount  of  force  he 
Is  to  use,  and  how  much  food  passes.  This  process 
is  gone  through  with  each  fowl  till  all  are  fed,  and  it 
is  repeated  four  times  a  day  for  ducks  and  three  for 
chickens.  Two  weeks  suffice  to  fatten  a  duck,  but 
three  are  necessary  for  a  chicken.  Apart  from  the 
necessary  confinement  of  the  birds,  the  process  does 
not  seem  to  be  t  all  a  cruel  one,  as  the  amount  of 
food  forced  down  their  throat  Is  not  excessive.  The 
ducks  which  I  saw  fed  did  not  seem  to  suffer  in  the 


least;  and,  in  fact,  when  they  saw  the  man  approach, 
most  of  them  became  clamorous  for  Immediate  atten- 
tion and  plucked  at  his  clothes,  as  he  passed,  with 
eager  beaks. — Journal  of  Agriculture. 

Onions  for  Chicken  Cholera. 
A  correspondent  of  the  I'onllnj  Yard  thus  de- 
scribes his  new  remedy  for  chicken  cholera  :  "  While 
our  neighbors  for  several  miles  around  us,  have  lost 
nearly  all  their  chickens  from  the  so. called  cholera, 
ours  are  In  fine  condition.  They  were  attacked  with 
the  premonitory  symptoms  of  the  disease,  Whicb 
seemed  to  be  endemic  here,  but  we  cured  them  and 
have  no  trouble  with  them  since,  having  accidentally 
found  a  cure.  Cut  up  onions  with  food,  and  admin- 
ister once  a  day  for  several  days,  afterward  once  a 
week  will  answer.  Also  mix  a  little  ground  ginger 
with  their  meal,  once  every  day  or  two.  We  also 
give  them  a  little  salt  every  two  or  three  weeks, 
which  we  deem  highly  necessary,  and,  above  all 
things,  keep  watermelons,  muskmelons  and  cucum- 
bers away  from  them.  The  lops  of  celery  cut  up 
with  their  food  will  be  found  beneficial,  and  they  ap- 
pear to  like  It  very  well.  Do  not  get  these  state- 
ments mixed  up.  The  onions  and  ginger  only  for 
cholera,  the  remainder  constant  attention.  Too  much 
whole  corn  wo  have  found  injurious  ;  we  give  meal 
of  this  only  once  In  three  or  four  days.  Raw  onions 
and  a  very  little  ginger  against  the  world  for  curing 
cholera.  If  the  disease  has  not  been  allowed  to  run  too 
far.  We  endorse  heartily  the  raw  onions  and  ginger, 
but  have  never  found  melons  injurious.  Last  sum- 
mer we  raised.  In  an  amateur  way,  nearly  three  hun- 
dred chickens  and  turkeys.  Bushels  of  melon  rlndg 
and  imperfect  melons  of  both  kinds  were  thrown  to 
them  daily  and  eaten  eagerly.  Over-ripe  cucumbers 
and  seeds  of  muskmelons  weic  likewise  devoured. 
We  had  no  losses  from  any  disease. 

Cramming  Poultry, 

Poultry  of  all  kinds  can  be  well  fattened,  If  In  fair 
order  previously,  in  three  weeks.  The  method  of 
cramming  poultry  to  fat  them  is  as  follows:  Oatmeal 
and  cornmeal  are  boiled  with  milk  and  some  sugai 
Into  a  thick  mush.  When  this  li  nearly  cold  it  Is 
rolled  with  dry  meal  Inio  large  pellets  of  the  size  of 
chestnuts,  ami  that  will  be  readily  swallowed.  The 
bird  is  taken  between  the  knees  on  an  apron,  and  its 
mouth  held  open  while  another  person  puts  the  pel- 
lets of  food  down  the  throat  until  no  more  can  be  put 
down.  The  bird  is  then  put  into  a  small  coop.  Id 
which  it  cannot  even  turn,  and  shut  up  In  darkness. 
It  is  fed  four  times  a  day  and  no  water  is  elven. 
The  flesh  of  birds  so  fattened  is  very  white  and  clear, 
and  brings  a  good  price  in  the  market. 


Wild  Chickens. 
Some  years  ago,  several  families  settled  in  a  fron- 
tier region  in  (.lommanehe  county,  Texas,  but  be- 
coming discouraged,  they  abandoned  the  enterprise 
and  returned  to  the  old  settlement  leaving  their  do- 
mestic I'owls  In  possession  of  the  clearings.  These 
mulliplietl  lapidly,  and  in  a  few  years  became  as 
wild  as  any  other  birds  of  the  forest.  At  the  pres- 
ent time  there  are  said  to  be  thousands  of  these  wild 
chickens  in  that  region.  They  will  probably  become 
permanent  inhabitants  of  the  mountains  of  western 
Texas.  In  this  manner  the  horse  became  a  wild 
animal  ou  the  pampas  of  South  America. — Ex. 


Good  Hatching. 
We  have  often  recommended  Leghorn  eggs  for 
hatching,  having  found  in  our  experience  that  they 
produce  a  large  proportion  of  healthy  chicks,  than 
any  other  variety  we  ever  tried.  W.  D.  wrote  us 
from  Jackson  county,  Wisconsin,  under  date  July 
S.'ith,  that  out  of  fifty  two  White  Leghorn  eggs  re- 
ceived I'rom  us  he  got  forty-five  chicks.  The  day  we 
received  his  letter,  a  game  hen  turned  us  out  four- 
teen White  Leghorn  eliieks,  all  smart  and  lively 
We  find  the  chicks  from  this  variety  very  smart  and 
healthy  from  the  start. 

Literary  and  Personal. 


TuE  Amiciucax  Millek. — A  moiilhly  journal 
devoted  tothe  art  and  science  of  milling.  If  any  out- 
ward manifestation  were  necessary  to  illustrate  that 
this  journal  had  "come  to  stay,"  and  could  afford 
to  stay,  It  seems  to  us  that  the  number  now  on  our 
table  (No  0,  Vol.  X.)  would  be  ample  evidence  to 
that  effect.  Published  by  Mitchell  Bro.'s  Company, 
Chicago,  111.,  at  one  dollau  per  annuu.    We  can 


112 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[July,  1882. 


best  express  its  size  by  stating  tbat  it  is  a  12  by  15 
demi  folio,  of  58  pages,  including  the  covers,  and 
has  three  columns  of  beautifully  printed  matter  to 
the  page.  We  think  it  can  "  atford  to  stay,"  from 
the  fact  that  this  number  contains  210  advertise- 
ments, 200  of  which  are  embelished  with  illustra- 
tions executed  in  the  finest  style  of  wood  ena-raving, 
and  that  a  number  of  these  are  full  page  advertise- 
ments, all  relating  to  milling  and  machinery  con- 
nected with  milling  and  its  corelalives.  To  any  per- 
son, or  any  company  making  milling  and  grain- 
dealing  a  specialty,  this  journal  would  be  a  perfect 
vade  mecuiH,  at  least  within  the  realm  of  its  circula- 
tion, if  not  beyond  it.  Thirty-three  cards  appear 
under  the  heading  ".Mills  (or  Sale."  Twenty-two 
"  Flour  and  Commission  Cards."  Eifjhteen  "Miscel- 
laneous Notices;"  thirty -eight  under  the  head  of 
"  Wanted  ;"  ninety-four  "  News  Items  "  from  mills, 
ranging  I'rom  one  line  to  fifty,  in  addition  to  which 
the  ".Minneapolis  Budget"  alone  contains  oyer  forty . 
Special  notices  seven,  business  notices  eleven,  editorial 
notes  twenty-eight,  besides  ten  half  column  to  whole 
column  editorial  papers.  The  "New  Mills  Items" 
number  one  hundred  and  seventy-one;  "Foreign 
Milling  News  "  twenty  ;  "  Canadian  "  do  twenty-two ; 
"Scientific  and  Practical,"  seventeen.  Notes  and 
Queries,  twenty-eight,  bringing  the  number  up  to  1.36 
since  the  beginning  of  tht*  present  volume  ;  "  Chan- 
ges," yt/^iZ-sey^H  ;  list  of  "new  patents,"  thirty-five, 
from  April  25th  to  May  33rd,  1882.  Besides  com- 
munications, extracts  from  proceedings  of  miller's 
associations,  notes  on  steam-power,  descriptions  of 
mill  machinery,  mill  factories,  analysis  of  grains  ; 
"  trade  gossip,"  observations  on  new  patent  milling 
aparatus,  discussions  of  questions  connected  with 
milling,  improvements,  buildings,  experiments,  ex 
pressions  of  opinions,  quotations  from  old  inventors, 
corrections,  &c.,  &c.  We  have  been  thus  minute  in 
scanning  the  contents  of  this  journal  (only  limited 
for  want  of  time  and  space)  because  milling  is  so  in- 
timately connected  with  good  bread,  which  is  literally 
the  "staff"  of  physical  life;  and  more  of  man's 
physical  and  moral  health  is  involved  in  good  bread 
than  the  world  at  large  seems  to  apprehend,  nor  can 
it  be  too  soon  enlightened  thereon. 

American  Silk  and  Fruit  Culturist.  It  may 
have  been  a  dictate  of  wisdom  in  tying  these  two 
domestic  interests  together  in  one  enterprise,  for  it 
seems  clear  that  the  first  named  is  not  yet  able  to 
stand  alone,  having  never  fully  recovered  from  the 
attack  of  J/H?(»caui'<s  of  five  and  forty  years  ago. 
No.  1,  Vol.  1,  of  this  lively  little  32  page  S  vol.,  is 
before  us,  and  we  bid  it  "God  Speed,"  for  the  inter- 
ests it  represents,  ought  to  be  croA'ned  with  success, 
especially  in  a  country  claiming  to  be  "free  and  in- 
dependent." Published  by  Campbell  &  Pepper, 
1328  Chestnut  street,  Philadelphia,  at  $1.00  a  year, 
monthly,  devoting  itself  exclusively  to  the  industrial 
interests  included  in  its  title.  In  the  silk  department 
It  seems  to  be  the  organ  of  the  "Women's  Silk-Cul- 
ture Association  of  the  United  States,"  and  as  the 
representative  of  Wta(  alone,  it  ought  to  receive  the 
encouragement  of  all  who  wear  silk  in  any  form 
whatever.  The  quality  of  the  material  and  typo- 
graphy are  "A  No.  1,"  and  its  silk  and  fruit  litera- 
ture are  able  and  practical.  When  we  reflect  that 
for  the  fiscal  j'ear  ending  with  June,  1880,  we  impor- 
ted from  abroad  raw  silk  to  the  value  of  111,088,822, 
Cocoon  and  waste  silk,  §1,206,806;  and  manufac- 
tured silk,  $30,596,.509,  making  an  aggregate  of  §13, 
492,137,  we  cannot  help  concluding  that  we  are  mis- 
sing one  opportunity  to  participate  in  one  of  the 
greatest  domestic  trades  that  characterized  human 
civilization.  Silk  culture  to  become  a  permanent 
success  must  be  conducted  on  an  economical  and 
wide  expanding  basis,  and  on  limited  scales — it 
must  become  the  occupation  of  the  "common  peo 
pie,"  and  the  people  must  subscribe  for  a  silk  jour 
nal,  pay  for  it  and  read  it,  before  an  intelligent  be- 
ginning can  be  made,  and  a  profitable  result  attain- 
ed. We  gather  from  the  report  of  the  Woman's 
Silk  Culture  Association,  that  cocoons  are  worth 
from  ?1.50  to  $2.50  per  pound,  (pierced  ones  $1.10), 
and  egga  from  $4.00  to  $5.00  per  ounce,  and   as  soon 


as  a  eu/ficient  number  of  such  "depots"  are  estab- 
lished the  thrift  of  the  business  will  begin.  Having 
such  a  representative  journal  uS  the  one  which  is  the 
subject  of  this  notice,  the  silk  producers  of  our 
country  will  be  provided  with  a  solid  staff  that  will 
bear  them  on  to  a  successful  issue.  Although  we 
do  not  expect  to  live  long  enough  to  see  its  crowning 
success,  yet  that  loill  eventually  eome. 

OuB  Home  and  Science  Gossip. — A  sixteen- 
page  royal  quarto,  published  monthly,  at  Rockford, 
111.,  at  $1.00  per  annum,  by  Andruk  Illiogworth. 
No.  6  vol.  6  (June,  1882,)  has  been  laid  on  our  table 
and  is  a  specially  interesting  and  instructive  number 
including  in  its  scope,  practical  science,  poetry  and 
general  literature,  in  their  most  latitudinal  applica- 
tion. Printed  in  fair  type,  on  tinted  paper  and 
worthy  the  patronage  of  an  intelligent  public. 

The  Iron  Hall. — "  One  thousand  dollars  safe  in 
seven  years."  A  demi-folio  monthly,  devoted  to  the 
interests  of  a  secret  beneficial  organization,  called 
"  The  Order  of  the  Iron  Hall,"  Indianapolis,  Indiana, 
May  15, 18S2,  vol.  1,  No.  11.  The  details  of  this 
publication  is  very  similar  to  those  given  in  our  June 
number,  noticing  the  "  Banner  of  Chosen  Friends," 
which  need  not  be  repeated  here.  If  any  of  our 
readers  desire  to  "  take  stock  "  in  these  associations 
they  had  better  seud  for  a  representative  number. 

Progress,  published  by  the  State  Sunday  School 
Committee,  Boston,  Massachusetts,  at  twenty-five 
cents  per  annum,  monthly.  This  is  a  demi-folio  of 
eight  pages,  and  contains  a  large  amount  of  practical 
matter  on  the  organization  and  conduct  of  Sunday 
schools. 

The  Sidereal  Messenger. — A  monthly  review 
of  astronomy,  in  ten  numbers  annually,  at  §2.00, 
and  is  the  only  periodical  in  the  United  States  de- 
voted exclusively  to  popular  astronomy,  conducted 
by  Wm.  W.  Payne,  Director  of  the  Carleton  College 
Observatory,  Northfield,  Minnesota  .No.  4,  vol.  1  of 
this  splendidly  printed  octavo  magazine  of  thirty- 
four  pages  in  tinted  covers,  has  been  placed  on  our 
table,  and  we  call  the  special  attention  of  our  "  Star 
Club  "  to  it,  as  in  every  way  worthy  of  their  liberal 
patronage,  and  in  which  they  may  realize  that — 
"  The  voice  that  rolls  the  stars  along 
Speaks  all  the  promises." 
The  material  and  typographical  execution  are  unex- 
ceptionally  good,  and  the  contributions  and  editorial 
notes  all  that  a  practical  "  star-gazer  "  could  desire. 
It  will  be  observed  that  this  is  a  new  claimant  of 
public  patronage,  and  there  is  a  freshness  and  vigor 
about  it  which  indicates  that  it  has  "  come  to  stay." 
We  hope  the  votaries  of  the  beautiful  science  of  as- 
tronomy may  manifest  an  appreciative  sense  of  its 
worth  by  a  liberal  patronage  of  the  enterprise. 

Proceedings  of  a  convention  of  agriculturists 
held  in  the  department  of  agriculture,  January  10th 
to  18th,  1882,  Washington,  D.  C.  204  pp.  octavo. 
Report  upon  the  condition  of  winter  grain,  and  upon 
the  condition  of  farm  animals  of  the  United  States, 
April  1883,  82  pp.  octavo.  Florida — its  climate,  soil, 
productions,  and  agricultural  capabilitits,  1882.  98 
pp.  octavo.  Report  upon  the  acreage  and  condition 
of  cotton,  the  condition  of  all  cereals,  and  the  area 
of  spring  grain.  15  pp.  octavo;  and  report  upon  the 
condition  of  winter  grain,  the  progress  of  cotton  and 
corn  planting,  the  rate  of  wages  and  labor,  and  re- 
sults of  the  draining.  20  pp.,  octavo.  All  neatly  and 
uniformly  printed  bulletins,  issued  by  the  depart- 
ment of  agriculture,  and  all  containing  many  items 
of  solid  information,  and  also  much  that  has  no  value 
except  in  a  local  sense,  and  then  only  to  those  who 
read  and  heed. 

Eleventh  report  of  the  State  Entomologist,  on 
the  Noxious  and  Beneficial  Insects  of  the  State  of 
Illinois,  being  the  Sixth  Annual  Report  by  Prof. 
Cyrus  Thomas,  Ph.  D.,  State  Entomologist.  This  is 
an  octavo  of  104  ptiges,  with  title  page  and  index, 
and  without  the  usual  illustrations.  Prof.  Thomas 
has  valuable  aid  in  the  State  through  the  entomolo- 
gical labors  of  Mr.  D.  W.  Coquillett,  of  Woodstock, 
111.,  who  contributes  largely  to  this  report;  also  in 
Prof.  G.  H.  French,  who  contributes  the  second  part 
of  the  report. 


The  report  is  mainly  confined  to  new  phases  of  old 
insects— subjects]  heretofore  described,  but  have 
since  developed  some  new  characteristic  features  in 
their  histories,  for  instance,  Hellothis  Armigera  as  a 
boll-worm,  a  corn-worm,  a  tomato  worm,  etc., 
showing  its  flexibility'of  character,  and  its  [adapta- 
tion of  means  to  ends.  Two  years  ago  we  bread  this 
insect  from  larva  sent  to  us  from  Spring  Garden  In 
Lancaster.county,  where  it  was'.feeding  on  tobacco 
plant.  We  do  not  know  that  it  was  plentiful,  but 
we  have  had  its  existence  as  a  feeder  on  the  tobacco 
plant  and  its  species,  identified  by  competent  authori- 
ties outside  of  our  own  experience.  We  acknowl- 
edge the  receipts  of  this  report^with  thanks  for  this 
and  many  other  favors  extended  to>s  by  thej  State 
Entomologist  of  Illinois. 

The  Ladies  Floral  Cabinet," for  July  1883.  A 
large  royal  embellished  quarto  of  22  pages;  a  true 
"Pictorial  Home  Companion,"  devoted  to  the  flower 
garden,  and  polite  and  domestic  literature,  New- 
York,  §1.35  a  year.  This  journal  is  gotten  up  in  the 
highest  style  of  typographic,  pictorial  and.  literary 
art,  and  worthy  the  patronage  of  at  least  the  women 
of  our  country. 

The  Sugar  Beet,  devoted  to  the  cultivation  and 
utilization  of  the  Sugar  Beet,  3rd  year,  No.  2,  Phila- 
delphia, May,  1882,  price  50  cents  per  annum.  This 
excellent  quarterly  quarto  seems  to  have  come  to 
stay,  and  abates  not  in  its  faith  in  the  ultimate  suc- 
cess of  the  Sugar  Beet  industry  in  the  United  States; 
and  from  the  fact  that  38,666  pounds  of  Sugar  Beet 
seed  valued  at  $4,165  had  been  imported  into  the 
United  States  in  ISSl,  we  have  reason  to  belieye 
that  the  people  are  cultivating  an  abiding,  although, 
perhaps,  a  somewhat  tardy  faith  in  it.  Slow  but 
sttre  is  considered  a  normal  progress. 

We  have  just  received  a  "  Pamphlet  of  Pot- 
grown  AND  Later  Strawberry  Plants,"  with 
instructions  for  their  cultivation,  and  for  sale  by  J. 
T.  LoTctt,  Monmouth  Nursery,  Little  Silver,  Mon- 
mouth county,  New  Jersey,  for  the  Summer  and 
Autumn  of  1883.  Six  pages  octavo,  with  a  beautiful 
illustration  of  the  Manchester  Strawberry,  natural 
size,  in  colors,  including  an  announcement  of  the 
Hansall  Raspberry,  two  varieties  of  small  fruits  that 
have  received  the  endorsement  of  some  of  the  most 
prominent  fruit-growers  of  New  Jersey,  New  Tork 
and  Pennsylvania,  after  the  most  thorough  and 
practical  tests.  We  somehow  never  have  too  much 
of  either  of  these  fruits  in  our  markets,  nor  yet  of 
too  good  a  quality  or  too  low  in  price,  and  as  it  is  to 
the  interest  of  the  producer  as  well  as  the  consumer, 
to  have  good  prolific  and  hardy  varieties  of  these 
fruits,  we  believe  it  would  be  to  the  advantage  of 
both  if  our  fruit  growers  were  to  extend  their  in- 
quiries in  the  direction  above  indicated.  For  further 
particulars  we  would  suggest  that  thej  send  for 
catalogues,  especially  as  the  proprietor  offers  pamph- 
lets post  free  to  all. 

State,  District  and  Countv  Fairs. — We  have 
received  a  copy  of  the  Premium  List — 60  pages 
octavo— of  the  Thirtieth  Indiana  State  Fair,  profuse- 
ly embellished,  and  in  tinted  covers.  We  always  re- 
ceive similar  documents  from  Indiana,  Illinois,  Kan- 
sas, Ohio,  and  elsewhere,  long  before  we  receive  any- 
thing of  the  kind  from  Pennsylvania.  The  book  also 
contains  a  diagram  of  the  Indiana  State  fair  grousds, 
and  a  map  of  the  State,  illustratiBg  its  entire  railroad 
system.  Perhaps  there  is  no  city  in  the  Union  that 
i8  60  central  in  its  State,  as  the  City  of  Indinnapolis, 
nor  none  that  has  more  railroads  ramifying  its  entire 
domain.  The  list  is  large  and  the  premiums  liberal, 
with  a  department  especially  for  boys  and  girls  under 
sixteen  years  of  age,  together  with  a  large  list  of 
"  special  premiums"  from  outside  enterprising  busi- 
ness houses.  Indiana  certainly  has  some  faith  In 
tlie  uses  of  fairs  to  stimulate  progress  in  agriculture. 
She  advertises  56  county  fairs  for  1882,  between  Au- 
gust 8th  and  October  11th.  Also,  18  district  fairs  in 
the  State,  and  one  great  general  fair.  The  diagram 
of  the  fair-grounds  looks  like  a  clever  town,  having 
about  thirty  buildings  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
various  exhibits.  About  one-half  of  the  enclosure  is 
devoted  to  a  race-course.  That  is  a  feature  in  agri- 
cultural exhibitions  that  seems  indispensable  almost 
everywhere,  and  the  idea  is  to  improve  It,  and  not 
abolish  it. 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER 


III 


THE  WORLD   OF  NATURE 

The  worUl  of  animated  nature  is  more  splendidly 
represented  under  the  canvas  of  Forepau^li's  fireat 
Show  than  in  any  zoological  collection  existent.  Not 
eince  the  day  Noah  lifted  his  liawser  otl'  the  snub- 
biog  post  have  so  many  distinct  varieties  i>f  rare  ani- 
mals been  collected  under  one  cbarire.  This  impor- 
tant fact  should  not  be  lost  sitrht  of  by  schools 
and  parents.  Boys  and  girls  can  learn  more  in  an 
afternoon  of  natural  history,  in  the  great  .Menagerie 
of  Forepaugh's  Show,  than  by  months  of  book 
study.  Recognizing  this,  Mr.  Forepaugh  makes  re- 
duced rates  to  schools,  and  admits  all  children  in 
orphan  asylums  free  of  charge.  This  (ireal  Show 
will  exhibit  in  Lancaster,  Monday,  .\pril  l;4. 


THE 


TE 


1 


EMIlIill 


OFFICE 

0  North  Queen  Stfeet, 

LANCASTER,  PA.. 


THE  OLDEST  AND  BEST. 


THE  WEEKLY 

LANCASTER  EXAMINER 

One  of  the  largest  Weekly  Papers  in 

the  State. 
Published  EveryiWeddnesay  Morning, 

iBau  old,  well-establisbed  newspaper,  and  coulains  just  the 
news  desiruble    to  make    it   uu   iuteresting   and   valuable 
Family    Newspiper.     The  postage  to  subcribere   residiug 
outside  of  Lancjtster  couuty  is  paid  by  the  publisher. 
Seud  for  a  specimeu  copy. 


Two  Dollars  per  Annum. 


THE   DAILY 


LANCASTER  EXAMINER 

The  Largest  Daily  Paper  in  the 
county. 

Pnblishcd  Daily  Except  S   nday. 

The  daily  is  publiehed  every  evening  duriug  the  week. 
It  iB  delivered  iu  the  City  and  to  Hurrouuding  Towns  ac- 
cessible by  railroad  aud  daily  sta^/e  lints,  for  10  cents 
a  week. 

Mall  Subscription,  free  of  postage — One  month,  50 
•cents:  one  year,   $5.00. 


JOHN  A.  HIESTAND.  Proprietor, 

No.  9  Nort  11  Qneen  St., 

LA-N-CA-STKB.  FA.. 


Important  to  Grocers,  Packers,  Hucksters,  and  the 

General  Public. 

THE  KING  fTrtONE-MAKER. 


OZONE 


A  New  Process  for  Prrscrrliu/  all 
Pcrishiible  Articles,  Animal  wnd 
Vcffctahle  from  Fermentation  and 
Putre/'ariion,  Jietaining  Ifieir  Odor  and  Plavnr. 

'*  OZONE— Pnrified  air.  active  state  of  Oxygen."— »»>6«'er. 

This  preservative  is  not  a  liquid  pickle,  or  any  of  the  old  and  exploded  pr..ccsse5  but  in  dimply  and  purely 
OZONE,  as  produced  and  applied  by  an  entirely  new  process  Ozone  is  the  antisrp-ic  principle  of  every 
substance,  and  possesses  the  power  to  preserve  animal  and  vegetable  structures  from  decay. 

Tin  re  in  tioth  htf/  on  the  J<iri-  «/  thv  (iirlli  liiihlc  to  miay  or  xpoil  irfi  irii  f)zour,  the 
new  Preservative,  will  not  preserre  for  all  time  in  <•  perjeetly  fresh  auiljialataltle 
eonilition. 

The  value  of  Ozone  as  a  natural  preserver  has  been  known  to  our  abler  chcmiiita  for  years,  but,  until  now,  no 
means  of  proiluefiiK  it  in  a  praetieal,  inexpen-sive,  and  simple  nuinner  have  been  dl»eovere<l 

Sliero.seopie  observations  prove  that  decay  is  due  to  sentie  mailer  or  minute  Bermn.  dial  develop  and  feed  nixin 
animal  and  vesetable  siruelures.  Ozone,  applied  by  the  I'rentice  method,  .sc-izi-.s  and  destroys  these  cernis  at  oneo. 
and  thus  preserves  At  our  odiee  in  ('ineinmiti  can  be  .seen  almost  every  article  that  e«n  be  ihouKbt  of,  preserved  by 
this  process,  anil  every  visitor  is  welcomed  to  come  in,  Uisle,  smell,  lake  away  with  linn,  and  lest  in  every  way  the 
merits  of  Ozone  as  a  iire.servative.  We  will  also  pre.scrve,  free  of  charBe.  any  article  that  i.-.  bruuKbt  or  sent  prepaid 
to  us,  and  return  it  to  the  sender,  lor  him  to  keep  and  test. 

FKICSII  MU.^'I'S.  such  as  beef,  mutton,  veal,  pork,  poultry,  (jame,  fish,  &e.,  iireserved  by  Ibis  method,  enn  be 
shipped   to  Kurope,  subjeeled  to  atmospheric  cbaiiKes  and  return  to  Ibis  connlrv  in  a  stale  of  perfect  preservation. 

E«Ti<JS  can  be  treated  at  a  cost  of  less  than  one  dollaratliousaml  dozen,  ami  be"  kept  in  an  ordinary  room  six  montlu 
or  more,  tboroushly  preserved  ;  the  yolk  held  in  its  normal  condition,  and  the  CKifs  as  Iresb  and  perfect  as  on  the 
day  they  were  Irealed,  anil  will  .sell  as. strielly  "ehoiec."  The  advaiitiiKc  in  prewrvini- ckks  is  readilv  seen  •  there 
are  seasons  when  they  can  be  boii|;bt  for  8  or  lOecnts  a  dozen,  and  by  boldini;  them,  can  lie  sold  for  an  advance  of 
from  one  hundred  to  three  hundred  per  ce   t.    One  man,  with  this  method,  can  preserve  5  (J(l0  do/en  a  dav 

Fit!'  rvs  may  be  permilted  to  ripen  in  their  native  eiimate,and  can  be  transported  to  any  part  of  tliJ  worM 

The  juice  expressed  Ironi  fruits  can  be  held  for  an  indcrmitc  period  without  lernientation— hence  the  Krcul  value 
of  this  process  lor  producmi;  atemperance  bevcraKc.     Cider  can  be  held  perieitiv  sweet  for  any  leneth  of  lime 

V1',<JKTAHI.K>*  can  be  kept  for  an  indelinile  jieriod  in  their  natural  condition,  retainiiiK  their  ..dor  and  flavor 
treated  in  their  orijiinal  packages  at  a  small  expense.  All  urains,  Hour,  meal,  etc., are  held  in  their  normal  condition' 

liivi' TF.tl.  alter  being:  treated  by  this  process,  will  not  become  rancid. 

Dead  human  bodies,  treated  bclore' decomposition  sets  in,  can  beheld  in  a  natural  eondilion  fur  weeks  witliou* 
jjunclurmsj  the  skin  or  niutilaliiiK  the  body  in  any  way.     Ilenee  the  great  value  of  Ozone  tounderbikers 

There  IS  no  chanue  m  the  slifjbtcst  parlieular  in  the  appearance  of  any  article  thus  preserved  and  no  trace  of  any 
foreign  or  unnatural  odor  or  taste. 

The  process  is  so  .simple  that  a  child  can  operate  as  well  and  as  sueeessfuUy  as  a  man.  There  is  no  expensive 
apparatus  or  machinery  reiiuireil. 

A  room  lilled  with  different  articles,  .such  as  eggs,  meat,  fish,  etc.,  ean  be  treated  at  one  time  without  add!  lonal 

ouble  or  expense. 

«i>-  III  lael,  llM-ro  In  nofliiiie  Ihal  nz«ii<>  uill  not  |>r<><,rrvp.    Think  of  cvervthing  you  ean  Inal  is 

e  to  sour,  decay,  or  spoil,  and  then   remember  thai  we  guarantee   that  Ozone  will  preserve   it   in  exactly  the 

itioii  you  want  il  lor  any  Iciigtb  of  lime.     If  you  will  leliicmber  this  it  will  save  asking  iiucslions  as  to  wbelhcr 

conde  will  preserve  this  or  that  article— H  will  |>ie!.crve  iiii.>  liiiiiu  iiimI  «-v«t.v  fhiiiK  you  t-iui  lilillil  of. 

There  is  not    a  town.ship  in  the  United   States  in  which  a   live  man  can  not   make  anv  amount  of  money   from 
SI,(XK)  to  SI0,(100  a  year,  that  he  pleases.     \\  e  desire  to  get  a  live  man  Interesled  in  each  county  in  the  l.nitcil  States 
in  M  hose  bands  we  can  place  this  Preservative,  and  tlirougli  liiin  sceure  the  business  wliieli  every  eounlv  ouglii  to 
roduee.  * 

AP/^Dnri  TTMP    Awaits  any  Man  who  Secuips  Control  of  OZOXE   in  iiii} 
1    KJl\   1    \J  l^  L^  ToHuship  or  County. 

A.  C.  Vowen,  Marion,  Ohio,  has  cleared  ?2  0011  in  two  months.     f2  lor  a  test  package  was  bis  (Irst  investment 

WoodsBrothcrs,  Lebanon,  \\aricii  County,  Ohio,  made  ?G,000  on  eggs  pureliased  iu  August  and  sold  November 
1st.    yj  for  a  test  package  was  their  first  investment. 

F.  K.  Raymond.  IWorrisl.iwn,  Helinont  Co.,  Ohio,  is  clearing  S2,000  a  month  in  handling  and  selling  Ozone.  $2  for 
a  test  package  was  his  lirst  invesllnent. 

D  F.  Webber,  ("liarlotte,  liatoii  Co.,  Mich.,  lias  cleared  Sl.OOO  a  month  since  August.  J2  for  a  test  package  was  his 
first  investment. 

J.  B.  (iaylord,  80  La  Salle  St., 
li-^c.  per  ilozen  fore 
business  is  making  i 

Tlic  Cincinnati  Keed  Co.,  West  4'.)s  Seventh  .Street,  is  making  S.5,00  a  month  in  handling  brewers'  malt,  preser\-inK 
and  shipping  it  as  feed  to  all  parts  of  the  country.  JIalt  unpreserved  sours  in  21  hours.  Preserved  bv  Ozone  il  keens 
perfectly  sweet  for  months.  *  "^ 

These  arc  instances  which  we  have  asked  in  llic  privilege  of  publishing.  There  arc  scores  of  others.  Write  louny 
of  the  above  parties  and  get  the  evidence  direct. 

Now,  to  prove  the  absolule  truth  of  every  tiling  we  have  said  in  this  paper,  »•••  |ir»|tos<>  l»  plnrp  in  vour 
lliiiMl<i  llif  iiK'Hiin  »I  iiiMivinii'  lor  .voiil'Nell' thai  we  Iihvo  iioI  rlaii:i<-<l  hall'  I'lioiiicli.  To  any 
person  who  doubts  any  of  these  statements,  and  who  is  interested  .suflieiently  to  make  the  iri|>  we  will  pav  all 
traveling  and  hotel  expenses  lor  a  visit  to  this  city,  if  we  fail  to  prove  any  statement  thai  we  have  made 

How  to  Secure  a  Fortune  with  Ozone. 

A  to.st  pafkage  of  O/.oiie,  contiiiniiip:  a  suflk-icnt  quantity  to  prt-.sfrve  om-  tlirf\i-iuni  dozen  CKKf",  or  otlicr  articles 
iti  }iroporticni,  will  be  sent  to  any  applicant  on  n-ceipl  of  S-2.  Tbis  packaffc  will  tMiablt*  the  np|ilic:int  to  pun^uc  any 
lin*_*  of  ttsts  and  experiments  lie  de.sire.s.  and  tliiKs  siili.sfy  himself  a.s  tu  the  extmurdinary  merits  of  (>/.onv  as  u 
I'reservutive.  After  having  thus  .satisfied  liim.sclf.  and  had  time  tohmkihe  fiehl  ove  to  determine  what  lie  wishes 
to  do  in  the  futnre — whether  to  mcU  the  article  tootliers  or  to  eonlinc  it  to  his  own  use,  or  any  otlier  line  of  policy 
which  is  best  .suited  to  him  and  to  his  township  or  county— we  will  enter  into  an  arran^enienl  witli  hiui  that  will 
niakea  fortune  for  him  and  ^ive  us  ^jood  prolitj*.  We  will  \i\\ti  exclusive  township  i>r  euuiity  privilcKe-^  to  tlie  lir!*t 
responsible  ni)plieant  wlio  orders  a  test  pa».-kane  and  dt^sircsto  control  the  bu.sinc?vs  m  his  loealiiy.  'I'lie  iiihii  u  li« 
f«e<*iire<4  <*4kiiirol  t*f  Oztiiie  for  any  s|i«m*1h1  territory,  will  enjoy  »  luonopoly  Wliicli  w  ill  Miirely 
pnrirli  Itini. 

Diin't  lei  u  day  Pass  until  you  have  ordered  a  Teat  Package,  and  if  you  desire  to  secure  an  cj):chisivc  prJvilcKe  we 
aSsure  you  tiiat  delay  may  deprive  you  of  it.  for  tlie  upplications  conic  in  to  us  by  Hcorcs  every  mail— many  by 
tclej^raph.     "  First  come  tirst  served  "  is  our  rule. 

If  you  do  not  care  to  send  money  in  advance  for  the  test  package  we  will  send  it  C.  O,  D.,  hut  this  will  put  you  lo 
the  expense  of  chart^es  for  return  money.  Our  corre-npon  deuce  is  very  larjfe;  we  have  all  we  cjin  do  to  attendlo  th« 
shipping:  of  onlcrs  an<l  j^ivinff  attention  to  our  working  aKCntd.  Therefore  we  c^in  not  jfive  any  attention  to  letters 
whiub  do  not  order  <>/.oue.  If  you  think  of  any  article  that  you  are  doubtful  uboutOzone  preserving  remember  wo 
^tarantte  thai  it  ivill  preserve  it,  no  matter  ivhut  it  is. 

■\Ve  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  a  class  of  rcfereiici-.  wliich  no  eiilcrprit-e  or  llrm  based  on  any  thiuK  hutlho 
soundest  business  success  and  hijjhest  commercial  merit  couhl  secure. 

W'c  refer,  by  permission,  as  to  our  intcj^riiy  and  to  the  value  of  the  Prentiss  Preservative,  to  the  following 
gentlemen  ;  Kdward  C  Koyce,  Member  Hoard  of  Public  Works:  K.  O.  Eshelby,  City  Comptroller;  Amor  .Smith,  .Jr., 
Collector  Internal  lievenue;  Wulsin  *t  WorlbiuKton,  Attorneys;  Martin  H.  Harr'ell  and  B.  K.  Hopkins,  County 
Commie-sioners;  W.  S.  Cappellcr,  County  Auditor;  all  of  Cineiuiiati,  Hamilton  County.  Ohio.  These  Kcntlemun  are 
each  familiar  with  the  merits  of  our  Preservative,  ami  know  fVtmi  actual   obscr\'ation  that  we  have  without  question 

The  Most  Valuable  Article  in  the  World. 

The ?2  you  invest  in  a   test    package,  will  surely  lead  you   to  secure  a  townsliip  or  county,  and   then   your  way  is 
absolutely  clear  lo  make  irom  $2.l<IO  to  SlU,l«)n  a  year. 
Give  your  full  aildress  in  every  letter,  and  send  yimr  letter  to 


lO  La  Salle  St.,  Chicago,  is  prese  vmg  eggs,  fruit,  etc.,  for  the  eommis.sioii  men  of  Chicago, .  jiarging 
>r  eggs,  and  other  articles  in  jiroportion.  He  is  preserving  .5,000  dozen  eggs  per  day,  and  on  his 
ig  ;:i.O(lO  a  month  clear.    S2  for  a  test  package  was  his  first  investment 


Nov-3m 


PRENTISS  PRESERVING  COMPANY.  (Limited,) 

i'.  J£.  Cor.  ytnth  <t-  liace  Sts.,  Cincinnati,  O. 


IV 


THE   LANCASTER   FARMER 


[July.  1882. 


WHERE  TO  BUY  GOODS 


IN 


LANCASTER. 


BOOTS  AND   SHOES. 


MARSHA  1,1.  &  SOX.  No.  12  Centre  Sciuare,  Lan- 
caster. Dealers  in  Boots,  Slioes  and  Rubbers.     Re- 
pairinjj  promptly  attended  to. 

MIjKVY.  No.   3  East  King  street.     For  the  bes 
•     Dollar  Shoes  in  Lancaster  go  to  M.  Lev}'.  No.  3 
East  King  Htre*'t. 

BOOKS  AND   STATIONERY. 

JOHX  B-\KR'.S  SOX'S,  Nos.  I.t  and  17  North  Queen 
Street,  have  the  largest  and  best  assorted  tJoolc  and 
Paper  Store  in  the  City. 


FURNITURE. 


HKIXITSII'S.No.  I')'--  East  King  St.,  (over  China 
Hall)  is  the  cheapest'  place  in  Lancaster  to   buy 
Furniture.     Picture  Frames  a  specialty. 


CHINA  AND  GLASSWARE. 

Hum  A  MAKTIX.  No.  15  East  Kin.g  St.,  dealers 
in  China.  Glass  and  Queensware,   Fancy  Goods, 
Lamps,  Burners,  Chimneys,  etc. 


CLOTHING. 


MVEBS  *  n.lTHFOX.  Centre  Hall,  No.  12  East 
King  St.    Largest  Clothing.IIouse  in  Pennsylvania 
outside  of  Philadelphia 

DRUGS  AND   MEDICINES. 

01       W.  HI!I.9j.  Dealer  in  Pure  Drugs  and  Medicines 
X%     Chemicals,   Patent  Medicines,  Trusses,  Shoulde 
Braces,  Supporters,  &c.,  1')  West  King  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa 

JOHX   r.  LOXtJ  *  SO.\.  Druggists,  No.  12  North 
Queen  St.    Drugs,   Medicines,   Pertumery,    Spices, 
Dye  StuB's,  Etc.    Prescriptions  carefidly  compounded. 

DRY  GOODS. 

G1VI,K.K,  I{«»W1;K!»  a   JlUKSi',  No.  25  E.  King 
St.,  lyanca.ster.  Pa.,  Dealers  in  Dry  Goods,  Carpets 
and  Merchant  Tailoring.     Prices  as  low  as  the  lowest. 


HATS   AND   CAPS. 


CH    .-iMEK,  No.   39  West  King  Street,   Dealer  in 
•     Hats,  Caps,  Furs,  Robes,  etc.    Assortment  Large. 
Prices  Low. 

JEWELRY   AND^WATCHES. 

HX.  KHOA!»S  *  IIKO  ,    No.  4  West  King  .St. 
•    Watches,  Clock  and  IMu.sical  Boxes.     Watches 
and  Jewelry  Manufactured  to  order. 

PRINTING. 

JOH.V    .*.    Hli;STAXI»,  9  North  Queen  St.,  .Sale 
Bills,   Circulars,  Posters,  Cards,   Invitations,   Letter 
and  Bill  Headsand  Envelopes  neatly  printed.    Priceslow. 


Thirty-Six  Varieties  of  Cabbage;  26  of  Corn;  28  of  Cu- 
uniber;  41  of  Melon;  33  of  Peas;  2.S  of  Beans;  17  of 
Squasli;  23  of  Beet  and  40  of  Tomato,  with  other  varieties 
in  proportion,  a  laige  portion  of  which  "were  grown  on 
my  fi^c  seed  farms,  will  be  found  in  my  Vegetable 
uiiil  FlolvtT  Sci^d  Ciilnlog-iio  for  IH!»2.  Sent  free 
to  all  who  apply.  Customers  of  last  Season  need  not 
write  for  it.  All  Seed  sold  Iroin  my  establishment  ■^N'ar- 
ranted  to  be  fre.'^h  and  true  to  name,  so  far.  tliat  should 
it  prove  otherwise,  I  will  refill  the  order  gratis.  The 
ori^fiiiai  iiilrnclncer  of  Knrly  Ohio  and 
BlirbnnU  Polatocw.  IfIai*E>l«^li<*a(l,  Early  <'orii, 
the  Uiibbard  Sc|nash.  ,^aarl>lebe.i4l  <'abba^e, 
l*llinney'B  Melon,  and  a  score  of  other  New  Vegeta- 
bles, I  invite  the  patronage  of  the  public.  New  Vegeta- 
bles a  specialty. 

JAMES  J.  II.  GREOORT. 

Marblehead,  Mass. 
Kov-6mo] 

EVAPORATE  YOUR  FRUIT. 

ILLUSTRATED    CATALOGUE 

FREE  TO  ALL. 

AMERICAN  DRIER  COMPANY, 

Qhambersburg,  Ha. 

Apl-tX 


FARMING  FOR  PROFIT. 

It  is  conceded  that  this  hirge  and  comprehensive  book, 
(advertised  in  anollicr  column  by  J.  C.  McCurdy  A:  Co., 
of  Philadelpliia,  the  well-known  publishers  of  Standard 
works,)  is  not  only  the  newest  and  handsomest,  but  alto- 
gether the  BEST  work  of  the  kind  which  has  ever  been 
published.  Thoroughly  tre:iting  the  great  subjects  of 
general  AfiHculture,  Live-tftock,  Fruit-Growing;,  Busi- 
ness Principles,  and  Home  I^ife;  telling  just  ^what  the 
farmer  and  the  fiinner's  boys  want  to  know,  condjining 
Science  and  Practice,  stimulating  thought,  awakening 
inquiry,  and  interesting  every  member  of  the  family, 
this  book  must  exert  a  mighty  influence  for  good.  ]t  is 
highly  recommended  by  the  best  agricultural  writers 
and  the  leading  papers,  and  is  destined  to  have  an  ex- 
tensive sale.     Agents  are  wanted  everywhere.  jan-lt 

LANDRETH'S 

BLOOHSD.\LE  SWEDE,  OR  RLT.l  B.IGA, 

Is  the    result  of  critical    selection,  and  has  proved  to  be 
unquestionably  the  most  desiralile  of  all  known  strains  of 

PURPLE  TOP  YELLOW  RUTA  BAGA. 

The  foliage  is  not  supera- 
bundant, the  shape  is  nearly 
globular,  the  crown  deep 
purple,  and  the  flesh  a  deep 
yellow.  The  illustration  con- 
veys a  good  if  lea  of  the  shape 
assumed  by  this  strain. 
Also,  strap-leaved  Garden 
.  Ruta  Baga  Turnip,  white 
"t--'  Heshed, Purple  top  Huta  Haga 
rurnip, Hanover  LongFrench 
iir  Sweet  German  Turnip, 
Yellow  Aberileen,  or  Scotch 
Yellow  Turnip,  Pomeranean 
While  Globe  ;strap  leaved) 
Turnip,  Amber  Globe  (strap 
leave<i)  Turnip,  Yellow  Stone 
Turnip,  Early  Flat  Dutch 
(strap  leaved)  Turnip,  the 
Flat  Red.  or  Purple  Top  (strap 
leaved)  Turnip.  Cow  Horn 
Turnip,  Elarly  White  Egg 
Turnip,  T^arge  Earlv  Red  Top 
Glohe  Turnii),  White  Norfolk 
Bloomsdale  Swede  or  Q]ohe  Turnip,  Seven  Top 
Ruta  Baga.  Turnip. 

Every  farmer  should  sow  Turnip  Seeds.  A  good  stock 
of  turnips  is  the  best  and  most  economical  food  for  cattle 
during  the  winter  and  early  spring  months.  Also, 
turnips  grown  on  the  ground,  and  plowed  in,  make  very 
valuable  manure. 

Descriptive  and  Illustrated  Catalogue  free  on  applica- 
tion. 

D.  LANDRETH  &  SONS, 

AGRICULTURAL  AND  HORTICULTURAL  IMPLEMENT 
AND  SEED  WAREHOUSE. 

Nos.  21  and  23  South  Sixth  Street, 

Between  Maeket  and  Chestnut  Sts., 

and  s.  w.  cohner  delaware  avenue.  and  arch  st., 

apr-Om  PHILADKLPHIA. 


MERCHANT  TAILORING. 

1848     (The  Oldest  of  All.)     1881 

RATHVON  &  FISHER, 

MERCHAMT  TAILORS  AND  DRAPERS, 

respectfully  inform  the  public  that  having  di.sposed  of 
their  entile  stock  of  Ready-Made  (.'liihing,  they  now  do, 
and  for  the  future  shall,  aevote  their  whole  attention  to 
the  (M'STOM  TRADE. 

All  the  .'esirable  styles  of  ClOTHS,  CASSIMERE-^, 
WORSTEDS,  COATINGS,  f-UITINGS  and  VESriNGS 
constantly  on  h.and,  and  made  to  order  in  pl.iin  or  fash- 
ionable siy'e  prompt'y,  aud  warranted  satisfactory. 

All-Wool  Suit  from  $10  00  to  $30.00. 

All-Woo)  Pants  from  3.0(1  to    10.00. 

All-Wool  Vests  from  2  00  to      6.00, 

Union  and  Cotton  Good.s  proportionately  less. 

Cutting,  Reiiairi..g,  'I  rimming  and  Making,  at  reason- 
able priies. 

Goods  reifliled  by  the  yard  to  those  who  desire  to  have 
them  mude  elsewhere. 

A  full  supply  of  Spring  and  Summer  Goods  just 
opened  and  o  i  hand. 

Thankful  to  ageneroi  9  public  for  past  patronage  they 
hope  to  meiit  its  continued  reci  gnitionln  their  "new  de- 
parture." 

RATHVON  &  FISHER. 

PKATI  lALTfVtLOBS   , 

IVo.  101  North  Queen  Street, 

LANCASTEK,  PA. 

1848  1881 


GLOVES,  SHIRTS,  UNDERWEAR. 
SHIRTS  MADE^TG  OEDER, 

AND  WARRANTED  TO  IIT. 

E.  J.  ERISMAN, 

56  North  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

-1-12] 


A  HOME  ORGAN  FOR  FARMERS. 


m 


1 


A  MONTHLY  JOURNAL, 

Devoted  to  Agriculture,  Horticulture.  Do- 
mestic Economy  and  Miscellany. 


Founded  Under  the  Auspices  of  the   Lancas 
ter  County  Agricultural  and  Horti- 
cultural Society. 


EDITED  BY  DR.  S.  S.  RATHVON.    } 


TERMS  OF  SUBSCRIPTION: 


ONE  DOLip  PER  mm% 

POSTAGE  PREPAID  BY  THE  PROPRIETOR. 

All    subscriptions    will    commence    with    the 
January  number,  unless  otherwise  ordered. 


Dr.  S,  S.  Rathvon,  who  has  so  ably  managed  the  editorial 
department  in  the  past,  will  continue  iu  the  position  of 
editor.  His  contributions  on  subjects  connected  with  the 
science  of  farming,  and  particularly  that  specialty  of  which' 
he  is  so  thorouhly  a  master — entomological  science— some 
knowledge  of  whicti  has  become  a  necessity  to  the  success- 
ful farmer,  are  alone  worth  much  more  thau  the  price  of 
this  publication.  He  Is  determined  to  make  *'The  Farmer' 
a  necessity  to  all  households. 

A  county  that  has  so  wide  a  reputation  as  Lancaster 
county  for  its  agricultural  products  should  certainly  be 
able  to  support  an  agricultural  paper  of  its  own,  for  the 
exchange  of  the  opinions  of  farmers  Interested  in  this  mat- 
oter.  We  ask  the  co-oporation  of  all  farmers  interested  in. 
this  matter.  Work  among  your  friends.  The  "Farpaer"  i 
only  one  dollar  per  year.  Show  them  your  copy.  Try  and 
induce  them  to  subscribe.  It  is  not  much  for  each  sub- 
scriber to  do  but  it  'vs-ill  greatly  assist  us. 

All  communications  in  regard  totheedltorial  management 
should  be  addressed  to  Dr.  S.  S.  Rathvon,  Lancaster,  Pa., 
aud  all  business  letters  in  regard  to  subscriptions  and  ad- 
vertising should  be  addressed  to  the  publisher.  Rates  of 
advertising  can  be  had  on  apphcation  at  the  office. 


JOHN  A.  HIESTAND, 

No.  9  North  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 


$72 


A  WEEK.    $12  a  day  at  home  easily  made.    Costly- 
Outfit  free.  Address  Tbuk  &  Co.,  Augusta,  Main* 


ONE  DOLLAR  PER  ANNUHl -SINGLE  COPIES  10  CENTS. 


Entered  »t  the    iN>Nt  <»IHee  »t  l^micaHter  as 
?!teeoii4l  t'lHN<4  .lltiller. 

CONTENTS  OFJHIS  NUMBER. 

EDITORIAL. 

A  Choeen  People 113 

Green  Corn  Pudding 113 

Kitchen  Garden  for  August 113 

Good  Husbandry  113 

How  to  Preserve  Stable  Manure 114 

Gapes  and  Eels 11  i 

Excerpts 114 

QUERIES  AND  ANSWERS. 

A  Big  Bug 116 

Tomatto  Ho-n  worm 116 

Goldsmith-Beetle 116 

The  English  Sparrows 116 

CONTRIBUTIONS. 

Gapes  in  Poultry 117 

Lime 117 

Tariffs  and  their  Effects 118 

SELECTIONS. 

Silk  Culture  118 

Nature  of  the  Silk  Worm — Enemies  and  Disease — 
Varieties  of  Ra^es — Wintering  aiid'IIatohiiit^  the 
Eg^s — Keediny  and  Itearin^^  the  Worms. 

Mineral  at  the  Exposition 121 

Diversified  Farming  in  the  South 121 

The  Mosquito 122 

OUR   LOCAL  ORGANIZATIONS. 

Lancaster  County  Agricultural  and  Horticultural 

Society 122 

Crop  Reports— Wheat  Crop  of  18.S2 — How  should 
Manure  be  Applied — New  Business — Miscellane- 
ous Husiness. 

The  Poultry  Society 123 

I'revention  of  Clapes. 

Fulton  Farmers' Club 1'.'4 

E.\hiljits— What  is  the  Best  Kind  of  Wheat?— The 
Best  time  to  Wow — A  Question  of  Plows — Russian 
Oats — Literary  Exercises — A  Farmers'  Reunion 
Noxious  Weeds. 

Linnsean  Society 124 

Museum — Donations  to  the  Library. 

AGRICULTURE. 

Lying  in  Fallows, 12.'5 

A  Short-Sighted  View l-.;5 

Select  Yourown  Seed  Wheat liiS 

A  Talk  About  Grasses 125 

HORTICULTURE. 

The  Peach  Crop 12.'3 

Value  of  Fruit 12.5 

Shallow  Cultivation  for  Fruits 125 

The  Vegetable  Garden 125 

Fig  Culture 126 

HOUSEHOLD    RECIPES. 

Cucumber  Mangoes 126 

Peach  Mangoes 136 

Veal  a  la  Mode ^ 126 

Breast  of  Veal  Baked  with  Tomatoes 126 

Breast  of  Veal  Braisedj 126 

White  Sauce 129 


Boiled  Tongue J-' 

Boiled  Corned  Beef J-° 

Boiled  Ham ]-° 

Pork  Chops,  Spanish  Style J-" 

Koast  Pork J^° 

Pork  Tenderloins 1-^ 

Irish  Stew \-'> 

Persillade  of  Mutton 126 

Fried  Breast  of  Mutton l2o 

Breading 126 

Ragout  of  Cold  Beef  and  Vegetables 120 

Koast  Leg  of  Lamb    or  Mutton 126 

Garlic  Cloves ^-6 

LIVE  STOCK. 
Advice  of  a    Lancaster  County  Blacksmith  on 

How  to  Shoe  Horses 1-6 

Trainiog  Horses 1-6 

The  Best  Farm  Horses .■ 127 

Draught  Horses 127 

Is  Horseshoing  Useless 127 

Keep  the  Stable  Clearof  Flies 127 

Remedy  for  Side   Hole  in  Cow's  Teit 1:;7 

Care  of  Horses 127 

The  Stock 1^^ 

POULTRY. 

Poultry  Gossip 127 

Feather  and  Egg  Eating  127 

Geese - 12'* 

The  Wonders  of  Incubation 128 

A  Meat  Diet 12^ 

Feed  lor  Laying  Hens 128 

Literary  and  Personal 128 

SILK-WORM  EGGS. 

Aniftlcur  Silk-srowprs  t-an  be  Hiipi>lie(i  with  superior 
silk-worm  tggs,  oii.ruasonablc  lenus,  by  applyiiitc.iinint'- 
diately  lo 


may-3in] 


No.  2rts  Knst  0^nn^rt'  Slreet.  T^incaster.  Pa. 


PENNSYLVANIA 

STATE  COLLEGE, 

FALL  TER.M  OPENS  AlOfsT  25. 

Located  in  one  of  the  most  henutifnl  and  healthful 
spots  of  the  entire  Allegheny  refiiou.  Open  to  students 
of  both  sexes  and  oilers  the  foliowing  Coursea  of  study. 

1.  A  full  t^Iassietd  Course  of  four  years. 

2,  .\  full  Seientitie  I'oursc  of  four  years. 

;t.  The  followinKTcchniral  Ctjurses  of  fouryears  each: 
(al  A|,'rieulture;  (1)1  Natural  History;  (e)  Chemistry  and 
Phvsies:  (dl  Civil  EnKineerinK. 

4.  A  Short  Spceial  <_*our.se  in  .\Krieultnre. 

.5    A  sllort  Special  Course  in  Chemistry. 

(■>    .\  Classical  and  Seienlilie  Preparntury  Course. 

M'litarv  drill  is  reiiuired.  Expenses  for  board  and 
ineiil  iital's  very  low.  Tuition  Free.  Young  ladies 
under    hargc  of  a  compet<'nt  lady  i»rin<-ipal. 

For  C;italogue  or  other  information,  address. 

Gilo.  W.  A TllERl'dX,  President. 

State  Ciil  e   <-,  Centre  eo..  Pa. 


fiooo  Re'ward 
>r  (luy  iit'jcliinf  hullin, 
viurfi  clover  occd  in  1  day 
tu  the 


VICTOR 

^Uuablc  llulirr) 


Illu5. 
tr.atcd 
Pamphic 
mailed  frtc 

Rritftrk.O.  FormcilTlh  , 


jiily-3m] 


LtOIC  188S 

tViUbciuLilad  ra.it  t«^  tpptlckoti,  aad  t^cmtocnari  wltbotit 
ordtrlDl  It,  It  coDUini  fiv*  colored  pIkU*,  ^^-'i  angrKTtnn, 
»bout  200  PtffCi,  uid  full  tl«icriptt I'D*,  prirti  k&4  rf.rectkof  t  lor 
planliDf  I  WO  *»rl»tl«»  of  V*f«l»bU  ^ad  Ft.iw*r  S«*di,  PUnU, 
FruUTnM,  «tc.     lD*ftIo>t;<l«  to  all.     Svsd  for  It.     Aidr«M. 

S.  M.  FERBY  ft  CO.,  Detroit,  Mich. 


Jan-4ni 


(hoCa  week  in  your  own  town.  Terms  aud  $6  oulAt  free 
vpOOAiMress  H.  Hallett  &  Co  .  Portlaud,  Mnb.e 

Jun-lyr* 

WE  WA\'I'  OI.I>   BO«»KN. 

We  Want  Geuman  Books, 

WE  WANT  BOOKS   PRIXTKn  IX  I.AKCASTEU  CO. 

We  Want  All  Kiiuls  of  OUI  Books, 

IJBRAUIES,  ENCJLISH  OK  CJERMAN    BOUGHT. 

Cash  paiil  for  Bookn  in  any  quantity.    Send  your  xidr w 

and  we  will  call. 

REE.S  WrX^H  A-  CO.. 

23  South  Ninth  Strort.  I'liiladelphia. 

LIGHT  BRAHMA  EGGS 

For  hatching,  now  ready— from  the  bvsl  t^lratn  in  the 
county — at  the  nii>(lerale  price  of 

^1»50  for  a  setting  of  13  !1E!SS'B« 

I.    i:  Vi'lIVON. 
Ne.  9  North  t^iicen  hI.,  Rxaniiner  OlHce,  I^ancaster,  Pa. 

W ANTED. -**anvasse:ks  for  the 
LANCASTER  WEEKLY  EXAMINER 
In  Kvcry  Township  in  the  Covinly.     tiuod  \\'ukp*»  c»n  b« 
made.     Inquire  al 

THE  EXAMINER  OFFICE, 

No.  9  North  Queen  Street.  I-anoahler,  Pa 

(P'7nA  WEEK.  $12  a  day  at  home  casliy  madn.  Costly 
(p/  Zoulflt  free.    .Addre-^a  Tbue  h  Co.,  AugUHta,  Maine. 

jtiu-lyr* 

S£ND  FOR 

On  Coiicorti  t.fr;ilTVineH,  Tr:iiiMpla;tte(l  K\ei  tireeiii-,  'liiUp, 
Poplar,  I^indeil  Majlc,  ele.  Tre*-  Seedliu^s  and  Treeit  for 
timber  iilBulntions  l>v  the  iwi.oeo 

J.  JF..>'KI.\N-  M'KKKRY. 
S-2-79  WINuNA,  <:i>l  U.MIiIAN.\  tO.,OUIO. 

MARBLEHEAD 

£arly  Sxireet  Corn 

l6  the  most  profltahle  of  all,  hccause  it  maturca  before 
any  oilier  kmd,  giytn^r  fnrmers  complete  control  of  the 
early  market.  I  warrant  it  lo  be  at  least  a  week  earlier 
thitii  Minnesota.  Narrnjruusell  or  CYoeby,  and  decidedly 
earlier  than  Dolly  I>uHnn.  Tom  Thumb  or  liarly  lioyn- 
lon.  Of  size  of  Minnet^ota,  and  very  sweet.  The  orit^inal 
introducer,  I  send  pure  stoek.  postpaid,  per  package  15 
cents;  per  quart,  70  cents;  per  peck,  by  expreatt,  23.00. 
In  my  witaloKue,  (free  to  all,)  are  emphatic  recommen- 
dations from  fanners  and  Kiirdeners. 

JAMES, J.  H.  fJREfiORY. 
apr-3t  Marlplelioul,  Mium. 


I. 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


»ENSrSYI,VAXIA  R.4II,RO.«n  ^CIIF.niTIiE. 

Trains  leave  the  Depot  in  this  city,  as  follows  : 


WE   TWARD, 

f  eaV'- 
Laucaster. 

2:40  a.  m. 

5:(i0  a.  m. 
11:00  a.  m. 
11:05  p.  m. 
10:20  a.  m. 
11.25  a.  m. 
10:50  a.  m. 

2;30p.  m. 

2:35  p.  m. 

5:15  p.  m. 

7:20  p.  m. 

7:30  p.  m. 

8:50  p.  m. 
11:30  p.m. 

Lancaster. 

2.55  a,  m. 

5:08  a.  m. 

8:05  a.  m. 

9.10  p.  m. 

:40  p    m. 

2:00  p.  m. 

3:05  p.  m. 
5:35  p  m. 
♦):'25  p.  m. 

Arrive 

Harrisburg. 

4'05  a   m 

11*20  a  m 

Hitnover  Accommodation.. 
Mail  traiu  via  Mt.  Joy 

Col.  10:40  a.  m. 
12:40  p.  m. 
12:55  p.  m. 
12:40  p.  m. 
3:25  p.  m. 
Col.  2:45  p.  m 

7:40  p.  m. 

Col.  8:20  p.  m. 

8:40  p.  m. 

10:10  p.  m. 

12:45  a.  m. 

Philadelphia 
3:00  a.  m. 

Frederick  Accommodation. 

Columbia  Accommodation,. 

flarriaburg  Express 

Pittsburg  Express 

Cincinnati  Express' 

EASTWARD. 
Cincinnati  Express 

Harrisburg  Express 

Columbia  Accommodation.. 
Pacific  Express* 

10:00  a.  m. 
12:0    p.  m. 
3:40  p.  m. 

5:00  p.  m. 
5:30  p.  ra. 

Johnstown  Express 

Harrisburg  Accom 

9:30  p.  m. 

The  Hanover  Accommodation,  west,  connects  at  Lancaster 
with  Niagara  Express,  west,  at  9:35  a.  m.,  and  will  run 
tlirough  tu  Hanover. 

The  Frederick  Accommodation,  west,  connects  at  Lancas- 
ter with  Fast  Line,  west,  at  2:10  p.  m.,  and  runs  to  Frederick. 

The  Pacific  Express,  east,  on  Sunday,  when  flagged,  will 
stop  at  I'-idietown,  EUzabethtown,  Mount  Joy  and  Laudis- 
viUe. 

•The  only  trains  which  mn  daily. 

tRuns  daily,  except  Monday. 


NORBECK  &  MILEY, 


PRACTICAL 


Carriage  Builders, 

cox  &  CO'S  OIB  STA^D, 

Corner  of  hk  mi  Vine  Streets, 

LANCASTER,  PA. 


THE  LATEST  IMPROVED 

SIDE-BAR  BUGGIES, 

PHAETONS, 

Carriages,  Etc. 


Prices  to  Suit  the  Times. 

REPAIRING  promptly  attended  to.     All  work 
guaranteed. 
T9-2- 

s.  le.  ooixi. 

Manufacturer  of 

Cirriages,  Buggies,  Phaetons,  etc, 

CHURCH  ST.,  NEAR  DUKE,      LANCASTER,  PA. 

Large  Stock  uf  New  and  Secon-hand  Work  on  hand 
Tary  cheap.  Carriages  Made  to  Order  Work  Warranted 
•r  ODe  year.  [Tt-9-ia 


EDW.  I.  ZAHM, 


DEALRB   IN 


AMERICAN  AND   FOREIGN 

WATCHES, 

SOUD  SILVER  &  SILVER  PLATED  WARE, 
CLOCKS, 

JEWELRY  I  TABLE  CUTLERY. 

Sole  Agent  for  the  Arundel  Tinted 

SPECTACLES. 

Repairing  strictly  attended  to. 

Horth  Queen-st,  and  Centre  Square,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

79-1-12 


DE.  IF".-  DBO^AT'JVr.A.^, 


^P& 


AT  I.OWES.T  H<»*<t!mBI.E  1*RH'E8, 

Fully   guaranteed. 

No.  106  EAST  KING  STREET, 

79-1-12)  Opposite  J^eopard  Hotel. 


ESTABLISHED  1832. 

i-  '^ 


G.  SENER  &  SONS, 

Mauufactur&rs  and  deulers  in  all  kinds  of  rough  and 
finished 

The  best  Sawed  SIIB%'GI-K*i  in  the  country.     Also  Sash, 
Doors,  Blinds,  Mouldings,  &c. 

PATENT  0.  G.  WEATHERBOARDING 

and  PATENT  BUNDS,  which  are  far  superior  to  any 
other.    Also  beet  I'O A  C  constantly  on  hand. 

OFFICE  AND  YARD  : 

Northeast  Corner  of  PrWce  and  Walnut-sts., 

LAJSrC^STKR,  FA.. 

79-1-12] 

PRACTICAL  ESSAYS  ON  ENTOMOLOGY, 

Embracing  the  history  aucj  habits  of 

NOXIOUS  AND  INNOXIOUS 


INSECTS, 

and  the  best  remedies  for  thoir  expulsion  or  extermination. 

By  S.  S.  RATHVON,  Ph.  D. 

LANCASTER,  PA. 

This  work  will  be  Highly  Illustrated,  and  will  be  pat  in 
press  (as  soon  after  a  sufficient  number  of  subscribers  can 
be  obtained  to  cover  the  cost)  as  the  work  can  possibly  be 
accomplished. 
79-2. 

CR  frt  ttOn  l**^^  *^*^y  ^'' ****'^*®*  Samples  worth  S5  freeT 
9v    LU   ^Cv  Address  STUfsoH  &  Co.,  Portland,  Maine 


Fruit,  Shade  and  Ornamental  Trees. 

Plant  Trpes  raised  iu  this  county  and  suited  to  this  climate  , 
Write  for  prices  to 

LOUIS  C.LYTE. 

Bird-in-Hand  P.  O.,  Lancaster  co.,  Pa. 

Nursery  at  Smoketown,  six  miles  east  of  Lancaster. 
79-1-12 

WIDMYER  &  RICKSECKER, 

UPHOLSTERERS, 

And  Manufacturers  of 

FURNITURE  pD  CHAIRS, 

WAREROOMM : 

102  East  King  St.,  Cor.  of  Duke  St. 

■LANCASTER,  PA. 

79-1-12J 


Special  Inducements  at  the 
NEW  FURNITURE   STORE 

OF 

W.  A.  HEINITSH. 

PTo.     XS     1—2     ^3-     XLITffC3f     S'X'fe.SZXE'X* 

(ovt;r  Bursk's  Grocery  Store),  Lancaster,  Pa. 
A  general  assortment  of  furniture  of  all  kinds  constantly 
on  baud.    Don't  forget  the  number. 

Nov-ly]  (overBurek's  Grocery  Store.) 

For  Good  and  Cheap  Work  go  to 

F.  VOLLMER'S 

FURNITURE  WARE  ROOMS, 

No   309  NORTH  QUEEN  ST.. 

(Opposite  Northern  Market), 
Also,  Till  kinds  of  picture  frames.  nov-ly 

GREAT  BARGAINS. 

A  large  assortment  of  all  kinds  of  CariJcts  are  still  sold  at 
lower  rates  than  ever  at  the 

CARPET  HALL  OF  H.  S.  SHIRK, 

No.  202  West  King  St. 

CaB  and  examine  our  stock  and  satisfy  yourself  that  we 
can  show  the  largest  assortment  of  these  Brussels,  three 
plies  and  ingrain  at  all  prices — at  the  lowest  Philadelphia 
prices.  « 

Also  on  hand  a  large  and  complete  assortment  of  Rag 
Carpet. 

Satisfaction  guaranteed  bath  as  to  price  and  quality. 

You  are  invited  to  call  and  see  my  goods.  No  trouble  in 
showiDg  thorn  even  if  you  do  not  want  to  purchase. 

Don't  forget  this  notice.  You  can  save  money  here  if  you 
want  to  buy. 

Particular  attention  given  to  customer  vork. 

Also  on  hand  a  full  assortment  of  Counterpanes,  Oil 
Cloths  and  Blankets  of  every  variety.  [nov-iyr. 


PHILIP  SCHUM,  SON  &  CO., 

38  and  40  "West  King  Street. 

We  keep  on  band  of  our  own  manuf.acture, 

QUILTS,  COVERLETS, 

COUNTERPANES,  CARPETS, 

Bureau  and  Tidy   Covers.  Ladies'  Furnishing  Goods,  No- 
tions, etc. 

Particular  atteution  paid   to  customer  Kag  Carpet,  and 
Bcowering  and  dyeing  of  all  kinds. 

PHILIP  SCHTJM,  SON  &  CO.. 

Nov-ly  Lancaster,  Pa. 


THE  HOLMAN  LIVER  PADS 

Cores  by  absorption  without  medicine. 

Now  is  the  time  io  apply  these  remedies.  They  will  do 
for  you  what  uothiug  else  on  earth  can.  Hundreds  of  citi- 
zens of  Lancaster  s^  ^o*    ^^^  '^^^  genuine  at 

LANCASTER  OFFICE  AND  SALESROOM, 

22  East  Orange  Street. 

Nov-lyr 

C.  R.  KLINE 

)\tTOF(NEY-AT-|:iAW, 
office :  15  north  duke  street, 

LA-NCA-STKR.    FA.. 

NOT-Iy 


The  Lancaster  Farmer. 


Dr.  S.  S.  KATHVON,  Editor. 


LANCASTER,  PA.,  AUGUST.  1882. 


Vol.  znr.  No.  8. 


Editorial. 


A  CHOSEN   PEOPLE. 

"Those  who  labor  in  the  earth  are  tlie 
chosen  people  of  tiod,  whose  breasts  he  has 
made  his  [leculiar  deposit  for  substantial  aud 
genuine  virtue." 

The  foregoing  very  pretty  sentiment  is  one 
of    the  utterances  of  the    "  sage  of  Monti- 
cello  " — the  immortal  .Jefferson— and  as  we 
find  it  used  as  a  motto  under  the  title  liead  of 
the  Farmers''  Mnnthli/  Visitor,  an  agricultural 
journal,  conducted  by  Isaac  Hill,  at  Concord, 
N.  II.,   about   forty  years  ago,   we  presume 
that    the    "workers  in   the    earth"    means 
farmers,   although  for  the  matter  of  that  it 
might  be  so  construed  as  to  mean  railroad 
excavating,  canal  digging,   and  perhaps  also 
fence-making,  at  least  as  far  as  relates  to  the 
digging  of  post-holes.     Of  course,    in   .TeQer- 
son's  time,   although  there  may   have  been 
fence-making,   yet  there  was  no  railroad  or 
canal  making,  no  excavating  except  an  occa- 
sional tail-race  to  a  mill,  or  cutting  down  a 
hill  for  a  township  road.     We  believe  cultiva- 
tors of  the  soil  are  entitled   to  an  extra  dis- 
tinction above  all  other  manual  operators  on 
eartli,  but  we  do  not  think  they  are    "  tlie 
chosen  people  of  God,"  above  all  others  who 
earn  their  bread  by  the  sweat  of  their  faces, 
only  because  they  "labor  in  the  earth."    Cain 
labored  in  the  earth,  but  he  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  chosen  of  God  in  as  special  a  sense 
as  Abel  was,  who  did  not  labor  in  the  earth, 
but  was  a  herder.      Mauy  fine   things    are 
patronizingly  said  about  farmers,  and  no  mat- 
ter how   much  they  merit  them  yet  there  is 
reason  to  believe  that  many  of  them  are  said 
ironically.     If  the  above  sentiment,  in  its  ap- 
plication to  farmers,   was   popular  in  Jeffer- 
son's day,   it  is  singular  that  farmers,  as  a 
class,  should  have  had  such  a  limited  influence 
in  the  general  make-up  of  the  government. 
It  is  fifty-six  years  since  Jefferson  died,  and 
yet  it  is  only  now  beginning  to  be  seen  that 
agriculture  ought   to  be  represented  in  the 
national  cabinet,  for  if  the  "  people  of  God  " 
are  worthy  of  any  position  in  tlie  construction 
of  civil  goverimieut,    it  surely  ought  to  be 
there.    We  may  legitimately  claim  this  posi- 
tion for  agriculture,   without  setting    up    a 
special  claim  for  agriculturists  per  se.    Doubt' 
less,  like  all   other  classes  of  men,   they  are 
"good,  bad  and  indifl'erent."    However  this 
may  be,  it  is  unquestionable  that  wjricullure 
should  not  only  be  a  coordinate  department 
of  government,  but  should  also  outrank  all 
other  departments  ;  because,  if  it  were  not  for 
agriculture  our  government,   our  commerce, 
our  manufactures,  and  our  civilization  itself, 
in  no  sense,    would  be  much   in  advance  of 
our  aborigines  or  the  clouted  Patagonians. 

Wherever  there  are  thoroughly  cultivated 
grain  fields,  orchards,  gardens,  including 
lawns,  flowering  vegetation,  slirubbery,  and 
even  forests,  there  you  may  expect  to  find  a 
corresponding  civilization,  and  as  such,  they 
are  in  a  large  sense  the  "people  of  God  " 


whose  labors  have  produced  a  civilizing  effect 
of  this  kind  ;  not  however  to  the  total  exclu- 
sion of  others,  who  may  lie  laboring  as  hon- 
esty, as  faithfully,  as  effectually,  and  as  use- 
fully, in  a  diflereut  occupation. 

It  perhaps  would  not  militate  against  any 
people  to  be  considered  the  "  people  of  God  " 
provided  they  understood  in  what  sense  they 
wei'e  chosen  to  such  a  distinction — whether 
arbitrarily,  or  as  the  best  instruments  to  effect 
certain  ends. 

The  Israelites  claimed  to  be  the  "chosen 
people  of  God."  and  lliis  has  also  been  ac- 
corded to  them  by  cliristians,  and  yet  accord- 
ing to  the  records  of  inspiiation  they  were  a 
dreadfully  "stiff-necked,  idolatrous  and  wick- 
ed nation;"  but  they  were  the  best  instru- 
ments in  the  hands  of  deity  to  accomi)lish 
Ills  purposes  among  men  on  earth,  just  as 
under  a  stress  in  civil  government,  a  thief 
may  be  chosen  to  catch  a  thief.  Agricultur- 
ists certainly  seem  to  have  the  advantage  of 
all  other  occupations,  because  there  seems  to 
be  no  doubt  about  the  legitimacy  and  useful- 
ness of  their  calling,  which  is  more  than  can 
be  .said  about  many  others.  And  yet,  there 
are  many  honest  people  in  the  world,  who 
verily  believe  that  the  cultivation  and  sale  of 
tobacco  is  a  perversion  of  agriculture,  and  of 
course,  are  altogether  unable  to  believe  that 
any  persons  so  employed  are,  by  way  of  emi- 
nence, the  "chosen  people  of  God." 

All  this  leads  us  to  conclude  that  men  often 
employ  descriptive  and  explanatory  terms  of 
which  they  do  not  duly  consider  the  import 
at  the  time  they  use  them,  and  those  in  whose 
behalf  they  are  employed,  are  astonished  that 
they  should  have  been  so  distinguished  in  a 
matter  which  they  deem  within  the  sphere 
of  their  bounden  duty,  and  therefore  entitled 
to  no  special  distinction.  The  "people  of 
God,"  are  therefore  those  who  are  endeavor- 
ing to  do  the  will  of  Gud  on  earth  as  it  is  done 
in  heaven. 


GREEN  CORN   PUDDING. 

Take  eighteen  ears  of  green  corn,  split  the 
kernels  lengthwise  of  the  ears  witii  a  sharp 
knife,  then  with  a  ca.se  knife  .scrape  the  corn 
from  the  cob ;  mix  it  with  three  or  four 
(laarts  of  rich  sweet  milk  ;  add  four  eggs  well 
beaten,  two  tablespoonsful  of  sugar,  salt  to 
the  taste  ;  bake  it  three  hours.  To  be  eaten 
hot,  with  butter. 

We  extract  the  above  from  the  Farmers'' 
ifonthhj  Visitor  of  June  30,  1847,  and  we  do 
so  because  we  know  it  is  a  most  toothsomo 
dish,  and  have  often  wondered  why  house- 
wives so  seldom  prepare  it,  for  it  is  far 
superior  to  anything  else  that  is  made  out  of 
green  corn — better  than  "cornstarch."  Of 
course  the  above  quantities  arc  too  large  for  a 
small  family,  but  it  can  be  made  proportion- 
ally with  the  one-half  or  one-quarter  of  those 
quantities.  The  corn  should  not  be  too  ripe — 
just  passing  out  of  its  milky  state — when  the 
inner  pulp  can  be  easily  pressed  out,  by  a 
moderately  forced  manipulation  with  tlie 
back  of  a  common  table-knife  ;  leaving  nothing 
but  the  empty  shells  of  the  grains  adhering  to 


the  cob.  When  corn  is  too  young  and  milky 
the  operation  may  be  facilitated  by  first  scald- 
ing or  parboiling  it.  As  corn  is  just  in 
season  now  (or  .soon  will  be)  for  this  prepara- 
tion we  confidently  recommend  it  to  our 
wortliy  housewives.  It,  perhaps,  may  involve 
a  little  more  time  and  labor  than  the  usual 
modes  of  cooking  corn,  but  the  result  will  be 
ample  compensation  for  all  the  additional 
trouble. 

KITCHEN   GARDEN   FOR  AUGUST. 

In  the  iliddle  .States  the  work  in  this  month 
does  not  vary  materially  from  the  month  of 
July.     Cabbage  for  winter  use  may  head  if 
planted  at  once.    Celery,  earth  up  ;  plant  for 
future  use.     Endive  plant.     Beans— Bush  or 
Snap-plant ;    tender  Snaps  gathered  in   late 
autumn   may  lie  preserved   in  strong  brine 
(salt  and  water)  for  winter  use,  and  vary  but 
little  from  those  freshly  gathered.     Lettuce 
sOW  In  drills  to  head.     Peas  sow.     This  vege- 
table is  a  delicacy  in  autumn,  aud  should  more 
frequently  api)ear  at  table.    Laudreth's  Extra 
Early,  .sown  in  latter  end  of  this  month  and 
beginning    of    next,     perfect    before    frost. 
Spinach  sow  for  autumn  use  ;  for  winter  use 
sow    in    .September.      Radishes    sow ;    the 
Si)anish  aud   Cliina  tor  winter  ;  the  Golden 
Globe  and  Red  Turnip   (rooted)  for  autumn. 
Ruta  Baga  sow  without  delay,  if  not  already 
done.      Should    the    ground    be    dry    work 
thoroughly  and  sow  in  the  dust ;  tlie  seed  may 
vegetate  with  the  first  shower.     A  roller  to 
compress  the  soil  sometimes  promotes  vegeta- 
tion ;  hwt  there  is  this  disadvantage,  if  he;ivy 
dashing  rains  immediately  ensue  the  ground 
packs  and  the  seed  is  lost.   Yellow  Aberdeen, 
Pomeranian  Globe  and  Amber  Glob  j  Turnips 
sovv  early  in  the  month ;  also  the  German 
Sweet,  don't  forget  it ;  the  Eirly  Dutch  and 
Red-Topped  Turnips— both  strap-leaved  varie- 
ties— may  he  sown  until  the  first  of  Septem- 
ber, although  it  is  well  to  sow  at  le.ost  a  por- 
tion earlier,  as  at  a  late  day  it  is  difiicult  to 
remedy  a  failure.     Read  remarks  under  the 
head  of  July. 

Onion  seed  raised  in  that  portion  of  Penn- 
sylvania which  .surrounds  Philadelphia  un- 
questionably must  be  earlier  than  the  New 
England  seed,  and  still  more  so  when  com- 
pared with  Western  seed.  The  growth  con- 
clusively proves  the  assertion.  This  is  an  im- 
portant feature,  as  the  early  marketed  onions 
always  bring  the  highest  prices.  Try  the  ex- 
periment and  you  will  find  that  seed  from  this 
locality  will  make  bulbs  long  before  seeds  from 

any  other  locality. — Landreth's  ButmI  Register. 

♦      

GOOD  HUSBANDRY. 
"A  place  for  everything,  and  everything  in 
its  place,"  has  passed  into  a  domestic  pro- 
verb, and  doubtless  many  of  tliose  who  most 
frequently  and  most  earnestly  use  it,  may 
suppose  it  had  its  origin  in  modern  times,  but 
this  is  a  mosti  egregious  error.  It  is  found 
frequently  u.scd  in  "The  Science  of  Good 
Husbandry,  or  the  Economies  of  Xenophon," 
and  Xenophon  died  about  444  years  before  the 


il4 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[August- 


beginning  of  the  Cliristian  Era.  Xenophon 
records  an  interview  between  Socrates  and 
Ischomacbiis,  a  rich  and  powerful  Athenian, 
in  which  occur  many  of  the  economical  max- 
ims of  the  present  day— not  only  secular  or 
domestic  maxiums,  but  those  also  of  a  relig- 
ious character,  albeit  both  were  Pagans. 

For  instance,  wlien  Socrates  inquired 
whether  Ischomachus  liad  instructed  his  young 
wife  in  the  things  "which  relate  to  the  man- 
agement of  a  house,"  he  answered  :  "  I  did, 
but  not  before  I  had  implored  the  gods  to 
show  me  what  instructions  were  necessary  for 
her,  and  that  she  might  have  a  heart  to  learn 
and  practice  those  instructions  to  tlie  advan- 
tage and  profit  of  us  both."  And  this  noble 
Athenian  also  invoked  the  guidance  of  tlie 
gods  in  all  his  enterprises.  No  matter  about 
the  quality  of  his  religion— it  was  the  best 
then  accessible  to  him— it  was  his  faith  we 
commend,  a  faith  that  puts  to  blush  many  of 
the  pietetic  practices  of  modern  Christianity, 
which  have  little  regard  to  any  influence  out- 
side of  self. 

"Husbandry,"  says  Ischomachus,  "is  an 
honorable  science,  and  the  most  pleasant  and 
profitable  of  any  other :  it  is  favored  by  the 
gods  and  beloved  by  mankind." 

Even  the  dravpbacks  to  husbandry  existed 
in  ancient  times  very  much  as  they  do  now. 
"There  are  many  unforeseen  accidents  that 
happen  in  husbandry,  which  will  sometimes 
destroy  all  our  hopes  of  profit,  though  a  hus- 
bandman has  acted  with  the  greatest  skill  and 
diligence.  Sometimes  hail,  droughts,  mil- 
dews, or  continual  rains,  spoil  our  crops,  or 
vermin  will  even  eat  up  the  seed  in  the 
ground."  What  period  in  the  world's  history 
can  the  husbandman  point  back  to,  when 
these  contingencies  did  not  exist  ?  And  yet 
many  are  fretful  and  dissatisfied  with  the  call- 
ing of  the  husbandman,  and  are  yearning 
after  that  of  the  artisan,  as  though  these 
troubles  alone  were  his,  and  belong  to  the 
evils  of  our  modern  times. 


HOW  TO   PRESERVE   STABLE 
MANURE. 

First. — All  urine  should  be  gathered  or 
made  to  flow  into  a  well-puddled  or  cemented 
cistern,  covered  and  protected  against  cur- 
rents of  air,  as  experiments  have  proved  that 
in  one  week  four-fifths  of  the  ammonia  can 
be  dissipated. 

Second. — The  stables  should  daily  have  a 
dusting  of  plaster-of-paris,  and  the  solid 
manure  when  thrown  out  should  have  a  slight 
sprinkling;  jthe  quantity  can  be  regulated  by 
the  number  of  animals,  some  idea  of  which 
can  be  formed  in  estimating,  that  to  hold  the 
135  pounds  of  nitrogen  from  an  animal  of 
1000  pounds  weight  during  one  year  in  the 
form  of  ammonia,  would  require  lOOU  pounds 
of  plasier-of-paris,  or  500  pounds  of  oil  of 
vitriol. 

Third.— The  manure  should  frequently  have 
some  soil  or  turf  thrown  over  it,  especially  if 
exposed  to  the  sun  in  hot  weather. 

Fourth. — The  urine  sliould  be  frequently 
pumped  over  the  manure  heap,  that  the  same 
may  not  become  burned  or  dried  out,  and  that 
the  gypsum  spread  over  it  may  combine  with 
the  ammonia  generated.  It  will  be  well  in 
the  urine  cistren  to  add  3  to  4  pounds  of  oil 
of  vitriol  to  about  every  100  gallons  of  urine, 


thereby  preventing  the  escape  of  ammonia. 
The  acid  when  applied  should  be  thoroughly 
stirred  in,  otherwise  it  may  sink  to  the  bottom 
by  its  gravity,  and  lie  inert,  and  in  a  cemen- 
ted cistern  prove  injurious  to  the  well  by  dis- 
solving the  cement. — From  What  of  Fertilizers. 


GAPES  AND  EELS. 
All  we  have  time  and  space  to  say,  on  this 
occasion,  in  regard  to  the  theory  of  our  con- 
tributor, "W.  J.  P.,  on  the  origin  of  "gapes" 
and  "  hair  worms, "  and  the  breeding  habits 
of  eels,  is,  that  if  his  observations  can  be  veri- 
fied, or  eoroborated  by  any  intelligent  author- 
ity, he  has  made  the  greatest  discovery,  on 
these  subjects,  of  the  nineteenth  century.  We 
do  not  doubt  his  intelligence  nor  his  integrity, 
but  we  think  he  may  have  based  hiscouclu. 
sious  on  insufficient  data. 


EXCERPTS 

India  has  nearly  2,000,000  acres  of  land 
sown  to  wheat. 

Hop-growers  are  happy  over  the  prospects 
of  a  heavy  hop  crop. 

The  prospects  for  good  crops  in  France, 
Germany  and  Holland  are  favorable. 

Clover  will  be  a  short  crop  in  Michigan  this 
saason,  owing  to  winter  killing  and  drouth. 

Apple  trees  in  Bucks  county.  Pa.,  are  said 
to  be  dying  from  the  etfects  of  last  year's 
drought. 

In  Geogia  insects  of  all  kinds  are  abundant 
and  all  kinds  of  crops  are  receiving  their  at- 
tentions. 

Cattle  valued  at  $13,500,000  are  calmly 
grazing  in  what  was  six  years  ago  absolutely 
an  Indian  country. 

A  TOTAL  of  85,160,866  fleeces  were  shorn  in 
the  United  States  in  1880,  with  an  average 
weight  of  4.42  pounds. 

The  army  worms,  which  are  abundant  in 
Lyons  county,  Ky.,  are  being  destroyed  by 
miriads  of  small  red  ants. 

A  fruit-grower  in  California  says  that 
should  the  Chinese  go  the  fruit  interest  in 
that  State  would  sufler  seriously. 

Califorina  takes  the  lead  for  heavy  heads 
of  wheat.  Some  stalks  have  been  shown, 
six  feet  high,  with  heads  six  inches  loug. 

Two  nundred  thousand  head  of  sheep  were 
driven  from  New  Mexico  recently  to  Texas, 
and  50,000  wethers  to  Nebraska. 

The  silk  trade  of  Switzerland  gives  em- 
l)loyment  to  70,000  hands.  The  yearly  pro- 
ducts of  this  industry  amount  to  130,000,000 
francs. 

There  are  over  150,000  orange  trees  in 
Florida,  and  the  number  is  rapidly  increasing 
annually.  The  product  this  year  is  put  at 
50,000,000  oranges. 

The  large  bean-raising  districts  of  Ne\# 
York  are  afflicted  by  a  worm  called  the  bean 
weevil,  which  is  doing  great  damage  to  the 
newly  planted  crops. 

The  oleomargarine  factories  of  New  York 
have  a  producing  capacity  of  116,000,000 
pounds  annually,  while  the  production  of 
dairy  butter  in  the  State  is  only  111,000,000 
pounds. 

Fire  Brick  should  be  laid  in  a  thin  mortar 
made  of  fire  clay,  rather  than  in  a  lime  and 


sand  mortar,  such  as  is  used  in  ordinary  brick- 
work. In  laying  up  those  portions  of  a  boiler 
furnace  requiring  fire  brick,  provision  should 
be  made  in  the  original  wall  for  replacing  the 
Are  brick  and  without  disturbing  the  outer 
brickwork. 

When  corn  on  the  ear  is  fed  to  horses  they 
masticate  it  much  more  slowly  than  if  the 
corn  was  shelled.  As  a  consequence  that  on 
the  ear  is  better  digested.  A  horse  requires 
more  time  to  eat  corn  on  the  ear  than  if  fed 
either  meal  or  shelled  corn.  If  the  horse  can 
not  have  time  to  masticate  a  full  feed  of  un- 
shelled  corn,  then  it  is  best  to  feed  something 
else. 

Kgots  of  Grass. — The  roots  of  grass  being 
much  shorter  than  those  of  cereals  are  less 
able  to  collect  ash  constituents  from  the  soil. 
If,  therefore,  grass  is  mown  for  hay,  manures 
containing  potash,  lime  and  phosphoric  acid 
will  generally  be  required.  Lijce  the  cereal 
crops,  grass  is  greatly  increased  in  luxuriance 
by  the  application  of  soluble,  nitrogenous  ma- 
nures. 

Butter  in  Winter. — In  Denmark  in  the 
management  of  the  dairy  rape  cake,  oats  and 
wheat  bran  are  reckoned  as  first-class  butter 
foods,  palm-nut  cake  and  barley  as  second- 
class  foods,  while  linseed  cake,  peas  and  rye 
are  placed  in  the  third  class.  By  the  employ- 
ment of  first  and  second-class  foods,  with  cut 
stravv,  hay  and  roots,  an  abundance  of  excel- 
lent butter  is  produced  throughout  the  winter. 

The  opinion  has  generally  prevailed  that  a 
little  bran  mixed  with  meal  would  produce 
more  pork  than  clear  meal,  but  in  some  ex- 
periments lately  tried  it  was  found  that  clear 
meal  made  more  pork  than  a  mixture  of  bran 
and  meal. 

The  naturalists  have  found  that  trunks  of 
trees  undergo  daily  clianges  in  diameter. 
From  early  morning  to  early  afternoon  there 
is  a  regular  diminution,  followed  until  twi- 
light by  an  increase. 

House-flies  are  found  to  be  very  frequent- 
ly infested  by  parasitic  worms,  which  suggests 
the  possibility  that  they  may  also  carry  about 
the  germs  of  infectious  diseases. 

J)E  Vries  believes  that  the  true  function  of 
the  resinous  juices  of  plants  is  to  serve  as  a 
balm  for  wounds,  and  that  the  resins,  are  not 
therefore  excrementitious  matter  as  some 
have  thought. 

Inclose  a  piece  of  ground  adjacent  to  the 
hen-house  with  a  high  picket  fence,  and  set 
out  plum  trees  in  it.  Keep  the  hens  in  the 
inclosure  during  the  curculio's  ravages,  and  a 
crop  of  plums  annually  will  be  the  reward  of 
the  pains  and  the  outlay.  The  editor  says  the 
remedy  is  a  good  one,  and  has  been  used  by 
plum  growers  for  years.  Whether  it  is  as 
thoroughly  efficacious  as  this  correspondent 
thinks,  is  open  to  debate.  However,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Detroit,  two  parties  who  have  tried 
it  for  years  declare  it  eminently  satisfactory, 
as  they  have  never  had  a  curculio  since  they 
turned  their  fowls  into  their  pluui  orchards. — 
Michigan  Fanner. 

Studies  of  the  Wind  in  Japan.— The 
Indian  Bureau  of  statistics  has  received  a 
report  from  the  University  of  Tokio,  Japan, 
on  meteorology.  Among  other  things,  the 
movement  of  the  wind  for  each  day  in   the 


1882.  J 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


115 


year  is  given.  The  total  moveiiieut  for  1880 
was  about  4,000  miles  greater  than  for  1879. 
When  States  and  countries  make  such  a 
record  of  the  wind  as  tliis,  the  law  of  its  mo- 
tion may  be  ascertaineii,  and  then  the  chui'- 
acter  of  the  seasons  in  every  part  of  the 
world,  perhaps,  foretold.  The  bureau  is 
making  an  eftbrt  to  interest  observers  every- 
where in  this  matter. 

The  celebrated  rose-bush  at  Hildesheiin, 
in  Ilauover,  reputed  to  have  been  planted  by 
Charlemagne  and  therefore  to  be  more  than  a 
thousand  years  old,  has  borne  more  blossoms 
this  season  than  ever  before,  and  is  an  object 
of  much  cuiiosity.  The  branches  of  tlu?  bush 
extend  to  about  three  feet  and  eight  inches  in 
height  and  three  feet  and  four  inches  in 
width. 

It  is  not  generally  known  that  Fortress 
Monroe  is  the  largest  single  fortilieation  in 
the  world.  It  has  already  cost  over  §3,000,- 
000.  The  water  battery  is  considered  to  be 
one  of  the  finest  pieces  of  military  construe 
tion  ever  built. 

Have  your  seed  wheat  perfectly  clean.  An 
hour  spent  in  making  seed  clean  will  save  a 
day  or  week  in  the  future  in  eradicating 
weeds. 

The  bull  is  half  of  the  herd.  Thus  a  bull 
of  the  best  milking  strain  of  blood  used  even 
in  a  small  lot  of  dairy  cows  greatly  and  at 
once  improves  each  of  his  get. 

Poultry. — As  floors  to  poultry  houses 
boards  are  not  good,  especially  if  chickens  are 
to  be  brought  up  on  them.  Nothing  is  so  good 
as  deep,  well  pulverized,  dry  soil,  which  is 
really  the  least  expensive  of  anything. 

Care  of  Sheep. — Keep  sheep  dry  under 
foot.  This  is  even  more  necessary  than  roof- 
ing them. 

The  Castor  bean  is  a  special  crop  of  increas- 
ing popularity  in  all  the  Western  States,  and 
in  some  counties  in  tlie  West  they  are  leading 
crops.  They  have  proven  a  source  of  pro.it 
to  the  general  farmer,  as  the  cultivation  and 
harvest  are  simple  and  require  little  or  no  out- 
lay for  machinery.  As  a  crop  they  are  nearly 
insect-proof,  belong  to  the  night-shade  family; 
they  also  bid  defiance  to  chinch  bugs.  For  the 
last  13  years  it  is  claimed  they  have  not  been 
below  a  profitable  price  but  twice,  and  gene- 
rally held  at  a  most  remunerative  figure.  Corn 
and  other  staples  have  been  below  this  oftener 
a  great  deal.— ioiji.swHe,  Kt/.,  AgnmUurist. 

Vexice  and  Amsterdam  are  the  cities  of 
bridges.  The  first  has  4.")0.  the  last  300.  Lon- 
don has  1-3,  Vienna  20,  Berlin  will  soon  have 
50.  Altogether  the  most  beautiful  and  strik- 
ing bridge  in  Europe  is  that  over  the  Moldan 
at  Prague. 

The  resident  population  of  Great  Britain 
in  the  middle  of  1882  is  estimated  by  the 
Kegistrar  General  at  .33,280,290  persons  ;  that 
of  England  and  Wales  at  20,400,820  ;  of  Scot- 
land at  3,83,400,  and  of  Ireland  at  5,088,079. 

Farmers  do  not  be  deceived  by  the  cry,  by 
our  large  city  dailies,  of  such  an  immense 
crop  of  wheat  in  the  West.  This  is  gotten  up 
for  a  purpose.  While  the  crop  is  fair  in  some 
localities,  large  in  others  and  poor  in  others, 
this  cry  is  started  for  the  purpose  of  stimu- 
lating the  farmers  of  the  States  east  of  the 
Mississippi  river  to  rush  their  wheat  into  the 


market  at  a  beggarly  price  before  the  Western 
wheat  is  harvested.  t)nce  in  the  market  the 
"  cornering  "  and  speculating  business  would 
commence  in  earnest.  With  the  present  poor 
prsp.spects  for  corn  there  is  no  reason  why 
farmers  shouhl  crowd  their  wheal,  on  the 
market.— Soi('./i  Bend  (Indiana)  Era. 

How  to  Feed  Pigs.— The  great  iioint  in 
feeding  pigs  is  to  keep  them  growing.  It  is 
not  a  dilhcult  matter  to  accomplish,  but  there 
are  many  who  keep  pigs  that  fail  to  grow 
them  profitably.  If  our  farmers  would  lay 
out  and  fit  up  clover  pastures  for  their  pigs 
there  would  be  a  great  [xiiiit  gained  towards 
I'conomical  feeding.  Clover  pasture  with  a 
little  skim-milk,  pure  water  and  a  little  soaked 
corn  will  make  pig  pork  at  low  cost. 

M.  TousSAiNT  has  sliown  experimentally 
the  si>rious  dangers  of  eating  meat  nearly  raw- 
as  is  now  so  generally  done  If  the  meat  is 
un.sound,  the  germs  of  disease  must  pass  into 
the  .system.  The  most  frequent  and  danger- 
ous malady  with  which  anuimals  slaughtered 
for  food  were  affected  is  consumption,  and 
even  if  the  animal  is  only  slightly  att'ected, 
persons  eating  the  uncooked  meat  are  lial)le 
to  infection.  The  raw  juice  pressed  from  a 
.slightly  affected  cow's  lung  was  used  to  inocu- 
late rabbits  and  yonng  pigs,  and  all  the  sub- 
jects died  in  a  short  time  from  the  disease. 
The  experiment  was  repeated  with  a  portion 
of  the  juice  which  had  been  paitially  cookeil, 
and  the  result  was  the  same.  Thorough  cook- 
ing of  the  meat  at  a  temperature  of  1.50  or  IGO 
degrees,  is  recommended  as  a  precaution  un- 
safe to  neglect. 

The  Nnu  England  Homestead  says:  "There 
is  a  right  and  a  wrong  time  for  everything.  It 
certainly  isn't  the  right  time  for  a  farmer  to 
take  a  vacation  before  haying  and  hoeing  are 
fini.shed.  But  with  these  jobs  (the  greatest  the 
New  England  farmer  has  to  do)  out  of  the 
way,  there  certainly  ought  to  be  a  chance 
for  farmers,  like  other  folks,  to  get  ofl"  for  a 
few  days'  vacation.  A  day  or  two  even  of 
change,  of  absence  from  every-day  cares, 
braces  a  man  up  wonderfully  for  future  work. 
And  if  a  farmer  and  his  family  who  have 
toiled  through  the  season  till  August  don't 
deserve  a  little  rest  at  least,  then  we  don't 
know  who  does." 

A  LEADING  farmer  in  Middle  Tennessee 
states  that  a  crop  of  10  acres  of  amber  cane 
was  of  more  value  to  him  for  feeding  hogs, 
cattle,  and  mules,  than  any  25-acre  crop  on 
his  farm,  and  that  it  paid  better  than  any 
other  crop.  Those  who  have  had  the  most 
experience  claim  that  the  amber  cane  is  twice 
as  nutritious  as  common  field  corn,  and  yields 
nearly  double  the  amount  of  the  best  varieties 
of  the  sweet  corn  usually  sown  for  fodder. — 
St.  Louis  Journal  of  Agriculture. 

There  has  lately  been  exhibited  in  the 
Botanical  Garden  of  Berlin  the  biggest  fiower 
in  the  world — the  great  flower  of  Sumatra 
known  in  science  as  the  Rafllcsia  Aruoldi,and 
peculiar  to  Java  and  Sumatra.  It  measures 
nearly  ten  feet  in  circumference,  and  more 
than  three  in  diameter.  Sir  Stanford  Rattles 
and  Dr.  .Joseph  Arnold  were  exploring  in 
company  when  they  discovered  this  champion 
plant. 

Don't  kill  the  toads,  the  ugly  toads  that 
hop  around  your  door.      Each  meal  the  little 


toad  doth  eat  a  hundred  bugs  or  more.  He 
sits  arouQil  with  aspect  meek,  until  the  bug 
hath  ncared;  then  shoots  he  forth  his  little 
tongue  like  lightning  double-geared.  And 
then  he  soberly  doth  wink  and  shut  his  ugly 
mug,  and  patiently  doth  wait  until  there 
comes  another  bug.— Independent  Farmer. 

Mi:ui\(i  sheep  will  yield  from  ten  to  twenty 
pounds  of  wool  per  head,  and  the  Cotwold 
even  more,  while  scrub  shee.p  will  give  from 
three  to  six  pounds.  The  line  sheep  eat  no 
more  than  scrub  and  produc('  more  llesh,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  superior  quality  of  both 
wool  and  flesh.  Therefore  keep  only  good 
sheep. 

■Wasminqton  Territory  is  now  setting 
up  its  claims  to  distinction  as  a  State.  Two 
years  ago  the  census  of  that  Territory  showed 
a  populatiod  of  73,110.  The  [Hjople  now  claim 
a  population  of  quite  1.30,000.  Owing  to  the 
remoteness  of  the  Territory  from  the  East 
this  increase  is  quite  remarkable,  and  the 
completion  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad 
will  result  in  the  rapid  filling  up  of  that  coun- 
try. 

Wide  Tires.— Those  who  have  learned  to 
use  wide  tire  wagons  find  great  advantage  in 
.so  doing.  They  could  not  be  induced  to  go 
back  to  the  narrow  tire.  The  philoRoi)hy  of 
this  is  readily  ob-served.  The  broad  tire  does 
not  cut  through,  either  in  mud  or  sand,  thus 
making  the  draft  much  lighter  ;  besides  this 
the  roads  are  not  cut  up,  but  on  the  contrary 
the  broad  tire  pre.s.scs  down  the  lumps  and 
leaves  a  smooth  track,  thus  bettering  the 
roads,  the  advantage  of  which  is  easily  under- 
stood. The  tire  which  seems  to  meet  with 
general  favor  is  from  three  and  a  half  to  four 
inches  wide. 

In  consequence  of  the  defective  water  sup- 
ply there  has  been  an  incrca.se  of  25  per  cent. 
in  the  price  of  fire  insurance  risks  in  the  city 
of  Galveston.  The  average  under  the  old 
rates  was  li  per  cent.  The  new  schedule  of 
fire  rates  will  make  it  IJ  per  cent.  There  is 
ab  lut  §20,000,000  regularly  covered  by  insur- 
ance iu  Galveston. 

Fifty  years  ago  the  capital  invested  in  cot- 
ton-factories was  §40,000,000,  and  the  amount 
of  cotton  used  was  77,759,310  pounds;  today 
the  capital  is  $223,000,000  and  the  material 
used  793,240,500  pounds.  Forty  years  ago 
the  woolen  factories  used  50,808,524  pounds 
of  wood,  turning  out  products  worth  S20,69C,- 
699.  In  1880  187,iil0,003  i)ounds  of  wool  were 
manufactured  into  articles  worth  $234,587,- 
071.  In  the  last  ten  years  our  silk  products 
have  increased  from  a  value  or  812.210,002  to 
834,410,462.  Fifty  years  ago  there  were  but 
few  tanneries  and  no  shoe  factories.  In  1870 
4,237  tanneries,  using  9,000,000  hides  and 
9.664.000  skins,  produced  leather  worth  §86,- 
169,383;  while  the  3,151  shoe  factories  turned 
out  articles  worth  S14(i, 704.000.  In  ia30  the 
yield  of  the  iron  furnaces  was  165,000  tons  ; 
in  1880  that  of  iron  and  steel  works  was  7,265,- 
000  tons,  worth  2!K>,  557,685.  In  but  twenty 
years  the  capital  employed  in  making  machi- 
nery has  increased  from  815,000,000  to  840.- 
(HiO.OOO,  and  the  annual  product  is  worth 
820,000  000.  ■  In  1810  the  value  of  paper 
made  in  the  United  Slates  was  82,000,000 ; 
in  1870  it  was  8.30,842,445.  To  quote  the  words 
of  Commissioner  Loring,  from  whose  address 


116 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[[Augusti 


these  facts  are  rollated,  "the  aggregate  an- 
nual product  of  the  manufacturing  and  me- 
chanical industries  of  the  United  States  is 
now  more  than  $0,000,000,000.  Of  this  vast 
product  less  than  $200,000,000  are  exported. 

Queries  and  Answers. 

A  BIG  BUG. 

FAir.FiELD,  July  3],  1882. 

I  send  you  herewith  a  bug,  or  something  of 
the  buggy  nature,  handed  me  by  two  of  your 
readers — Messrs.  Samuel  Martin  and  Hiram 
Harvey,  who  would  be  pleased  if  you  can 
persuade  Dr.  Rath  von  to  kindly  classify  it 
through  your  columns.  It  was  found  in  Mr. 
Martin's  tobacco  patch,  and  the  gentlemen 
are  desirious  of  knowing  the  name  of  the 
"quar  looking  thing." 

For  myself,  I  am  not  much  an  admirer  of 

"Great  ugly  things, 

All  legs  and  wings, 
With  nasty  long  tails  armed  with 

Nasty  long  stings, 

nor  have  any  inclination  to  be 
"Poking  and  peeping 
After  things  creeping, 
Or  eternally  thinking 
And  blinking  and  winking, 
At  grubs," 

but  one  is  forced  to  manifest  an  interest  some- 
times, and  the  learned  doctor's  previous  kind- 
ness has  spoiled  us. —  Yours  very  truly,  W.  F. 
M.,  in  Intelliyeiicer. 

The  insect  referred  to  above  is  the  Belas- 
toma  Americana,  of  naturalists,  for  wliicli  I 
know  no  common  name  other  than  the 
"American  Belastoma." 

It  is  a  true  "bug,"  and  a  "big bug"  at  that 
— indeed,  it  is  distinguished  as  being  the 
largest  species  of  bug  that  exists  in  North 
America. 

It  is  amphibious  in  its  character,  and  dur- 
ing the  larval  and  papal  periods  lives  exclu- 
sively in  the  water;  its  cursorial  or  ambula- 
torial  abilities  are  very  defective,  but  it  is  a 
great  swimmer  and  diver,  and  when  its  wings 
are  fully  developed  it  is  to  a  limited  extent  a 
good  flyer.  But  "it  overrates  its  strength 
nor  measures  well  the  foe;"  hence,  it  is  often 
"brought  to  grief"  when  it  ventures  abroad; 
because,  when  it  once  falls  to  the  earth  it 
cannot  rise  ajain,  and  its  legs  being  oar- 
shapcd,  and  used  as  oars,  it  can  make  little 
progress  on  dry  lau'd. 

It  is  entirely  carniverous  in  its  habits,  and 
although  destitute  of  mouth  and  teet  it  has  a 
powerful  sectorial  apparatus  with  which  it 
pierces  the  bodies  of  other  animals  and  ab- 
sorbs their  fluids.  It  has  long  been  known  to 
destroy  small  fishes  and  sometimes  infests 
fish  ponds  and  preys  upon  the  fry. 

The  flying  abroad  is  said  to  be  during  the 
nuptial  season,  when  the  sexes  meet  and  pro- 
vide for  the  continuation  of  the  species. 

Its  systematic  position  in  insect  cassifica- 
tionis  in  the  order  Ilemiptera  (Half-wings) 
because  its  elytroe  or  wing-covers  are  not 
wholly  coriaceous,  or  leathery,  but  on  the  con- 
trary the  apical  portions  are  membranaceous. 
This  order  includes  the  odoriferous  "squash- 
bug,"  the  "chinchbug,"  and  many  other 
pestiferous  suctorials.  Still,  there  are  some 
individuals  in  it  that  prey  upon  many  of  our 
noxious  species  of  insects,  and  hence  they  may 
be  tolerated. 


TOMATO  HORN-WORM. 

Miss  S.  S.  L.  and  others. — The  large  green 
worm  with  diagonal  whitish  .stripes  along  the 
sides,  and  a  horn  on  the  back  near  the  hinder 
end,  is  the  larva  of  Sphinx  (Macrosila)  Caro- 
lina, the  same  that  also  infests  the  tobacco 
plant,  the  potato,  the  egg-plant,  etc;  and  the 
little  white  follicles  that  stud  the  entire 
bodies  of  tliem,  are  cocoons  of  a  small  Hymen- 
opterous  parasite,  that  infests  them  (Jiicro- 
yuster  congrerjata)  and  which  has  a  very  pecu- 
liar history.  The  parent,  a  small  four  winged 
fly — deposits  her  eggs  on  or  in  the  worm, and  as 
soon  as  they  are  hatched  they  penetrate  the 
body  of  the  worm  and  feed  upon  its  sub- 
stance. When  they  are  mature  they  issue 
from  the  body  of  the  worm,  and  each  one 
spins  a  small  white  cocoon,  that  resembles  a 
grain  of  rice.  After  a  few  days  in  the  pupal 
state  the  fly  is  evolved,  cuts  off  the  upper  end 
and  issues  forth  a  small  fly,  like  the  parent, 
and  is  soon  ready  to  repeat  the  operation  on 
some  other  worm.  A  worm  so  infested, 
rarely,  if  ever,  has  strength  to  effect  its  usual 
transformations.  Even  if  it  should  be  able  to 
go  into  the  ground  and  assume  the  pupal 
form  it  would  be  hardly  able  to  change  to  a 
moth.  The  worm  usually  dies  with  its 
hooked  feet  firmly  fixed  in  the  plant,  without 
the  ability  to  disengage  them,  and  as  we  have 
found  the  dried  carcass  of  the  worm  with  the 
cocoons  on  it  so  suspended  during  the  winter 
season,  it  is  very  probable  that  those  that 
evolve  late  in  the  season  hibernate  in  that 
condition  during  the  winter,  and  thus  perpet- 
uate the  species  the  following  season.  It  is 
possible  that  those  which  may  be  carried 
under  ground  in  the  body  of  the  worm,  would 
hibernate  there  and  come  forth  the  following 
spring.  Be  this  as  it  m.ay,  it  is  very  certain 
that  they  are  in  some  manner  carried  from 
one  season  to  another,  for  as  often  as  the  host 
occurs,  the  parasites  are  also  present.  These 
little  insects  may  therefore  be  esteemed  as 
friends,  for,  if  the  horn-worm  is  a  female, 
they  at  least  prevent  the  generation  of  as 
many  horn-worms  as  tlie  female  would  de- 
posit eggs,  which  frequently  amounts  to  two 
or  three  hundred  if  not  more. 


GOLDSMITH-BEETLE. 

Gebmantown,  July  24,  1882. 

Peof.  Bathvon— Dear  Sir:  A  large  bronze 
and  black  beetle  has  been  sent  to  me,  with  a 
blackberry  on  which  it  was  preying.  The 
account  is  tliat  these  were  on  a  cluster  eating 
the  fruit,  and  that  they  came  out  of  the  ground, 
mounted  the  stalk  and  began  feasting.  I 
know  from  this  you  have  a  very  poor  basis  to 
say  anything,  unless  the  beetle  is  a  familiar 
acquaintance.  But  if  you  have  leisure  plea.se 
tell  me  iu  brief  what  you  know,  if  anythino-. 
_.  Very  Truly,  P.  B.  F. 

We  have  answered  what  we  supposed  the 
insect  alluded  to  in  the  above, may  have  been, 
notwithstanding  the  paucity  of  the  descrip- 
tion ;  but,  since  that  au.swer  was  written,  Mr. 
John  Thomas,  of  East  Orange  street,  Lan- 
caster city,  sent  us  three  specimens  of  the 
commmi  "Goldsmith  Beetle,"  (Oymnetis 
nitida)  wliich  he  captured  in  the  act  of  feast- 
ing upon  his  peaches.  He  found  as  many  as 
five  on  a  single  peach,  fairly  wallowing  in 
percican  luxury,  and  never  abandoning  it 
until  the  whole  pulp  of  the  fruit  was  devoured 
except  the  "skin  aud  bone,"  (stone). 

This  is  nothing  new  for  master  goldsmith. 


We  have  observed  it  on  many  occasions  di>- 
ring  the  last  fifty  years  or  more,  but  never  in 
sufficient  numbers  to  create  any  special  alarm. 
We  are  inclined  to  believe  also  that  the  in- 
sect alluded  to  in  the  above  note  was  either 
the  goldsmith,  or  a  nearly  allied  species; 
because  we  have  found  both,  on  rare  occa- 
sions, feeding  on  the  blackberry;  and  both 
are  developed  from  a  "white  grub-worm" 
that  lives  under  ground,  and  feeds  upon  the 
roots  and  tubers  of  vegetables. 

About  the  Jirst  insect  the  average  country 
or  village  boy  observes,  on  terra  firina,  is  the 
"Tumble-dung"  (Caiii/wn  ?cecis)and  the  second 
is  the  "Goldsmith;"  and,  whatever  may  have 
been  the  character  or  quality  of  the  sport,  the 
boy  that  had  not  "flyed"  a  goldsmith,  with  a 
thread  tied  to  one  of  his  hind  legs,  would 
have  been  considered  no  "great  shakes." 

It  is  the  absence  of  this  positive  recogni- 
tion by  the  writer  of  the  above  note,  which 
alone  involves  the  subject  in  doubt. 

In  an  editorial  "Eemark"  the  writer  of  the 
above  states  that  the  Goldsmith  "fills  the 
bill." 


THE   ENGLISH   SPARROWS. 

The  papers  complain  of  the  injurious  habits 
of  the  English  sparrows,  showing  that  they 
drive  other  small  birds  away.  It  is  plain  that 
they  are  becoming  a  nuisance.  One  farmer  in 
Canada  says  there  are  about  five  thousand  of 
them  upon  his  farm,  and  liave  done  great 
harm  in  eating  up  his  corn  and  barley  and 
other  productions  of  the  ground.  Our  good 
wife  complains  that  they  clestroy  many  of  her 
garden  products.  Shall  this  evil  be  permitted 
to  continue':*  Is  there  a  law  to  protect  the 
Uttle  depredators?  If  there  is,  let  it  be  re- 
pealed, and  let  the  boys  have  the  privilege  of 
trapping  and  shooting  them,  and  there  will 
soon  be  a  lessening  of  their  numbers.  I 
would  suppose  they  would  be  a  nice  morsel  for 
the  breakfast  table  for  those  who  have  a  love 
for  little  birds  to  eat. — J.  F.  W.,  Lancaster. 
Aug,  10,  1882. 

Our  views  on  the  "  English  Sparrow  "  have 
been  given  at  length  in  vol.  14,  page  17  of  the 
Farmer,  and  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  repeat 
tliem  here.  They  are  doubtless  protected 
under  the  laws  protecting  other  birds,  so  far 
es  they  are  insectivorous,  but  we  do  not  con- 
sider the  sparrow  as  legitimately  belonging  to 
this  class  ;  and  therefore,  its  introduction  and 
domestication  here  was  a  mistake. 

Mr.  Kdouard  Ferris,  of  France,  says, 
"the  peasents  of  Lombardy  prepare  nesting 
places  for  the  sparrows  and  then  destroy  the 
nests."  This  might  be  a  good  plan  to  eflfect 
their  ultimate  extinction  here,  without  a  re- 
peal of  the  laws.  Prevent  their  procreation, 
and  their  sires  and  dams  will  eventually  die  of 
old  age.  Tlie  same  authority  says,  "the  spar- 
row is  a  pillager  who  carries  on  his  depreda- 
tions in  the  harvest-field,  in  the  garden,  in  the 
granary,  and  among  the  ripe  grapes  on  our 
trellises;  and  I  cannot  join  in  the  kind  of 
wor.ship  paid  him  by  certain  persons  more 
credulous  of  his  pretended  utility  than  struck 
by  his  instinct  of  rapine  and  waste."  As  we 
may  refer  to  this  able  essay  on  some  future 
occasion  again,  it  is  only  neces.sary  to  add  at 
this  time,  that  the  above  characteristics  of  the 
sparrow  are  being  loudly  echoed  from  various 
parts  of  the  county.  True,  his  character 
may  sometimes  be  tradueed,but  there  maybe 
a  well  founded  suspicion  of  the  innocence  of 
one,  whom  everybody  deems  guilty. 


1882.  J 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


117 


CONTRIBUTIONS. 


For  The  I.ascastkh  Farmer. 
GAPES   IN    POULTRY. 

So  much  have  been  sai<l  of  hite  in  rcKarJ  to 
the  gapes  in  poultry,  and  as  nothing  positive 
has  yet  been  dcterniinetl  on,  I  feel  as  though 
I  should  say  something  on  the  subject,  giving 
my  experience.  I  lind  by  close  observations 
that  they  are  neither  a  louse  nor  do  they 
take  them  from  the  ground,  nor  yet  is  it  con- 
tagious. It  is  nothing  more,  or  less  than  the 
pip,  as  it  was  called  when  I  was  a  boy,  and 
tliey  come  from  the  downy  plumage  which 
the  chick  is  covered  with  when  hatched; 
whilst  picking  themselves  the  down  is  sucked 
in  the  windpipe  whilst  breathing,  and  if  the 
quill  end  enters  lirst  it  invariably  will  work 
itself  down,  and  it  requires  but  a  day  or  two 
until  it  is  covered  with  a  red  (leshy  sul)stance 
and  will  move  when  disturbed,  but  it  con- 
tains no  ovas  nor  ever  will.  In  time,  if  not 
removed  it  will  dissolve  and  pass  away. 

They  are  generally  double,  one  being  a 
little  longer  than  the  other;  they  are  not 
male  and  female  as  some  suppose — far  from 
it.  If  you  will  examine  the  down,  on  all 
small  feathers,  you  will  find  them  all  double, 
the  same  as  the  gape  worm.  Young  ducks 
do  not  moult  their  downy  plumage,  but  on 
the  contrary,  it  increases  in  length  and  in 
quantity,  and  adheres  more  firmly  to  the  skin 
for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  boddy  dry. 
Anything  of  this  kind,  or  hairs  from  any- 
thing, placed  in  a  warm  and  wet  place  and 
receiving  air,  will  become  living  animals. 
They  are  very  common  at  this  time  of  the 
year,  where  stock  go  to  drink,  in  the  foot- 
prints, containing  water.  They  differ  in  size 
and  length,  depending  on  the  part  of  the 
body  from  which  the  hair  had  fallen.  I 
took  the  other  day  from  the  ditch  below  my 
pump  a  knot  of  hair  that  was  all  alive  ;  it 
was  just  as  it  had  been  taken  from  the  comb 
and  wrapped  around  the  finger,  and  a  hairpin 
stuck  through  it.  I  removed  the  pin,  shook 
them  out  in  a  basin  of  warm  water;  they  ap- 
peared to  enjoy  their  liberty  very  much.  By 
drawing  one  through  my  finger  nails,  strip- 
ping ofi'  the  red  fieshy  substance,  the  Iiairwas 
then  red.  Just  so  with  the  gape  worm.  Chicks 
are  more  subject  to  gapes  after  a  few  days 
rainy  weather.  During  this  time  they  are 
cooped,  and  having  no  exercise,  they  pass  the 
time  in  picking  themselves  ;  as  after  the  first 
week  they  commence  mouUing  the  downy 
plume.  The  best  remedy  is  the  horse  hair  to 
remove  them.  The  best  preventive  is  dry 
food:  wheat  and  cracked  corn;  nature's  food  is 
dry,  let  us  not  change  It.  A  better  remedy 
still  is  to  grease  the  chicks  with  lard  and  salt 
mixed;  this  will  kill  the  life  of  the  down  and 
most  generally  prevent  gapes,  as  grease  or 
salt,  or  both  combined,  is  death  to  any  thing 
so  delicate,  or  prevent  any  accumulation  of  it 
after  passing  into  the  pipe.  I  have  made  the 
chick  my  study  for  several  years.  My  last 
essay  on  poultry  I  gave  to  the  F  a  umer, 'giving 
the  contents  of  ap  egg  and  how  it  is  made. 


The  Eel  question  is  another  puzzle  to  many 
and  is  still  talked  of  through  the  papers.  I 
will  here  give  my  experience  in  regard  to 
their  mode  of  breeding  and  where.  I  am  a 
miller  by  trade  and   have  lived  near  a  mill 


pond  for  the  past  forty-five  years.  Some  say 
that  they  descend  down  the  streams  until 
they  reach  salt  water  and  there  spawn,  and 
whilst  young  ascend  again  hundreds  of  miles 
before  tbey  reach  the  head  of  the  last  mill 
pond.  Wouldn't  it  be  amusing  to  see  a  few 
hundred  of  young  and  old  eels  from  three  to 
twenty  inches  in  length  climbing  up  the 
breast  of  a  mill  pond,  say  ten  to  twenty  feet 
high,  and  so  on  to^the^next.  They  in  one  re- 
spect are  like  other  ffsh,  they  breed  where 
they  inhabit;  their  spawn  is  not  round  like 
other  fish,  they  are  more  the  shape  of  a  hen's 
egg,  and  they  arc  laid  on  sunken  brush  or  any 
hits  of  wood  under  water;  take  from  the  same 
a  splinter  containing  a  few  spawn,  place  it  in 
a  bucket  of  hike  warm  water,  and  in  a  few 
days  they  will  hatch;  now  drop  a  few  drops  of 
melted  grease  free  from  salt,  and  as  it  spreads 
over  the  surface  they  will  come  up  and  feed 
upon  it;  continue  this  for  a  few  days  and  you 
will  be  surprised  to  sec  how  the  little  wigglers 
will  grow.  Knowledge  derived  from  the 
closet  in  the  way  of  book  learning'  in  many 
instances  is  of  but  of  little  use  or  benefit. 
Self  taught  from  close  observations  and  ex- 
perimenting, is  knowledge  beneficial  and  it  is 
never  forgotten. —  Yours^  truly,    W.  J.   P. 

For  The  Lancaster  Farmer. 
LIME. 

Is  Lime  a  Manure,  or  only  a  Stimulant  ? 

Much  has  been  published  pro  and  con,  on 
this  subject  without  settling  the  question 
either  way.  I  am  inclined  to  the  belief  that 
it  is  a  manure  as  well  as  a  stimulant. 

I  well  remember  coming  up  from  Baltimore 
to  York  in  the  stage,  sixty  or  sixty-two  years 
ago,  on  passing  through  what  was  called  the 
"York  county  Barrens,"  to  see  very  little 
cultivation,  and  the  old  fields  without  fences, 
or  only  two  or  three  rails,  and  no  vegetation 
excejit  that  the  ground  was  entirely  covered 
with  daisies,  as  with  a  mantle  of  snow. 

At  a  place  where  the  stage  stopped  to 
change  horses,  a  man  got  in  the  stage  and 
took  a  seat  along  side  of  me.  He  at  once  be- 
gan to  "pump"  me  whore  I  was  going, where 
I  resided,  &c.  I  told  him  I  had  been  to  Bal- 
timore, and  was  on  my  way  home  to  Lancas- 
ter county.  He  said  1  was  fortunate  in  living 
in  so  rich  a  county — that  in  his  neighborhood 
the  land  was  too  poor  to  make  a  living  on  it — 
that  they  could  hardly  grow  enough  on  it  to 
keep  the  family  in  provision  the  year  round — 
that  if  they  sowed  rye,  they  could  get  very 
little  more  than  the  seed — and  corn  would  not 
produce  enough  to  pay  expenses.  I  said,  why 
do  you  not  manure  the  ground  ?  Ah  !  that's 
the  difficulty — we  have  no  manure — no  gra.ss 
or  feed,  hay,  &c.,  to  keep  stock,  so  we  have 
to  do  as  well  as  we,  can. 

Now,  that  "barren  locality"  produces  as 
heavy  crops  of  corn,  wheat,  and  grass  as  Lan- 
caster CO.  A  few  years  ago  I  was  again  in 
that  locality  and  I  saw  better  crops  of  corn 
than  we  had  that  season  here — they  having 
had  more  rain  in  that  section.  Clover  fields 
too,  so  very  rank  as  to  lodge  all  over  the 
field.  What  has  brought  about  this  wonder- 
ful change  ?  Lime  was  the  renovator,  that 
like  the  alchemists  of  old,  turned  baser  metal 
into  gold, or  money  into  the  farmers'  pockets! 

The  same  may  be  said  of  ]iarts  of  Lancas- 
ter county.     I  well  remember  hearing  people 


talk  of  "poor  Octoraro. "  They  said  the  soil 
was  so  poor  that  Kilderes  could  not  live  there 
— that  they  had  to  come  over  to  Manor  and 
Ilempfield  townships  to  get  feed  to  live."  It 
suited  these  birds  very  well  for  breeding  pur- 
poses, as  a  few  formed  their  nest  on 
the  ground,  on  a  bare  spot  so  they  could 
see  all  around,  thus  guarding  their  nests  from 
enemies,  as  polecats,  po.ssums,  snakes,  &c. — 
but  no  feed  for  their  young  in  that  section.  I 
do  not  now  know  the  locality  of  this  poor 
spot,  but  it  may  have  been  in  parts  of 
Drumore,  Fulton,  or  Martic  townships.  That 
country  has  changed  quite  as  wonderfully  as 
the  "Barrens  of  York  co."  Land  that  could 
be  bought  sixty  years  ago  for  4  or  "(dollars  an 
acre,  is  now  worth  probably  from  50  to  80 
dollars,  or  more,  according  to  imjjrovements. 
Here  too,  lime  was  the  forerunner  of  improve- 
ment, so  this  lime  is  evidently  a  manurial 
agent.  I  well  recollect  the  time  when  lime 
was  first  being  applied  to  land  as  a  fertilizer, 
some  50  or  GO  years  since. 

A  farm  less  than  two  miles  from  me,  on 
the  river  hills,  produced  nothing  but  chestnuts 
and  garlic.  An  old  field  had  been  in  corn,  as 
the  little  hillocks  proved,  was  thrown  out  as 
of  no  further  use,  no  fences,  and  a  public  road 
passing  on  one  side,  to  cut  off  a  corner  people 
traveled  over  the  field.  All  the  vegetation 
on  it  was  cinquefoil  and  running  blackberry 
vines.  All  the  income  the  family  had  was 
from  a  crop  of  chestnuts.  But  when  a  new 
owuer  took  possession,  chestnut  trees  and 
garlic  soon  disappeared,  the  former  for  rails 
and  the  latter  of  no  earthly  use.  Lime  being 
liberally  applied,  corn,  wheat  and  even 
tobacco  took  their  place,  and  now  that  old 
farm  has  been  rejuvenated,  and  produces  as 
heavy  crops  of  useful  vegetation  us  any  in 
Lancaster  county. 

A  farm  not  a  hundred  miles  west  of  Lan- 
caster where  corn  grew  to  three  feet  high 
and  rye  in  spots  here  and  there  where  cattle 
had  droi)pcd  their  excrements,  grew  only  in 
spots  (no  wheat  was  sown.)  There  was  also 
a  public  house  on  the  farm  and  teamsters  to 
Pittsburg  stayed  over  to  rest  and  feed,  their 
horses  of  course  dropped  considerable  manure, 
yet  the  farm  did  not  improve  until  lime  was 
applied,  then  to  see  the  change  that  soon  be- 
came apparent  was  really  wonderful.  No 
heavier  crops  can  now  be  grown  anywhere 
than  on  that  poor  farm,  poor  no  longer.  Many 
yet  living  may  remember  the  poor  qual  ity 
of  the  soil  in  Chester  county  sixty  years  ago 
where  now  such  heavy  crops  are  grown.  All 
this  I  think  goes  to  show  that  lime  is  a 
manurial  agent  of  great  power  as  a  renovator 
of  the  soil. 

Then  we  had  none  of  the  so  called  improved 
varieties  of  fruits,  still  such  as  we  had,  mostly 
seedlings,  bore  heavy  crops  of  fruit.  Apples 
every  alternate  year  produced  more  than 
could  be  used,  even  after  making  cider,  apple- 
butter,  vinegar  and  the  cellar  filled  for  winter 
use  and  wagon  loads  taken  to  the  still-house 
for  "apple-jack" — hogs  having  their  fill  for 
months  and  many  bushels  going  to  waste. 
Why  IS  it  that  our  trees  are  so  barren  now  ? 
There  is  a  question  in  my  mind  as  our  lands 
becomes  more  productive  for  grass  and  grain 
by  the  use  of  calcareous  manures,has  it  a  con- 
trary effect  on  fruit  trees  ?  It  appears  to  me 
as  if  it  misht  be  so. 


118 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[Augupt, 


But  I  will  not  follow  this  train  of  reasoning 
at  present  as  my  slieet  is  full,  but  would  wish 
to  call  the  attention  of  farmers  and  fruit 
growers  to  the  fact  that  our  grain  crops  have 
greatly  increased  during  the  last  half  century 
—chiefly  from  the  use  ol  lime,  and  our  fruit 
crops  decreased  from  some  cause  to  me  un- 
known unless  it  is  from  the  application  of 
celearous  manures. — J.  B.  Garber. 


FoK  THE  Lancaster  Farmer. 
TARIFFS  AND   THEIR  EFFECTS. 

The  article  in  the  June  number  of  the 
Farmer  entitled  "change  of  prices,"  etc.,  in 
which  I  trenched  on  the  tariff  question,  has 
brought  out  J.  P.  in  the  July  number,  who, 
by  the  by,  handles  the  tariff  question  with  a 
good  deal  of  ingenuity  and  argument,  and 
also  at  considerable  length.  I  must  confess, 
however,  that  I  cannot  clearly  comprehend  J. 
P's.  argument,  or  rather,  perhaps,  J.  P.,  doeS 
not  take  in  my  meaning  in  regard  to  the 
working  the  tarift'.  A  country,  or  a  govern- 
ment, comparatively  stands  in  the  attitude  of 
an  individual.  If  an  individual  has  nothing 
to  sell,  he  is,  of  course  not  considered  a  good 
manager  of  his  affairs.  Or  rather,  if  he  has 
to  buy  more  than  he  sells,  he  is  not  considered 
a  good  housekeeper.  But  whether  the  com- 
munity is  injuriously  affected,  or  better  off,  I 
am  at  a  loss  to  know. 

First.  Taking  the  term  tariff  to  mean  the 
exacting  or  levying  a  tax,  direct  or  indirect 
which  should  only  be  enforced  to  protect  an 
individual  or  a  government  in  particular 
emergencies,  there  ought  to  be  no  diiiiculty 
in  reaching  a  conclusion,  according  to  the 
very  nature  of  the  case.  As  times  and  people 
change  in  all  things  relating  to  human  pro- 
gress, so  should  our  lawmakers  change  our 
laws.  Our  lawmakers  should  be  selected 
from  among  such  practical  men  as  will 
be  able  to  travel  with  the  age  in  which 
they  live,  and  the  changes  we  are  following. 
As  I  said  before,  discount  and  repudiate  all 
pretended  Statesmen  who  profess  to  act  for 
the  people,  but  are  nothing  but  corrupt  and 
and  only  are  interested  in  official  spoils. 

The  four  hundred  millions  of  dollars  are  col- 
lected in  tariffs,  revenues  and  various  other 
sources,  one  million  four  hundred  thousand 
of  which  is  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  four  millions  of  dollars  col- 
lected in  our  State  of  which  over  four  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars  is  now  kept  in  the  State 
Treasury,  and  the  thousands  of  dollars  col- 
lected in  Lancaster  county,  etc.,  (all  of  which 
I  am  no  advocate  of  collecting  direct  from  the 
people)  if  the  people  would  take  the  trouble 
to  look  into  the  matters  it  would  have  the 
effect  of  opening  their  eyes,  and  excite  their 
inquiry  as  to  what  is  becoming  of  all  this 
money,  ruhv  gets  it,  hoio  do  they  get  it,  and 
what  is  given  as  an  equivalent  for  it  V 
The  tariff,  as  I  think  it  should  be  assessed 
and  used,  ought  to  be  for  reasonable  protec- 
tion— one  nation  to  protect  itself  against  an- 
other. 

As  a  general  thing  a  young  nation,  which 
is  not  yet  firmly  established  in  manufac- 
tures, and  has  not  the  hard  money  or  specie, 
should  be  protected  against  the  commer- 
cial innovations  ot  older  and  more  permanent- 
ly established  notions,  having  lower  prices 
and  greater  manufacturing  facilities,  absorb- 


ing the  pecuniary  means  of  the  younger  na- 
tion, by  the  withdrawal  of  its  specie,  and  an 
unequal  competition. 

Taking  lor  one  of  our  maxims— if  perliaps, 
not  the  best  that  an  individual  or  a  nation 
can  be  governed  by— that  "that  individual  or 
nation  which  maks  economy  and  industry  the 
enduring  basis  of  individual,  state  and  na- 
tional prosperity,  should  be  protected  by  the 
laws  of  the  land,  (always  remembering  to 
'!first  seek  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  all 
these  thincs  shall  be  added  unto  you.'  ") 

"We  should  follow,  as  I  said  before,  time's 
changes;  and,  as  we  have  had  heretofore, 
from  time  to  time,  protective  tariffs  which 
worked  well,  so  well  as  to  enable  us  to  com- 
pete with  older  nations,  and  brought  us  am- 
ple revenue,  so,  in  my  opinion,  we  should 
continue  to  keep  the  balance  of  trade  in  our 
favor,  but  at  the  same  time  protect  economy 
and  industry,  and  not  luxury  and  extrava- 
gance.—P.  S.  R. 


Selections. 


SILK  CULTURE. 

We  are  one  of  those  who  believe  in  the  ulti- 
mate feasability  of  silk  culture  in  this  county, 
and  we  desire  to  place  on  permanent  record 
such  information  as  may  be  useful  to  those 
who  may  desire  to  make  this  'industry  a  spe- 
cialty, among  their  secular  occupations. 

The  following  paper  on  this  subject,  by 
Prof.  C.  V.  Riley,  M.  A.  Ph.  D.  Entomolo- 
gist of  Department  of  Agriculture,  we  appro- 
priate, from  the  columns  of  the  National 
Farmer^  Washington,  D.  C,  as  a  proper  in- 
troduction, because  a  history  of  the  habits, 
the  transformations  and  general  character  of 
the  vxirms,  is  of  paramount  importance  in 
the  conduct  of  the  silk  business;  indeed  the 
very  foundation  of  the  whole  superstructure 
is  involved  in  healthy,  thrifty  worms.  With- 
out these  through  whose  bodies  the  tissues 
known  as  silk  are  elaborated,  all  else  would 
be  a  mere  inert  and  profitless  skeleton,  only 
fit  to  be  consigned  to  the  "valley  of  drybones," 
as  an  industrial  enterprise. — L^d.] 
Nature  of  the  Silk  Worm. 

The  silkworm  proper,  or  that  which  sup- 
plies the  ordinary  silk  or  commerce,  is  the 
larva  of  a  small  moth  known  to  scientific  men 
as  Sericaria  mvri.  It  is  often  popularly 
characterized  as  the  mulberry  silkworm.  Its 
place  among  insects  is  with  the  Lepidoptcra, 
or  spinners.  There  are  several  closely  allied 
species,  which  spin  silk  of  different  qualities, 
none  of  which,  however,  unite  strength  and 
fineness  in  the  same  admirable  proportions  as 
does  that  of  the  mulberry  species.  The  latter 
has,  moreover,  acquired  many  useful  pecu- 
liarities during  the  long  centuries  of  cultiva- 
tion it  has  undergone.  It  has  in  fact  become 
a  true  domesticated  animal.  The  quality 
which  man  has  endeavored  to  select  in  breed- 
ing this  insect  is,  of  course,  that  of  silk-pro- 
ducing, and  hence  we  find  that,  when  we 
compare  it  with  its  wild  relations,  the  cocoon 
is  vastly  disproportionate  to  the  size  of  the 
worm  which  makes  it  or  the  moth  that  issues 
from  it.  Other  peculiarities  have  incidentally 
appeared,  and  the  great  number  of  varieties 
or  races  of  the  silkworm  almost  equal  those 
of  the  domestic  dog.  The  white  color  of  the 
species;  its  seeming   want  of    all    desire   to 


escape  so  long  as  it  is  kept  supplied  with  leaves, 
and  the  loss  of  the  power  of  flight  on  the 
part  of  the  moth,  are  all  undoubtedly  the  re- 
sult of  domestication.  From  these  facts,  and 
particularly  from  that  of  the  great  variation 
within  specillc  limits  to  which  the  insect  is 
subject,  it  will  be  evident  to  all  that  the  fol- 
lowing remarks  upon  the  nature  of  the  silk- 
worm must  necessarily  be  very  general  in 
tlieir  character. 

The  silkworm  exists  in   four  states — egg, 
larva,  chrysalis,  and  adult   or  imago — which 
we  will  briefly  describe. 
Different  States  or  Stages  of  the  Silk  Worm 

The  Egg.— The  egg  of  the  silkworm  moth 
is  called  by  silk-raisers  the  "seed.''  It  is 
nearly  round,  slightly  flattened,  and  in  siie  re- 
sembles a  turnip  seed.  Its  color  when  first 
deposited  is  yellow,  and  this  color  it  retains  if 
unimpregnated.  If  impregnated,  however,  it 
.^oon  acquires  a  gray,  slate,  lilac,  violet,  or 
even  dark  green  hue,  according  to  variety  or 
breed.  It  also  becomes  indented.  When  dis- 
eased it  assumes  a  still  darker  and  dull  tint. 
With  some  varieties  it  is  fastened  to  the  sub- 
stance upon  which  it  is  deposited,  by  a  gum- 
my secretion  of  the  moth,  produced  in  the  act 
of  ovipositing.  Other  varieties,  however, 
among  which  may  be  mentioned  the  Adria- 
nople  whites  and  the  yellows  from  Nouka,  in 
the  Caucasus,  have  not  this  natural  gum.  As 
the  hatching  point  approaches,  the  egg  be- 
comes lighter  in  color,  which  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  its  fluid  contents  become  concen- 
trated, as  it  were,  into  the  central,  forming 
worm,  leaving  an  intervening  space  between 
it  and  the  shell,  which  is  semi-transparent. 
Just  before  hatching  the  worm  within  becom- 
ing more  active,  a  slight  clicking  sound  is  fre- 
quently heard,  which  sound  is,  however,  com- 
mon to  the  eggs  of  many  other  insects.  After 
the  worm  has  made  its  exit  by  gnawing  a 
hole  through  one  side  of  the  shell,  this  last 
becomes  quite  white.  Each  female  produces 
on  an  average  from  three  to  four  hundred 
eggs,  and  one  ounce  of  eggs  contains  about 
40,000  individuals.  It  has  been  noticed  that 
the  color  of  the  albuminous  fluid  of  the  egg 
corresponds  to  that  of  the  cocoon,  so  that 
when  the  fluid  is  white  the  cocoon  produced 
is  also  white,  and  when  yellow  the  cocoon 
again  corresponds. 

The  Larva  or  Worm. — The  worm  goes 
through  from  three  to  four  molts  or  sicknesses, 
the  latter  being  the  normal  number.  The 
periods  between  these  different  molts  are 
called  ages,  there  being  five  of  these  ages  in- 
cluding the  first  from  the  hatching,  and  the 
last  from  the  fourth  molt  to  the  spinning 
period.  Tlie  time  between  each  of  these 
molts  is  usually  divided  as  follows  :  The  first 
period  occupies  from  five  to  six  days,  the 
second  but  four  or  five,  the  third  about  five 
the  fourth  from  five  to  six,  and  the  fifth  from 
eight  to  ten.  These  periods  are  not  exact, 
but  simply  proportionate.  The  time  from  the 
hatching  to  the  spinning  of  the  cocoons  may, 
and  does,  vary  all  the  way  from  .30  to  40  days, 
depending  upon  the  race  of  the  worm,  the 
quality  of  the  food,  mode  of  feeding,  temper- 
ature, etc. ;  but  the  same  relative  proportion 
of  time  between  molts  usually  holds  true. 

The  color  of  the  newly  hatched  worm  is 
black  or  dark  gray,  and  it  is  covered  with  long 
stiff'  hairs,  ;,which,   upon  close  examination, 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


119 


will  be  found  to  spring  from .  pale-colored 
tubercles.  Different  sluides  of  dark  gray  will, 
however,  be  fouud  anioiig  worms  balcliinj,' 
from  the  same  batch  of  eggs.  The  hairs  and 
tubercles  are  not  nolicealjle  after  tlie  first 
molt  and  the  worm  gradually  gets  ligiiter  and 
lighter,  until,  in  the  last  stage,  it  is  of  a 
cream-white  color.  It  never  becomes  entirely 
smooth,  however,  as  there  are  short  hairs 
along  the  sides,  and  very  minute  ones,  not 
noticeable  with  tlie  unaided  eye,  all  over  the 
body. 

The  preparation  for  each  molt  requires  from 
two  to  three  days  of  fasting  and  rest,  during 
which  time  the  worm  attaches  itself  finiily  by 
the  abdominal  prologs  (the  8  non-articulated 
legs  under  the  6th,  7th,  8th  and  9th  segments 
of  the  body,  called  prologs  in  contradistinction 
to  the  0  articulated  true  legs  under  the  1st, 
2nd  and  3rd  segments,)  and  holds  up  the 
forepart  of  tlie  body,  and  sometimes  the  tail. 
In  front  of  the  first  joint  a  dark  triangular 
spot  is  at  this  time  noticeable,  indicating 
the  growth  of  the  new  head;  and  when  the 
term  of  "sickness"  is  over,  the  worm  casts  its 
old  integument,  rests  a  short  time  to  recover 
strength,  and  tlieu,  fresliened,  supple,  and 
hungry,  goes  to  work  feeding  voraciously  to 
compensate  for  lost  time.  This  so-called 
"sickness"  which  preceded  the  molt,  was  in 
its  turn  preceded  by  a  most  voracious  app?tite 
which  served  to  stretch  the  skin.  In  the 
operation  of  molting  the  new  head  is  first  dis- 
engaged from  the  old  skin,  which  is  then 
gradually  worked  back  from  segment  to  seg- 
ment until  entirely  cast  off.  If  the  worm  is 
feeble,  or  has  met  with  any  misfortune,  the 
shriveled  skin  may  remain  on  the  end  of  the 
body,  being  held  by  the  anal  horn;  in  which 
case  the  individual  usually  perishes  in  the 
course  of  time.  It  has  been  usually  estimated 
that  tlie  worm  in  its  growth  consumes  its  own 
weight  of  leaves  every  day  it  feeds;  but  this  is 
only  an  approximation.  Yet  it  is  certain  that 
during  the  last  few  days  before  commencing 
to  spin,  it  consumes  more  than  during  the 
whole  of  its  previous  worm  existence.  It  is  a 
curious  fact,  first  noted  by  Quatrefages,  that 
the  color  of  the  abdominal  prolegs  at  this 
time  corresponds  with  the  color  of  the  silk. 

Having  attained  full  growth,  the  worm  is 
ready  to  spin  up.  It  shrinks  somewhat  in 
size,  voids  most  of  the  excrement  remaining 
in  the  alimentary  canal;  acquires  a  clear, 
translucent,  often  pinkish  or  amber-colored 
hue;  becomes  restless;  ceases  to  feed  and 
throws  out  silken  threads.  The  silk  is  elab- 
orated in  a  fluid  condition  in  two  long,  slender 
convoluted  vessels,  one  upon  each  side  of  the 
alimentary  canal.  As  tb.ese  vessels  approach 
the  head  they  become  less  convoluted  and 
more  slender,  and  finally  unite  within  the 
spinneret,  from  which  the  silk  issues  in  a  glu- 
tinous state  and  apparently  in  a  single  thread. 
The  glutinous  liquid  which  combines  the  two, 
and  which  hardens  immediately  on  exposure 
to  the  air,  may,  however,  be  dissolved  in 
warm  water.  The  worm  usually  consumes 
from  three  to  five  days  in  the  construction  of 
the  cocoon  and  then  passes  in  three  days 
moi-e,  by  a  final  moft,  into  the  chrysalis  state. 

The  Cocoon. — The  cocoon  consists  of  an 
outer  lining  of  loose  silk  known  as  "  floss,'" 
which  is  used  for  carding,  and  is  spun  by  the 
worm    iu    first   getting    its   bearings.     The 


amount  of  this  loose  silk  varies  in  different 
breeds.  The  inner  cocoon  is  tough,  strong, 
and  compact,  composed  of  a  firm,  continuous 
thread,  which  is,  however,  not  wound  in 
concentric  circles  as  might  be  supposed,  but 
irregularly,  in  short  figure  of  eight  loops,  first 
in  one  place  and  then  in  another,  so  that  in 
reeling,  several  yards  of  silk  may  be  taken  off 
without  tiie  cocoon  turning  around.  In  form 
the  cocoon  is  usually  oval,  and  in  color  yellow- 
isli,  but  ill  both  these  features  it  varies  greatly, 
being  either  pure  silvery  white,  cream  or  car- 
neous,  green,  and  even  roseate,  and  very  often 
constricted  in  the  middle.  It  has  always 
been  considered  possible  to  distinguish  the 
sex  of  the  contained  insect  from  llie  general 
sfiape  of  the  cocoon,  those  containing  males 
being  slender,  depressed  in  the  middle,  and 
pointed  at  both  ends,  while  the  female  cocoons 
are  of  a  smaller  size  and  rounder  form,  and 
resemble  in  shape  a  hen's  egg  with  equal  ends. 
Mr.  Crozier,  however,  emphatically  denies 
this,  and  thinks  it  "next  to  impossible  for 
the  smartest  connoisseur  not  to  be  mistaken." 

The  Cuutsahs. — The  chrysalis  is  a  brown, 
oval  body,  considerably  less  in  size  than  the 
full-grown  worm.  In  the  external  integument 
may  be  traceed  folds  corresponding  with  the 
abdominal  rings,  the  wings  folded  over  the 
breast,  the  antennse  and  the  eyes  of  the  in- 
closed insect — the  future  moth.  At  the  pos- 
terior end  of  the  chrysalis,  pushed  closely  up 
to  the  wall  of  the  cocoon,  is  tlie  last  larval 
skin,  compressed  into  a  dry  wad  of  wrinkled 
integument.  The  chysalis  state  continues  for 
from  two  to  three  weeks,  when  the  skin  bursts 
and  the  moth  emerges. 

The  Moth. — With  no  jaws,  and  confined 
within  tlie  narrow  space  of  the  cocoon,  the 
moth  finds  some  difficulty  In  escaping.  For 
this  purpose  it  is  provided,  in  two  glands  near 
the  obsolete  mouth,  with  a  strongly  alkaline 
liquid  secretion  with  which  it  moistens  the 
end  of  the  cocoon  and  dissolves  the  hard 
gummy  lining.  Then  by  a  forward  and  back- 
ward motion,  the  prisoner,  with  crimped  and 
damp  wings,  gradually  forces  its  way  out, 
and  when  once  out  the  wings  soon  expand  and 
dry.  The  silken  threads  are  simply  pushed 
aside,  but  enough  of  thera  get  broken  in  the 
process  to  renderjthe  cocoons  from  which  the 
moths  escape,  comparatively  useless  for  reel- 
ing. Tlie  moth  is  of  a  cream  color,  with  more 
or  less  distinct  brownish  markings  across  the 
wings.  The  males  have  broader  antennce  or 
feelers  than  the  females,  and  may  by  this  fea- 
ture at  once  be  distinguished.  Neitlier  sex 
flics,  but  the  male  is  more  active  than  the 
female.  They  couple  soon  after  issuing,  and 
in  a  short  time  the  female  begins  depositing 
her  eggs,  whether  they  have  been  impregnated 
or  not.  Very  rarely  the  unimpregnated  egg 
has  been  obsereed  to  develop. 

Enemies  and  Diseases. 

As  regards  the  enemies  of  the  silkworm  but 
little  need  to  be  said.  It  has  been  generally 
supposed  that  no  true  parasite  will  attack  it, 
but  in  China  and  Japan  great  numbers  of  the 
worms  are  killed  by  a  disease  known  as  "uji," 
which  is  undoubtedly  produced  by  the  larva 
of  some  insect  parasite.  Several  diseases  of  a 
fungoid  or  epizootic  nature,  and  several  mala- 
dies which  have  not  been  sufliciently  charac- 
terized to  enable  us  to  determine  their  nature 
are  common  to  this  worm.    One  of  these  dis- 


eases, called  mitscardine,  has  been  more  or 
less  destructive  in  Europe  for  many  years.  It 
is  of  precisely  the  same  nature  as  the  fungus 
{Eiiqjtisa  niKscoe,)  which  so  frequently  kills  the 
common  house-fly.  and  which  slieds  a  halo  of 
spores,  readily  seen  upon  the  window-pane, 
around  its  victim. 

A  worm,  about  to  die  of  this  disease,  be- 
comes languid,  and  the  pulsations  of  the  dorsal 
vessel  of  the  heart  becomes  insensible.  It  sud- 
denly dies,  and  in  a  few  hours  becomes  stiff 
rigid  and  discolori'd;  and  finally,  in  about  a 
day,  a  white  powder  or  efliorescence  manifests 
itself,  and  soon  entirely  covers  the  body,  de- 
veloping most  rapidly  in  a  warm,  humid,  at- 
mospliere.  No  outward  signs  indicate  the 
first  stage  of  the  disease,  and  though  it  at- 
tacks worms  of  all  aL'es,  it  is  by  far  the  most 
fatal  in  the  fifth  or  last  stage,  just  before  the 
transformation. 

"This  disease  was  proved  by  Bassi  to  be 
due  to  the  development  of  a  fungus  (Bolrytis 
Jiassiana)  in  the  body  of  the  worm.  It  is  cer- 
tainly iiifcclious,  the  spores,  when  they  come 
in  contact  with  the  body  of  the  worm,  ger- 
minating and  sending  forth  filaments  which 
penetrate  the  skin,  and,  upon  reaching  the 
internal  i)arts,  give  off  minute  floating  cor- 
puscles which  eventually  spore  in  the  efflor- 
escent manner  described.  Yet  most  silkworm 
raisers,  including  such  good  authorities  as  P. 
E.  Gueriii-Meneville  and  Eugene  Roberts, 
(Guide  a  I'elevcur  de  vers  a  sole,)  who  at  first 
implicitly  believed  in  the  fungus  origin  ofthis 
disease,  now  consider  that  the  Botrytis  is  only 
the  ultimate  symptom — the  termination  of  it. 
At  the  same  time  they  freely  admit  that  the 
disease  may  be  contracted  by  the  Botrytis 
spores  coming  in  contact  with  worms  predis- 
posed t)y  unfavorable  conditions  to  their  influ- 
ence. Such  a  view  implies  the  contradictory 
belief  that  the  disease  may  or  may  not  be  the 
result  of  the  fungus,  and  those  who  consider 
the  fungus  as  the  sole  cause  certainly  have 
the  advantage  of  consistency."  Dr.  Carpen- 
ter, an  eminent  microscopist,  believes  the  fun- 
gus origin  of  the  disease,  and  thinks  it  en- 
tirely caused  by  floating  spores  being  carried 
in  at  the  spiracles  or  breathing-orifices  of  the 
worm,  and  germinating  in  the  interior  of  the 
body. 

Wliichever  view  be  held,  it  appears  very 
clear  that  no  remedies  are  known,  but  that 
care  in  producing  good  eggs,  care  in  rearing 
the  worms,  good  leaves,  pure,  even-temper- 
ed atmosphere,  and  cleanliness  are  checks  to 
the  disease.  The  drawers,  and  other  objects 
with  which  the  diseased  worms  may  have 
been  in  contact,  should  be  purified  by  fumi- 
gations of  sulphurous  acid  (S.  02),  produced 
by  mixing  bisulphite  of  soda  with  any  strong 
acid,  or,  better  still,  by  subjecting  them  to  a 
carbolic-acid  spray  from  an  atomizer.  In 
this  way  all  fungus  spores  will  be  destroyed. 
In  fact  it  will  be  well  to  wash  off  the  trays  or 
shelves  once  in  a  while  with  diluted  carbolic 
acid,  as  a  sure  preventive.  It  is  the  best  dis- 
infectant known  to  science.  The  cheapest 
kinds  may  be  used  with  the  same  efficacy  as 
the  more  expensive. 

Another  disease  known  as  iiebrine,  has 
proved  extremely  fatal  in  Southern  Europe, 
and  for  twenty  years  has  almost  paralyzed 
silk  culture  in  Fiance.  It  is  a  disease  which, 
iu  its  nature  and  action,  except  in  being  here- 


i20 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER- 


[August, 


ditary,  bears  a  striking  analogy  to  cholera 
among  men.  "The  worms  affected  hy  pebrine 
grow  unequally,  become  languid,  lose  appetite 
and  often  manifest  discolored  spots  upon  the 
skin.  They  die  at  all  ages,  but,  as  in  muscar- 
dine,  the  mortality  is  greatest  in  the  last  age. 
The  real  nature  of  this  malady  was  for  a  long 
time  unknown.  In  1849  M.  Guerin-Mene- 
ville  first  noticed  floating  corpuscles  in  the 
bodies  of  the  diseased  worms.  These  corpus- 
cles were  supposed  by  him  to  be  endowed  with 
independent  life,  but  their  motion  was  after- 
wards shown  by  Pilppi  to  depend  on  what  is 
known  as  the  Brownian  motion,  and  they  are 
now  known  cither  by  the  name  oipanhisioi)hy- 
ton,  first  given  by  Lebret,  or  by  that  of  pso- 
rospermim.  They  fill  the  silk-eanals,  invade 
the  intestines,  and  spread  throughout  the  tis- 
sues of  the  animal  in  all  its  different  states; 
and  though  it  was  for  a  long  time  a  mooted 
question  as  to  whether  they  were  the  true 
cause  or  the  mere  result  of  the  disease,  the 
praiseworthy  researches  of  Pasteur  have  dem- 
onstrated that  pehrinc  is  enttrely  dependent 
upon  the  presence  and  multiplication  of  these 
corpuscles.  He  has  analyzed  the  disease  so 
clearly  that  not  only  do  we  see  its  nature,  but 
we  are  able  to  point  out  the  remedy.  The 
disease  is  both  contagious  add  infections,  be- 
cause the  corpuscles  which  have  been  passed 
with  the  excrement  or  with  other  secretions 
of  diseased  worms  have  been  taken  into  the 
alimentary  canal  of  healthy  ones  in  devouring 
the  soiled  leaves,  and  because  it  may  be  inoc- 
ulated by  wounds  inflicted  by  the  claws.  It 
is  hereditary  on  the  mother's  side,  because 
the  moth  may  have  the  germ  of  the  disease 
and  yet  oviposit.  Indeed,  the  eggs  may  be 
affected  and  yel  look  fair  and  good,  the  micro- 
scopic psorospermix  not  being  visible,  so  that 
the  only  true  test  of  disease  or  health  is  an 
examination  of  the  parent  moth;  and  by  kill- 
ing off  all  infected  moths  the  disease  can  be 
controlled. 

"Both  the  diseases  mentioned  are,  there- 
fore, in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word,  silk-worm 
plagues;  the  one  of  a  fungus  and  the  other  of 
an  epizootic  nature.  Each  may  become  epi- 
demic when  the  conditions  are  favorable  for 
the  undue  multiplication  of  the  minute  or- 
ganisms which  produce  them,  or  when  the 
checks  to  the  increase  of  such  organisms  are 
removed  by  carelessness  or  ignorance. "  Clean- 
liness and  purification  are  absolutely  necessary 
in  treating  both  these  diseases,  and  in  pebrine 
care  must  be  taken  that  the  eggs  are  sound 
by  a  microscopic  examination  of  the  moths. 
This  may  be  done  after  the  eggs  are  laid,  and 
if  the  corpuscles  be  found  in  the  mother,  her 
eggs  should  be  discarded. 

Silkworms  are  suliject  to  other  diseases, 
but  none  of  them  have  acquired  the  impor- 
tance of  those  described.  What  is  called 
(jattine  by  older  authors  is  but  a  mild  phase  Of 
pebrine.  The  worms  are  apt  to  be  purged  by 
unwholesome  leaves;  too  great  heat  makes 
them  sickly,  or  they  may  become  yellow, 
limp  and  die  of  a  malady  called  grasscrie  or 
jaundice,  which  is  almost  sure  to  appear  in 
large  broods,  and  which  is  very  common 
in  those  reared  in  this  country.  When 
the  worms  die  from  being  unable  to  molt 
they  are  called  lusettes,  and  such  cases 
are  most  abundant  at  the  fourth  molt.  All 
these  different  ailments,  and  others  not  men- 


tioned, have  received  names,  some  local, 
others  more  general;  but  none  of  them  war- 
rant further  notice  here,as  they  are  not  likely 
to  become  very  troublesome  if  proper  atten- 
tion and  care  be  given  to  the  worms. 

Varieties  of  Races. 

As  before  stated,  domestication  has  had 
the  effect  of  producing  numerous  varieties  of 
the  silkworm,  every  different  climate  into 
which  it  has  been  carried  having  produced 
either  some  changes  in  the  quality  of  the 
silk,  or  the  shape  or  color  of  the  cocoons,  or 
else  altered  the  habits  of  the  worm. 

Some  varieties  produce  but  one  brood  in  a 
year, no  matter  how  the  eggs  are  manipulated; 
such  are  known  as  Annuals.  Others  known 
as  Bivoltins,  hatch  twice  in  the  course  of  the 
year;  the  first  time,  as  with  the  Annuals,  in 
April  or  May,  and  the  second,  eight  or  ten 
days  after  the  eggs  are  laid  by  the  first  brood. 
The  eggs  of  the  second  brood  are  only  kept 
for  the  next  year's  crop,  as  those  of  the  first 
brood  always  either  hatch  or  die  soon  after  be- 
ing laid.  The  Tremltins  produce  three  an- 
nual generations.  There  are  also  Quaclrivol- 
tins,  and  in  Bengal,  a  variety  known  as 
Bacey  which  is  said  to  produce  eight  genera- 
tions in  the  course  of  a  year.  Some  varieties 
molt  but  three  times  instead  of  four,  espe- 
cially in  warm  countries  and  with  Trevoltins. 
Experiments,  taking  into  consideration  the 
size  of  the  cocoon,  quality  of  silk,  time  occu- 
pied, hardiness,  quantity  of  leaves  required, 
etc.,  have  proved  the  Annuals  to  be  more 
profitable  than  any  of  the  Polyvoltins,  al- 
though Bivoltins  are  often  reared;  and  Mr. 
Alfred  Brewster,  of  San  Gabriel,  Cal. ,  says 
that  he  found  a  green  .Japanese  variety  of 
these  last  more  hardy  than  the  Chinese  An- 
nuals. Varieties  are  also  known  by  the  color 
of  the  cocoons  they  produce,  as  Greens  or 
Whites  or  Yellows,  and  also  by  the  country 
in  which  they  flourish.  The  white  silk  is  the 
most  valuable  in  commerce,  but  the  races 
producitig  yellow,  cream-colored  or  fiesh- 
colored  cocoons  are  generally  considered  to  be 
the  most  vigorous.  No  classification  of  va- 
rieties can  be  attempted,  as  individuals  of  the 
same  breed  exported  to  a  dozen  difl'erent  lo- 
calities, would,  in  all  probability,  soon  pre- 
sent a  dozen  varieties.  The  three  most 
marked  and  noted  European  varieties  are  the 
Milanese  (Italian)  breed,  producing  fine  small 
yellow  cocoons;  the  Ardeche,  (French)  pro- 
ducing large  yellow  cocoons,  and  the  Brousse 
(Turkisli)produclng]large  white  cocoons  of  the 
best  quality  in  Europe.  Owing  to  the  fearful 
prevalence  of  pebrine  among  the  French  and 
Italian  races  for  fifteen  or  twenty  years  back, 
the  Japanese  Annuals  have  come  into  favor. 
The  eggs  are  bought  at  Yokohama  in  Septem- 
ber, and  shipped  during  the  winter.  There 
are  two  principal  varieties  in  use,  the  one 
producing  white  and  the  other  greenish  co- 
coons, and  known  respectivelly  as  the  White 
.Japanese  and  the  Green  Japanese  Annual. 
These  cocoons  are  by  no  means  large,  but 
the  pods  are  solid  and  firm,  and  yield  an 
abundance  of  silk.  They  are  about  of  a  size, 
and  both  varieties  are  almost  always  con- 
stricted in  the  middle.  Another  valuable  race 
is  the  White  Chinese  Annua  whicli  much  re 
sembles  the  White  Japanese,  but  it  is  not  as 
generally  constricted. 


Wintering  and  Hatching  the  Eggs. 

We  have  already  seen  the  importance  of 
getting  healthy  eggs,  free  from  hereditary 
disease,  and  of  good  and  valuable  races. 
There  is  little  danger  of  premature  hatching 
until  December,  but,  from  that  time  on,  the 
eggs  should  be  kept  in  a  cool,  dry  room  in  tin 
boxes  to  prevent  the  ravages  of  rats  and  mice. 
They  are  most  safely  stored  in  a  dry  cellar, 
where  the  temperature  rarely  sinks  below  the 
freezing  point,  and  they  should  be  occasion- 
ally looked  at  to  make  sure  that  they  are  not 
affected  by  mold.  If,  at  any  time,  mold  be 
perceived  upon  them  it  should  be  at  once 
rubbed  or  brushed  off,  and  the  atmosphere 
made  drier.  If  the  tin  boxes  be  perforated 
on  two  sides  and  the  perforations  covered  with 
fine  wire  gauze,  the  chances  of  injury  will 
be  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

The  eggs  may  also,  whether  on  cards  or 
loose,  be  tied  up  in  small  bags  and  hung  to 
the  ceiling  of  the  cold  room.  The  string  of 
the  bag  should  be  passed  through  a  bottle 
neck  or  a  piece  of  tin  to  prevent  injury  from 
rats  and  mice.  The  temperature  should  never 
be  allowed  to  rise  above  40^  F.,  but  may  be 
allowed  to  sink  below  freezing  point  without 
injury.  Indeed,  eggs  sent  from  one  country 
to  another  are  usually  packed  in  ice.  They 
should  be  kept  at  a  low  temperature  until  the 
mulberry  leaves  are  well  started  in  the  spring, 
and  great  care  must  be  taken  as  the  weather 
grows  warmer  to  prevent  hatching  before 
their  food  is  ready  for  them,  since  both  the 
mulberry  and  Osage  orange  are  rather  late  in 
leafing  out.  One  great  object  should  be,  in 
fiict,  to  have  them  all  kept  back,  as  the  ten- 
dency in  our  climate  is  to  premature  hatching. 
Another  object  should  be  to  have  them  hatch 
uniformly,  and  this  is  best  attained  by  keep- 
ing together  those  laid  at  one  and  the  same 
time,  and  by  wintering  them,  as  already  re- 
commended, in  cellars  that  are  cool  enough 
to  prevent  any  embr3'onic  development. 

They  should,  then,  as  soon  as  the  leaves  of 
their  food-plant  have  commenced  to  put  forth 
be  placed  in  trays  and  brought  into  a  well- 
aired  room  where  the  temperature  averages 
about  75°  F.  If  they  have  been  wintered 
adhering  to  the  cloth  on  which  they  were  laid, 
all  that  is  necessary  to  do  is  to  spread  this 
same  cloth  over  the  bottom  of  the  tray.  If, 
on  the  contrary,  they  have  been  wintered  in 
the  loose  condition,  they  must  be  uniformly 
sifted  or  spread  over  sheets  of  cloth  or  paper. 
The  temperature  should  be  kept  uniform,  and 
a  small  stove  in  the  hatching-room  will  prove 
very  valuable  in  providing  this  uniformity. 
The  heat  of  the  room  may  be  increased  about 
2-'  each  day,  and  if  the  eggs  have  been  well 
kept  back  during  the  winter,  they  will  begin 
to  hatch  under  such  treatment  on  the  fifth  or 
sixth  day.  By  no  means  must  the  eggs  be 
exposed  to  the  sun's  rays,  which  would  kill 
them  in  a  very  short  time.  As  the  time  of 
hatching  approaches  the  eggs  grow  lighter  in 
color,  and  then  the  atmosphere  must  be  kept 
moist  artificially  by  sprinkling  the  floor,  or 
otherwise,  in  order  to  enable  the  worms  to 
eat  through  the  egg-shell  more  easily.  They 
also  appear  fresher  and  more  vigorous  with 
due  amount  of  moisture. 

Feeding  and  Rearing  the  Worms. 

The  room  in  which  the  rearing  is  to  be 
done  should  be  so  arranged  that  it  can  be 


1882,] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


121 


thorouglily  and  easily  ventilated,  and  warmed 
if  desirable.  A  northeast  exposure  is  the 
best,  and  buildings  erected  for  the  express 
purpose  should,  of  course,  combine  these  re- 
quisiies.  If  but  few  worms  arc  to  be  reared, 
all  the  operations  can  be  performed  in  trays 
upon  tables,  but  in  large  establislnuents  the 
room  is  arranged  with  deep  and  numerous 
shelves,  from  4  to  8  reet  deep,  and  2  feet  (5 
inches  apart.  All  wood,  however,  should  be 
well  seasoned,  as  green  wood  seems  to  be  in- 
jurious to  the  'health  of  the  worms.  When 
the  eggs  are  about  to  hatch,  moaquito-neting 
or  perforated  paper  should  be  laid  over  them 
lightly.  Upon  this  can  be  evenly  si)read 
fresh-plucked  leaves  or  buds.  The  worms 
will  rise  througli  the  meshes  of  the  net  or  the 
holes  tn  the  paper  and  cluster  upon  the  leaves, 
when  the  whole  net  can  be  easily  moved.  In 
this  moving,  paper  has  the  advantage  over 
the  netting,  in  that  it  is  stiffer  and  does  not 
lump  the  worms  together  in  the  middle. 
They  may  now  be  spread  upon  the  shelves  or 
trays,  care  being  taken  to  give  tliem  plenty  of 
space,  as  they  grow  rapidly.  Each  day's 
hatching  should  be  kept  separate,  in  order 
that  the  worms  may  be  of  a  uniform  size,  and 
go  through  their  different  moltings  or  sick- 
nesses with  regularity  and  uniformity ;  and 
all  eggs  not  hatched  after  the  fourth  day  from 
the  appearance  of  the  first  should  be  thrown 
away,  as  they  will  be  found  to  contain  inferi- 
or, weakly,  or  sickly  worms.  It  is  calculated 
that  one  ounce  of  eggs  of  a  good  race  will 
produce  100  pounds  of  fresh  cocoons;  while  for 
every  additional  ounce  the  percentage  is  re- 
duced if  the  worms  are  all  raised  together, 
until  for  20  ounces  the  average  does  not  exceed 
25  pounds  of  cocoons  per  ounce.  Such  is  the 
general  experience  throughout  France,  accord- 
ing toGuerin-Melville,and  it  shows  the  impor- 
tance of  keeping  them  in  small  broods,  or  of 
rearing  on  a  modern  scale. 

The  young  worms  may  be  removed  from 
place  to  place  by  means  of  a  small  camel's 
hair  brush,  but  should  be  handled  as  little  as 
possible.  The  best  mode  of  feeding  and 
caring  for  them  is  by  continuing  the  use  of 
the  feeding  net  first  mentioned.  As  the 
worms  increase  in  size,  the  net  must  have 
larger  meshes,  and  if  it  should  be  used  every 
time  fresh  food  is  furnished,  it  will  save  a 
large  amount  of  time  and  care.  If  entirely 
obviates  the  necessity  of  handling  the  worms 
and  enables  the  person  having  charge  of  them 
to  keep  them  thoroughly  clean;  for,  while 
they  pass  up  through  the  net  to  take  their 
fresh  food,  their  excrement  drops  tlirough  it 
and  is  always  taken  up  with  the  old  litter  be- 
neath. It  also  acts  as  a  detective  of  disease; 
for  such  worms  as  are  injured, feeble  or  sickly, 
usually  fail  to  mount  through  the  meshes, 
and  should  be  carried  off  and  destroyed  with 
the  refuse  in  the  old  net  below.  This  placing 
on  of  the  new  net  and  carrying  away  of  the 
old  is  such  a  great  convenience  and  time- 
savor  that,  in  France,  for  many  years,  paper, 
stamped  by  machinery  with  holes  of  different 
sizes  suited  to  the  different  stages  of  the 
worms,  has  been  used.  The  paper  has  the  ad- 
vantage of  cheapness  and  stiffness,  but  a  dis- 
cussion as  to  the  best  material  is  unnecessary 
here,  the  aim  being  to  enforce  the  principle  of 
the  progressive  rise  of  the,  worms.  Details 
will  suggest  themselves  to  the  operator. 


Where  the  nets  are  not  used,  there  is  an 
advantage  in  feeding  the  worms  upon  leaf- 
covered  twigs  and  branches,  because  these 
last  allow  a  free  passage  of  air,  and  the  leaves 
keep  fresli  a  longer  tiini^  than  when  plucked. 
In  thus  feeding  with  branches  consists  the 
whole  secret  of  the  California  system,  so  much 
praised  and  advocated  by  M.  L.  Prevost. 
The  proper  stamped  paper  not  being  easily 
obtained  in  this  country,  mosquito-netting 
will  be  found  a  very  fair  substitute  wliile  the 
worms  are  young,  and  when  they  are  larger  I 
have  found  tliin  slats  of  some  non-resinous 
and  well  seasoned  wood,  tacked  in  parallel 
lines  to  a  frame  just  large  enough  to  set  in 
tlie  trays,  very  serviceable  and  convenient — 
small  square  blocks  of  similar  wood  lieing  used 
at  the  corners  of  the  tray  to  support  the  frame 
wnile  the  worms  are  passing  up  through  it. 
Coar.se  twine  netting  stretched  over  a 
similar  frame  will  answer  the  same  purpose, 
but  wire-netting  is  less  useful,  as  the  worms 
dislike  the  smooth  metal. 

Where  branches,  and  not  leaves,  are  fed, 
the  Osage  orange  has  the  advantage  of  mul- 
berry, as  its  spines  prevent  too  close  settling 
or  packing,  and  thus  insure  ventilation.  It 
is  recommended  by  many  to  feed  the  worms 
while  in  their  first  age,  and,  consequently, 
weak  and  tender,  leaves  that  have  been  cut 
up  or  hashed,  in  order  to  give  them  more 
edges  to  eat  upon  and  to  make  less  work  for 
them.  This,  however,  is  hardly  necessary 
with  Annuals,  although  it  is  quite  generally 
practiced  in  France.  With  the  second  brood 
of  Bivoltins  it  might  be  advisable,  inasmuch 
as  the  leaves  at  the  season  of  the  year  when 
they  have  attained  their  full  growth  are 
a  little  tough  for  the  newly  hatched  individ- 
uals. In  the  spring,  however,  the  leaves  are 
small  and  tender,  and  nature  has  provided 
the  young  worms  with  sufficiently  strong  jaws 
to  cut  them. 


MINERAL  AT  THE  EXPOSITION. 

Doctor  W.  T.  Strachan,  the  superintendent 
of  minerals  for  the  New  Mexico  exposition  is 
sending  out  the  following  circular  to  the 
miners  of  all  the  camps  in  the  territory  whose 
names  have  been  given  him: 

I  desire  to  call  the  attention  of  yourself  and 
the  miners  of  New  Mexico,  generally,  to  a 
rare  opportunity  for  exhibiting  to  the  world 
the  mineral  wealth  of  the  territory,  where  it 
will  do  the  most  good,  presented  by  our  com- 
ing territorial  exposition,  commencing  Sep- 
tember 18th  and  ending  September  28th,  next. 
The  association  desire  to  make  an  especial 
success  of  the  mineral  exhibits  of  the  terri- 
tory, and  it  is  hoped  that  all  who  are  engaged 
in  mining  will  render  all  the  assistance  in 
their  power.  Arrangements  have  been  con- 
summated for  free  return  over  the  i"iilroads 
of  all  exhibits;  the  association  offers  liberal 
premiums,and  every  arrangement  will  be  made 
for  the  convenience  of  the  exhibitors  in  the 
arrangement  of  their  minerals.  It  is  desired 
that  each  district  prepare  and  send  or  bring  a 
cabinet  representing  the  different  mines;  but. 
when  this  can  not  be  done,  cabinets  will  be 
furnished,  and,  under  the  management  of  the 
superintendent  of  minerals,  specimens  will  be 
exhibited  to  the  best  advantage.  I  also  sug- 
gest that  each  specimen  be  labeled  plainly 
with  the  name  of  the  district,  mine  and  owner, 


Will  you  not  give  this  matter  your  careful  at- 
tention,consult  with  your  neighbors,  and  come 
here  determined  that  it  shall  notbe  your  fault 
if  your  district  does  not  carry  olT  the  fu-st  pre- 
mium ? 

The  following  is  the  list  of  premiums: 

Best  collection  from  any  one  mining  dis- 
trict in  New  Mexico,  first,  SlOO;  second,  $50. 

Best  collection  from  the  territory  at  large, 
•Slot). 

Best  collection  from  any  one  mine  in  New 
Mexico,  i.jO;  and  a  special  premium  of  8100 
for  tiie  best  exhibit  from  any  stale  or  terri- 
tory in  the  United  States  or  Mexico. 

All  specimens  forwarded  and  all  communi- 
cations directed  to  me  here,  will  receive 
prompt  aud  careful  attention. 


DIVERSIFIED   FARMING   IN   THE 
SOUTH. 

A  few  months  ago,  in  an  article  designed  to 
show  the  importance  of  diversified  crops  in 
the  South,  we  presented  some  carefully  com- 
piled statistics  pointing  out  that  during  the 
present  crop-year  the  foodstuffs  bill  that  the 
Southem  States  had  to  pay  West  footed  up 
nearly  .?20O,O0O,000,  of  whicli  $.".5,000,000  was 
lor  wheat,  §00,000,000  for  corn,  and  72,000,- 
000  for  provisions.  These  figures  have  been 
republished  by  the  leading  papers  of  the  coun- 
try, generally  without  any  acknowledgment 
of  their  source,  and  sometimes  credited  to- 
wrong  papers,  until  probably  a  dozen  or  more 
different  papers  have  received  the  credit  for 
them. 

It  was  natural  that  they  should  attract 
much  attention;  for  while  it  was  known  that 
the  South  was  largely  dependent  upon  the 
North  and  West  for  its  bread  and  bacon,  few 
if  any  realized  how  great  was  this  annual 
drain.  When  it  is  remembered  that  the  total 
value  of  the  cotton  crop,  the  South's  main 
source  of  money,  averages  only  about  $275,- 
000,000  to  .«300,000,000  ayear,fully  two-thirds 
of  which  goes  out  for  food,  it  is  really  a  won- 
der that  that  entire  section  has  not  steadily 
decreased  in  material  prosperity.  With  the 
entire  profits  on  cotton  culture  in  any  one 
year  forming  but  a  very  small  percentage  of 
what  was  paid  for  Hour  and  provisions,  it  is 
somewhat  of  a  mystery  to  know  hnw  the 
South  could  stand  such  an  enormous  annual 
loss.  The  New  England  States,  as  well  as 
Great  Britain,  do  not  produce  enough  grain 
or  provisions  for  their  own  consumption,  and 
they  are  compelled  to  pay  a  good  many  mil- 
lions of  dollars  to  the  West  for  these  necessa- 
ries of  life;  but  then  they  are  not  like  the 
South  in  being  dependent  upon  one  staple,  the 
profit  upon  which  at  the  most  are  very  small. 
They  are  largely  engaged  in  manufactures, 
which  produce  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars 
worth  of  goods. 

Tliat  this  unfavorable  condition  of  affairs 
in  the  South  is  undergoing  a  rapid  change  is  a 
matter  of  deepest  interest.  This  of  itself 
means  a  wonderful  improvement  in  that  sec- 
tion, and  is  fully  as  important  as  the  increas- 
ed attention  given  to  manufacturing  and 
mining  by  local  as  well  as  outside  capitalists. 
The  area  in  wheat  in  the  South  this  year 
shows  an  increase  of  800,0tX)  acres  compared 
with  1881,  while  in  corn  and  oats  there  is  a 
proportionately  large  gain.  The  changing 
condition    of   affairs    is  well   illustrated    by 


122 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[Augusy 


Tennessee,  which  last  year  produced  6,400,- 
000  bushels  of  wheat,  and  purchased  from  the 
West  nearly  3,000,000  bushels  at  a  cost  of 
over  $4,000,000;  while  the  wheat  crop  of  that 
State  this  year  is  about  2,000,000  bushels, 
which  will  provide  for  domestic  wants  and 
leave  a  surplus  for  sale  of  about  3,000,000 
bushels.  In  Georgia,  Kentucky,  Texas,  North 
Carolina,  and  other  States,  the  change  is 
equally  as  great. 

The  acreage  devoted  to  corn  and  oats,  as 
previously  stated,  is  also  much  greater  than  in 
former  years,  and  this  means  more  home- 
raised  bacon,  and  also  less  provender  from 
the  west  for  live  stock.  We  think  that  we 
are  fully  within  bounds  in  estimating  that 
the  decrease  to  be  paid  out  by  the  South  for 
foodstuffs  during  the  crop-year  1882-83,  as 
compared  with  1881-82,  will  be  not  less  than 
$35,000,000  to  840,000,000.  A  revolution  in 
the  afl'airs  of  the  South  so  great  as  this  will 
undoubtedly  tell  upon  the  future  prosperity 
of  that  whole  section,  and  a  few  years  more 
of  the  same  course  of  diversified  farming  will 
make  the  Southern  States  practically  inde- 
pendent.— Baltimore  Journal  of  Commerce 
and  Manufacturers''  Becorcl. 

THE     MOSQUITO. 

There  is  another  little  l!idy  whom  you  have 
fed  and  regaled  at  your  own  expeuseand  very 
unwillingly  withal.  She  is  by  no  means 
modest,  but  steals  unbidden  into  your  room. 
She  generally  heralds  her  coming  with  song 
that  is  anything  but  soothing,  and  she  is  so 
persevering  that  even  the  strong  "bars"  with 
which  you  protect  yourself  are  not  proof 
against  her  persecutions.  You  have  all,  no 
doubt,  at  times  exercised  a  little  strategy 
with  the  mosquito,  and  when  the  little  tor- 
ment was  fairly  settled,  made  a  dexterous 
movement  of  the  hand,  and,  with  a  slap,  ex- 
claimed: ''rve  got  him  this  time."  No  such 
thing  ;  you  never  get  him  in  your  life,  but  pro- 
bably have  often  succeeded  in  crushing  her, 
for  the  male  mosquito  is  a  considerate  gen- 
tleman. In  lieu  of  the  piercer  of  the  female 
he  is  decorated  with  a  beautiful  plume,  and 
has  such  a  love  of  home  that  he  seldom  sallies 
forth  from  the  swamp  where  he  was  born,  but 
contents  himself  with  vegetalble  rather  than 
animal  juices.  (I  do  not  wish  to  make  any  re- 
flection, but  in  the  insect  world  it  is  always 
the  females  which  sing. ) 

But  to  its  history.  The  mosquito  was  not 
born  a  winged  fly,  and  if  you  will  examine  a 
tub  of  rain  water  that  has  stood  uncovered 
and  umnolested  for  a  week  or  more  during 
any  of  the  summer  months,  you  may  see  it  in 
all  its  various  forms.  You  may  see  the  fe- 
male supporting  herself  on  the  water  with  her 
four  front  legs  and  crossiug  the  hinder  part 
like  the  letter  X.  In  this  support  made  by 
the  legs  she  is  depositing  her  eggs,  which  are 
just  preceptible  to  the  naked  eye.  By  the 
aid  of  a  lens  they  ate  seen  to  be  glued  to- 
gether so  as  to  form  a  little  boat,  which 
knocks  about  on  the  water  till  the  young 
hatch.  And  what  hatches  from  them  V  Why 
those  very  wrigglers  (Fia.  14,  f.)  which  jerk 
away  every  time  you  touch  the  water.  They 
are  destined  to  live  a  certain  period  in  this 
watery  element  and  cannot  take  wing  and 
join  their  parent  in  her  war  song  and  house 
invasions,  tillafter  throwing  ofE  the  ski  an 


few  times,  they  have  become  full  grown,  and 
then  with  another  mols  have  changed  to  what 
are  technically  known  as  pupaj  (g.)  In  this 
state  they  are  no  longer  able  to  do  anything 
but  patiently  float  with  their  humped  backs 
at  the  surface  of  the  water  or  to  swim  by 
jerks  of  the  tail  beneath,  after  the  fashion  of 
a  shrimp  or  a  lobster.  At  the  end  of  three 
days  they  stretch  out  on  the  surface  like  a 
boat,  the  mosquito  bursts  the  skin  and  grad- 
ually works  out  of  the  shell  which  supports 
her  during  the  critical  operation.  She  rests 
with  her  long  legs  on  the  surface  for  a  few 
moments  till  the  wings  have  expanded  and 
become  dry,  and  then  flies  away  to  fulfill  her 
mission,  a  totally  ditt'erent  animal  to  what 
she  was  a  few  hours  before,  and  no  more  able 
to  live  in  the  water  as  she  did  then  than  are 
any  of  us.  Is  it  not  wonderful  that  such  pro- 
found changes  should  take  place  in  such  a 
short  time?  Even  the  bird  has  to  learn  to 
use  its  wings  by  practice  and  slow  degree,  but 
th'3  mosquito  uses  her  newly  acquired  organs 
of  flight  to  perfection  from  the  start. 

In  this  transformation  from  an  aquatic  to 
an  aerial  life  tlie  mosquito  has  first  breathed 
from  a  long  tube  near  the  tail;  next  through 
two  tubular  horns  near  the  head,  and  finally, 
through  a  series  of  spiracles  along  the  whole 
body. 

From  a  calculation  made  by  Baron  Latour, 
the  mosquito  in  flight  vibrates  its  wings  3,000 
times  a  minute — a  rapidity  of  motion  hardly 
conceivable. 

Those  who  have  traveled  in  summer  on  the 
lower  Mississippi  or  in  the  northwest  have 
experienced  the  torment  which  these  frail 
flies  can  inflict.  At  times  they  drive  every 
one  from  the  boat,  and  trains  can  sometimes 
only  be  run  with  comfort  on  the  Northern 
Pacific  by  keeping  a  smudge  in  the  baggage 
car  and  the  doors  of  all  the  coaches  open  to 
the  fumes. 

The  bravest  man  on  the  fleetest  horse  dares 
not  cross  some  of  the  more  rank  and  dark 
prairies  of  Northern  Minnesota  in  June. 
It  is  well  known  that  Father  De  Smit  once 
nearly  died  from  mosquito  bites,  his  flesh  be- 
ing so  swollen  around  tlie  arms  and  legs  that 
it  literally  burst. 

Mosquitoes  have  caused  the  rout  of  armies 
and  the  desertion  of  cities,  and  I  would 
counsel  all  who  desire  to  learn  how  the  hum 
of  an  insignificant  gnat  may  inspire  more 
terror  than  the  roar  of  the  lion,  to  consult 
Kirby  and  Spencer's  history  of  the  former. 

There  are  many  species  of  the  mosquito, 
all  diftering  somewhat  in  habit  and  season  of 
appearance,  and  doubtless  also  in  mode  of  de- 
velopment, which,  in  fact,  has  been  studied 
in  but  few.  They  occur  everywhere,  whether 
in  the  torrid  or  the  arctic  zone,  and  are  no- 
where more  numerous  or  tormenting  than  in 
Lapland. 

Both  the  fly  and  the  mosquito  are  great 
scavengers  in  infancy,  the  one  purifying  the 
air  we  breathe,  the  other  the  water  we  drink. 
They  perform,  in  this  way,  an  indirect  service 
to  man  which  few  perhaps  appreciate,  and 
which  somewhat  atones  for  their  bad  habits 
in  maturity. 


Breeding  from  immature  animals  is  a 
great  mistake.  It  is  the  fouubation  of  de- 
generacy. 


Our  Local  Organizations. 


LANCASTER     COUNTY      AGRICULTU- 
RAL AND   HORTICULTURAL 
SOCIETY. 

The  Lancaster  County  Agricultural  Society  met 
statedly  in  their  rooms  on  Monday  afternoon  August 
7, 1882. 

The  following  members  were  present:  H.  M. 
Engle,  Marietta;  Calvin  Cooper,  Bird-in-Hand,  Jos. 
F.  Witmer,  Paradise;  J.  C.  Linviile,  Salisbury; 
Johnson  Miller,  Warwick;  Simon  P.  Eby,  city;  M.  D, 
Kendig,  Creswell;  F.  R.  Diffenderfifer,  city;  Peter  H. 
Hershey,  city;  Henry  Shiffner,  Bird-in-Hand;  J. 
Frank  Landis,  East  Lampeter;  Jacob  B.  Garber, 
Columbia;  W.  B.  Paxson,  Coleraid;  I.  C.  Hunsecker, 
Mauheim;  Ephraim  H.  Hoover,  Manheim;  Enos  B 
Engle,  Marietta;  J.  M.  Johnston  and  W.  W.  Griest, 
city. 

On  motion  the  reading  of  the  minutes  of  the  last 
meeting  was  dispensed  with. 

Crop  Reports. 

Henry  M.  Engle  reported  corn  as  rather  irregular; 
some  is  excellent,  but  some  rather  poor.  It  may 
come  to  an  average  crop  with  good  weather.  The 
early  set  will  make  a  full  crop.  Potatoes  are  hardly 
a  full  crop.  Pe<irs  will  be  short.  Pasture  is  pretty 
plenty,  but  a  little  short.  Wheat  never  wasof  better 
quality  not  the  average  higher,  perhaps.  The  oats 
are  good — not  quite  as  good  as  last  year. 

J.  C.  Linville  said  the  wheat  was  very  good;  the 
cots  had  smut  and  rust;  potatoes  are  an  average 
crop.  The  tobacco  is  the  poorest  ever  he  saw.  The 
grass  is  well  set, 

M.  D.  Kendig,  of  Manor,  reported  a  very  full 
wheat  and  straw  crop,  corn  looks  well;  oats  was  me- 
dium; fruits  are  falling  fast.  Tobacco  is  growing 
well  since  the  last  rains.  The  green  worms  are  very 
numerous.  The  rainfall  for  July  was  1  2-5  inches 
for  June  it  was  i;^^. 

Johnson  Miller  said  the  wheat  crop  was  a  remark- 
able one  in  quality  and  quantity.  Oats  about  half  a 
crop.  Hay  better  than  expected.  Tobacco  is  now 
growing  well;  the  prospects  are  encouraging; 
peaches  are  inferior,  apples  are  dropping  fast  and 
are  imperfect. 

J.  Frank  Landis  said  that  wheat  was  never  better. 
A  professional  thresher  reports  an  average  of  30 
bushels  to  the  acre.  Corn  is  doing  well.  Peaches 
are  ripening  immaturely.  Grapes  are  rotting  a 
little. 

Calvin  Cooper  never  saw  a  more  promising  crop  of 
grapes  but  some  are  rotting.  He  was  unable  to  ac- 
count for  it.  Telegraphs  and  Hartford  Prolifice  seem 
exempt.  Tlie  vines  have  been  well  cultivated. 
Rogers  Nos  9  and  53  are  afflicted  mostly  by  the  rot. 

H.  M.  Engle  said  some  growers  hold  cultivation  is 
no  preventive  of  rot.  He  did  not  know  what  the 
cause  was. 

J.  C.  Linville  said  in  Ohio  and  New  York  the  dis- 
ease is  very  common,  and  their  cultivation  has  in 
some  cases  been  given  up.  Rose  bugs  have  done 
much  harm  to  his  grapes.  He  has  tried  to  put  the 
clusters  into  paper  bags. 

H.  M.  Engle  said  it  was  believed  by  some  that 
bagging  was  a  remedy  for  rot.  He  proposes  to  do 
this  himself. 

S.  P.  Eby  reported  an  unusual  crop  of  grapes;  very 
few  have  so  far  been  injured.  Peaches  are  very 
abundant  on  his  trees.  Has  been  obliged  to  thin 
out  largely.    Tobacco  is  West  Hempfield  is   uneven. 

"W".  B.  Paxson  said  he  had  a  peculiar  experience 
with  a  grape  vine.  It  died  down  to  the  ground.  He 
applied  bone,  which  seemed  to  nurse  it,  and  this 
year  it  is  very  full.  There  are  no  peaehes  in  his 
neighborhood  this  year.  What  is  are  incomparable 
in  quality.  Corn  looks  very  well.  Tobacco  looks 
well  in  early  planted  helds  and  bad  in  the   late. 

Calvin  Cooper  placed  tobacco  stems  around  the 
trunks  of  peach  trees,  and  there  is  not  the  sign  of  a 
borer  in  any  of  the  trees  so  treated.  He  set  the 
stems  around  the  butts  of  the  trees  and  tied  them  at 
the  top. 


1882.] 


'.THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


J  23 


H.  M.  Engle  said  the  borer  and  the  yellows  are 
the  two  enemies  we  have  to  contead  with  In  pcacli 
culture.  We  can  head  off  the  borer,  but  know  of  no 
reroed)'  for  the  yellows.  Have  your  tree  clear  of 
borers  when  you  plant  it;  then  put  shmethlng around 
the  stalk  to  keep  off  the  insect  that  lays  the  borer 
eg?,  and  thus  prevent  the  embryo  eirsj  from  reaching 
the  roots,  and  your  trees  are  safe.  Tlie  danger  is  not 
so  great  when  the  tree  is  some  years  old. 

J.  C.  LInville  said  bagging  grapes  was  not  so  much 
of  a  job  as  some  thought.  One  man  can  bag  500 
buuihes  in  a  day.  A  hole  must  be  made  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  bag  to  let  out  any  water  that  may  chance 
to  get  in.  Bees,  birds  and  bugs  are  all  headed  olfin 
this  way.  Grapes  can  be  left  on  the  viues  much 
longer  in  the  fall. 

Joseph  F.  Witmer  reported  for  Paradise  that  corn 
is  doing  well,  but  is  very  uneven.  He  has  always 
advocated  late  planting.  This  year  his  farmer 
planted  part  of  a  field  of  corn  on  April  28  and  an- 
other on  May  3,  and  it  is  to-day  the  best  field  of  corn 
he  knows  of.  Tobacco  has  improved  very  much, 
and  will  be  a  fair  crop,  with  favorable  weather. 
Wheat  Crop  of  1882. 

S.P  Eby,  Esq.,  read  the  following: 

A  few  years  ago  the  question  was  frequently  asked 
this  society:  What  was  the  probable  cause  of  our 
poor  and  imperfect  wheat  crops. 

Numerous  reasons  were  assigned  and  remedies 
suggested,  such  as,  we  needed  new  seed;  that  wheat 
should  be  cultivated  in  rows,  like  corn,  to  strengthen 
the  straw  and  prevent  lodging.  The  most  generally 
received  opinion,  however,  seemed  to  be  that  some- 
thing was  wanting  in  our  soil;  that  wheat  had  been 
grown  for  so  long  a  time  that  the  essential  element 
for  its  production  were  exhausted,  and  that  acheinl 
cal  analysis  of  the  soil  should  be  made,  the  want  as- 
certained and  the  deficiencies  supplied  by  proper 
fertilizers;  or,  that  we  must  turn  our  attention  to 
the  raising  of  other  products,  and  leave  the  new 
lands  of  the  West  to  supply  our  markets  with  wheat. 

This  year  has  shown  that  our  soil  is  still  capable 
of  producing  as  fine  and  perfect  a  crop  of  wheat  as 
ever  was  harvested  in  the  county,  and  all  previous 
doubts  on  th»t  point  ought  to  be  forever  set  at  rest, 
and  henceforth  we  must  look  in  another  direction 
for  a  solution  of  the  question  of  imperfect  wheat 
crops  in  this  county. 

The  present  season  we  were  favored  with  weather 
such  as  had  not  been  given  us  during  the  several 
previous  years  when  the  wheat  crops  were  partial 
failures;  namely,  a  cool  and  moist  spring,  thus  re 
affirming  the  correctness  of  the  old  saying: 
"A  wet  April  and  cool  May 
Bring  nuicli  grain  and  make  much  hay." 

How,  then,  can  we  secure  cool  and  moist  Springs, 
such  as  we  had  during  the  present  season?  This 
question  is  easily  enough  answered,  but  difficult  of 
realization.  The  difficulty  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  will 
again  require  extensive  co  operation  and  an  outlay 
for  which  there  is  no  immediate  return.  The  remedy 
is  no  other  than  the  partial  restoration  of  our  origi- 
nal forests.  We  must  plant  trees  to  secure  to  the 
county  more  frequent  rainfalls,  betier  retention  of 
moisture,  and,  as  a  consequence,  a  more  even  and  a 
lower  temperature  during  the  spring  months. 

H.  M.  Engle  thought  the  essay  had  several  good 
qualities — it  was  short,  to  the  point,  and  full  of  good 
sense.  It  shows  that  in  good  seasons  we  have  all 
grown  good  crops.  But  the  good  farmer  is  shown  in 
raising  good  crops  when  his  neighbors  have  poor 
ones.  How  can  this  be  done  ?  There  are  some  good 
crops  every  year.  Why  are  not  all  so?  This  is  the 
fact  that  stares  us  in  the  face,  for  fact  it  is.  The 
subject  is  one  of  much  importance  and  ought  to  be 
thoroughly  discussed.  He  had  some  doubts  ifall  the 
hopes  of  the  forest  culture  advocates  would  be  re 
alized,  if  their  plans  were  carried  out.  It  is  very 
sure  we  should  all  plant  trees.  If  we  do  not  need 
them  coming  generations  will.  We  cannot  always 
look  to  tobacco  to  make  our  money  out  of.  Much 
money  has  been  realized  in  the  West  from  forest  eel 
ture,  and  perhaps  some  could  be. made  here  in  the 
same  way. 


How  Should  Manure  be  Applied. 

M.  D.  Kcndig  said  this  question  was  hard  to 
answer.  Some  crops  do  lictter  when  manure  Is  ap- 
plied in  one,  and  some  when  applied  In  another  way. 
It  should  be  kept  near  the  surface.  It  does  hot  mat- 
what  kind  of  manure  it  is,  so  that  It  don't  get  down 
too  deep. 

J.  C.  LinvlUe  also  believed  in  applying  manure  to 
the  surface;  a  smaller  amount  will  go  further.  It 
acts  both  as  a  mulch  and  a  manure.  In  a  few  cases 
I>erhap6,  it  Is  better  to  plow  down  ionsr  manure,  but 
the  substance  of  the  niiinuro  should  be  near  the  roots 
of  the  crop  where  it  is  most  needed.  Grass  always 
docs  better  on|ground  where  the  manure  Is  applied  on 
the  top.  Fruits  also  do  better  when  manured  in  this 
way. 

Mr.  Eby  believed  when  manure  was  applied  to  the 
surface  it  ouhgt  to  be  worked  in  as  cpiickly  as  pos- 
sitile.  If  left  untouched  the  ammonia  evaporates 
and  there  is  a  loss.  If  placed  under  trees,  the  root- 
lets seek  it  near  the  surface  and  damage  may  re- 
sult. 

H.  M.  Engle  said  general  sentament  is  in  favor  of 
surface  manuring,  but  he  believes  in  working  the 
manureunder.  Unless  this  is  done  there  is  a  loss. 
Soil  is  a  good  absorbent  and  will  take  up  all  the 
essentials  in  the  manure.  We  ought  to  use  the  powl 
less  and  the  cultivator  more. 

Calvin  Cooper  said  a  ueighbo.ing  farmer  applied 
the  manure  to  the  surface  of  bis  fields  and  has  bet 
ter  crops  than  any  man  in  the  township.  But  heap- 
plies  only  well-rotted  manure — never  long  straw.  He 
has  got,  as  it  were,  one  year  ahead  with  bis  manure 
pile,  and  therefore  it  is  always  rotted. 

H.  M.  Engle  said  there  was  no  necessity  to  keep 
manure  over  a  year.  If  the  manure  pile  is  turned 
over  two  or  three  times  in  a  season  it  will  become 
thoroughly  decomposed  and  as  fine  as  need  be. 

J.  Frank  Landis  gave  his  assent  to  this  theory 
and  related  his  experience,  which  confirmed  its  bene 
fit. 

New  Business. 

H.  M.  Engle  alluded  to  the  lack  of  interest  in  our 
meetings.  He  thought  we  aught  to  make  an  effort 
to  overcome  this.  Lectures  he  believed  would  do  it. 
We  should  have  some  well  known  man  lecture  at 
least  quarterly.  He  made  a  motion  that  the  secre- 
tary  be  instructed  to  procure  some  one. 

Calvin  Cooper  thought  we  ought  to  procure  a 
large  room  and  advertise  the  lectures,  so  that  a  full 
attendance  could  be  secured. 

The  motion  was  adopted  and  the  name  of  Thomas 
J.  Edge,  Secretary  of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture, 
was  mentioned  in  connection  therewith. 

C.  L.  Hunsecker  believed  the  meetings  of  the 
society  were  held  in  too  obscure  a  place.  So  long  as 
we  continue  to  meet  here  our  audience  will  be  small. 
He  gave  three  members  an  overhauling  who  came  to 
town  and  neelected  to  attend  the  meetings.  The 
keeping  up  of  the  society  was  left  to  half  a  dozen 
active  members. 

A  good  deal  was  said  about  the  propriety  of  pro- 
curing a  more  accessible  room. 

Miscellaneous    Business. 

W.  B.  Paxson  was  named  as  the  essayist  for  the 
next  meeting. 

The  following  subjects  for  discussion  at  the  next 
meeting  were  named: 

What  is  the  cause  of  "streaks"  in  butter?  Re- 
ferred to  J.  Frank  Landis 

Will  it  not  pay  the  farmer  to  cut  his  corn  fodder 
before  feeding  it  to  his  cattle?  Referred  to  Peter 
Hershey. 

Is  It  best  to  sow  timothy  seed  before  or  after  the 
drill  ?    Referred  to  Levi  S.  Rcist. 

What  is  the  best  method  of  preparing  and  seeding 
corn  ground  with  wheal?  Referred  to  Joseph  F. 
Witmer. 

Ought  early  potatoes,  that  are  intended  for  winter 
use,  be  taken  up  when  mature,  or  should  they  be 
left  in  the  ground  until  cold  weather  ?  Referred  to 
H.  M.  Engle. 

The    President     appointed    Messrs.    Cooper    and 


Kcndig  to  reijort  on  some  seedling  apples,  sent  In 
by  Mr.  J.  B.  LIchty,  of  Lancaster.  They  reported 
the  apple  of  good  size  and  pleasant  flavor,  but  re 
commended  that  on  account  of  Its  toughness  and  the 
prevalence  of  better  sorts,  It  he  not  recommended  for 
general  Introduction. 

There  being  no  further  business,  on  motion  the 
society  adjourned. 

^^-  

POULTRY  ASSOCIATION. 

The  r«gular  monthly  meeting  of  the  Poultry  As- 
sociation was  held  .Monday  morning,  Augusts,  1882. 
The  following  members  were  present:  Isaac  H. 
Brooks,  Marticvllle,  and  J.  B.  LIchty,  Charles  Lip- 
pold,  W.  W.  (Jrcist,  John  A.  Schum,  Charles  E. 
Long,  F.  H.  Diflcnderlfer  and  W.  A.  Schoenberger, 
all  from  the  city. 

The  minutes  »f  last  meeting  were  read  and  ap- 
proved 

On  motion  of  .Mr.  Trissler,  Mr.  Milton  Evans,  of 
this  city,  was  proposed  and  elected  to  membership. 

F.  K.  Diirenderll'er  read  the  following  letter,  re- 
ceived from  a  correspondent: 

Prevention  of  Gapes. 

I  perfectly  agree  with  the  assertion  In  the  article 
Gapes  in  Chickens,  that  "it  is  not  a  remedy  we  want 
so  much  as  a  preventive,"  hence  I  give  you  my  ex- 
perience in  the  matter.  Ever  since  I  commenced 
raiting  poultry  in  187S,  I  have  been  troubled  with 
gapes.  A  few  years  ago  Mrs.  B.  gave  me  a  hint  on 
the  subject,  but  I  never  gave  it  a  fair  trial  until  the 
past  spring.  On  all  other  occasions  I  lost  so  many 
young  chickens  that  I  concluded  last  spring  to  see 
how  well  I  could  succeed  in  preventine  the  gapes 
and  how  many  of  my  young  chicks  I  could  raise. 

Early  in  March  I  gave  39  eggs  to  three  h;ns  and 
from  these  eggs  got  31  young  ehicks,  all  of  them 
out  a  few  days  before  the  last  of  March.  On  the 
first  of  April  one  of  them  was  overcome  by  cold  and 
from  the  effects  of  this  died  a  few  days  after.  An- 
other was  hurt  by  one  of  the  mother  hens  and  also 
died  about  the  same  time.  The  balance — being  32 
out  of  34 — are  still  living  and  are  doing  well.  I  have 
had  no  gapes  and  no  sickness  among  them  of  any 
kind  whatever.  If  I  live  I  expect  to  try  the  same 
pan  next  year,  and  I  have  full  confidence  in  the 
success  of  the  experiment. 

iMy  recipe  is  "keep  the  young  chicks  off  from  the 
ground."  I  have  the  hens  and  young  chicks  in  boxes 
facing  the  south,  with  all  the  openings  for  sun-light 
and  air  on  that  side  possible,  and  then  an  outside  pen 
for  the  young  chicks,  with  board  floor,  and  the 
sides  and  top  of  ordinary  plastcrinir  laths,  so  as  also 
to  let  in  |)lenty  of  sunlight  and  air.  I  tried  to  be 
governed  by  three  rules  : 

1.  Give  them  plenty  of  sunlight  and  fresh  air. 

2.  Good  food  and  plenty  of  it— cracked  corn,  dry, 
and  wheat  screenings  and  grass. 

3.  Cleanliness.  I  clean  the  pens  and  boxes  often 
and  eive  them  air  slaked  lime,  coal  ashes,  etc. 

Perhaps  some  of  you  can  give  us  a  better  plan,  but 
until  then  I  expect  to  pursue  the  course  so  success- 
ful during  the  past  spring.  I  cive  you  this  state 
ment,  because  it  may  be  of  interest  to  you  to  know 
how  others  do,  and  with  what  f  uccess  they  meet, 
and  because  you  may  be  able  to  use  the  facts  some 
time. 

I  must  add  that  I  keep  my  chicks  in  their  boxes 
and  pens  until  they  were  two  months  old,  and  then 
in  a  small  yard  by  themselves  until  to  day  (July  8), 
when,  for  the  first  time,  I  turned  them  out  to  run 
with  the  other  chickens. 

The  Secretary  read  a  number  of  letters  from  poul- 
try fanciers  in  dilfcrent  parts  of  the  country,  offering 
special  premiums  on  ccrtani  classes  of  birds  entered 
at  the  next  exhibition.  Some  of  these  are  quite  valu- 
able and  will  no  doubt  ottract  exhibitors. 

The  secretary  also  stated  that  he  had  met  with 
good  success  so  far  in  procuring  adveriisemeuts  for 
the  new  catalogue. 

Mr.  Schum  stated  that  he  was  more  succeisful  in 
raising  pigeons  than  ever  before.  He  sent  at  least 
150  pairs  to  New  York,  Washington  aad  other  cities. 


124 


THE  LANCASTER   FARMER. 


[August, 


Charles  Lippold  reported  good  success  with  some 
varieties  of  pigeons,  but  poor  with  some  of  the   rest. 

There  being  no  further  business,  the  society  ad- 
journed. 


FULTON   FARMERS'  CLUB. 

The  Fulton  Farmers'  Club  met  at  the  residence  of 
William  King  in  Fulton  township,  August  5,  and  all 
the  members  and  several  visitors  were  present. 
Exhibits. 

J.  R.  Blackburn  exhibited  a  sample  of  Ileiges's 
prolific  wheat,  raised  from  seed  received  from  the 
Patent  Office.  The  quantity  planted  was  too  small 
to  enable  him  to  decide  on  the  productiveness  of  the 
variety. 

Wm.  King  exhibited  samples  of  his  wheat  and 
oats.  The  whtat  was  thrashed  from  the  rakings  of 
his  field,  and  was  a  rather  inferior  article.  The  oats 
weighed  29  pounds  per  bushel,  and  produced  only  at 
the  rate  of  about  19  bushels  per  acre. 

Sallie  Hambleton  exhibited  some  home-made  hard 
soap  made  from  Lewis's  prepared  lye.  She  recom- 
mends it  for  all  kinds  of  washing  and  scrubbing,  and 
it  requires  no  boiling  while  being  made. 

John  Coates  exhibited  some  cheese  from  the  Boyd 
creamery  near  Parkesburg.  It  was  made  on  the  10th 
of  .June  last  from  partly  skimmed  milk.  Some  con- 
sidered it  good  while  others  thought  it  rather  inferior 
to  what  their  mothers  used  to  make. 

What  is  the  Best  Kind  of  Wheat  ? 

Simpson  Preston  asked:  "Do  the  members  con- 
sider the  Fultz  wheat  the  best  for  us  to  sow  V  The 
members  replied  as  follows:  J.  R.  Blackburn  said  he 
had  tried  the  Fultz  wheat  two  years  and  abandoned 
it.  Josiah  Brown  likes  the  Fultz;  he  believes  that  on 
an  average  it  yields  the  best  for  him.  Day  Wood 
has  raised  the  Fultz  for  five  years  and  likes  it  well 
enough  to  continue  sowing  it.  S.  L.  Gregg  has 
sowed  the  Fultz  I'or  several  years,  and  last  fall  he 
sowed  Fultz,  Key's  Prolific,  Davis  Brown  wheat  and 
Italian;  he  has  not  thrashed  yet  but  is  satisfied  that 
the  Fultz  is  the  best  and  Italian  second.  Thomas  P. 
King  considers  the  Fultz  the  best  under  very  favor- 
able circumstances.  Montillion  Brown  had  found 
the  Fultz  to  do  the  best  for  him,  although  it  does  not 
stand  up  long  after  it  is  ripe;  but  before  that  time  it 
stands  well.  It  seemed  to  be  generally  believed  tha^ 
on  strong  land  the  Fultz  was  pretty  certain  to  do 
well,  but  where  the  land  is  thin  some  other  varieties 
are  likely  to  do  better. 

The  Best  Time  to   Sow. 

Joseph  Brown  asked  "What  time  will  the  mem- 
bers sow  wheat  this  fall?"  The  answers  to  this 
showed  that  nearly  all  were  in  favor  of  sowing  be- 
tween the  loth  and  30th  of  September.  T.P.  King 
said  he  was  in  favor  of  sowing  either  quite  early  or 
else  not  till  late  in  September.  Last  year  S.  L.  Gregg 
sowed  an  acre  after  tobacco  on  the  lOtli  of  October, 
and  it  was  the  best  wheat  he  had. 

A  Question  of  Plows. 

E.  H.  Haines  said  it  is  now  several  years  since  the 
chilled  plows  were  introduced  into  this  neighborhood 
and  wished  to  know  if  the  members  now  considered 
them  better  than  the  common  Wiley  plow.  Joseph 
R.  Blackburn  said  he  bought  a  chilled  plow  last  fall 
and  after  repeated  trials  and  returning  in  the  inter- 
vals to  his  old  plows,  he  considers  the  new  plow 
rather  an  improvement  on  the  old.  His  new  plow  is 
the  "  Advance,"  and  he  uses  the  slip  point. 

Day  Wood,  S.  L.  Gregg,  Montillion  Brown,  Simp, 
son  Preston  and  C.  L.  Gatchel,  are  each  using  some 
pattern  of  the  new  plows  and  all  are  pleased  with 
their  work.  Some  think  they  run  hard  and  nearly 
all  consider  them  more  expensive  than  the  Wiley 
plows  for  points.  John  Coates  said  he  had  a  Syra- 
cuse chilled  plow  and  found  it  so  expensive  for  points 
that  he  put  the  jointer  on  the  Wiley  and  it  did  just  as 
good  work. 

Russian  Oats. 

Montillion  Brown  asked,  "How  many  have  tried 
Russian  oats  and  how  do  they  like  it?"  Several  had 
sown  small  parcels  of  it  and  found  it  to  ripen  late, 
but  the  trials  w-ere  on  too  small  a  scale  to  decidg 
upon  its  merits. 


Literary  Exercises. 

John  Coates  made  some  remarks  on  Creameries. 
He  thinks  that  if  people  had  facilities  to  attend  to 
dairying  it  would  pay,  but  if  not,  it  was  best  to  sell 
the  milk  at  a  creamery. 

Essay  on  Noxious  Weeds,  by  Wm.  King. 

Carrie  Blackburn  recited  "A  Doctor's  Story." 

Mary  Hoopes  read,  "Sookey's  Appeal." 
A  Farmer's   Reunion. 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  make  arrangements 
for  a  meeting  to  be  held  in  the  Hon.  James  Black's 
grove  at  Black  Barren  Springs,  Sept.  9,  1882.  It 
will  be  a  farmers'  reunion  and  all  persons  interested 
in  agriculture  are  invited  to  be  pi-esent  and  bring 
fruits,  flowers  and  vegetables  for  exhibition!  There 
will  be  tables  arranged  for  that  purpose.  Any  per- 
son engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  machinery  of  any 
kind  is  also  invited  to  come  and  bring  machinery. 
Several  public  speakers  are  expected  and  the  occa- 
sion no  doubt  will  be  one  of  great  interest  as  well  as 
benefit  to  our  farming  community.  The  following 
persons  were  appointed:  J.  R.  Blackburn,  Mary 
Blackburn,  Montillion  Brown,  Wm.  King,  Rebecca 
King,  George  A.  King  and  Martha  Brown. 

Noxious  Weeds, 

When  quite  a  small  boy  we  well  remember  seeing 
our  father's  hired  man  reach  out  both  hands  and 
with  one  grasp  an  ox  eye  daisy  and  with  the  other  a 
wild  carrot  saying,  "  Pink  and  carrot,  two  of  the 
worst  things  that  can  grow  on  a  man's  farm."  This 
remark  was  made  in  accordance  with  the  general 
sentiment  of  the  time  and  to  this  day  the  two  weeds 
are  looked  upon  as  the  greatest  pests  that  infest  our 
farms.  But  while  we  would  not  willingly  encourage 
the  growth  of  pestiferous  weeds  we  will  say  that  in  a 
life  of  more  than  half  a  century  that  has  been  wholly 
passed  upon  a  farm,  we  have  never  been  able  to  see 
why  the  two  weeds  above  mentioned  should  have 
been  singled  out  from  the  myriads  of  their  compan- 
ions as  objects  that  were  to  be  regarded  as  especially 
troublesome.  With  concerted  effort  on  the  part  of 
farmers  in  any  neighborhood  the  carrot  could  easily 
be  exterminated  as  it  is  altogether  propagated  from 
seed  and  but  for  the  fact  that  the  adjoining  farms  are 
polluted  with  it  any  farmer  could  eradicate  it  from 
his  farm  in  a  few  years  if  he  should  think  it  worth 
the  effort.  The  dai.«y  having  a  perennial  root,  and 
propagating  itself  from  it,  and  also  the  seed,  is  a  far 
more  troublesome  plant,  but  even  it  will  give  place  to 
a  rank  growth  of  grass:  but  is  almost  sure  to  put  in 
an  appearance  again  if  the  grass  dies  off  and  becomes 
thin  on  the  ground.  The  two  plants  take  up  room 
that  might  produce  something  better.  This  is  the 
worst  and  about  the  only  thing  that  can  be  said 
against  them.  We  have  several  others  that  give  us 
more  trouble,  but  they  are  here  and  are  likely  to  stay, 
so  we  will  at  present  make  no  effort  to  point  them 
out.  It  is  the  pests  that  are  coming  that  we  wish, 
at  this  particular  time,  to  call  attention  to.  While 
we  live  in  a  part  of  the  country  that  is  free  from  the 
scourge,  we  have  the  Canada  thistle  on  every  side  of 
us,  and  only  a  few  miles  off.  In  any  year  we  may 
find  it  growing  in  our  fields,  lor  the  seed  has 
been  known  to  travel  for  milej  on  the  crest  of  the 
snow.  Fortunately  it  produces  scarcely  any  seed 
and  with  a  little  attention  can  be  kept  from  over- 
runningour  fields.  Not  so  with  the  horse  nettle;  its 
progress  is  ever  onward.  But  little  more  than  a  de- 
cade ago  it  was  extremely  rare;  at  the  present  time 
It  is  quietly  peeping  up  along  our  roadsides  and 
spreading  at  a  rate  that  but  a  few  of  the  most  ob- 
serving have  any  idea  of.  It  is  brought  here  by  Vir- 
ginia cattle  and  can  be  found  in  almost  any  place 
where  droves  of  them  are  kept  or  pass  along. 

Along  the  road  from  Rock  Springs  to' Oak  Hill 
there  is  scarcely  a  half  mile  of  road  where  it  has  not 
taken  hold  in  some  place,  while  from  the  Baptist 
church  to  Conowingo  it  grows  almost  continuously. 
In  any  kind  of  soil  or  under  any  circumstances  it  is 
showing  itself;  and  it  is  coming  to  stay.  Once  well 
rooted  it  is  no  boy's  play  to  eradicate  it.  If  allowed 
to  spread  to  any  extent  in  our  fields  it  will  seriously 
detract  from  the  value.  It  is  therefore  the  interest 
of  every  farmer  to  see  that  It  is  confined   to  its   pre- 


sent limits,  if  it  cannot  be  eradicated.  How  this  !b 
to  be  done  we  will  not  at  present  attempt  to  show. 
Our  purpose  has  been  simply  to  call  attention  to  the 
fact  that  we  have  an  enemy  advancing,  and  that  we 
cannot  be  too  prompt  or  energetic  in  preparing  to 
meet  it. 


LINNiEN   SOCIETY. 

The  society  met  on  Saturday  afternoon,  July  29, 
1882,  in  the  ante-room  of  the  museum  ;  in  the  ab- 
sence of  the  executive  officers,  S.  M.  Sener,  Esq., 
was  called  to  the  chair,  and  Mrs.  L.  N.  Zell  was  ap- 
pointed secretary  pro  tem. 

After  the  usual  opening  order  the  following  dona- 
tions and  additions  were  made  to  the  museum  and 
library  : 

Museum. 

Dr.  M.  L.  Davis  donated  a  large  specimen  of  Va- 
nadium, which  he  obtained  from  Mr.  Hathaway,  the 
owner  and  discoverer  of  the  mine  from  which  it  was 
obtained,  at  Tioga,  Pa.  Mr.  Hathaway  is  a  black- 
smith bj  occupation,  and  experimenting  with  the 
ore  he  found  that  when  melted  with  iron  and  copper 
it  rendered  the  former  as  hard  as  steel,  and  the  lat- 
ter a  few  degrees  softer.  He  had  a  razor  blade  made 
from  an  old  stove  grate  mixed  with  this  ore,  and  on 
melting  them  together  in  a  crucible,  then  beaten 
into  shape  on  an  anvil,  'the  metal  became  firm  in 
texture,  and  admitted  of  a  very  high  polish.  Vana- 
dium was  discovered  by  Sefstrom  in  1830.  Some 
authors  have  attributed  it  to  Del  Rio  in  1801,  but  the 
former,  by  whom  it  was  named  after  Vanadis,  a 
Scandinavian  deity,  was  the  original  discoverer.  The 
metal  is  found  in  nearly  all  clays  in  small  quantities, 
but  its  most  abundant  source  is  the  Vanadiate  of 
Lead,  which  has  been  found  in  Scotland,  Mexico, 
and  some  of  the  South  American  States.  The  metal 
may  be  chemically  obtained  by  the  reduction  of 
Vanadic  acid,  in  the  form  of  a  brilliant  powder,  hav- 
ing a  silvery  lustre. 

It  is  not  acted  upon  by  sulphuric  or  nitric  acids, 
but  nitro- muriatic  acid  dissolves  it,  the  solution  re- 
sembling an  aqueous  solution  of  sulphate  of  copper. 

Dana  describes  Vanadinite,  or  Vanadate  of  Lead 
(Vanadiubleierz)  as  crystallizing  hexagonally,  but 
mostly  occurring  in  implanted  globules  or  incrusta- 
tions ;  he  is  also  one  of  the  authorities  who  attribute 
its  discovery  at  Zimpana,  in  Mexico,  by  Del  Kio. 
This  ore  has  a  dark  brown  or  brownish  black  color, 
and  is  generally  observed  only  in  an  earthy  state, 
much  like  a  ferruginous  clay.  It  is  an  interesting 
fact  that  it  is  now  found  iu  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

An  interesting  little  fresh-water  fish,  donated  by 
Dr.  M.  L.  Davis.  This  is  the  BoUosoma  tesselatum, 
locally  called  the  "Sand-Perch,"  but  it  belongs  to 
the  family  Etheostomidw,  which  is  only  remotely  re- 
lated to  the  true  Percida.  This  fish  is  remarkable 
for  being  destitute  of  an  air-bladder,  hence  it  is  al- 
ways observed  lying  upon  the  bottom  of  the  pool  iu 
which  it  is  found,  and  never  swims  with  the  (iraceful 
buoyant  motion  of  other  fishes,  but  changes  its  loca- 
tion by  a  sudden  darting  motion.  The  whole  family 
to  which  it  belongs  are  small  fishes.  The  late  Prof. 
S.  S.  Haldeman,  described  two  new  species  from  the 
Susquehanna  belonging  to  an  allied  genus;  and  the 
late  Jacob  Staufler  discovered  a  third  one  from  the 
Conestoga,  which  was  described  by  Prof.  Cope.  Per- 
haps there  were  tew  boys  who  bad  access  to  a  stream 
of  water  to  whom  this  little  fish  was  not  familiar.  It 
was  quite  abundant  in  my  boyhood  in  the  Susque-  ' 
hanna,  and  I  have  often  succeeded  in  angling  for  it 
with  a  small  hook,  but  it  was  more  frequently  taken 
with  a  "dip  net,"  audusedas  a  bait  for  larger  fishes. 

A  bottle  of  insects  taken  at  and  in  the  vicinity  of 
York  Furnace  spring,  during  the  encampment  of  the 
Tucquan  club,  in  the  present  month,  consisting 
mainly  of  the  general  Calasoma,  Prionus,  Orthosoma, 
Chrysocus,  Lanrjuria,  Teraopes  and  Eriphus  Suturalis 
The  last  named  occurred  in  tolerable  abundance  on 
the  bloom  of  a  species  of  Solidago,  along  the  river, 
from  the  York  Furnace  station  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Tucquan.  Four  specimens  of  "  shell  rock,"  found  on 
Pair's  island  by  Mr.  Wm.L.  Gill,  differing  very  much 
from  each  other.    These  were  found  in  large  water- 


1882. 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


125 


worn  pebbles,  and  must  have  been  borne  down  the 

Btreaia  I'roin  remote  localities  above,  as  no  locality  of 

such  a  rock   has  yet  been  discovered  in  Litncaster 

county.     For  more  llian  forty  years,  small  boulders 

aud  various  sized   pebbles  have  been   Ibund  on  the 

I  beaches,  bars  and  islandeof  (lie  Susriucbanna,but  no 

I  locality  has  yet  been  found  where  this  rock  exists  »« 

1  mass.    Some  of  these  "  fossil  remains"  appear  to  be- 

I  long  to  the   liadiatcs,  some  to  the  Articuialcs,  and 

,  others  to  the  ^fvlhlskf,  and  perhaps  also  to  different 

I  geological  periods. 

Donations  to  the  Library. 

Proceedings  ot  the  American  rhilosophical  Society 
from  January  to  June  18S2,  207  pp.  octavo. 

Geodetic  and  United  States  Coast  Survey,  for  1878, 
404  pp.,  quarto,  with  IW  maps  and  illustrations  i'rom 
the  Department  of  the  Interior. 

Parts  1,  2,  o  and  4  of  the  Official  Patent  OUlce  Ga- 
zette, vol.  22,  from  the  Department. 

Lancaster  Fak.mer  for  July,  1882. 

Ten  Catalogues  of  Historical,  Biographical  and 
Scientific  Books. 

Six  circulars  of  interesting  publications. 

Two  envelopes  containing  eighteen  historical  aud 
biographical  selections. 

No  new  business  was  brought  before  the  Society, 
and  the  meeting  was  small. 

After  some  deliberation  it  was  voted  to  hold  a 
recess  for  two  months,  after  which  the  Society  ad- 
journed to  meet  in  the  ante  room  of  the  Museum, 
on  the  last  Saturday  in  September  next  (^0),  with  a 
hope  that  the  members  would  not  forget  it. 

Agriculture. 

Lying  in  Fallows. 

That  there  is  a  wonderful  progress  in  agriculture,  a 
comparison  of  the  practices  of  the  present  with  the 
not  very  remote  past  abundantly  shows.  There  is 
little  doubt  but  that  considerably  more  profit  is  de- 
rived from  the  same  space  of  ground  than  even  men 
not  very  old  used  to  obtain.  In  these  increased  pro- 
ductions consist  the  most  encouraging  of  progressive 
features.  Not  thirty  years  ago,  a  year  of  idleuess 
was  an  essential  feature  in  the  regular  rotation  of  an 
English  farm.  The  summer  "  fallows"  almost  in- 
variably preceded  the  wheat  growing.  But  now  the 
laying  down  of  laud  to  rest  as  a  preliminary  to  the 
Bowing  of  grain  is  rarely  thought  of.  Still  it  con- 
tinues in  other  countries,  where  the  free  communion 
of  mind  with  mind,  through  the  means  of  agricul- 
tural papers,  has  not  been  brought  about.  In  France, 
especially,  it  seems  that  the  practice  of  summer  fal- 
lowing is  as  common  as  it  ever  was.  It  is  quite 
likely  that  the  change  in  the  practice  in  England  is 
due  indirectly  to  the  writings  Liebig  and  others,  who, 
about  the  time  we  refer  to,  created  much  thought 
l)y  their  writings.  Although  fome  of  their  views 
failed  in  time  to  secure  the  attention  hoped  for  them, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  we  owe  them  much.  It  is,  in- 
deed, not  always  that  as  much  direct  good  flows 
from  the  work  of  a  great  genius  as  is  expected,  but 
the  indirect  good,  not  so  often  recognized,  is  often 
much  greater  than  all.  In  this  case  we  have  not  de- 
rived as  much  benefit  from  soil  analysis  as  the  great 
agricultural  chemist  hoped  for ;  and  vet,  what  they 
told  us  about  the  elements  of  nutrition  and  the  na- 
ture of  plant  food  was  no  doubt  the  enteriug-wedge 
which  ultimately  broke  up  a  very  absurd  and  waste- 
ful system. 

That  land  will  slightly  improve  by  being  'rested" 
there  is,  of  course,  no  doubt.  It  was  part  of  the  old 
veasteful  system,  or  no  system,  of  Southern  agricul- 
ture. A  crop  of  cotton  or  of  corn  was  taken  suc- 
cessively from  the  same  land,  and  then  it  was  left  to 
grow  to  weeds  and  briers,  until  after  a  few  years  it  was 
taken  in  hand  for  the  same  crops  again.  But  iu  this 
case  it  was  as  much  the  decaying  matter  formed  by 
the  weeds,  if  not.wholly  by  them,  as  from  any  im- 
aginary principle  of  rest.  In  this  then  our  genera- 
tion has  gained  one  great  advantage.  We  need 
not  every  fifth  year  or  so  give  a  fifth  of  all  we  pos- 
eese  as  as  a  sacrifice  to  the  recuperative  powers  of 


nature.  She  need  never  rest,  In  the  sense  that  human 
minds  understand,  (ilve  fuel  to  the  fire  and  it  will 
burn  forever ;  and,  Willi  the  proper  plant  food,  con- 
tinually and  intelligently  applied,  tliere  is  no  reason 
why  the  same  piece  of  hind  would  not  bear  annual 
crops  to  the  end  of  the  world. 


A  Short  Sighted  View. 
Since  the  begiuning  of  the  Egyptian  troubles  many 
writers  have  been  predicting  that  should  the  war 
prove  a  serious  one,  it  would  redound  to  the  benefit 
of  the  United  States  by  Increasing  the  demand  for 
our  foodstuffs,  and  that  the  benefit  would  be  still 
greater  should  the  present  trouble  lead  to  a  genera! 
European  war.  Ignoring  the  desire  to  build  up  our 
trade  tlirough  the  misfortuues  of  others,  the  predic- 
tions themselves  are  false.  It  is  true  that  a  foreign 
war  might  for  the  time  being  stimulate  our  com- 
merce and  increase  the  price  of  our  foodstuffs,  but 
there  would  surely  come  a  reaetiou  in  the  future. 
The  various  nations  of  the  world  are  so  closely  in- 
terwoven in  their  trade  relations  that  one  cannot 
suffer  without  the  others  feeling  it.  Under  the 
stimulus  of  a  war,  England  might  pay  more  for  our 
grain  than  she  otherwise  would;  but  she  would  sim- 
ply be  impoverishing  liersclf  aud  thus  be  less  able  to 
purchase  in  the  future.  We,  as  the  seller  should  de 
sire  from  pecuniary  motives,  if  from  no  other,  to  see 
our  best  customer.  Great  Britain,  in  the  full  enjoy- 
ment of  prosperity,  knowing  that  the  greater  pros- 
perity of  her  people  the  greater  will  be  the  consump- 
tive wants  and  their  ability  to  supply  them. 


Select  Your  Own  Seed  Wheat 

Our  best  varieties  of  wheat  were  produced  by  the 
careful  selection  of  the  best  heads  and  plumpest 
grains  to  be  found  in  the  field.  These  being  sowed 
by  themselves  the  succeeding  season,  aud  the  best 
again  preserved,  a  great  improvement  has  uniformly 
beeu  the  result.  Any  farmer  can  do  this,  and  it  is 
not  necessary  to  depend  on  some  scientist  or  particu- 
lar seedsman  for  an  explanation  of  the  proper 
method.  On  this  subject  Prof.  A.  E.  Blount,  of  the 
State  Agricultural  College,  Fort  Collins,  Colorado, 
states  that  farmers  generally  permit  their  wheat  to 
retrograde  one  eighth,  whereas  if  proper  care  should 
be  bestowed  upon  its  improvement  by  selection  alone, 
not  one  would  ever  find  it  necessary  to  procure  better 
seed.  It  only  takes  two  years  to  make  wheat  No. 
1  and  pure  by  selection,  and  i'rom  three  to  ten  to  make 
a  successful  hybrid.  Wheats  raised  upon  the  soil  of 
any  locality  are  better  than  those  from  other  points 
for  seeding.     To  prove  this  fact  Prof.  Blount  says  : 

"  I  have  sown — aud  am  nicely  growing  now — this 
spring  181  different  varieties,  the  seed  of  which  I 
obtaiuel  from  every  country  in  the  world.  Many  I 
received  are'winter  wheats,  which  I  have  converted 
into  spring  wheats.  Of  all  the  samples  received  not 
one  was  as  good,  or  begin  to  be  as  good,  ns  the  poorest 
I  now  have."  In  otbei  words,  by  careful  selection 
the  poorest  wheat  now  is  better  than  the  best  of  the 
original  lot,  and  this  improvement  has  been  made  in 
one  year.  If  it  is  desired  to  improve  wheat  try  this 
method  :  Go  over  the  field  and  select  the  largest 
heads  for  the  best  stalks.  Spread  the  grains  on  a 
table  and  examine  each  one  separately,  discarding  all 
but  the  best  formed  and  fullest.  Next  season  make  a 
seed  bed,  putting  one  seed  to  a  hill,  one  foot  apart 
each  way.  Hoe  well  and  keep  clean.  The  result 
will  be  suprising,  as  the  yield  will  be  larger,  the 
grains  better  and  the  seed  clean.  When,  by  doing 
this  on  a  small  piece  of  ground,  the  seed  is  perfected 
it  can  be  sowed  for  a  crop.  Practice  this  annually, 
as  there  is  uo  limit  to  improvement. — I'luladelphia 
Becoril. 


A  Talk  About  Grasses. 

The  Dcerfield  Valley  Agricultural  Society  had  the 
following  to  say  about  grasses:  James  S.  Grinnell, 
of  Greenfield,  says  that  grasses  was  the  foundation 
of  our  success  in  farming,  and  it  is  of  tlie  greatest 
importance  that  we  sow  the  best  varieties  of  grass 
and  cut  it  at  the  right  time.  Mr.  Johnson,  of  Green- 
field, said  that  although  raising  grass  is  the  founda- 
tion of  farming,  it  is^astonisliing  that  farmers  take 
so  little  pains  with  it,  in  fact  do  not  know  even  the 
names  of  the  grasses  they  cut.  The  principal  grasses 


he  would  recommend  are  blue  grass,  red  lop  herd- 
grass  and  red  clover.  There  are  other  varieties  that 
may  lie  cultivateil  to  some  extent,  as  the  soil  and 
cireumslaiiees  allow,  such  as  the  sweet  scented  ver- 
nal, white  clover  aud  orchard  grass.  Farmers  should 
study  their  nature,  and  be  sure  to  sow  varieties  that 
would  ripen  at  the  same  time.  J.  N.  Abbott,  of 
Bucklaiid,  exhitiited  ten  dillVrent  kinds  of  grass. 
His  favoriliMs  orchard  grass,  which  he  would  sow 
with  ted  clover,  but  it  requires  strong,  moist  land.  It 
ripens  alwul  the  same  time  as  red  clover,  and  he 
considered  these  two  varieties  mixed  together  the 
best  liay  he  cuts.  E.  C.  Harris  found  his  hay  more 
increased  when  he  sowed  a  variety  of  grasses.  Mr. 
Grinnell  said  we  must  wage  war  on  the  weeds  and 
subdue  them.  Part  of  his  meaclows  had  gone  to 
sorrel  and  it  grieved  him  very  much. 


HORT^CL      lURE. 


The  Peach  Crop. 
.Superintendent  Mills,  of  the  Delaware  Railroad 
estimates  the  coming  peach  crop  in  the  districts 
traversed  by  railway  at  4,000,000  baskets  The 
heaviest  yield  will  be  in  the  district  Ijetween  Middle- 
town  anil  Clayton,  and,  with  continued  favorabe 
weathei,  the  crop  ni?y  reach  .5,000,000  baskets.  This 
is  exclusive  of  the  sections  above, which  are  dependent 
upon  water  transportation.  The  j)each  growern  of 
the  peninsula  will  meet  in  convention  at  Dover  to- 
morrow to  discuss  transportation  rates  and  facilities 
and  other  matters  of  interest. 


Value  of  Fruit. 

It  is  a  fact  that  fruit  is  a  great  regulator  of  the 
human  system.  It  will  keep  the  blood  in  order,  the 
bowels  regular,  tone  up  the  stomach,  and  is  positive- 
ly a  specific  in  many  diseases.  It  is  said  of  a  doctor 
who  became  largely  interested  in  peach  growing, 
that  he  recommended  peaches  to  his  patients  on  all 
occasions.  The  story  was  told  to  illustrate  the  man's 
meanness,  but  if  he  was  mean  it  was  a  meanness 
that  hcnelitcd  his  patients.  If  men  were  wise  they 
would  spend  two  days  in  a  vineyard  or  orchard  to 
every  five  minutes  in  a  drug  store  when  anything  is 
the  matter  with  them.  If  you  have  dyspepsia  eat 
fruit.  Did  you  ever  think  wliat  a  doctor  gives  for 
dyspepsia?  He  gives  an  acid.  Fruit  will  furnish  bet- 
ter acid  than  the  drug  store  will.  Do  you  know  what 
the  doctois  dose  you  with  when  your  liver  is  out  of 
order?  With  acids.  Then  why  not  supply  the 
remedy  yourself  from  your  own  gardcu  ?  Why  con- 
tinue to  have  your  medicine  done  up  in  such  a  re- 
pulsive mixture  when  nature  furnishes  it  in  so  pala- 
table a  shape.  Every  home  should  have  at  least  one 
grapevine.  Once  in  possession  it  would  be  almost 
above  price. 

Shallow  Cultivation  for  Fruits 

Fruit  growers  must  be  reminded  that  their  hose, 
cultivators  and  ploughs  may  ilo  more  damage  to 
plants  than  good  if  not  used  with  discretion.  The 
small  fruits— berries,  currants,  grapes,  also  dwarf 
pears,  quinces,  etc.,  root  near  the  surface.  Here  are 
found  the  best  roots,  those  that  provide  the 
most  nourishment.  Nature  designed  these  to  be 
mulched  by  tiic  dead  leaves,  and  in  our  fields  tuulch- 
ing  would  be  the  best  treatment  if  it  were  |)Osslble. 
As  it  is,  the  best  we  can  do  is  to  give  frequent  but 
shallow  cultivation.  I  have  seen  intelligent  men 
ploughing  deep  I'urrows  alongside  of  their  raspber- 
ries, currants  and  grapes,  well  satisfied  that  they 
were  doing  thorough  work  that  would  secure  an 
abundant  harvest.  Let  such  men  dig  up  one  plant 
belbre  thus  ploughing  and  one  alter  and  sec  what 
bulcliery  they  have  committed.  There  are  no  top- 
roots  stretching  far  down  into  the  subsoil,  but  Sim 
ply  a  few  laterals  branching  out,  say  from  two  to 
four  inches  below  the  surface,  and  more  than  half  of 
these  have  been  sacrificed  by ,t he  plouglishare.  When 
we  set  grceu  hands  hoeing  strawberries  and  newly 
set  raspberries  we  know  what  they  will  do  if  not 
watched — they  will  destroy  half  their  roots  and 
loosen  the  hold  for  life  that  the  struggling  pets  have 
secured  by  chopping  close  about  them. 


The  Vegetable  Garden. 

In  these  days  of  a  scant  supply  of  labor  and  high 
prices  for  it,  economy  which  does  not  ajiproach 
meanness,  is  one  of  the  fine  arts.  For  instance,  it  is 
economy  to  hire  only  good,  well-trained  farm  hands, 
but  it  is  not  economy  to  set  them  down  to  a  meanly 
furnished  table.  It  is  economy  to  feed  your  people 
well,  but  it  is  far  from  economical  to  have  to  pur- 
chase all  they  eat.  A  farmer  is  expected  to  have 
somctliing  besides  salt  pork  and  potatoes  on  his 
table,  and  a  variety  is  more  economical  than  meat, 
wheat  Hour,  canned  goods  and  store  truck  generally, 
il^ Vegetables  are  so  healthful,  so  economical  aud  so 
indif  jicnsable  that  it  .is  a  sign  of  a  poor  farmer  if  his 
table  lacks  them  at  any  season  ofthe  year.  There  is 
uo  land  on  the  most  productive  farm  in  the  country 
w  hlcli  pays  one-third  as  well  as  a  well  laid  out  veg- 
etable garden,  i)roperly  planted  and  cultivated.  As 
hand  labor  is  costly,  it  is  both  wise  and  economical  to 


126 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[August, 


% 


dispense  with  it  whenever  possible.  My  experience 
in  mai'liet  pardeninc;:  has  proved  that  ail  liinds  of 
garden  trucic  can  beii:ro\vu  and  cultivated  bj'  a  man 
or  boy,  with  a  one-horse  single  shovel  cultivator  far 
more  successfully  and  at  far  less  expenseof  time  and 
wages  than  by  tlie  employment  of  any  three  jtrood 
men  with  hoes.  A  i^arden  for  vegetables  should 
have  no  bushes,  trees  or  perennial  plants  in  it,  but 
should  be  convenient  for  the  plow  and  teams  at  all 
times.  It  should  be  lontr,  to  save  time  in  turninc;, 
and  wide  enouifb  to  supply  the  family  demand.  It 
should  be  covered  with  ffood,old,  well-rotted  manure 
six  inches  deep,  plowed  under  twelve  inches. 


Fig  Culture. 

The  subject  of  our  headinj;  is  attracting^  much  at- 
tention, both  South  and  North.  The  people  are 
waking  up  to  the  idea  that  the  fig  is  of  great  com- 
mercial value,  and  the  Press  are  stimulating  the 
people  to  go  aiiead  in  the  introduction  and  prepara- 
tion for  home  use  and  the  market. 

In  former  years  Virginians  cultivated  this  delicious 
fruit  quite  extensively,  but  as  it  wouM  not  grow 
without  some  little  care  and  attention,  its  old  time, 
general  cultivation  has  been  (un\\isely)  discon 
tinned. 

"  Eternal  vigilance  is  the  price"  of  fruit  of  all 
kinds.  The  grub  destroys  the  peach  tree,  the  cur- 
culio  robs  us  of  our  plums,  the  blight  kills  our  pear 
and  quince  trees,  and  yet  we  replant  and  fight  the 
foe,  and  enjoy  as  our  laurels  the  wholesome  fruits  of 
summer  and  autumn. 

There  are  very  many  reasons  why  fig  culture 
should  become  a  fixed  fact,  with  every  one  having  a 
few  rods  of  land. 

1.  The  trees  give  two  crops  annually. 

2.  They  commence  bearing  early — say  at  two 
years  from  the  cutting. 

S.  The  fruit  is  very  delicious  and  healthful  and 
better  than  medicine  in  malarial  and  febrile  diseases. 

4.  The  cultivation  is  at  once  simple,  easy  and 
profitable. 

Now  for  the  other  side. 

For  the  Middle  States  and,  say,  north  of  36°, 
winter  protection  is  necessary.  And  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  same  is  true  of  all  the  Southern  States. 

In  the  autumn  of  l.s79,  tig  trees  were  cut  down  to 
the  ground  by  the  frost  in  November  ;  and  in  the 
winter  of  1880-81  the  coid  made  a  clean  sweep  all 
over  the  South. 

I  have  said  that  "  a  little  care  "  is  necessary,  but 
the  fig  must  have  (hat ;  and  that  care  is  protection 
from  the  cold  of  winter. 

Well,  really,  there  is  no  other  trouble;  there  is 
neither  blight  nor  insect  trouble. 

I  could  wish  that  our  American  women  would  find 
"  a  field  of  labor  "  in  this  pure  fruit,  for  to  them  it 
would  be  a  "joy  forever  I" 


Household  Recipes. 


Cdcumbeb  Mangoes. — Select  the  largest  sized 
pickling  cucumbers  and  put  them  into  a  strong 
brine  for  two  weeks :  then  take  them  out,  drain 
well,  and  heat  the  brine  to  a  boiling  point.  Pour  it 
over  the  pickles  immediately,  and  let  them  stand 
until  the  next  day.  Repeat  this  process  nine  times 
and  after  they  are  cold  the  last  time  throw  them 
into  pump  water  for  eight  hours.  Drain  them  well, 
and  dry  each  one  upon  a  coarse  towl,  then  with  a 
sharp  knife  make  a  slit  in  the  side  and  remove  the 
seeds.  Make  each  one  perfectly  dry,  and  fill  with 
the  following  mixture  ;  To  three  dozen  cucumbers 
take  six  large  onions,  chop  them  very  fine,  and  add 
half  an  ounce  celery  seed,  one  ounce  turmeric,  one 
pound  while  mustard  seed,  one  ounce  chopped  mace, 
half  an  ounce  powdered  nutmeg,  half  a  pound 
grated  horse  radish  and  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of 
ground  mustard.  Mis  all  into  a  paste  wilh  a  cup  of 
salad  oil.  Tie  a  string  around  each  pickle  in  order 
to  keep  the  filling  in,  and  pack  them  down  into  a 
stone  jar.  Take  as  much  vinegar  as  will  be  neces 
sary  to  cover  them,  and  let  it  boil  up  once  with  a 
handful  of  cloves,  a  head  of  garlie,  and  a  table 
spoonlul  of  sugar.  Pour  this  over  the  pickles  while 
it  is  ho!,  and  lie  the  jar  closely.  Donotiopeu  for  five 
or  six  weeks  and  they  will  be  ready  for  use. 

Peach  Mangoes.— Take  one  peck  of  large  Morris 
white  peaches,  or  large  firm  yellow  freestone  peaches 
and  cover  them  wilh  brine  for  twenty-four  hours. 
Take  them  out  and  remove  the  seed  by  making  a 
slit  in  the  side  and  partially  opening  the  peach,  then 
throw  them  back  into  the  brine  and  let  them  remain 
another  'H  hours.  Drain  them,  wipe  dry  inside  and 
outside,  and  fill  them  with  the  following  mixture  : 
One  pint  of  chopped  onions,  a  teaspoonful  of  chopped 
green  ginger,  half  an  once  of  celery  seed,  one  ounce 
of  white  mustard  seed,  half  an  ounce  of  tumeric, 
and  one  ounce  el  black  mustard  seed.  Tie  a  string 
around  each  peach,  pack  them  in  a  strong  jar,  and 
cover  them  with  cold  vinegar,  adding  a  tablespoonful 
of  oil,  head  of  garlic,  and  a  tablespoonful  of  sugar. 
Keady  for  use  in  three  weeks. 

Veal  a  la  Mode.— Wipe  with  a  wet  cloth  a  solid 
piece  >  f  lean  veal  weighing  five  or  six  pounds;  make 
half  a  dozen  holes  in  it  bj    running   the   knife   steel 


through  it,  parallel  with  the  fibre  of  meat,  and  work- 
ing it  about  to  make  holes  large  enough  to  admit  the 
forefinger,  fill  the  holes  with  a  forcemeat  made  as 
directed  in  the  recipe  for  roast  chicken,  omittins  the 
chicken  liver,  lay  the  veal  in  a  saucepan  just  large 
enough  to  hold  it,  pour  over  it  boiling  water,  sprin 
kle  in  a  teaspoonful  of  salt,  and  half  a  saltspoonful 
of  pepper,  cover  it  steam  tight,  and  stew  it  gently 
for  two  hours;  if  the  gravy  is  not  thick  enough  stir 
in  a  little  flour  mixed  with  cold  water,  and  boil  it 
for  two  minutes;  remove  the  meat  before  adding  the 
flour. 

Bkeast  of  Veal  Baked  with  Tomatoes. — After 
wiping  a  breast  of  veal  with  a  wet  cloth  lay  it  in  a 
small  dripping-pan,  and  brown  it  quickly  in  a  hot 
oven.  Meantime  peel  and  slice  a  pint  ol  tomatoes; 
or  use  those  which  have  been  canned  ;  when  the 
veal  is  brown  season  it  highly  with  pepper  and  salt, 
pour  the  tomatoes  over  it,  and  bake  it  until  the  meat 
is  well  done.,  Serve  it  with  the  tomatoes  on  the 
same  dish.      ' 

Breast  of  Veal  Bbaised. — After  wiping  a  breast 
of  veal  with  a  wet  towel  remove  the  bones  with  a 
sharp  knife,  season  it  with  salt  and  pepper,  roll  it 
and  tie  it  compact  y  ;  put  it  over  the  fire  in  boiling 
water  enough  to  cover  it,  with  a  small  onion  and 
turnip  peeled,  a  small  carrot  scraped,  a  dozen  whole 
cloves,  half  a  teaspoonful  pepper-corns,  and  a  tea- 
spoonful of  salt ;  fasten  the  cover  of  the  sauce-pan 
with  a  thick  paste  of  flour  and  water,  and  gently 
cook  the  veal  for  two  hours.  Then  take  it  up,  re- 
move the  string,  and  keep  it  hot ;  strain  the  broth, 
and  use  it  to  make  a  white  sauce  as  follows  : 

White  Sauce.— For  each  pint  desired  mix  to- 
gether over  the  fire  a  tablespoonful  each  of  butter 
and  flour  until  they  bubble;  then  gradually  stir  in  a 
pint  of  boiling  broth  or  water,  stirring  constantly 
until  all  lumps  are  removed,  season  palatably  with 
pepper  and  salt,  and  let  the  sauce  boil  before  usiugit. 
Before  takiugup  the  meat  peel  a  pint  of  potatoes, 
cut  them  in  half  inch  dice,  throw  them  iulo  salted 
boiling  water  and  boil  them  until  tender,  then  mix 
them  with  the  white  sauce,  put  them  on  a  platter, 
and  serve  the  veal  on  them. 

Veal  with  Bhovvn  Sauce.- Cut  cold  veal  in  two 
inch  pieces,  brown  them  over  the  fire  in  sufficient  hot 
butter  to  prevent  burning,  dust  flour  over  them, 
about  a  tablespoonful  for  two  pounds  of  meat;  when 
the  flour  is  brown  cover  the  meat  with  boiling  water, 
season  the  stew  highly  with  salt  and  pepper,  add  to 
it  sufficient  nice  table  sauce  to  flavor  it,  and  when  it 
has  boiled  five  minutes  serve  it  on  toast. 

Boiled  Tongue. — Proceed  according  to  the  direc- 
tions given  in  the  recipe  for  boiling  salt  meats. 
When  the  tongue  s  done  the  skin  can  easily  be  strip 
ped  off  and  the  rough  parts  about  the  root  trimmed 
away;  these  parts,  freed  from  bone  and  gristle,  make 
excellent  hash. 

Boiled  Corned  Beef.— Follow  the  directions  for 
boiling  salt  meats.  When  vegetables  are  to  be 
served  with  corned  beef  they  may  be  boiled  with  it 
until  tender,  allowing  them  to  cook  only  long  enough 
to  make  them  tender.  Cabbage  is  usually  boiled 
several  hours, when  it  will  sometimes  boil  tender  in  a 
quarter  or  half  an  hour;  by  unnecessary  boiling  it 
becomes  watery,  and  emits  an  unpleasant  and  pene- 
trating vapor. 

Boiled  Ham.— Follow  the  directions  for  Boiliiig 
Salt  xMeats.  When  the  ham  is  done,  if  it  is  to  be 
served  hot,  take  it  up,  srrip  off  the  skin,  dust  it  with 
fine  bread-crumbs  or  cracker  dust,  and  brown  it  in  a 
quick  ov  n. 

Fork  Chops,  Spanish  Sttle.— Trim  off  nearly 
all  the  fat,  chop  it  and  put  it  into  a  hot  frying  pan 
over  the  fire  until  it  is  brown  ;  then  fry  the  chops 
brown  in  the  same  fat,  season  them  with  salt  and 
pepper,  squeeze  over  them  the  juice  of  a  sour  orange, 
and  keep  them  hot  while  some  eggs,  one  for  each 
chop,  are  being  fried  in  the  same  fat ;  when  the  eggs 
are  cooked  to  the  desired  degree  lay  them  on  the 
chops,  pour  the  fat  over  them,  and  serve  at  once. 

KOAST  PcBK.— Use  the  chine  or  loin  of  fresh  pork; 
cut  out  the  bone,  replace  it  with  a  stuffing  of  stale 
bread  soaked  soft  in  cold  water  and  seasoned  highly 
with  salt,  pepper,  powdered  sage,  and  a  little  chop 
ped  onion;  sew  up  the  cut  to  keep  in  the  stuffing,  and 
bake  the  pork  in  a  moderate  oven  half  an  hour  to 
each  pound;  season  it  when  brown  with  salt,  pepper, 
and  powdered  sage.  More  than  all  other  meats  pork 
requires  thorough  cooking. 

Pork  Tenderloins.— Stuff  and  roast  them  ac- 
cording to  the  preceding  recipe;  or  split  them  open, 
and  fry,  or  broil  them  very  brown:  season  them  with 
salt,  pepper,  and  powiiered  sage;  or  in  place  of  the 
sage,  when  they  are  fried,  mix  some  chopped  pickle 
with  gravy,  and  pour  it  over  them.  Cook  them 
thoroughly. 

Irish  Stew.— Cut  three  pounds  of  breast  of  mut- 
ton in  two-inch  pieces,  put  it  into  a  saucepan  with  a 
quart  of  boiling  water,  two  teaspooufuls  of  salt,  and 
a  saltspoonful  of  pepper,  and  stew  all  together  gen 
lly  for  an  hour;  then  add  a  piut  of  onions  peeled  and 
sliced,  and  a  quart  of  potatoes,  peeled  and  cut  in 
inch  pieces,  and  again  stew  gently  for  an  hour;  the 
stew  should  be  kept  closely   covered  while  cooking. 

Persillade  of  .Mutton.— Slice  cold  mutton,  lay 
it  on  a  dish  which  can  be  sent  to  the  table,  sprinkle 
the  surface  thinly  with  salt  and  pepper,    cover   it 


^1 


with  cold  gravy,  dust  the  surface  with  bread  or 
cracker  crumbs,  and  brown  it  in  the  oven;  serve  it  at 
once. 

Fried  Breast  of  Mutton. — Boil  a  breast  of 
mutton,  according  to  the  directions  for  boiling  meat, 
until  it  is  tender  enough  to  permit  the  bones  to  be 
pulled  out ;  lay  it  between  two  platters,  under  a 
weight,  until  it  is  quite  cold  ;  then  roll  it  in  bread- 
crumbs and  fry  it  whole  in  a  dripping-pan  large 
enough  to  hold  it  flat,  in  sufficient  sinoking-hot  fat 
to  cover  it ;  or  cut  it  in  small  pieces,  before  breading 
it,  and  fry  it  in  an  ordinary  frying-kettle.  Fried 
onions  or  tomatoes  may  be  used  to  garnish  this  dish. 
Breading. — The  ''breading"  of  any  article  con- 
sists of  simply  rolling  its  moist  surface  in  sifted 
bread  crumbs  or  cracker  dust ;  if  the  crumbs  are 
unlikely  to  stick  the  article  is  next  dipped  in  beaten 
egg,  and  then  again  rolled  in  crumbs.  The  crumbs 
should  always  be  sifted  so  that  they  may  be  of  one 
size,  and  as  tine  as  possible,  or  they  will  be  apt  to 
fall  off  during  frying.  They  are  made  by  drying 
stale  bread,  rolling  it  fine,  and  sifting  it  through  a 
fine  sieve  ;  the  coarser  crumbs  may  again  be  rolled 
and  sifted,  or  kept  for  stuffing  or  puddings.  Crackers 
can  be  rolled  in  the  same  way  ;  cracker  dust  is  sold 
ready  for  use. 

Hagoct  of  Cold  Beef  and  Vegetables. — Cut 
cold  beef  in  inch  squares,  brown  it  in  hot  drippings, 
sprinkle  it  with  flour  and  let  it  brown,  cover  it  with 
boiling  water,  and  season  it  with  salt  and  pepper; 
add  to  it  any  cold  vegetables  cut  in  similar  pieces, 
be.at  them,  and  serve  the  stew. 

Roast  Leg  of  Lamb  or  Mutton. — Wipe  a  leg  of 
lamb  or  mutton  with  a  wet  cloth  ;  run  a  sharp  thin- 
bladed  knife  between  the  skin  and  flesh  where  the 
leg  is  thickest,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  form  a  pouch 
for  the  stuffing  ;  into  this  pouch  put  the  flesh  of  a 
red  herring,  highly  seasoned  with  pepper,  and 
pounded  to  a  paste,  forcing  it  as  far  as  possible  under 
the  skin  ;  roast  the  les  according  to  the  directions 
given  for  ro..sting  all  kinds  of  meat.  French  cooks 
put  a  clove  of  garlic  into  the  flesh  close  to  the  end  of 
the  shank  bone  of  a  leg  of  mutton  before  roasting  it. 
Garlic  Cloves. — Garlic,  when  marketed,  looks 
somewhat  like  a  dried  tuberose  root ;  it  divides  when 
broken  into  many  small  lobes  called  "cloves"; 
each  clove  is  covered  with  an  inner  skin  which  must 
be  removed  before  the  clove  is  used  for  flavoring. 

Live  Stock. 


Advice    of    a    Lancaster    County    Blacksmith 
on  How  to   Shoe   Horses. 

A  Lancaster  county  subscriber  sends  to  the  Ger- 
mantown  Telegraph  the  following  statement  from  a 
noted  horseshoer  in  liis  vicinity,  as  t.~»  his  mode  of 
shoeing.  It  strikes  the  Telegraph  as  being  about  as 
nearly  perfection  as  it  could  be,  and  it  therefore  com- 
mends it  to  the  attention  of  every  shoer.  The  shoer 
some  years  ago  was  asked  to  write  down  his  mode, 
and  did  so,  and  thinks  that  it  might  have  been  pub- 
lished in  a  Western  paper  where  he  formerly  resided: 

"  The  way  I  shoe  a  horse  is  this:  First,  see  that  the 
animal  stands  in  a  natural  position,  so  that  it  is  per- 
fectly upright.  If  so,  level  the  wall  of  the  foot  to  re- 
ceive the  shoe,  and  nothing  more.  Never  cut  the  frog, 
braces  or  sole,  nor  the  heels;  let  nature  do  its  own 
work.  If  let  alone,  once  in  six  weeks  or  two  months, 
the  frog-braces  and  sole  will  shed.  Make  the  shoe 
tight  at  the  toe,  heavy  at  the  heels,  (for  the  heels 
are  the  tenderest  part  of  the  foot).  Put  the  nails 
well  forward  of  the  quarters.  Use  light  nails.  Con- 
cave the  shoe  until  you  get  to  the  quarters  to  pro- 
tect the  soles.  Then  convex  the  heels  a  little, 
and  you  cannot  make  narrow  heels,  corns, 
quarter  cracks  or  contracted  feet.  Fit 
the  shoe  cold  and  fit  it  to  the  foot  and  not  the 
foot  to  the  shoe  Follow  the  wall  carefully;  fit  the 
shoe  as  broad  as  you  can;  bring  the  heels  around  to 
the  frog,  but  do  not  touch  it.  Never  make  the  shoe 
longer  than  the  foot;  never  use  bar-shoes,  as  in  every 
case  they  are  wrong  and  hurtful.  Never  rasp  the 
uutside  wall,  for  you  destroy  the  glass  or  enamel  that 
protects  it  against  decay,  and  prevents  it  from  grow- 
ing rough  and  ridged.  This  improper  method  of 
shoeing  is  the  cause  of  more  lameness  than  any  one 
thing.  I  causes  corns,  quater-eracks  and  contracted 
feet.  Whoever  pares  ot  allows  to  be  pared,  a  horse's 
sole,  brace  or  frog,  and  burnes  the  foot  with  a  shoe, 
or  puts  clips  od  the  shoes  in  front  or  sides,  is  by  such 
useless,  harmful  and  outrageous  multilation  guilty 
of  cruelty  to  the  noble  beast.  No  frog,  no  foot;  ?io 
foot,  no  horse. 

Training  Horns. 

If  it  is  desirable  to  straighten  a  horn  you  may  fre- 
quently scrape  with  a  piece  of  glass,  or  a  knife,  the 
hollow  side,  which  will  cause  it  to  grow  faster  on 
that  side  ;  but  in  that  case  it  must  not  be  scraped 
deeply,  for  then  it  becomes  weaker  on  that  side,  and 
will  be  turned  toward  the  weaker  siee.  Some  scrape 
the  side  toward  which  they  wish  to  turn  the  horn 
quite  thin,  and  then  scrape  the  opposite  side  just 
enough  to  make  it  grow  faster,  and  that  will  turn  it 
toward  the  thinly  scraped  side.    If  you  wish  to  turn 


882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


127 


a  horn  up,  scrape  on  the  under  side  just  enough  to 
make  it  trrow  fiieler  on  that  side.  A  very  barbarous 
way  to  turn  a  liorii  is  sometimes  practiced,  tiy  sear- 
rinir  wilii  a  hot  iron  on  the  side  toward  wliidi  tlie 
boru  is  to  lie  turned  Tliis  prevents  tliu  {jrowtli  of 
the  horn  on  tliat  side  and  the  jrrovvth  upon  tlie  otlicr 
side  turns  ttie  horn.  The  horn.<i  may  he  pnlislied  l)y 
rubbkia:  tliem  with  fine  sandpaper,  and  then  witli 
pumice-stone  and  oilinj;  tliein.  But  tliis  artillcial 
main'pulation  of  liorns  is  seldom  necessary.  Tlie 
horns  of  well-fed  cattle  will  ;rcncr:tlly  u:row  in  come- 
ly shape  il  let  alone.  The  hair  is  sometimes  oiled  to 
give  it  a  glossy  apjearanee,  Ijut  tin-  best  gloss  is  put 
upon  the  hiiir  by  rich  and  appropriate  feeding.  Na- 
ture, under  proper  conditions,  does  this  work  best. 


The  Best  Farm    Horses. 

What  class  will  tie  the  most  profitable  to  raise  is  a 
question  of  interest  to  nearly  e\ci'y  farmer.  Trot- 
ters may  be  set  aside.  The  care  and  skill  I'equired  in 
training,  even  when  the  eolt  has  all  the  advantage 
of  pedigree  is  such  as  would  make  serious  inroads 
upon  the  time  and  patience  ol  all  but  a  fortunate  lew. 
So  the  trotter  may  be  set  down  as  not  a  jirotitabie 
horse  for  the  farmer  to  breed;  but  carriage  and  heavy 
draft  horses  are.  Both  of  these  kind  are  scarce  in  all 
our  large  cities,  and  the  demand  for  them  greater 
than  the  supply;  hence  prices  are  always  renuinera- 
tive.  For  some  years  to  come  no  sort  of  farm  'slock 
will  be  more  profitable  than  these  two  classes  of 
horses.  The  carriage  horse  requires  a  good  share  of 
thoroughbred  blood  in  him,  else  he  will  show  a  de- 
flcieucy  in  style,  spirit,  action  and  endurance,  quali- 
ties that  constitute  the  chief  value  of  that  class.  For 
draught  horses'the native  breed  is  entirely  too  small. 
To  remedy  this  delect  we  must  employ  the  best  types 
of  imported  stallions.  The  writer  has  watched  with 
interest  the  importations  of  foreign  stock,  as  tele- 
graphed over  the  country  for  the  last  few  years,  and 
gives  it  as  his  judgment  that  the  Clydesdale  has 
been  the  favorite,  and  represents  the  best  type  of  im- 
ported stallions.  What  seems  singular  the  heaviest 
shipment  of  these  horses  have  almost  invariably 
been  for  the  Eastern  or  Western  States,  where  they 
seem  to  be  in  high  favor.  Karely  has  a  shipment 
for  Ohio  been  recorded.  Skipping  the  details  of 
their  anatomy,  appearance  and  peculiarities,  we  can 
say  that  no  breed  of  heavy  draught  horses  is  more 
valuable  on  the  larm,  either  as  pure  breeds  or  to 
improve  our  native  horses,  and  this  has  been  a 
rendered  verdict  in  both  the  East  and  the  West. 


Draught    Hc-ses. 

There  has  been  such  a  demand  made  upon  West- 
ern Pennsylvania  for  draught  horses  the  past  few 
years  that  farmers  who  have  been  fortunate  enough 
to  breed  heavy  horses  have  found  it  decidedly  to 
their  advantage  when  their  stock  was  brought  to 
market.  The  supply  is  not  yet  up  to  the  demand  for 
heavy  draught  horses,  and  we  see  as  a  result  that 
there  is  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  breeders  to  meet 
this  demand.  The  question  with  the  average  farmer 
and  breeder  is  not  so  much  as  to  what  he  may  preler 
but  what  is  the  most  advantageous,  the  most  prolita- 
ble  horse  to  breed.  For  ordinary  farming  purposes 
in  a  comparatively  level  country  a  horse  weighing 
1,200  pounds  is  perliaps  in  most  respects  the  most 
desirable  animal.  But  as  farmers  raise  four  or  five 
times  as  many  horses  as  they  themselves  use,  the 
question  of  breeding  simply  is,  what  is  the  most 
marketable  horse!  In  selling  cattle  to  the  butcher, 
he  pays  according  to  the  weight — the  heavier  the 
steer  the  higher  the  price.  Two  pounds  of  beef  are 
worth  twice  as  much  as  one  pound.  In  draught 
horses  this  rule  docs  not  hold  good,  the  advantage 
being  on  the  side  of  the  heavier'horse.  When  a  1,300 
pound  horse  sells  at  ?1.50  or  12i<  cents  a  pound,  a 
1,700  pound  horse  sells  at  §300,  or  nearly  eighteen 
cents  a  pound,  making  a  market  of  forty  per  cent, 
premium  over  tlie  lighter  in  favor  of  the  heavier 
horse.  It  is  not  dithcult  to  see,  therefore,  which 
is  the  most  advantageous  horse  to  breed  lor  market. 
It  is  simply  a  question  ol  dollars  and  cents,  and  is 
readily  seen  by  any  one. — I'eimsylvauia  Farmer. 


Is  Horseshoeing  Useless. 
A  recent  issue,  of  Frar.cr's  Maqazinc  contains  an 
article  by  Sir  George  W.  Cox,  in  which  he  estimates 
that  the  English  custom  of  horseshoeing  costs  the 
nation  as  much  as  814,000,000,  whicir  might  be 
saved  if  the  horses  were  allowed  to  go  unshod.  lie 
quotes  the  authorities  fromXenophon,  who  marched 
his  horses  from  Cunaxa  over  the  Armeniau  high- 
lands to  the  walls  of  Trcbizond,  down  to  the  "free 
lancers"  of  the  present  day,  and  contends  that  it  is 
safer,  cheaper  and  better  to  let  horses  go  unshod 
over  the  hardest  roads,  and  especially  in  the  slip- 
pery  streets  of  London.  He  estimates  that,  over 
twelve  milliou  dollars  would  be  saved  in  larriers' 
bills  alone.  And  he  ealeulates  further  that  the  work- 
ing lite  of  a  horse  would  be  trebled  by  the  chansje  to 
that  a  horse  which  is  now  worn  out  at  twelve  would 
live  to  twenty-six.  The  figures  seem  somewhat 
Btarlling,  and  have  hardly  been  sufficiently  proved  to 
be  trustworthy.  Meanwhile  it  is«aid  that  a  medical 
man  in  Waterbury,  Conn.,  has  not  put  shoes  on  his 


horses  for  two  years,  driving  them  themwiiitcr,'sum- 
mer,  spring  ami  autumn  with  bare  feet  without  any 
trouble.  The  doctor's  theory  is  that  nature  has  pro- 
vided tiirthe  horse;  that  a  horse  can  travel  over  all 
kinds  of  roads;  that  the  hoof  will  be  moist,  antl  that 
the  frog  coming  to  the  ground  keeps  the  hoof  prop- 
erly spread,  and  free  from  founder  and  other  dis- 
eases. 

Keep  the  Stable  Clear  of  Flies. 

One  of  the  greatest  hindrances  to  thrift  during  hot 
weather  is  llie  aMnoyance  caused  by  Hies.  This  is 
true  both  in  the  field  and  stable.  In  the  former  we 
cannot,  in  any  considerable  degree,  control  them, 
but  in  the  latter  we  can.  The  better  class  of  stables 
shotdd  be  provided  with  screens.  By  this  mode, 
fumigation  l)eing  practised  to  drive  the  Hies  out,  the 
stock  may  be  quite  well  protected.  The  placing  of 
small  vessels  of  chloride  of  lime  about  tlie  ceiling 
will  sometimes  answer  the  purpose  of  keeping  them 
out  of  the  building.  If  a  decoction  of  hjeopodiiiin 
(sometimes  called  wolf's  claw),  which  is  the  largest 
of  the  European  mos.-es,  be  placed  in  a  bladder,  the 
neck  being  supplied  with  a  quill  nozzle,  by  means  of 
which  the  liquid  can  be  sprinkled  whire  the  Hies  ae- 
cumulaie;  early  in  the  morning,  the  eHeet  u|)0ii  the 
tlies  \\U]  soon  tie  seen;  as  it  (juile  promptly  tleslroys 
them.     This  article  is  also  used  to  destroy  vermin. 


Remedy  for  Side  Hole  in  Cow's   Teat. 

Make  the  edges  of  the  opening  raw  with  a  sharp 
knife,  or  cauterize  with  a  pointed  stick  or  nitrate  of 
silver.  The  hole  may  then  be  closed  with  strips  of 
adhesive  plaster,  or  better  yet  by  a  coating  of  "collo 
dion,"  which  can  be  oblained  of  any  photographer, 
if  the  nearest  druL'gist  does  not  keep  it.  In  milking 
be  careful  not  to  displace  the  dressiug — and  it  will 
perhaps  be  better  to  draw  the  milk  with  a  tube  for 
several  days.  If  theopening  in  the  teat  is  not  quite 
small,  it  may  be  necessary  to  close  it  by  a  stitch  just 
through  the  skin  with  a  fine  thread.  In  most  eases 
the  scratching  of  the  edges  of  the  opening  with  a 
knife  and  the  application  of  collodion  will  however, 
be  sullicient. 


Care  of  Horses. 

The  following  abridged  observations  of  a  French 
writer  are  deserving  the  atteution  of  all  who  have 
horses  under  their  care  :  The  same  quality  of  oats 
given  to  a  horse  produces  dill'ercnt  effects,  according 
to  the  time  they  are  administered.  I  have  made  ex- 
periments on  my  own  horses,  and  always  observed 
matter  not  digested,  when  I  purposely  gave  them 
water  immediately  after  a  feed  of  oats.  There  is  de- 
cidedly, then,  a  great  advantage  in  giving  horses 
water  before  grain  is  fed  to  thenu  There  is  another 
bad  practice  I  observe,  that  of  giving  grain  and  hay 
on  their  return  to  the  stable,  immediately  after  hard 
work. 

The  Stock. 

Give  all  the  stock  a  bedding,  and  especially  the 
working  oxen  and  horses.  The  cows  will  prove  the 
better  for  it,  so  will  the  yearlings;  to  the  swine  a 
warm  place  and  dry  bed  are  indispensable  to  profll. 
Remember  the  zero  weather  we  have  in  winter,  and 
how  much  comfort  we  can  bestow  upon  the  ani- 
mals dependent  upon  us,  by  a  little  timely  care. 


Poultry. 


Poultry  Gossip. 

An  Indiana  man  has  a  bronze  turkey  cock,  nine 
months  old,  which  weighs  :>1\;  pounds. 

An  occasional,  or  rather,  even  a  frequent  white- 
washing of  tlie  hen  house  will  make  the  air  there 
sweeter  and  purer  than  would  otherwise  be  the  case. 

The  Board  of  Health  of  New  York  city  will  pro- 
bahly  take  a  hand  in  the  question  of  undrawn  poultry. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  they  will  show  more  sense  than  the 
aldermen. 

The  art  of  caponizing  roosters  does  away  with  the 
worry  over  the  sex  of  eggs.  Experts  can  do  this 
work  for  ten  cents  a  piece,  and  capons  are  of  more 
value  than  hens. 

Four  uairs  of  prize  ducks  at  a  ree->nt  English  fair 
weighed  as  follows:  1st,  19  pounds  .5  ounces;  2d,  19 
pounds  1  ounce;  -Sd,  IS  pounds  1.5  ounces;  4th,  18 
jotinds  10  ounces. 

Hens  that  lay  few  eggs,  or  eggs  that  will  not  hatch, 
are  sometimes  very  earnest  and  persistent  sitters. 
Terhaps  they  comprehend  their  weakness  and  desire 
to  make  amends  in  a  useful  way. 

A  healthy  hen,  sitting  early  in  the  season,  can  be 
made  to  keep  richt  on  and  incubate  a  second  batch 
of  eggs  if  her  first  hatching  is  removed  in  time  and 
given  to  another  hen.  Sometimes  this  is  very  desira 
ble  when  sitters  are  scarce. 

A  New  Jersey  man  recommends  keeping  eggs  in 
whilcwasb.  We  should  think  that  tliis  would  be 
hard  on  the  shell.  If  they  are  to  be  kept  away  from 
the  air  and  cool,  why  not  keep  in  water  without  lime 
or  anything  else?     lias  any  one  tried  that? 

Some  deodorizer  under  hen  roosts  is  a  very  impor- 
tant matter,  both  lor  health  and  economy.  Cover  the 


droppings  every  mornlnir  with  sawdust,  road  dust, 
dry  muck,  plaster,  dried  clay,  or  anylhlug  that  will 
act  as  an  absorbent,  and  the  dangers  of  cholera  will 
be  slight  indeed. 

A  defender  of  undrawn  poultry  claims  that  It  le  a 
full  crop  which  spoils  dressed  poultry,  and  not  the 
Intestines.  Chickens  should  be  made  to  fast  at  least 
twelve  hours  In  advance  of  butchering.  No  doubt 
that  is  good  advice,  but  to  clean  out  all  the  uneata- 
ble "innards"  is  better. 

Poultry  is  not  sale  in  a  house  Infested  with  rat«. 
These  crealun  s  when  hungry— and  they  seem  to  b« 
hungry  most  of  the  time — will  even  pull  chickent 
and  small  fowls  from  the  roosts  at  night  and  kill 
them.  They  will  also  rob  hatching  hens  of  their 
young  Judicious  care  will  make  a  hen  house  rat 
proof. 

Poultry  does  not  sell  according  to  Its  low  price  In 
market,  but,  like  good  butter  and  fresh  eggs,  ac- 
cording to  its  quality.  Still  so  many  people  In  the 
great  cities  are  so  accustomed  to  poor,  Havorless,  In- 
sipid poultry,  that  the  first-class  article,  freshly  killed 
and  drawn,  would  not  be  recognized  at  first.  There 
Is  education  in  such  matters  as  well  as  In  the  fine 
arts. 

Somebody  in  the  interest  of  Incubator  manufac- 
turers avers  that  city  people  can  raise  chickens  (in 
the  liack  parlor  probably)  by  ineansof  incubators  by 
getting  eggs  "from  the  grocers  and  farmers  near  by," 
and  that  even  two  hundred  chickens  can  be  raised 
"by  special  care  in  a  room  fifteen  feet  square."  All 
right ;  let  them  try  il.  The  parties  sending  out  this 
advice  must  have  had  experience  as  lightning-rod 
agents. 

Ducks  can  be  raised  with  more  certainty  than 
chickens  and  turkeys.  Sink  a  tub  for  them  in  some 
out  of  the  way  place  and  keep  water  in  il,  and  that 
is  enough  as  regards  water.  Or  a  sort  of  basin  may 
be  excavated  in  the  ground,  and  this  can  be  cemented 
easily  so  that  it  will  hold  water  until  the  next  win- 
ter's  frost  cracks  it.  But  ducKs  are  great  gorman 
dizers  and  will  destroy  more  flowers  and  flower  beds 
and  grass  about  the  lawn  than  chickens,  so  this 
trouble  must  be  guarded  against. 


Feather  and  Egg  Eating. 

Fowls  in  confinement  are  apt  to  contract  vicious 
habits,  chief  among  which  is  feather  rating.  It  is 
often  necessary  to  confine  fowls  in  certain  portions 
of  the  season,  if  not  the  whole  year,  and  during  this 
perioJ  of  inactivity  they  learn  this  bad  triek,  which 
they  seldom  give  up.  One  leaches  another,  and 
they  soon  denude  the  bodies  of  the  cocks,  and  then 
begin  to  pluck  one  another.  Feather-eating  begins, 
in  the  first  place,  from  a  lack  of  something  better  to 
do,  and  at  length  an  appetite  is  acquired.  Cocks  are 
rarely  or  never  guilty  of  it.  Fowls  that  are  confined 
should  be  well  supplied  with  vegetable  and  animal 
food.  This  prevents  much  mischief.  When  milk 
may  be  had.  a  basin  given  daily  is  of  great  benefit 
in  supplying  the  lack  of  vegetable  and  animal  food, 
and  at  the  same  time  givin;r  occupation.  When 
fowls  are  at  large  they  gather  innumerable  insects 
and  other  wild  i'ood.  When  confined  they  are  shut 
off  from  this,  and  feither-eating  is  learned. 

Another  habit  equally  bad,  if  not  worse,  is  that  of 
eating  eggs.  The  fowls  learn  this  in  eonflnement  by 
scratching  in  the  nests,  from  a  lack  of  something 
better  to  do.  After  the  eggs  are  once  broken  they, 
of  course,  eat  them,  and  thus  the  taste  is  formed. 
Any  nest  material  like  hay  or  straw,  invites  the  hens 
to  scratch,  which  is  second  nature  to  the  fowl.  To 
avoid  this,  give  pleiiiy  of  occupation  outside  of  the 
building  where  they  root  and  lay.  The  fowls  should 
have  yards,  and  be  allowed  to  ruu  there.  Let  them 
labor  a  little  for  food.  (Jive  them  fresh  food  each 
day,  and  allow  them  to  pick  their  corn  from  the  cob. 
This  they  will  do  if  tlie  grain  is  dry  and  shells  easily, 
thus  giving  employment.  The  eggs,  however,  should 
be  brought  in  two  or  three  times  a  day,  so  that  the 
breakage  may  be  avoided.  By  2  o'clock  in  the  after 
noon  the  most  of  the  hens  have  deposited  their  eggs, 
and  since  tliey  have  not  the  privilege  of  L'oing  abroad, 
they  look  for  something  else  to  do.  Almost  anything 
that  <ilfers  they  are  willing  and  ready  to  do. 

Habits  thus  formed  are  seldom  forgotten.  The 
better  way  is  to  prevent  the  formation.  I  have  seen 
fowls  so  given  to  feather-eating  tliat  nothing  short 
of  death  would  cure.  Any  preparations  applied  to 
the  feathers  has  no  effect  whatever.  I  think  some 
limes  it  may  be  brought  on  through  the  means  of 
vermin  on  the  Ijody,  the  presence  of  which  is  dis 
covered  liy  the  hens  when  at  test.  I  do  not  think 
that  it  is  always  the  case,  but  cocks,  as  a  general 
thing,  are  more  infested  with  vermin  than  the  hens. 
They  do  not  wallow  in  dust  like  the  hens.  A  pretty 
sure  way  to  teach  the  fowls  bow  to  eat  feathers  is  to 
leave  the  plucked  ones  from  the  dead  birds  about 
where  the  living  ones  have  access  to  them,  more 
especially  if  they  are  pen  feathers.  This  habit  is  ac- 
quired by  all  breeds,  but  the  rapid  layers  and  non- 
sitters  are  the  wors.t.  They  posses  an  almost  irre- 
slstilile  appetite  for  animal  food,  and  it  is  this  appe- 
tite and  the  gratifying  of  it  that  gives  us  so  many 
eggs. 

That  fowls  require  a  great  deal  of  care  when 
made  thourougly  profitable  is  readily  admitted  by 
all  that  have  once  bad  the  experience.    The  practice 


128 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[August,  1882 


of  feeiliug  gne.o  vesrotables  is  a  gooil  oue  if  perse 
vert-d  in.  Of  this  lliey  are  fond.  Above  all,  do  not 
nesletl  fowls  that  are  in  confinement;  give  them 
their  rations  at  reijular  intervals,  and  all  the  occu- 
pation that  may  he  afforded.  They  will  pick  bones 
and  pluck  the  sreenuess  from  a  fresti  sod  in  a  short 
time,  and  afterwards  scratch  among  the  fresh  earth 
for  a  length  of  time.  If  the  yard  is  ample  a  portion 
of  it  may  t)e  dug  over,  aud  the  fowls  find  some  in- 
sects in  the  turned  up  earth,  and  will  liunt  for  more, 
which  gives  natural  employment  and  exercise.  It  is 
useless  to  plant  any  seeds  for  green  food  in  their 
yards,  as  nothing  will  grow  beneath  their  constant 
tread — Country  Gentlemen. 

^ 

Geese. 

We  think  more  attention  should  be  paid  to  the 
rearing  of  geese  than  is  usual.  One  may  often 
travel  half  a  day's  journey  in  the  country  without 
seeing  a  flock  of  geese.  Their  flesh  is  by  no  means 
to  be  despised  when  the  birds  are  young,  and  their 
feathers  always  command  ready  sale. 

It  is  an  erroneous  opinion,  and  one  without  doubt 
generally  prevalent,  that  geese  cannot  be  success- 
fully raised  away  from  ponds  and  streams  of  water. 
Per-sons  may  soon  ditabusc  themselves  of  this  idea 
by  visiting  the  suburbs  proper  of  the  city  of  Chi- 
cago, when  the  green  patches  about  the  tenement 
housicR  aud  shauties  are  converted  into  "geese 
farms,"  Hocks  averaging  from  the  progeny  of  a  single 
goose  to  that  of  half  a  dozen.  Oue  of  the  best  flocks 
we  ever  knew,  and  which,  for  the  years  we  knew  it, 
ran  from  forty  to  fifty  goslings  each  year,  had  for  its 
nearest  water  a  brook  three  quarters  of  a  mile  away, 
and  which  the  geese  never  saw.  Our  own  flock, 
when  we  kept  geese,  had  ample  water  facilities  in  a 
river  close  at  hand.  Our  friend  used  to  beat  us  and 
laugh  at  us,  when  visiting  each  other,  at  my  losses. 
His  standing  joke  was:  "I  only  have  weasels  and 
skunks  to  look  after,  and  you,  in  addition,  have  cat- 
fish and  snappers  (turtles)."  We  think  he  was 
right. 

If  a  pool  of  water  is  near,  it  is  desirable  and  an  ad- 
vantage. If  not,  a  shallow  tub  in  which  they  can 
plunge,  dabble,  and  drink,  will  really  fill  all  the 
absolute  necessities  of  the  case. 

As  to  varieties,  we  think  it  lies  between  the  Emb- 
den  and  the  Toulouse  geese — both  of  them  descended 
from  the  gray-legged  goose  (Auser  ferns)  of  the 
north  of  Europe.  Either  of  the  varieties  are  of  the 
largest  size,  growing  to  the  extreme  weight  of 
twenty  two  to  twenty  six  pounds. 

The  true  Embden,  called  also  the  Bremen  goose, 
should  be  pure  white  with  brick-red  legs,  and  heavily 
feathered.  The  Toulouse  goose  is  gray,  but  darker 
and  more  uniform  in  color.  Both  are  round-bodied, 
compact,  short-legged,  with  large  abdominal  devel- 
opment, are  quiet,  lay  plenty  of  eggs,  fatten  readily, 
aud  have  excellent  flesh.  A  cross  of  the  Embden 
and  Toulouse  is  said  to  make  better  birds  than 
either  of  the  pure  breeds.  This  we  cannot  vouch  for, 
but  we  have  found  the  Toulouse  rather  better  able 
to  take  care  of  themselves  than  the  Embden.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  excellent  white  feathers  of  the  Emb- 
dens  are  more  valuable  than  those  of  their  relatives. 

Ueese  are  not  dittieult  to  manage.  They  want  a 
dry,  warm  place  to  huddle  under  in  winter,  and 
which,  in  summer,  may  bi-  given  plenty  of  air.  This 
must  be  cleaned  regularly,"  and  often  enough  to  be 
sweet  and  wholesome.  In  the  summer  they  will 
pretty  much  supply  themselves  with  food,  grass, 
worms,  and  various  insects-  but  what  grain  they  will 
eat  should  be  also  supplied  every  night,  and  it  is  al- 
ways better  that  this  be  supplied  to  them  at  the  bot- 
tom of  a  vessel  filled  with  water.  In  winter  this 
food  may  be  corn  and  the  screenings  of  small  grain, 
in  connection  with  cabbage  leaves  or  other  greens,  or 
else  chopped  root,  daily.  ♦ 


The  Wonders  of  Incubation. 

It  Is  wonderful  to  trace  the  development  of  the 
chicken  during  the  process  of  incubation,  from  the 
day  in  which  the  mother  hen  begins  her  tedious  term 
of  setting  to  the  moment  when  the  downy  biped 
bursts  the  shell  and  enters  on  life  as  an  animate  and 
Independent  existence.  In  the  pursuit  of  science  and 
the  interest  of  learning  no  seeming  destruction  of 
material  is  of  any  moment,  and  we  trust  no  eco- 
nomical poultry  raifer  will  accuse  us  of  extravagance 
if  we  remove  each  day  or  oftener  of  the  twenty  oi  e 
days  required  for  the  perfection  of  the  chicken,  a 
single  eL'g,  and  show  you  (as  far  as  we  can  under- 
stand the  iirinciplcs  of  creation)  how  the  feathered 
tribes  of  our  barnyards  are  made. 

Of  course  the  germ  of  life  is  in  the  egg  from  the 
beginning,  as  no  amount  of  warmth  aud  quiet  will 
produce  a  bird  from  a  sterile  egg,  but  with  this  fact 
assured,  the  hen  has  sat  on  her  eggs  hardly  twelve 
hours  before  we  find  some  lineament  of  the  bead  and 
body  of  the  chicken.  The  heart  may  be  seen  to  beat 
at  the  second  day  and  the  asj)ect  orsliape  is  that  of  a 
a  tiny  horseshoe.  Blood  vessels  appear  at  the  end  of 
the  second  day  and  their  faint  pulsation  is  distin- 
guishable, one  being  the  left  ventricle  and  the  other 
the  rudiment  of  the  great  artery.  About  the  fifteenth 
hour  one  auricle  of  ihe  heart  appears,  resembling  a 
loop  folded  downupon  itself.  At  the  end  of  seventy 
hours  symptoms  of  the  wings  are  apparent  and  on 


the  head  five  bubbles  are  seen,  two  of  the  incipient 
brain,  one  for  the  bill  and  the  other  two  for  the  front 
and  back  of  the  head.  At  the  end  of  the  fourth  day 
the  auricles,  already  visible,  approach  nearer  to  the 
heart,  and  the  liver  appears  towards  the  fifth  day. 

At  the  end  of  seven  hours  more  we  see  the  lungs 
and  stomach,  aud,  with  wonderful  rapidity,  are  de- 
veloped; four  hours  afterwards  the  intestines,  the 
loins  and  the  upper  jaw.  At  the  144th  hour  two 
ventricles  are  visible,  and  two  drops  of  blood  in- 
stead of  a  single  drop  which  we  had  seen  previously. 

The  seventh  day  the  brain  begins  to  have  some 
consistency;  and  at  the  U9th  hour  of  incubation  the 
bill  opens  and  flesh  appears  ou  the  breast.  Four 
hours  after  the  breast  bone  is  seen,  and  in  six  hours 
after  this  the  ribs  appear,  forming  the  back  of  the 
chicken;  and  the  bill  is  distinctly  visible,  as  well  as 
the  gall  bladdei:.  The  bill  becomes  green  at  the  end 
of  2.'iC  hours,  and  if  remove  the  chick  from  the  shell 
it  evidently  moves  itself.  At  the  200th  hour  the 
eyes  appear,  and  US  hours  after  the  ribs  are  perfect. 
At  the  33l6t  the  spleen  draws  near  the  stomach  and 
the  lungs  to  the  chest.  About  the  fifteenth  day  the 
bill  frequently  opens  and  shuts;  and  a  careful  listener 
can  catch  the  smothered  cry  of  the  imprisoned  chick 
at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  day. 

For  the  remaining  three  days  it  grows  continually, 
developing  the  finishing  touches  to  its  various  organs 
and  to  the  silken  color  of  down  which  envelopes  the 
tiny  creature  from  glossy  beak  to  tender  drumstick. 
Strength  comes  with  all  the  accelerated  forces  of 
quickening  life,  and  a  few  strokes  of  the  powerful 
bill  sets  the  pretty  prisoner  free,  and  his  after  life 
and  prosperity  is  something  with  which  we  as  its 
owners  have  more  or  less  connection. 


A  Meat  Diet. 

It  is  generally  conceded  by  the  majority  of  poultry 
breeders  that  a  meat  diet  is  essential  during  cold 
weather,  when  worms,  bugs  and  insects  are  not  to 
be  found  by  the  birds.  But  though  considered  nec- 
essary to  atone  for  the  lost  insect  food  it  should  be 
used  sparingly  and  not  fed  too  often  to  youug  fowls. 

In  winter  and  early  spring  to  keep  up  egg  produc- 
tion, the  fowls  must  have  something  to  work  on.  The 
best  way  to  supply  them  if  there  is  not  enough  of 
waste  meat  scraps  from  the  breeder's  table  to  meet 
the  required  demand,  is  to  get  scraps  from  the 
butcher  or  slaughter  house.  The  waste  meat,  oflTal 
and  the  bloody  pieces  which  are  unsalable  can  be 
bought  for  a  cent  or  two  a  pound. 

The  best  way  to  utilize  these  scraps  and  to  render 
them  more  digestible  and  nutritious  is  to  cut  them 
into  fine  pieces,  put  them  into  a  boiler  with  plenty  of 
water  aud  boil  them  until  the  bones  separate  from 
the  flesh.  Then  stir  cornmeal  into  it  until  it  makes 
a  thick  mush,  season  with  salt  and  pepper,  and  cook 
till  done.  Feed  this  when  cold  to  the  poultry  and 
they  will  eat  it  with  evident  relish,  and  you  have  a 
most  excellent  food  which  will  keep  during  cold 
weather. 

Our  experience  is  in  favor  of  cooking  the  meat.  It 
goes  further,  is  more  nourishing  and  less  injurious  if 
over  fed  than  in  a  raw  state.  Sheep's  heads,  shanks, 
livers  aud  bone  pieces  can  be  utilized  in  this  way  aud 
the  soup  mixed  in  with  meal  or  scalded  wheat  and 
seasoned  to  suit.  Young  fowls  should  be  fed  sparing- 
ly with  flesh  ;  meat,  grain  and  cooked  vegota'^les  is 
the  best  staple  food  when  properly  yaried..— Poultry 
Monthly. 

^ 

Feed  for  Laying  Hens. 
Fat  hens  rarely  lay.  If  hens  are  fed  so  much  or 
so  often  that  they  begin  to  fatten  rapidly,  they  will 
soon  stop  laying.  No  food  is  better  than  Indian  corn 
or  ground  corn  (Indian  meal),  to  fatten  hens,  and  of 
course  it  should  be  fed  sparingly  to  laying  hens.  If 
hens  do  not  lay  and  aie  fat,  f^eed  them  but  once  a 
day — at  evening,  just  before  they  go  to  roost — giving 
wheat  screenings,  buckwheat  and  oats,  in  such  pro- 
portions as  you  judge  best.  Throw  the  feed  upon 
clean  ground  only  so  fast  as  they  pick  it  up.  Stop 
just  as  soon  as  you  see  any  of  the  flock  begin  to  wan- 
der away.  Let  them  forage  all  day  for  weed  seeds, 
grass,  insects,  t-tc.  They  must  have  warm  quarters, 
A'ell  ventilated  at  night,  and  a  sunny  run  by  day  in 
winter.  After  a  while  begin  to  feed  them  sparingly 
a  little  meat  scrap  chopped  fine,  broken  bones, 
oyster  shells,  etc.,  aud  they  will  probably  soon  be- 
gin to  lay. 


Literary  and  Personal. 


The  Shaker  Manifesto,  an  octavo  of  thirty 
pages,  published  by  the  United  Societies,  Shaker- 
village,  New  Hampshire,  mouthly,  at  sixty  cents  a 
year,  devoted  to  moral  and  miscellaneous  literature, 
poetry,  domestic  economy,  farm  and  garden,  house- 
hold affairs,  etc.  Its  general  utilitarian  spirit  may 
be  illustrated  in  the  following  description  of  "  A 
Minister  of  the  Olden  Times  "  : 

"  There  was  once  a  minister  of  the  gospel 

Who  never  built  a  church  ; 

Who  never  preached  in  one  ; 

Who  never  proposed  a  church  fair  to  buy  the 
church  a  new  carpet; 

Who  never  founded  a  new  sect; 


Who  never  belonged  to  any  sect  ; 

Who  frequented  public  houses  and  drank  wine 
with  sinners  ; 

Who  never  received  a  salary  ; 

Who  never  asked  for  one  ; 

Who  never  wore  a  black  suit,  nor  a  white  necktie  ; 

Who  never  used  a  prayer-book  ; 

Or  a  hymn-book  ; 

Or  wrote  a  sermon  ; 

Who  never  hired  a  cornet  soloist  to  draw  souls  to 
hear  the  '  word  : ' 

Who  never  advertised  his  sermons  ; 

Who  never  even  took  a  text  for  his  sermons  ; 

Who  never  went  through  a  course  of  theological 
study  ; 

Who  was  never  ordained  ; 

Who  never  was  '  converted  ' ; 

Who  never  went  to  conference. 

Who  was  he  ? 

Christ."  —N.  Y.  Graphic. 

If  the  foregoing  should  not  be  deemed  sufficiently 
radical  and  conclusive,  it  might  be  added  that 

He  never  wore  a  hat  or  cap  ; 

Never  wore  boots  or  shoes  ; 

Who  never  was  married  ; 

Never  wore  breeches ; 

Never  used  a  fork  ; 

Who  ate  his  meals  ''lounging"; 

Who  never  used  coercion,  except  to  drive  people 
out  of  the  Temple,  instead  of  driving  them  in; 

Who  never  traveled  by  railway  or  canal. 

But,  it  must  be  remembered,  iTe  lived  nearly  nine- 
teen hundred  years  ago,  and  said  with  emphasis, 

"  BeU    LD,  I  MAKE  ALL  THINGS  NEW." 

Regulations  and  premiums  list  of  the  "Fred- 
erick County  Agricultural  Society."  Twenty  second 
Exhibition,  1882.  §8,000  are  oflfered  in  premiums. 
Lists  of  all  the  officers  are  carefully  given,  and  the 
regulations  and  general  arrangements  elaborately 
set  forth,  and  the  whole  exhibition  divided  up  into 
thirty-tive  classes,  embracing  all  the  objects,  pro- 
ducts, implements,  machinery  and  industries  usually 
included  in  such  fairs;  but,  except  that  the  books  of 
entrance  will  be  closed  at  10  o'clock  on  Tuesday, 
October  10th,  it  is  no  where  stated  explicitly  on 
what  days  of  the  month  the  exhibition  will  be   held. 

Department  of  Agriculture  Special  Report  - 
No.  45,  upon  the  area  and  condition  of  corn,  the 
condition  of  cotton,  and  small  grains,  sorghum,  to- 
bacco, etc.,  July  1882,  33  pp.  octavo,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

The  returns  for  July  indicate  an  increased  area 
planted  in  corn  exceeding  4  per  cent,  or  fully  2,,500,- 
000  acres.  The  general  condition  on  July  1  gives  an  av- 
erage of  85  against  90  a  year  ago;  although  in  eleven 
States  it  was  over  100,  notably  in  Georgia,  which  is 
registered  108.  Late  planting,  could  and  wet 
weather,  aud  planting  after  floods,  is  the  principal 
cause.  Winter  wheat  averaged  104,  and  spring 
wheat  96—14  percent  above  1881,  indicating  an  ag- 
gregate crop  of  .500,000,000.  Rye,  similar  to  that  of 
wheat,  100  and  upwards.  Oats  in  a  high  condition, 
with  a  persentage  of  103.  Barley  averages  100.  The 
general  average  of  cotton  is  92.  Seven  per  cent, 
increase  in  the  area  of  potatoes,  averaging 
102.  Acreage  of  tobacco  same  as  1881 — condition 
high  southward,  but  low  uorth.  Southern  increase, 
and  northern  decrease  in  Sorghum.  Apples  and 
peaches  fairly  abundant.  Delaware  and  Maryland 
will  exceed  4,000,000  baskets.  The  report  contains 
many  valuable  tabulated  statistics. 

The  Sidereal  Messenger,  conducted  by  Wm. 
W.  Payne,  Directorof  Careleton  College  Observatory. 
No.  5,  vol.  1,  of  this  interesting  astronomical  journal 
has  reached  our  tatile,  and  we  are  pleased  to  see 
that  it  not  only  maintains  the  excellencs  with  which 
it  started  out  a  few  months  ago,  but  that  it  very 
perceptibly  improves.  It  is  an  octavo  of  32  pages, 
exclusive  of  the  tinted  covers,  and  is  published  at 
§2.00  lot  ten  numbers,  Northfield,  Minnesota.  The 
material,  typographical  execution  and  the  literary 
contents  are  of  a  high  order  of  excellence,  the  con- 
iributious  being  able,  scientific  and  pr.actical.  In  a 
personal  remark,  the  editor  says:  "C.  Piazzi,  As- 
tronomer Royal  of  Scotland,  was  the  first  foreign 
subf^cribcr  to  the  .S'irferea?  Mes.'ienger,  which  at  least 
indicates  that  it  is  appreciated  by  learned  astrono- 
mers abroad,  if  it  should  find  no  recognitiou  at 
home.  It  is  fortunate  in  having  an  able  corps  of 
contributors,  and  is  well  posted  in  the  current  astro- 
nomical literature  and  discoveries.  Surely  our 
"Star  Club"  would  become  vitalized,  under  the  most 
discouraging  circumstances,  by  the  perusal  of  such 
an  able  publication. 

The  Sugar  Beet.  Third  year,number  3,  has  been 
received.  This  handsomely  illustrated  quarto  abates 
not  in  the  least  in  its  advancement  of  the  utilization 
of  the  sugar  beet.  The  production  of  sugar  and  of 
silk  in  this  country,  sufficient  for  the  needs  of  the 
country  alone,  involves  industries  that  must  ulti- 
mately redound  to  its  more  perfect  independence, 
and  the  wonder  is  that  their  progress  has  been  so 
slow. 

The  cultivation  and  utilization  of  root  crops  in 
general  have  an  immense  bearing  upon  the  quantity 
and  quality  of  other  productions  than  sugar,  that 
seem  to  be  but  faintly  apprehended  by  agricultur- 
ists. 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER 


III 


THE  WORLD   OF  NATURE 

The  worlil  of  animated  nature  is  more  Bplcndidly 
represented  under  the  canvas  of  Forepauijh's  (!reat 
Show  than  in  any  zooloirical  collection  existent.  Not 
since  the  day  Noah  lifted  his  liawser  off  the  snub- 
bing post  have  so  many  distinct  varieties  of  rare  ani- 
mals been  collected  under  one  charge.  This  impor- 
tant fact  should  not  be  lost  sight  of  by  schools 
and  parents-  Boys  and  girls  can  learn  more  in  an 
afternoon  of  natural  history,  in  the  great  Menagerie 
of  Forepaugh's  Show,  than  by  months  of  book 
study.  Recognizing  this,  Mr.  Forepaugh  makes  re- 
duced rates  to  schools,  and  admits  all  children  in 
■orphan  asylums  free  of  charge.  This  Great  Show 
■will  exhibit  in  Lancaster,  Monday,  April  24. 


I 


THE 


OFFICE 


No,  0  Nortti  Queen  Street, 


LANCASTER,  PA. 


THE  OLDEST  AND  BEST, 


THE  WEEKLY 

LANCASTER  EXAMINER 

One  of  the  largest  Weekly  Papers  in 

the  State. 
Published  EreryllYeddnesay  Morning, 

iBan  old,  well-established  newspaper,  and  contains  just  the 
news  desirable    to  make    it  an  interest  iug  aud   valuable 
JFamily    Newspaper.     The  postage  to  eubcribers  residiug 
outside  of  Lancaster  county  is  paid  by  the  publisher. 
Send  for  a  specimen  copy. 

Two  Dollars  per  Annum. 


THE  DAILY 


LANCASTER  EXAMINER 

The  Largest  Daily  Paper  in  the 
county. 

Pablished  Daily  Except  S   oday. 

The  daily  is"  pubbslied  every  evening  during  the  week, 
Tt  is  delivered  in  the  City  and  to  surrounding  Towns  ac- 
cessible by  railroad  and  d^ily  stage  lines,  for  10  cents 
a  week. 

Mall  Subscription,  free  of  postage — One  month,  60 
cents;  one  year,   $3.00. 


JOHN  A.  HIESTAND,  Proprietor, 

No.  9  North  Qneen  St., 


Important  to  Grocers,  Packers,  Hucksters,  and  the 

General  Public. 

THE  KING  FORTUNE-MAKER. 


A  New  Procesa  for  J*reservitHf  all 
Perishable  Articles,  Animal  and 
Vefjetahle  from  Fermentation  and 


OZONE 

Putrefaction,  lietaiuiny  their  Odor  and  Flavor. 

"  OZONE-Furified  air,  active  etate  of  Oxygen."- ^rcftsf/r. 

This  preser»«tiT«  is  not  a  liquid  pickle,  or  any  of  the  old  and  exploded  prncessea,  but  is  simply  and  purely 
OZONE,  as  produced  and  applied  by  an  entirely  new  procesa.  Oione  is  the  antiseptic  virinciplc  of  every 
subatcaca,  and  poBBesBca  the  power  to  prcsarvc  animal  and  veeetabla  structures  from  decay. 

Titer  e  ifi  not  lihHj  on  thf  face  of  the  earth  liahte  to  deeat/ or  spoil  whieh  Ozone^  the 
new  Preservative,  will  not  jireserve  for  all  tune  in  o  perfectly  fresh  atulpalatable 
condition. 

The  value  of  Ozone  as  a  natural  preserver  haa  been  known  to  our  abler  ehemints  for  years,  but,  until  now,  no 
means  of  produeinpr  it  i"  a  practical,  inexpciwive.  and  simple  nianrier  have  been  (liwcovfred. 

Microscopic  observations  prove  that  decay  is  due  to  septic  matter  or  minute  Kerms.  that  develop  and  feed  upon 
animal  and  vegetable  structures.  Ozone,  applied  by  the  I'reriticc  method,  seizes  and  dentroys  thewe  germs  at  once, 
and  thus  preserves  At  our  office  in  Cincinnati  can  be  seen  almost  every  article  that  can  be  thought  of,  preserved  by 
this  procest*,  and  every  visitor  is  welcomed  to  come  in,  taste,  .smell,  take  away  with  hun,  and  t««t  in  every  way  lh« 
merits  of  Ozone  us  a  preservative.  We  will  »l(*o  preserve,  free  of  charge,  any  article  tliat  is  brought  or  Bcnl  prepaid 
to  UH,  :ind  return  it  to  tlie  sender,  lor  him  to  keep  and  test. 

FKKi^H  NKATK,  such  as  beef,  mutton,  veal,  ptjrk,  poultry,  game,  fl.sh,  Ac,  preserved  by  this  method,  can  be 
shipped  to  Europe,  subjected  to  atmospheric  changes  and  return  to  this  country  in  a  state  of  perfect  preservation. 

lEliKilK  can  be  treated  at  a  cost  of  less  than  one  dollar  a  thousand  dozen,  and  be  kept  iu  an  ordinary  room  six  months 
or  more,  thoroughly  prenerved  ;  the  yolk  held  in  its  normal  condition,  and  the  eggs  a.s  fresh  and  perfect  an  on  tho 
day  they  were  treated,  and  will  sell  as  strictly  "choice."  The  advantage  in  preserving  eggs  is  readily  seen  ;  Ihera 
are  seasons  wlien  they  can  be  buughl  for  S  or  10cent.s  a  dozen,  and  by  holding  them,  can  be  sold  for  an  advance  of 
from  one  hundred  to  three  hundred  per  ce    t.     One  man.  with  this  method,  can  preserve  5,000  dozen  a  day. 

FRlf  liTS  may  be  permitted  to  ripen  in  their  native  climate,  and  can  be  transported  to  any  part  of  the  world. 

The  juice  expressed  from  fruits  can  be  held  for  an  indefinite  period  without  fermentation— hence  the  great  value 
of  this  process  for  producing  ateniperancc  beverage.    Cider  can  be  lield  perfectly  sweet  for  any  length  of  time. 

VI-XJF/r .%!»■> EM  can  be  kept  for  an  indetinite  period  tti  their  natural  condition,  retaining  their  odor  and  flavQr, 
treated  in  their  original  packages  at  a  small  expense.  All  grains,  flour,  meal,  etc.,  are  iield  in  their  normal  condition. 

BIJTTKK.  after  being  treated  by  this  process,  will  not  become  rancid. 

Dead  human  bodies,  treated  before  decompo.silion  sets  in,  can  be  held  in  a  natural  condition  for  weeks,  without 
puncturing  the  skin  or  mutilating  the  body  in  any  way.     Hence  the  great  value  of  Ozone  toundertiikers. 

There  is  no  change  in  the  slightest  particular  in  the  appearance  of  any  article  thus  preserved,  and  no  trace  of  any 
foreign  or  unnatural  odor  or  taste. 

The  process  is  so  simple  that  a  child  can  operate  as  well  and  as  aueeessfully  as  a  man.  There  is  no  expensive 
apparatus  or  machinery  reqinred. 

A  room  tilled  with  ditferent  articles,  such  as  eggs,  meat,  fish,  etc.,  can  be  treated  at  !one  time,  without  addi  ional 

ouble  or  expense. 

jO^Im  f»<'l,  llior«»  i«  nothiiffr  <l»»*  OEonr  will  not  pre««»rvP.    Think  of  everything  you  cau  that  ia 

e  to  .sour,  decay,  or  si.>oil,  and  then  remember  that  we  guarantee  that  Ozone  wilt  preserve  it   in  exactly  the 

ition  you  want  it  for  any  length  of  time.     If  you  will  remember  this  it  will  save  asking  questions  ua  to  whether 

coiide  will  prescrvethieortiiat  article— it  will  |»reMerve  auytlijne  rikI  every  thiu;;->-oii  onn  tlkilik  of. 

There  is  not  a  townshij)  in  the  United  Stales  in  wliich  a  live  man  can  not  make  any  amount  of  money,  from 
Sl.OOO  to  SIU,000  a  year,  that  he  pleases.  We  desire  to  get  a  live  man  interested  in  each  county  in  the  United  States, 
in  whose  hands  we  can  place  this  Preservative,  and  through  him  secure  the  business  which  every  county  ought  to 
roduce. 

Awaits  any  Man  who  Secnres  Control  of  OZONE  in  any 
Township  or  County. 

A.  C.  Bowen,  Marion,  Ohio,  has  cleared  $2,000  in  two  months.    f2  for  a  test  packngc  was  his  first  investment. 

Woods  Brothers.  Lebanon,  Warren  County.  Ohio,  made  ^6,000  on  eggs  purchased  iu  August  and  sold  November 
Ist.     S2  for  a  test  package  was  their  first  investment. 

F.  K.  Riiymond.  IVIorristown.  Belmont  Co.,  Ohio,  is  clearing  $2,000  a  month  in  handling  and  selling  Ozone.  S2  for 
a  test  package  was  his  iirst  investment. 

D.  F.  Webber,  Charlotte,  Eaton  Co.,  Mich.,  has  cleared  81.000  a  month  since  August.  82  for  a  test  package  was  bis 
first  investment. 

J.  B.  Gaylord,  80  La  Salle  St.,  Chicago,  is  preserving  eggs,  fruit,  etc.,  for  the  commission  men  of  Chicago,  fharging 
iV^c.  per  dozen  lor  eggs,  and  other  articles  in  proportion.  He  is  preserving  5.0<X)  dozen  eggs  per  day,  and  on  his 
business  is  making  :£3,000  a  month  clear.    $2  for  a  test  package  was  his  first  investment. 

Tlie  Cincinnati  Feed  Co.,  West  498  Seventh  Street,  is  making  S5,00  a  month  in  handling  brewers'  malt,  preserving 
and  shipping  it  as  feed  to  all  parts  of  the  country.  Malt  unpreserved  sours  in  24  hours.  Preserved  by  Ozone  it  keeps 
perfectly  s\V4'ct  for  montlis. 

These  are  in.stances  which  we  have  asked  in  the  privilege  of  publishing.  There  are  scores  of  others.  Writetoany 
of  the  above  parties  and  gel  tiie  evidence  direct. 

Now,  to  prove  the  absolute  truth  of  every  thing  we  have  .said  in  this  paper,  we  propONO  to  plftro  In  your 
tiancis  tlio  inoanH  ol'  proving  i'or  .voiirNolf  tiiat  ne  ii»vo  not  claiinrrl  lialf  moiiffli-  To  any 
person  who  ;doubts  any  of  these  statements,  and  who  is  interested  sufficiently  to  nuike  the  trip,  we  will  pay  all 
traveling  anil  hotel  expenses  for  a  visit  to  this  eity,  if  we  fail  to  prove  any  statement  that  we  have  made. 

How  to  Secure  a  Fortune  with  Ozone. 

A  test  package  of  Ozone,  containing  a  suflicient  quantity  to  preserve  one  thon.siuid  dozen  eggs,  or  other  articles 
in  proportion,  will  be  sent  to  any  applicant  on  receipt  of  ?2.  This  package  will  enable  the  applieimt  to  pursue  any 
line  of  tests  and  experiments  he  desires,  and  thus  satisfy  himself  as  to  the  extnxordinary  merits  of  Ozone  a.s  a 
Preservative.  After  having  thus  satisfied  himself,  and  had  time  to  look  the  field  over  to  determine  what  he  wishes 
to  do  in  the  future— whether  to  sell  the  article  tooHiers  or  to  confine  it  to  his  own  use,  or  any  other  line  of  policy 
whicli  is  best  .suited  to  him  and  to  his  township  or  county — we  will  enter  into  an  arrangement  with  him  that  will 
make  a  fortune  for  him  and  give  us  good  profits.  We  will  give  exclusive  townshia  or  county  privileges  to  the  first 
responsible  applicant  who  orders  a  test  i)ackage  and  desiresto  control  the  business  in  his  locality.  The  man  who 
wecureM  <'4>nirol  of  Ozone  tor  any  Hpevial  territory,  will  enjoy  a  monopoly  which  will  Mnrely 
enrich  him. 

Don't  let  a  day  I*ass  \intii  you  have  ordered  a  Test  Package,  aii<i  if  you  desire  to  secure  an  exclusive  privilege  we 
assure  you  that  delay  may  deprive  you  of  it,  for  the  applications  come  in  to  us  by  scores  every  mail— many  by 
telegraph.     "  First  come  first  served  "  is  our  rule. 

If  you  do  not  care  to  send  money  in  advance  for  the  test  package  we  will  send  it  C.  O.  D.,  but  this  will  put  you  to 
the  expense  of  charges  for  return  money.  Our  correspondence  is  very  large;  we  have  all  we  can  do  toattendto  the 
shipjiing  of  orders  and  giving  attention  to  our  working  agents.  Therefore  wc  can  not  give  any  attention  to  letters 
which  do  not  order  Ozone.  It  you  think  of  any  article  that  you  arc  doubtful  about  Ozone  prcscrvftig  remember  %ve 
guarj.ntee  thai  it  wiil preserve  it,  tw  matter  ivhat  it  is. 

f&e:f'isfie:nc£:s. 

We  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  a  cliuss  of  references  which  no  enterprise  or  firm  based  on  any  thing  but  the 
soundest  business  success  and  highest  commercial  merit  could  secure. 

^\'c  refer,  by  permission,  as  to  our  iiitegriiy  and  to  the  value  of  the  Prentiss  Preservative,  to  tlie  following 
gentlemen  :  Kdward  C  Koyce,  Member  Board  of  Public  Works;  E.  O.  Eshclby,  City  Comptroller;  Amor  .Smith.  Jr., 
Collector  Internal  Revenue;  Wulsin  &  Worthington.  Attorneys;  Martin  H.  Harrell  and  B.  F.  Hopkins.  County  " 
Commis-sioners;  W.  S.  Cappeller, County  Auditor;  all  of  Cincinnati,  Hamilton  County,  Ohio.  These  gentlemen  are 
eacii  familiar  with  the  merits  of  our  Preservative, and  know  from  actual   observation  tliat  we  ha\e  without  question 

The  Most  Valuable  Article  in  the  VVorld. 


A  FORTUNE 


TheS2  you  invest  in  a  test  package,  will  surely  lead  you  to  secure 
absolutely  clear  to  make  from  ?2.(i0U  to  ^10,000  a  year. 

Give  yourfuU  address  in  every  letter,  and  send  your  letter  to 


k  township  or  county,  and  then  your  way  la 


NoT-to» 


PRENTISS  PRESERVING  COMPANY.  (Limited,) 

S.  K,  Cor.  Ninth  iH  Jiace  Sts.,  Cincinnati,  O. 


IV. 


THE    LANCASTER    FARMER 


[Angugust.  1882 


WHERE  TO  BUY  GOODS 


IN 


LANCASTER. 


BOOTS  AND  SHOES. 


MaKSIIAI.I.  a-  S«»>'.  No.  12  Ccnlre  Square,  Lan- 
ca.ster.  Dealers  in  Boc.ts,  Shoes  ami  Rubbers.     Re- 
pairing promptly  atleude<l  to. 

Ml,KVY.No.  3  East  KinB  street.     For  the  bes 
,    Dollar  Shoes  in  Lancaster  go  to  M.  Levy,  No.  3 

East  Kin;;  street.  


BOOKS  AND   STATIONERY. 


J«H>'  BAEK'.SS«Si"S,  Xos.  l.'iand  17  North  Queen 
Street,  have  the  largest  and  best  assorted  Book  and 
I'aper  Store  in  the  City.  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

FUKNITURE. 


HBIM'I'.SH-!*,  No.  ir,\.'.  East  King  St.,   (over  China 
Hall)  is  the  cheapest"  place  in  Lancaster  to   buy 
Furniture.    Picture  Frames  a  specialty. 


CHINA  AND  GLASSWARE. 


HKiH  A-  JI.*RTI.>.  No.  1.5  Ea.st  King  St.,  dealers 
in  China,  Gliuss  and  (iucensware.   Fancy  Goods, 
Lamps,  Burners,  Chimneys,  etc.  


CLOTHING. 


M»'I'.11S  A  K.VTH  toy.  Centre  Hall,  No.  12  East 
King  St.     Largest  Cnotliing.House  in  Pennsylvania 
outside  of  Philadelphia  


DRUGS  AND   MEDICINES. 


GW.  HVI.l.,  Dealer  in  Pure  Drugs  and  Medicines 
,    Chemicals,  Patent  Jledicines,  Trusses,  Shoulde 
Braces,  Supporters,  &c.,  15  West  King  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa 

J«»HS  K.  I-0>'«  A-  SOJI.  Druggists,  No.  12  North 
Queen   St      Drugs.    Medicines,    Perfumery,    Spices, 
Dye  Stuffs  Etc.    Prescriptions  carefully  compounded. 


DRY  GOODS. 


GIVI.f.K    BOWKK.N  A-   JlVKSr,  No.  25  E.  King 
St     Lancaster,  Pa.,  Dealers  in  Dry  Goods,  Carpets 
and  Merchant  Tailoring.    Prices  as  low  as  the  lowest. 


HATS  AND   CAPS. 


CII    AMKK,  No.  »J   West   King  Street,   Dealer  in 
.     Hats,  Caps,  Furs,  Kobes,  etc.    Assortment  Large. 
Prices  J.ow.  


JEWELRY   AND  WATCHES. 


HSB.  RHOAI>S  A-  BK<»  ,    No.  4  West  King  St. 
.    Watches,  Clock  and  Musical  Boxes.     Watches 
and  Jewelry  Mannfacturcil  to  order.  


PRINTING. 


JOII.-*    A.    JllliM'AXH,  9  North  Queen  St.,  Sale 
Bills    Circulars,  Posters,  Cards,   Invitations,   Letter 
and  Bill  Headsaiid  Envelojics  neatly  printed.    Priceslow. 


Thirty-Six  Varieties  of  Cabbage;  26  of  Corn;  2S  of  Cu- 
uniber;  41  of  Melon:  Si  of  Peas;  28  of  Beans;  17  of 
JS<luash;  2.1  of  Beetaiul  40  of  Tomato,  with  other  varieties 
in  proiiortion.  a  large  portion  of  which  were  grown  on 
my  five  seed  farms,  will  be  ftiuiut  in  my  Vearotaljlo 
aiKl  Flower  So<'<l  4'iittiloKn<'  r«r  ISH2.  Sent  free 
to  all  who  apply,  f^lstomers  of  last  Se  ^son  need  not 
write  for  it.  .\11  See<l  sold  from  my  establishment  war- 
ranted to  be  fresh  and  true  to  name,  so  far.  that  should 
it  prove  otherwise,  I  will  rcllll  ilie  order  gr'itis.  The 
orj;;iiini  inlroillK'fr  of  Kiirly  4>liio  and 
Blirlinnk  I»«Ii>«04'm.  Marl>loll<-il<l.  Klirly  «'orii, 
the  Hnhlmrrt  S<iiins»i.  Miirblelle.lil  4'al>l>!«se. 
VhilllJO.v'H  Melon,  and  a  score  of  other  New  \'ctifta- 
blcs,  I  invite  the  patronage  of  the  public.  New  Vcfjcla- 
bles  a  specialty. 

J.MMES  J.  H.  ORFfJORY, 
Marblehead,  Mass. 
Nov-Gmo] 

EVAPORATE  YOUR  FRUIT. 

ILLUSTRATED    CATALOGUH: 

FREE  TO  ALL. 

AMERICAN  DRIER  COMPANY, 

CbnmbersbDrK,  Pa. 

Apl-tf 


Bloomsdale    Swede 
Ruta  Baga. 


FARMING  FOR  PROFIT. 

It  is  conceded  that  this  large  and  comprehensive  book, 
(advertised  in  another  column  by  J.  C.  McCurdy  &  Co  , 
of  Philadelphia,  the  well-known  publishers  of  Standard 
works  )  is  not  onlv  the  newest  and  handsomest,  but  alto- 
gether the  BEST  work  of  the  kind  which  has  ever  been 
published.  Thoroughly  treating  the  great  subjects  of 
general  Agriculture,  Live-Stock,  Fruit-Growing,  Busi- 
ness Principle.s,  and  Home  Life;  telling  just  what  the 
farmer  and  the  farmer's  boys  want  to  know,  combining 
Science  and  Practice,  stimulating  thought,  awakening 
inquiry,  and  interesting  every  member  of  the  family, 
this  book  must  exert  a  mighty  influence  for  good.  It  is 
highly  recommended  by  the  best  agricultural  writers 
and  the  leading  papers,  and  is  destined  to  have  an  ex- 
tensive sale.    Agents  are  wanted  everywhere.         jan-lt 

LANDRETH'S 

BLOOMSDALE  SWEDE,  OR  RETA  BAGA, 

Is  the  result  of  critical  selection,  and  has  proved  to  be 
unquestionably  the  most  desirable  of  all  known  strains  of 

PURPLE  TOP  YELLOW  RUTA  BAGA. 

The  foliage  is  not  supera- 
bundant, the  shape  is  nearly 
globular,  the  crown  deep 
purple,  and  the  flesh  a  deep 
yellow.  The  illustration  coa- 
veys  a  good  idea  of  the  shape 
assumed  by  this  strain. 

Also,  strap-leaved  Garden 
Ruta  Baga  Turnip,  white 
leshed, Purple  topKuta  Baga 
Turnip, Hanover  LongFrench 
>r  Sweet  German  Turnip, 
i'ellow  Aberdeen,  or  Scotch 
Yellow  Turnip,  Pomeranean 
Wiiite  Globe  {strap  leaved) 
Turnip,  Amber  Globe  (strap 
leaved)  Turnip,  Yellow  Stone 
Turnip,  Early  Flat  Dutch 
(strap  leaved)  Turnip,  the 
Flat  Red.  or  Purple  Top  (strap 
leaved)  Turnip,  Cow  Horn 
Turnip,  Early  White  Egg 
Turnip,  Large  Early  Red  Top 
Globe  Turnip,  Wliite  Norfolk 
Globe  Turnip,  Seven  Top 
Turnip. 

Every  farmer  should  sow  Turnip  Seeds.  A  good  stock 
of  turnips  is  the  best  and  most  economical  food  for  cattle 
during  the  winter  and  early  spring  months.  Also, 
turnips  grown  on  the  ground,  and  plowed  in,  make  very 
valuable  manui'e. 

Descriptive  and  Illustrated  Catalogue  free  on  applica- 
tion. 

D.  LANDRETH  &  SONS, 

AGRICULTURAL  AND  HORTICULTURAL  IMPLEMENT 
AND  SEED  WAREHOUSE, 

Nos.  21  and  23  South  Sixth  Street, 

Between   Market  and  Chestnut  Sts., 

and  s.  w.  cornek  delaware  avenue.  and  arch  st., 

apr-Om PHILADELPHIA. 

MERCHANT  TAILORING. 

1848     (The  Oldest  of  All.)     1881 

S.  S.  RATHVON, 

^MERCHAMT  TAILOR  AND    DRAPER, 

rtfipectfuUy  inform  the  public  that  having  disposed  of 
their  entire  stock  of  Keady-Made  Clothing,  theynow  do, 
aud  for  the  future  shall,  aevote  their  whole  attention  to 
thfi  tnSTOM  TKADE. 

All  the  desirable  styles  of  CLOTHS,  CASSIMERE-*, 
Wt>RSIEDS,  (BOATINGS,  SUITINGS  and  VESTINGS 
constantly  on  hand,  and  made  lo  order  in  plain  or  fash- 
ionable siyle  promptly,  and  warranted  satisfactory. 

All-Wool  Suit  from  $10  00  to  830.00. 

All- Wool  Pants  from  3.00  to    10.00. 

All-Wool  Vests  from  2  CO  to      6.00. 

Union  andTotton  Goods  proportionately  less, 

Cutting,  Repairh.g,  'I'riraraing  and  Makiug,  at  reason- 
able pri  es. 

Goods  rf-i  ailed  by  the  yard  to  those  who  desire  to  have 
ihem  mide  elsewhere 

\  full  supply  of  Spring  and  Summer  Goods  just 
opened  attd  o  j  hand, 

Thaiik.'ul  to  agenero'is  public  for  past  patronage  they 
hope  to  merit  its  continued  reccgnitionln  their  "new  de- 
parture." 

S   S-  RATHVOW, 

PRACTI    AI>  TAILOR, 

No.  lOl  North  Queen  Street, 

LANCASTER,  PA. 

1848  1881 


GLOVES,  SHIRTS,  UNDERWEAR. 


SHIRTS  MADE  TO  OEDEE 

AND  WARRANTED  TO  FIT. 


E.  J.  ERISMAN, 

56  North  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

-1-12] 


A  HOME  ORGAN  FOR  FARMERS. 


i  f ilEK, . 


A  MONTHLY  JOUKNAL, 

Devofed  to  Agriculture.  Horticulture,  Do- 
mestic Economy  and  Miscellany. 


Founded  Under  the  Auspices  of  the   Lancas 
ter  County  Agricultural  and  Horti- 
cultural Society. 


EDITED  BY  DR.  S.  S.  RATHVON. 


TERUS  OP  SUBSCRIPTION  : 

ONE  DOLLI^R  PER 

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Dr.  S.  S.  Rathvon,  who  has  so  ablj  managed  the  editorial 
department  in  the  past,  will  continue  in  the  position  of 
editor.  His  contributions  on  subjects  connected  with  th© 
science  of  farming,  and  particularly  that  specialty  of  which 
he  is  80  thorouhly  a  master — entomological  scieuce— some 
knowledge  of  which  has  become  a  necessity  to  the  success- 
ful farmer,  are  alone  worth  much  more  than  the  price  of 
this  publication.  He  Is  determined  to  make  *'The  Farmer' 
a  necessity  to  all  households, 

A  county  that  has  so  wide  a  reputation  as  Lancaster 
county  for  its  agricultural  products  should  certainly  be 
able  to  support  an  agricultural  paper  of  its  own,  for  the 
exchange  of  the  opinions  of  farmers  Interested  in  this  mat- 
oter.  We  ask  the  co-oporation  of  all  farmers  interested  in 
this  matter.  Work  among  your  friends.  The  "Farmer"  i 
only  one  dollar  per  year.  Show  them  your  copy.  Try  and 
induce  them  to  subscribe.  It  is  not  much  for  each  sub- 
scriber to  do  but  it  will  greatly  assist  us. 

All  commuuicationsin  regard  tothe  editorial  management 
should  be  addressed  to  Dr.  S.  S,  Rathvon,  Lancaster,  Pa., 
and  all  business  letters  in  regard  to  subscriptions  and  ad- 
vertising should  be  addressed  to  the  publisher.  Rates  of 
advertising  can  be  had  on  application  at  the  of&ce. 


lOHN  A.  HIESTAND. 

No.  9  North  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

ff  171)  A  WEEK.    $12  a  day  at  home  easily  made.    Costly 
91  ^.Outfit  free.  Address  Tbub  &  Co.,  Augusta,  Main» 


ONE  DOLLAR  PES  ANNUJ^ -SINGLE  COPIES  10  CENTS. 


Entered  »l  the    PONt  OIHce  at  Lancaster  as 
SeeoiKl  t'IntjH  Matter. 

CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER. 


EDITORIAL. 
State  and  County  Fairs  of  18S2 129 

Kitchen  Garden  for  September 129 

.Seed  Puri/iasing  a  Matter  of  Confidenea. 

Insect  Migrations  129 

The  Wheat  Crop  of  1882    130 

Luck  Good  Management  Manure. 
Tobbcco  Worms — Curious  Facts  Concerning  them  130 

Excerpts 132 

QUERIES  AND  ANSWERS. 

The  Royal  Horned  Caterpillar 133 

CONTRIBUTIONS. 

Gapes  in  Poultry 133 

Shallow  Cultivation 133 

Not  the  Tariff  Question US 

The  Eel— Its  Habit  and  Growth  133 

SELECTIONS. 

A  Grand  Haryest 134 

Occupation  and  Longevity- 134 

The  War  in  Egypt 135 

The  Climate  in  different  parts  of  the  Union 135 

Pure  and  Wholesome 135 

Temperature  and  Rainfall 136 

BaJn  Yard  Manures 136 

Preserving  Fence  Posts 136 

Some  Wheat  Statistics 136 

Importance  of  Having  a  Good  Queen 137 

Draining  of  Land 137 

The  Practical  and  the  Scientific  in  Agriculture 138 

OUR  LOCAL  ORGANIZATIONS. 

Lancaster  County' Agricultural  and  Horticultural 

Society 138 

Crop  Reports — Selecting  andBreeding  Dairy  Stock 
—The  (Question  Discussed — How  to  Secure 
Better  Meetings — Cutting  Corn  Fodder  for  Feed 
— Streaks  in  Rutlcr — How  to  Sow  Timothy  Seed 
— The  Best  Variety  of  Wheat — Following  Corn 
with  Wlieal — Forestry — Fruits  on  Exhibitiou — 
Berfcs  County  Fair. 

ThePotiltry  Society 140 

State  Board  of  Agriculture 140 

Fulton  Farmers' Club 140 

Articles  Exhibited— Address  of  Welcome — Seth  L. 
Kinscy — "Manual  Labor  and  How  it  May  be  En- 
couraged." 

AGRICULTURE. 

Pasture  Grasses 141 

Experiments  with  Green  Manuring 141 

Wheat  Raising 142 

What  of  the  Future  as  Regards  Grain 142 

What  Manure  Loses  by  Heating 142 

Good  Crops  in  Alabama 142 

Magnesia  for  Wheat 142 

HORTICULTURE. 

Keeping  Grapes  Fresh 142 

Beneficial  Effect  of  Mulching  on  Berrice 142 

Taking  in  Fall  Flowers 142 


Save  the  Peachstoncj 1*^ 

A  Hint  for  Window  Gardening 1*3 

HOUSEHOLD    RECIPES. 

143 


Fig  Pudding 

To  Whiten  Scorched  Linen 1*3 

To  Cook  Turnips 1*^ 

Almond  Cake 1*3 

Pan  Dowdy l*^ 

Smothered  Chieken 1*3 

Pumpkin  Pie 1*^ 

Sheep's-Head  Soup 1*3 

Pickled  Onions 1*3 

Lemon  Pudding 1*5 

Ready-Made  Glue 1*3 

Apple  Jelly 1*3 

A  Remedy  for  Diptheria 1*3 

Household  Hints 1*3 

Health  Hints 1*3 

Dry  Curing  Pork  and  Beef 143 

Stewed  Corn 144 

Brown  Sauce 144 

Boiled  Sweet  Corn 144 

Stewed  Corn  and  Tomatoes 144 

LIVE  STOCK. 

Improved  Sheep 144 

Management  of  Pigs 144 

A  New  Cattle  Disease 144 

Literary  and  Personal 144 


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The  Largest  Weekly  Paper 
in  the  State. 


«@-  GIVE  IT  A  TRIAL. 
JOHN  A.  HIESTAND,  Piopriator, 
No.  9  North  Queen  Street. 


fflTQAWEEK.    $12  a  day  at  home  easily  made.     Costly 
!P  (  Zoutfit  free.    Address  True  &  Co.,  Augusta,  Maine. 
jUQ-lyr* 


Bloomsdale    Swede 
Riita  Baga. 


LANDRETH'S 

mmmii  swede,  or  rita  b.\g.\, 

Is  the    resull  of  f-ritioal    jnclcctioii,  und  Iin.'*  proved  to  be 
unquestioimbly  tin-  most  de.-iral>lc  of  nil  known  slrtiinsof 

PURPLE  TOP  YELLOW  RUTA  BA«A. 

The  foliage  Is  not  supera- 
bini<l:itit.  the  sfmpe  is  nearly 
plobiilar,  the  crown  deep 
puri)Ie,  an«l  the  flewli  u  deep 
yeHow.  The  ilhistration  con- 
veys a  good  idea  of  the  shape 
assumed  by  this  strain. 

Also,  strap-leaved  Garden 
Ruta  Baj^a  Turnip,  white 
ih-shcd. Purple  topKiita  Baga 
Turn  ip, Hanover  LongFrencli 
>r  Sweet  German  Turnip. 
Yellow  Aberdeen,  or  Scotch 
Yellow  Turnip,  Pomeranean 
%Yliite  Gloho  (strap  leaved) 
Turnip,  Amber  Globe  (ntrap 
leaved;  Turnip,  Yellow  Stone 
Turnip.  Early  Flat  Dutch 
(strap  leaved)  Turnip,  the 
Flat  Red ,  or  Purple  Toji  (st  rap 
leaved)  Turnip,  Cow  Horn 
Turnip,  Karly  M'hite  Egg 
Turnip,  I.arge  Early  Red  Top 
Globe  Turnip,  White  Norfolk 
Globe  Turnii>,  Seven  Top 
Turnip. 

Every  farmer  sliould  8ow  Turnip  Seeds.  A  good  stock 
of  turnips  is  the  best  and  most  economical  food  for  cattle 
during  the  Avinter  and  early  spring  months.  Also, 
turnips  grown  on  the  ground,  and  plowed  in,  make  very 
valuable  manure. 

Descriptive  and  Illustrated  Catalogue  free  on  applica- 
tion. 

D.  LANDRETH  &  SONS, 

AGRICULTURAL  AND  HORTICULTURAL  IMPLEMENT 
AND  SEED  WAREHOUSE. 

Nos-  21  and  23  South  Sixth  Street, 

Between  Market  and  Chestnut  Sts., 

AND  S.    W.  COHKER    DELAWARE  AVENUK.  ANO  ARCII  ST., 

apr-Om PniLADELPHIA. 

.  __kw«  188S 

Will  t>«  mailed  rsiti  to  all  »opIIo»Bli,  ud  tncuitomer*  withoot 
orderini  It.  It.coaUin»  fiVa  colored  pltu»,  C^O  encrtrinrt, 
■bout  500  p«fM,  and  fulldotcriiMloDi,  prii-ei  aiirl  direcUim  for 
plftntlLj  liOO  vnrictici  of  VepeUbU  and  Flcwer  .Sc*d»,  Plir.ti, 
Fruit Trou,  etc.     loTKluabU  to  all.     Stud  for  It.     Addrctt, 

B.  M.  FEBBT  &  CO..  Detroit,  Hieh. 

Jan-4m 


djOCa  week  m  your  own  t 
ipOUAddrees  H.  Halleti 


jun-lyr* 


own.     Terms  nnd  $5  outfit  free 
ALLETT  &  Co.,  Portbud,  Maine. 


WE  WANT  Orn  BOOKK. 

\Ve  Want  Gehman  Books. 

AVE  WANT  BOOKS   PRINTED  IN  LANCASTER  CO. 

We  Want  All  Kinds  of  Old  Books. 

LIBRARIES,  ENGLISH  OR  GERMAN    BOUGHT. 

Cosh  paid  for  Books  in  any  quantity.    Send  your  addreas 

and  we  \v\\\  cail. 

REES  WELKH  «1-  CO., 

23  Soutli  Ninth  Street,  Philadelphia. 


II. 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


>ESXSTI>VAXIA  R%II.ROAl> 

Trams  leave  the  Depot  m  thia  city, 


WE  TWAKD. 

Pacific  Express" 

Way  Pasflengert   

Niagara  Express 

Hanover  Accommodation,. 

Mail  train  via  Mt.  Joy 

No.  2  via  Columbia 

Sunday  Mail 

Fast  Line*. 

Frederick  .\ccommodation . 

Harrisburg  Accom 

Columbia  Accommodation.. 

Harrisburg  Express 

Pittsburg  Express 

Cincinnati  Express" 

EASTWARD. 

Cincinnati  Express 

Past  Line* 

Harrisburg  Express 

Columbia  Accommodation.. 

Pacific  Express* 

Sunday  Mail 

Johnstown  Express 

Day  Express' 


Leavt^ 
Liiucaster. 

■2:40  a.  m. 

6:110  a.  m. 
11:00  a.  m. 
11:03  p.  m. 
10:20  a.  m. 
11.2.5  a.  m. 
10:60  a.  m. 

2;30p.  m. 

2:35  p.m. 

5:45  p.  m. 

7:20  p.  m. 

7:30  p.  m. 

8:50  p.  m. 
11:30  p.m. 

Lancaster. 
2..'>5  a.  m. 
5:03  a.  m. 
8:05  a.  ra. 
9.10  p.  m. 
:40  p  m. 
2:U0  p.  m. 
3:05  p.  m. 
5:3-5  p  m. 


SCIIEUCLE. 

as  follows : 

Arrive 

Harrisburg. 

4:05  a.  m. 

7:50  a.  m. 

11:20  a.  m. 

Col.  10:40  a.  m. 

12:40  p.  m. 

12:55  p.  m. 

12:40  p.  m. 

3:25  p.  m. 

Col.  2:45  p.  m. 

7:40  p.  m. 

Col.  8:20  p.  m. 

8:40  p.  m. 

10:10  p.  m. 

12:45  a.  m. 

Philadelphia 

3:00  a.  m. 

7:40  a.  m. 
10:00  a.  m. 
12:0'  p.  m. 

3:40  p.  m. 

6:00  p.  m. 

5:30  p.m. 

7:20  p.  m. 

9:30  p.  m. 


Harrisbiirg  Accom 6:25  p .  m. 

The  Hanover  Accommodation,  west,  connects  at  Lancaster 
mth  Niagara  Express,  west,  at  9:35  a.  m.,  and  wiU  run 
through  to  Hanover. 

The  Frederick  Accommodation,  west,  connects  at  Lancas- 
ter with  Fast  Line,  west,  at  2:10  p.  m.,  and  runs  to  Frederick. 

The  Pacific  Express,  e.is(,  on  Sunday,  when  flagged,  will 
stop  at  M:ddletown,  Elizabethtowu,  Mount  .Joy  and  Landis- 
ville. 

"The  only  trains  which  run  daily. 

tRuns  daily,  except  Monday. 

NORBECK  &  MILEY, 


PRACTICAL 


iage  Builders, 


cox  &  CO'S  OLB  STA\D, 

Cofoef  of  Dyke  and  Vine  Streets, 

LANCASTER,  PA. 


THE  LATEST  IMPROVED 

SIDE-BAR  BUGGIES, 

PH..4ETONS, 

Carriages,  Etc, 


Prices  to  Suit  tlie  Times. 

REPAIRING  promptly  attended  to.    All  work 
guaranteed. 

T9-2- 


Manufacturer  of 

Cirriages,  Buggies,  Phaetons,  etc. 

CHURCH  ST.,  NEAR  DUKE,      LANCASTER,  PA. 

Large  Stock  of  New  and  Secon-hand  Work  on  hand 
»«ry  cheap.  Carriages  Made  to  Order  Work  Warranted 
•r  OS*  year.  [71-9-18 


EDW.  I.  ZAHM, 


DEALRn   IN 


AMERICAN  AND  FOREIGN 

WATCHES, 

SOLID  SILVER  &  SILVER  PLATED  Vf  ARE, 
CLOCKS. 

JEWELRY  I  TABLE  CUTLERY. 

Sole  Ageut  for  the  Arundel  Tinted 

SPECTACLES. 

Repairiug  strictly  attended  to. 

North  Queen-2t.  and  Centre  Square,  Lancaster,  Pa. 
79-i-ri 

AT  I.©WE^T  POSSIBLE  PRICES, 

Fully   guaranteed. 

No.  106  EAST   KING  STREET, 

79-1-12]  Oppnxite  I^eopard  Motel. 


ESTABLISHED  1832. 


PA 


6.  SENER  &,  SONS, 

Mauufacturers  and  dealers  in  all  kinds  of  rough  and 
finished 

The  best  Sawed  SHIRTGI^ESiu  the  country.     Also  Sash, 
Doors,  Blinds,  Mouldings,  &c. 

PATENT  0.  G.  WEATHERBOARDING 

and  PATENT  BLINDS,  which  are  far  Buperior  to  any 
other.    Also  best  COAL  constantly  on  hand. 

OFFICE  AND  YARD  : 

Northeast  Corner  of  Prince  and  Walnnt-sts., 

LANCASTER,  PA.. I 

79-1-1 2 J 

PRACTICAL  ESSAYS  ON  ENTOMOLOGY, 

Embracing  the  history  and  habits  of 

NOXIOUS  AND  INNOXIOUS 


INSECTS, 


and  the  best  remedies  for  their  expulsion  or  extermination. 

By  S.  S.  RATHVON,  Ph.  D. 

LANCASTER,  PA. 

This  work  will  be  Highly  Illustrated,  and  will  be  put  in 
press  (as  soon  after  a  sufficient  number  of  subscribers  can 
be  obtained  to  cover  the  coat)  as  the  work  can  possibly  be 
accomplished. 
79-2- 


CR  \i\  C(|A  per  day  at  home.  Samples  worth  S5  free^ 
^J    LU   4>^U  Addxeasi^TLNSON^  Co.,  Portland,  Maine 


SEND  FOR 

On  CODCord  Grapevmes,  Ti'ansplauted  Evergreens.  Tulip, 
Poplar,  Linden  Maple,  etc.  Tree  Seedlings  and  Trees  for 
timber  plantations  by  tJie  lOil.ODO 

J.  JERKINS'  XTRSERY, 
3-2-79  WINONA,  COLUMBIANA  CO.,  OHIO. 


?;iooo  Re\«'ard 
o9  any  maddnt  hutlin< 
much  clover  seed  in  1 
as  (Tie 


VICTOR 

(Doable  UuUcr) 


Illus- 
trated 
Pamphlet 
raailed  free. 
Bewark  llarfalnpf  „. 

Kowark.O.  Fonncrlj  tL , 

HH^rit^wn  AfT.Imp.MfK  Co.  UKgeratoinUUd: 

july-3m] 


THE 


IMCiSIEI  EMIIIE 


OFFICE 


No,  9  North  Queen  Street, 


LANCASTER,  PA. 


THE  OLDEST  AND  BEST. 


THE  WEEKLY 

LANCASTER  EXAMINER 

One  of  the  largest  Weekly  Papers  in 

the  State. 
Published  ETcryJWeddnesay  Morning, 

Is  an  old,  well-eBtablished  newspaper,  and  contains  just  the 
news  desirable    to  make    it  an  interesting  and  valuable 
Family    Newspaper.     The  postage  to  eubcribers  residing 
outside  of  Lancaster  couuty  is  paid  by  the  publietier. 
Send  for  a  specimen  copy. 

T-wo  Dollars  per  Annum. 


THE  DAILY 


LANCASTER  EXAMINER 

The  Largest  Daily  Paper  in  the 
county. 

Published  Daily  Except  S  :  nday. 

The  daily  is' published  every  evening  during  the  week. 
It  is  delivered  in  the  City  and  to  surrounding  Towns  ac- 
cessible by  railroad  and  daily  stage  lines,  for  10  cents 
a  iveek. 

Mail  Subscription,  free  of  postage — One  month,  50 
cents;  one  year,   $5.00. 


JOHN  A.  HIESTAND,  Proprietor, 

No.  9  NortU  Queen  St., 


The  Lancaster  Farmer. 


Dr.  S.  S.  RATHVON,  Editor. 


LANC-ASTER,  PA.,  SEPTEMBER,  1882. 


Vol.  XIV.  No.  9. 


Editorial. 


STATE  AND  COUNTY    FAIRS    OF    1882. 

There  are  47  State  Fairs  in  the  United 
State.s  and  Canada — the  latU'r  liolding  six,  and 
several  of  our  States  holding  Iwo — for  the 
year  1882. 

Of  county  fairs  notices  of  (ITl  being  held  in 
21  States  have  been  published,  and  these  are 
conlined  to  the  Korthern  and  Border  States. 
Of  what  the  South  is  doing  in  this  direction 
we  liave  not  been  yet  advised.  Maine  holds 
17  county  fairs  ;  Massachusetts,  29  ;  Connec- 
ticut, 20  ;  New  Hampshire,  1 :  Verniout,  3  ; 
Rhode  Island,  2  ;  New  York,  48  ;  New  .Jersey, 
10  ;  Pennsylvania,  79  ;  Illinois,  80  ;  Indiana, 
08  ;  Iowa,  83  ;  Michigan.  34  ;  Ohio,  G9  ;  Kan- 
sas, 33  ;  Minnesota,  1 ;  Wisconsin,  12 ;  Ken- 
tucky, 12  ;  Maryland,  8 ;  Delaware,  1 ;  Vir- 
ginia, 1 ;  West  "\^irginia,  1.  The  largest 
number  are  held  in  Illinois,  only  10  of  the 
counties  holding  "no  fair,"  but  many  others 
holding  tico.  Pennsylvania  is  tliird  on  the 
list,  10  of  her  counties  holding  no  fairs,  namely, 
Perry,  Monroe,  Mitllin,  Huntingdon,  Frank- 
lin, Adams,  Cambria,  Cameron,  Centre  and 
Lancaster.  Lancaster,  perhaps  equals,  if  she 
does  not  exceed  all  the  other  non-holding 
counties  jjut  together  in  population,  wealth 
and  agricultural  resources — too  rich,  too  popu- 
lous, and  too  prominent,  perhaps,  to«eecZ  such 
an  adjunct  as  a  fair.  If  it  were  possible  for 
one  wide-awake  and  observant  individual  to 
visit  all  these  718  fairs,  what  a  multitude  of 
life's  phases  would  be  brought  under  his 
notice,  and  what  a  variety  of  local  produc- 
tions. There  may  be  much  labor,  expense 
and  vexation  of  spirit  attending  these  enter- 
prises, but  surely  there  must  be  some  com- 
pensation or  they  would  not  be  continued. 


KITCHEN  GARDEN  FOR  SEPTEMBER. 
In  the  Middle  States  many  and  varied  are 
the  duties  which  devolve  on  the  gardener  at 
this  season.  Not  only  do  the  growing  crops 
demand  attention,  but  seeds  are  to  be  sown  to 
provide  the  necessary  plants  for  the  ensuing 
spring.  Roots  are  to  be  divided  and  reset. 
Strawberry  beds  planted,  &c.  Cabbage,  .Jersey 
Wakefield,  and  Landreth'  Large  York,  sow, 
to  plant  out  in  autumn,  where  the  locality 
admits,  or  box  up  in  cold  fiame,  to  keep  till 
planting  time  in  spring ;  the  latter  end  of  the 
month  will  be  time  enough  to  sow  in  the  lati- 
tude of  Lancaster  county  ;  especially  sow  the 
newly  introduced  sub-variety  Bloomsdale ; 
also  Bloomsdale  Brunswick,  as  a  succession. 
Turnips,  the  early  Dutch  and  Red-topped  may 
be  sown  within  the  first  half  of  this  month, 
if  failure  has  attended  earlier  efforts.  In 
some  sections  the  tty  devours  the  early  sowing. 
They  are  less  voracious  after  the  nights  be- 
come cool  and  tlie  dews  heavy.  Celery,  earth 
up.  Corn  salad,  scurvy  grass  and  chervil,  sow 
for  winter  salad.  Lettuce,  sow  for  spring 
planting  ;  the  plants  to  be  kept  during  winter 
in  cold  frames.  The  better  sorts  for  autumn 
sowing  are  the  Dutch  Butter,  Royal  Cabbage, 


Bloomsdale  Early  Sumiuer,and  India.  Spinach 
.Sow  early  in  the  montli  for  autumn  use  ;  later 
winter  and  spring.  Turnii)s  and  Rata  Baga, 
cultivate. 

Seed  Purchasing  a  Matter  of  Confidence. 

It  is  cixlirthj  so.  The  man  who  buys  dry- 
goods,  groceries,  corn  or  cotton,  can,  to  a 
very  considerable  extent,  judge  of  the  ([uality 
and  value  of  the  article.  This  is  not  the  case 
witk  seeds.  Simjjly  because  a  dealer  says  a 
certain  cabbage  seed  he  holds  in  his  hand  is 
"large  late  fiat  Dutch"  it  does  not  follow 
that  it  is  so  ;  he  may  liave  been  deceived  him- 
self. No  one  can  tell  till  valuable  time  and 
labor  has  been  expended  on  the  crop.  No 
other  commodity  but  drugs  is  so  entirely  a 
matter  of  confidence.  It  behooves  every  one 
to  get  his  supplies  from  dealers  of  recog- 
nized repute  ;  men  who  have  a  reputation  .at 
stake  which  they  value.  Cheapness  at  once 
is  sulhcient  to  raise  a  doubt  both  as  to  vitality 
and  quality.  Good  seeds  have  a  value — they 
cannot  be  clicap,  in  the  common  acceptation 
of  the  word. — Lanclreth''s  Rural  Register. 

Of  course  the  foregoing,  in  relation  to  seeds, 
is  not  intended  as  a  rellection  upon  any  one 
engaged  in  the  seed  business,  except  such  as 
pursue  it  fraudulently.  A  man  who  possessed 
a  great  reputation  as  a  seedsman  would  also 
possess  a  greiit  opportunity  to  perpetrate  a 
fraud,  but  he  would  soon  be  found  out.  Re- 
tailers of  seeds  may  intend  no  deception 
whatever,  and  yet  may  most  egregiously  de- 
ceive, because  they  may  have  been  deceived 
themselves.  The  best  plan  is  either  to  buy 
from  the  seedsman  himself,  or  from  his  ac- 
credited agent.  Landrcth's  sealed  jiackages 
we  believe  can  be  safely  recommended  to  our 
patrons. 


INSECT  MIGRATIONS. 
Nothing  seems  to  be  more  indisputable,  or 
more  fully  autliontic.ated,  than  the  migratory 
habits  of  some  species  of  insects — indeed,  the 
great  African  Locust  (  Locusta  miijratoriei]  has 
received  its  si)ecific  name  from  that  very 
habit ;  but,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  that 
insects  do  not  migrate  in  the  same  sense  that 
birds  do.  Birds,  except  a  few  local  species, 
at  the  end  of  every  summer  season,  migrate 
to  a  warmer  region  of  the  earth  than  the  one  in 
which  they  have  passed  the  summer  and  reared 
their  broods,  and  this  is  especially  the  case 
with  insectivorems  birds.  In  the  northern 
temperate  zone,  at  least,  they  migrate  south- 
ward in  the  autumn  of  the  year,  and  return 
again  to  their  old  haunts  in  the  spring,  and  it 
is  on  record  that  the  same  pair  have  occupied 
the  same  nest  for  different  periods,  covering 
from  five  to  fifteen  years,  or  more.  And,  we 
may  infer,  a  priori,  that  those  that  pass  the 
summer  in  the  south  temper.ate  zone,  at  the 
end  of  the  season,  migrate  northward,  and 
return  again  to  their  old  haunts  in  the  spring. 
Although  some  of  the  birds  that  visit  the 
northern  zones  in  the  summer  may  leave  the 
continent  altogether,  and  pass  our  winter  sea- 
son in  the  West  India  Islands,  yet  the  larger 


number  only  remove  to  our  Southern,  or  tlie 
Mexican  States,  seemingly  all  the  wliile  hang- 
ing on  the  Verge  of  spring.  About  live  and 
forty  years  ago  we  passed  a  winter  in  Oldham 
county,  Kentucky,  and  we  were  rather  sur- 
prised, during  a  few  warm  days  in  the  first 
half  of  .January,  to  find  the  woods  and  the 
fields  nunierously  inhabited  l)y  Robins,  Blue- 
birds, Red-lieaded  Woodpeckers,  Flickers 
(Golden-winged  Woodpeckers)  Black-birds, 
Wrens,  Sapsuckers,  and  a  nnraber  of  other 
familiar  examples.  After  a  week  of  balmy 
spring  weather  there  followed  a  sudden 
change  in  the  temperature  ;  a  snow  fell  sudi- 
cient  to  afl'ord  tolerable  sleighing  for  two  or 
three  days,  clearing  up  cold  and  freezing ; 
after  which  not  a  single  bird  could  be  seen. 
A  similar  warm  spell  occurred  again  about 
th(^  loth  of  February,  when  the  birds  returned 
with  greatly  augmented  numbers,  but  retired 
again  before  the  cold  bla.sts  that  ushered  in 
the  month  of  March.  We  then  left  the  State 
and  cannot  say  how  soon  the  birds  returned 
again,  but  according  to  our  observation  they 
seemed  to  be  ail  the  while  "waiting  and  watch- 
ing" for  the  julvent  of  spring  and  summer. 
It  is  not  so  with  insects.  When  we  say  "not 
so  "  in  regard  to  insects,  we  mean  that  it  is 
not  so  in  the  same  sense  or  degree,  for  there 
.are  some  apinoximations  among  some  insects 
to  the  migratory  habits  of  birds. 

Again,  among  mammals  iuid  among  fishes 
we  find  abundant  testimony  to  this  habit,  and 
especially  In  reference  to  the  latter.  Those 
persons  residing  on  or  near  the  Susquehanna 
river,  in  our  own  county,  are  well  aware  of 
the  upward  migrations  of  the  adult  shad  in 
the  spring,  and  the  downward  migrations  of 
the  young  shad  in  the  fall.  The  seine  fisheries, 
for  a  long  series  of  years,  have  proved  the 
former,  and  the  fish  pots,  or  "baskets,"  have 
borne  lamentalile  evidence  of  the  latter.  This 
has  also  been  evinced  to  a  considerable  degree 
in  regard  to  rock-fish,  carp,  several  species  of 
perch,  and  last,  not  least,  the  eels ;  but  in 
this  last  instance  the  migratory  periods  are 
reversed — that  is,  eels  migrate  towards  the 
head-waters  of  the  streams  when  they  are 
young — from  three  to  five  or  six  inches  in 
length— and  in  the  late  spring;  and  migrate 
downward,  in  the  adnlt  state,  in  the  fall. 
Both  of  these  positions  have  been  established 
by  testimony  as  incontrovertible  as  that  re- 
lating to  sli.ad,  although  it  has  some  excep- 
tionable or  modifying  phases.  But  then,  it 
will  be  observed,  in  both  of  these  cases,  that 
it  is  not  the  same  individuals  that  go  and  re- 
turn .again  in  either  case,  in  which  they  great- 
ly dilTer  from  migratory  birds. 

As  to  mammals,  from  our  early  boy- 
hood we  were  impressed  with  the  stories  of 
the  western  migrations  of  squirrels,  and 
especially  in  the  States  of  Ohio  and  Indi- 
ana. These  occurrences  were  frequent  for  a 
long  .series  of  years  afterwards — the  squirrels 
even  swimming  across  the  Ohio  and  other 
rivera  in  passing  from  one  locality  to  another. 
These  animals  were  not  only  a  nuisance,  but 


130 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


tSeotember) 


also  a  source  of  considerable  destruction  to 
the  ripe  corn  crops  standing  in  the  fields,  and 
their  migrations  were  doubtless  governed  by 
a  question  of  food.  Organized  parties  annu- 
ally slaughtered  thousands  of  them,  so  that 
now  perhaps  such  migrations  do  not  occur, 
it  is  also  on  record  that  rats,  mice,  &c.,  for 
the  same  rersous,  occasionally  migrate. 

As  to  migratory  insects,  neither  In  the  great 
African  locust,  nor  yet  in  the  "  Kocky  Moun- 
tain Locust"  of  our  own  country,  is  it  the 
same  individuals  that  return  towards  the 
locality  from  whence  their  progenitors 
migrated,  but  an  entirely  new  generation,  in 
which  they  very  materially  differ  from  birds. 
After  the  locusts  have  devoured  all  the  herb- 
age in  the  locality  where  they  have  been  bred, 
or  may  have  subsequently  located  them.selves, 
it  is  but  natural  to  suppose  that  when  they 
make  their  departure  they  go  in  quest  of  new 
feeding  grounds  ;  but,  what  should  induce  a 
subsequent  brood  to  return  to  the  point  of 
their  ancestral  departure,  must  remain  an 
enigma,  unless  we  may  suppose  that  their 
movements  are  merely  incidental,  governed 
by  "  wind  and  tide,"  and  without  any  of  that 
instinctive  judgment  so  manifest  in  some  of 
the  higher  animals.  We  only  know  for  certain 
that  they  come  and  go  again.  The  "Array- 
worms,"  we  may  legitimately  suppose,  in 
their  various  migrations,  are  in  quest  of  new 
pasture,  having  devoured  all  that  is  desirable 
in  the  fields  they  abandon. 

The  "Colorado  Potato  Beetle,"  in  its  migra- 
tions, from  the  time  it  left  its  Rocky  Moun- 
tain wilds,  and  perseveringly  bent  its  course 
eastward,  was  doubtless  mainly  governed  by 
gastronomical  considerations,  and  yet  it  may 
have  been  under  a  migratorial  impulse  tliat  it 
could  not  disobey.  During  one  of  our  visits 
to  the  Atlantic  coast,  in  the  State  of 
Delaware,  we  found,  for  five  or  six  miles 
along  the  beach,  many  thousands  of  these 
beetles  (and  also  other  species),  and  almost 
every  returning  wave  dashed  others  on  the 
beach,  some  of  which  were  yet  living.  Dela- 
ware that  year  was  seriously  infested  by 
them ;  but  why  they  should  leave  the  green 
potato  fields,  Hy  two  or  three  miles  across  a 
sandy  fiat,  destitute  of  succulent  vegetation, 
and  out  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  only  to  drop 
in  and  become  food  for  fishes,  or  be  cast  upon 
the  shore  again,  it  would  be  ditticult  to  find 
out,  unless  they  were  driven  out  by  the  wind, 
or,  in  obedience  to  that  characteristic  impulse 
to  be  ever  on  "  the  go,"  which  has  been  such 
a  distinguished  feature  of  their  advent. 

In  August  and  September,  1839,  the  com- 
mon "  Red-legged  Locust,"  {Caloplenus femer- 
rubrum)  was  more  abundant  in  Lancaster 
county  than  it  has  ever  been  since,  or  perhaps 
than  it  ever  had  been  before.  Its  destructive 
character  was  plainly  visible  in  many  of  the 
corn  fields,  and  amongst  other  species  of 
vegetation.  Towards  the  end  of  September 
they  began  to  migrate  ;  and,  to  a  considerable 
height,  the  air  was  full  of  them.  They  did 
not  seem  to  manifest  any  special  purpose  as  to 
direction,  but  merely  rose  to  fifty  or  a  hun- 
dred feet  in  height,  and  apparently  submitted 
themselves  to  the  control  of  the  prevailing 
wind.  What  astoni.shed  every  beholder  was, 
that  they  had  the  power  to  rise  so  high.  Tliey 
were  mainly  carried  southeast  by  the  winds 
coming  from  the  northwest. 


But,  perhaps,  the  more  marked  insect  migra- 
tions have  been  among  the  diurnal  Lepidoptra 
—Butterflies.  In  our  very  first  entomological 
readings,  over  forty  years  ago,  we  were  im- 
pressed with  the  extraordinary  migrations  of 
the  "  Painted  Lady  Butterfly,"  (  Vanessa  car- 
dui)  from  the  continent  into  England  across 
the  straits  of  Dover.  If  we  have  not  this 
identical  insect  in  this  country,  we  have  one 
so  near  like  it  as  to  be  indistinguishable  and 
it  is  just  as  likely  to  have  migrated  hither  by 
various  stages,  as  to  have  been  brought  here 
by  other  means,  and  it  is  now  Hlmost  a  cosmo- 
politan. But,  our  own  "Milk-weed,"  or 
"  Wild-cotton  "  butterfly,  {Dannis  archippiis), 
is  a  more  familiar  example  of  these  migra- 
tions than  any  that  has  yet  been  recorded,  for 
according  to  papers  published  in  the  Canadian, 
and  also  in  the  American  Entomologist,  these 
butterflies  have  gathered  together  in  large 
flocks  and  have  migrated  to  Florida,  where 
the  trees  have  been  "literally  festooned"  with 
them.  And  this  is  the  more  curious  from  the 
fact  that  there  is  far  less,milk-weed  there  than 
there  is  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  from 
whence  they  departed.  Of  course  the  milk- 
weed is  of  no  account  to  them  as  a  butterfly, 
(only  the  larva  feeding  on  it,)  and  therefore 
they  must  instinctively  have  gone  South,  as  a 
safe  place  of  hibernation.  Except  a  very  few 
straggling,  gravid  females,  they  never  get 
back  again  to  their  native  valley,  and  it  is 
questionable  if  ever  these  do  personally,  there- 
fore their  migrations  differ  from  that  of  birds. 


THE  WHEAT  CROP  OF   1882. 

Luck — Good   Management — Manure. 

Our  last  wheat  crop  was  one  of  the  best  we 
have  had  for  many  years  ;  the  yield  was  from 
15  all  the  way  up  to  40  bushels  per  acre, 
averaging  about  27  bushels  for  the  entire 
connty.  Those  persons  who  fed  their  corn 
into  stock  cattle,  or  bought  stable  manure, 
brought  from  Philadelphia  or  Pittsburg,  got 
their  40  bushels  from  the  acre  ;  and  those 
who  kept  on  farming  in  the  old  way,  pastur- 
ing close  in  the  summer  and  feeding  no  cattle 
in  the  winter,  were  the  ones  who  got  only 
from  1.5  to  20  bushels  to  the  acre.  Feeding 
and  making  stock  cattle  fat  depends  a  great 
deal  on  good  judgment  in  buying  and  selling, 
and  requires  the  best  attention  during  the 
winter  season. 

Last  spring  will  be  long  remembered  as  an 
extraordinary  one  for  both  good  and  bad  luck 
in  fattening  cattle.  Cattle  were  bought  in 
the  fall  of  1881  for  from  3  to  5  cents  per 
pound.  For  5  cents  you  could  buy  steers 
nearly  fat,  weighing  from  1,000  to  1,300 
pounds.  In  the  early  part  of  1882  small  steers 
were  sold,  when  fat,  at  from  4|-  to  5  cents  per 
pound,  and  gradually  advanced  in  price  until 
June,  when  the  best  brought  from  8  to  9  cents 
per  pound.  Farmers  got  well  paid  for  their 
corn,  realizing,  according  to  good  lucl-,  from 
50  ceuts  up  to  $2  00  per  bushel. 

Farming  is  like  everything  else.  "What- 
ever is  worth  doing  at  all  is  worth  doing  well," 
hence  the  success  of  farming  depends  largely, 
and  in  many  cases  entirely  on  good  manage- 
ment. I  have  a  neighbor  who  has  a  forty 
acre  farm,  and  he  feeds  five  or  six  steers,  and 
he  yearly  got  as  much  as  400  bushels  of  wheat 
from  12  acres.  He  also  sells  from  $300  to  1400 


worth  of  tobacco  from  his  place,  and  is  im- 
proving it  all  the  time,  but  he  is  one  of  the 
"come  boys"  stamp.  We  are  getting  too 
many  of  the  "  go  boys  "  farmers,  and  they  are 
generally  among  the  unsuccessful. 

Our  lands  will  be  made  to  increase  in  fer- 
tility and  value,  through  our  cattle  feeding, 
and  from  manures  brought  from  the  cities  of 
Philadelphia  and  Pittsburg,  or  elsewhere, 
when  we  have  not  a  sutficient  supply  of  our 
own  making. 

A  good  coating  of  barnyard  manure  will 
make  a  good  crop  of  wheat,  and  will  be  fol- 
lowed by  a  good  crop  of  grass  and  corn.  I 
am  strongly  in  favor  of  enriching  our  soil 
from  its  own  drafts — have  more  faith  in  good 
stable  manure  than  in  all  your  forcing  fer- 
tilizers, and  lime  thrown  into  the  bargain. 

Cattle  and  corn  are  both  high  in  price,  and 
things  may  look  a  little  demoralized  just  now, 
and  if  beef  should  fall  as  suddenly  as  it  rose 
then  there  may  be  some  danger  of  small 
profits  in  feeding  stock.  Our  compensation 
will  then  be  in  the  manure, — L.  S.  li.,  Oregon. 
Sept.,  1882. 

[We  have  taken  the  liberty  to  italicise  the 
words  "luck"  and  "good  management"  in 
our  contributor's  otherwsie  excellent  paper, 
because  it  seems  to  involve  a  contradiction. 
Does  not  good  luck  depend  on  good  manage- 
ment ?  If  so,  then  the  converse  must  be 
govered  by  a  similar  rule  or  its  absence.] 


TOBACCO    WORMS— CURIOUS    FACTS 
CONCERNING  THEM. 

We  have  before  us  a  large  specimen  of  a 
green  "  Horn  worm  " — two  inches  and  a-half 
long,  and  an  inch  and  a-half  in  circumfer- 
ence— which  was  brought  to  us  as  a  "great 
curiosity."  It  is  wonderful  that  the  phe- 
nomenon which  we  shall  attempt  to  describe 
should  be  still  regarded  as  a  great  curiosity, 
especially  since  we  first  noticed  it  fully  forty 
years  ago,  and  hardly  a  year  has  passed  since 
then  in  which  we  have  not  noticed  it,  and 
often  half  a  dozen  times  in  the  same  season. 
This  worm  is  the  larva  of  one  of  the  great 
"Hawk-moths,"  or  "Humming  BirdMoths," 
known  to  entomologists  under  the  names  of 
Macrosila  Carolina  or  qidnque  maculata — two* 
species  that  have  a  close  specific  alliance,  and 
the  larvffi  of  both  of  which  feed  upon  the  to- 
bacco plant ;  also,  upon  the  tomato,  the 
potato  and  the  egg  plants,  and  perhaps  on 
other  solanaceous  vegetation.  Before  the  in- 
troduction of  the  tobacco  plant  so  generally 
in  the  county  of  Lancaster,  we  found  this 
worm  usually  on  the  potato  or  tomato  plants. 
The  moths  can  easily  be  distinguished,  the 
first-named  being  rather  small  in  size  and 
lighter  in  color  than  the  last  named,  but  the 
larvfe  to  us,  at  least,  are  not  readily  distin- 
guishable. 

Perhaps  the  curiosity  did  not  consist  so 
much  in  the  worm  itself,  as  in  the  fact  that  it 
was  covered  over  its  entire  body — except  the 
undcrpart — from  the  head  to  the  very  last 
segment,  almost  hiding  the  posterior  horn, 
with  a  compact  coating  of  small  white  spindle- 
shaped  cocoons,  resembling  small  grains  of 
rice  attached  to  the  skin  of  the  worm  by  one 
end,  and  so  close  together  that  the  body  of 
the  worm  could  not  be  seen  between  them. 
We  had  never  seen  so  many  on  one  worm  be- 
fore, and  we  were  astonished  that  the  host 


1882.  J 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


131 


possessed  so  much  vitality  uiuler  such  di'.- 
plcting  circumstances.  The  worm  was  brought 
to  us,  witli  a  part  of  the  tomato  i)lant  on 
wliicli  it  was  found,  on  the  9th  of  August, 
and  on  the  morning  of  the  12th  most  of  the 
cocoons  were  deftly  cut  off  at  the  upper  ends 
and  fully  three  hundred  small  four-winged 
(lies  had  issued  forlli,  and  were  vainly  trying 
to  make  their  escape  from  the  glass  jar  in 
which  we  had  conlined  the  worm.  Tlic  worm 
still  continued  to  crawl  over  the  plant  but 
was  evidently  much  weakened.  It  seem(;d 
also  to  be  annoyed  by  the  pressure  of  the  Hies, 
and  feobly  struck  about  witli  both  ends,  as 
though  it  desired  to  get  rid  of  something  very 
disagreeable. 

The  worm  belongs  to  the  crepuscularian 
Lepidoptcra  (Twilight-flying  moths)  and  the 
little  four-winged  flies  belong  to  their  para- 
sitic Hyriunoptera,  of  which  there  is  a  very 
large  family  [U-lmcionoiidin') — the  Mknnjaster 
congrcgatn,  or  a  specific  closely  allied.  Suj)- 
posing  the  worm  to  be  about  dying  we  at- 
tached it  to  a  cork  and  suspended  it  in  a  small 
jar  of  alcohol ;  and,  although  it  suffered  us  to 
run  a  needle  and  thread  through  its  head,  and 
by  a  similar  process  attach  a  small  leaden 
weight  to  its  tail,  with  almost  entire  impunity, 
yet,  when  we  suspended  it  in  the  alcohol,  it 
writhed  vigorously  for  live  minutes,  and  de- 
tached about  twenty-five  of  the  follicles  from 
the  thoracic  segments.  The  worm  and  all  the 
flies  are  carefully  jirescrved  in  alcohol.  There 
cannot  be  much  less  than  three  hundred  and 
fifty  of  them,  but  we  shall  base  our  estimates 
on  the  round  number  of  three  hundred  in  our 
remarks.  This  phenomenon  surely  furnishes 
food  for  practical  reflection  in  its  connection 
with  insect  economy.  Suppose  this  worm  to 
have  been  a  female,  which,  had  she  developed 
the  moth,  would  have  been  able  to  have  de- 
posited at  least  three  hundred  eggs  (on  one 
occasion  we  counted  more  than  that  number) 
the  possibilities,  therefore,  existed  to  have  re- 
produced three  hundred  horn-worms  at  least. 
Now,  we  will  suppose  that  one-half  of  that 
number  would  have  been  females  endowed 
with  the  same  reproductive  powers,  and  the 
result  would  have  possibly  been  an  increase 
of  forty-five  thousand  horn-worms  for  next 
season,  aud  all  the  legacy  of  a  single  worm. 
Perhaps  out  of  these  forty-five  thousand  not 
five  thousand  would  have  fallen  victims  to  the 
most  efficient  remedies,  nor  yet  that  number 
have  reached  maturity.  What  then  would 
have  become  of  the  other  thirty  thousand. 
Let  us  see.  It  would  be  going  too  far  beyond 
the  pale  of  probability  to  suppose  that  only 
one-half  of  the  parasites  would  have  been 
females,  for  the  females  among  these  insects 
always  greatly  exceed  the  males  in  number — 
a  hundred,  a  thousand,  and  often  ten  thous- 
and to  one.  This  has  especially  been  the  case 
among  the  gregarious  gall-insects  which  are 
parasitic  on  plants.  Out  of  these  three  hun- 
dred little  microyasters  we  must,  therefore, 
claim  two  hundred  aud  seventy  females  at 
least,  capable  of  reproducing  eiglity-one  thous- 
and parasitic  enemies  to  the  three  hundred 
horn-worms,  or  over  seven  millions  against 
the  forty-fly e  thousand  horn- worms,  perhaps 
not  as  probabilities,  but  as  ultimate  possibili- 
ties, all  other  things  being  equal. 

Now,  we  advise  tobacco-growers,  gardeners, 
fruit-growers  and  agriculturists  in  general, 


that,  whenever  they  discover  a  horn-worm,  or 
any  other  kind  of  worm,  infested  with  these 
or  similar  parasites,  tliey  "severely  let  it 
alone,"  and  allow  nature  to  take  its  course. 
There  is  no  danger  of  such  worms  ever  doing 
any  further  damage,  and  by  crushing  them  or 
tramping  them  under  foot,  they  may  be  only 
destroying  a  multitude  of  little  insect  friends. 
During  the  past  foi'ty  years  we  have  liad  at 
least  one  hundred  worms  of  different  kinds 
infested  by  parasites  brought  under  our-ol> 
servation,  and  we  never  knew  a  single  in- 
stance in  which  any  of  them  survived.  All 
eventually  perished.  Therefore,  the  wisest 
economy  is  not  to  distur1)them,  but  to  permit 
the  parasites  to  develop,  and  when  developed 
they  will  find  another  or  scores  of  other 
worms  that  will  serve  as  niduses  for  future 
generations.  They  will  find  those,  perhaps, 
that  eluded  the  utmost  vigilance  of  the  to- 
bacco cultivators,  who  generally  relax  their 
watchfulness  as  soon  as  the  crop  is  harvested, 
after  which  hundreds  of  worms,  left  in  the 
field,  are  permitted  to  mature  and  go  into 
winter  pupation  in  the  ground.  Should  any 
of  these  late  worms  go  into  the  ground,  car- 
rying in  their  bodies  the  eggs  or  immature 
larva;  of  the  parasites,  althoush  they  might 
be  able  to  eftect  their  pupal  transformations, 
yet  the  moths  will  never  be  evolved. 

Perhaps  tlie  naked  caterpiliars  (those  quite 
or  nearly  destitute  of  hair)  are  more  liable  to 
these  parasitic  infestations  than  iliose  that 
are  protected  by  long  stiff  hairs,  but  even 
some  of  these  will  develop  a  fevi'.  We  have 
found  on  opening  the  tough  follicle  of  the 
"  sack  worm  "  [Thyridopicryxephemariformis) 
on  several  occasions,  that  the  inner  cavity 
was  packed  nearly  full  of  the  small  cocoons 
of  a  hymenopterous  parasite.  Now,  no  bird 
can  dislodge  the  larva;  of  this  insect  from  its 
strong  cocoon,  which  it  always  carries  with  it 
wherever  it  goes.  We  have  seen  both  chickens 
and  birds  attempt  it,  but  they  always  have 
abandoned  it  without  accomplishing  their 
object.  But  it  seems  these  parasites  can  cir- 
cumvent those  almost  otherwise  unapproach- 
able worms,  which  affords  an  ample  illustra- 
tion of  the  superiority  of  parasitic  infestation 
over  all  other  known  remedies,  either  natural 
or  artificial.  Of  course,  there  are  different 
genera  and  different  species  even  among  those 
that  affect  worms  in  a  similar  manner.  Those 
before  us  now  constructed  white  cotton-like 
cocoons,  but  there  are  others  more  silky. 
They  are,  however,  not  all  white ;  some  are 
difl'erent  shades  of  yellow,  some  drab-colored, 
and  some  brownish. 

Of  course,  in  one  sense,  parasitic  infesta- 
tions may  be  classed  among  natural  remedies, 
but  in  this  paper  wc  wish  them  imdenstood  as 
entirely  distinct.  Natural  remedies  may 
therefore  be  interpreted  to  mean  those  ani- 
mals that  naturally  or  incidentally  feed  on  in- 
sects themselves  or  provide  them  for  their 
young — such,  for  instance,  as  birds,  poultry, 
skunks,  moles,  swine,  etc.,  and  may  also  in- 
clude such  predaceous  insects  as  capture  or 
feed  upon  other  insects  for  their  own  suste 
nance,  such,  for  instance,  as  dragon-flies, 
tiger-beetles,  ant-lions,  wheel-bugs,  camel- 
crickets  and  many  others.  But  all  these  are 
either  spasmodic  or  indiscriminate,  or  both, 
in  their  antagonism  to  the  insect  world.  They 
destroy  friendly  and  innoxious  insects,  as  well 


as  those  that  are  noxiou.s,  and  some  of  them 
only  devour  insects  when  they  can  obtain 
nothing  better  ;  others  survive  only  for  a 
brief  season,  and  others  again  desist  when 
they  are  surfeited,  so  that  they  are  inconstant 
in  their  antagonism  with  insects. 

Nothing  could  be  more  spasmodic  than  the 
application  of  artificial  remedies  for  the  de- 
struction of  our  insect  pests,  for  tliese  are 
mainly  governed  by  the  caprice  of  man.  They 
seldom  if  ever  anticipate  the  eflluxor  influxof 
noxious  insects,  and  are  generally  only  ap- 
plied when  the  enemies  of  vegetation  have 
been  augmented  and  have  become  destructive. 
The  remedy  is  then  liable  to  be  applied  at  the 
wrong  time  and  place,  or  the  quality  of  the 
material  used  may  be  inferior,  or  the  quantity 
may  be  excessive  or  insufficient,  or  it  may 
not  come  in  contact  with  the  subjects  int- 
tended  to  be  destroyed.  Many  people  use  a 
remedy  as  a  patient  takes  a  pill— shuts  his 
eyes,  swallows  it  at  random,  and  then  lets  it 
work  its  way  through  the  stomach  and  bowels 
as  best  it  may.  We  by  no  means  intend  to 
disparage  either  natural  or  artificial  remedies, 
for  often  contingencies  arise  when  it  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  do  sometliing,  and  that 
pronijitly,  too,  in  order  to  rescue  a  crop  from 
destruction;  but  when  the  evil  is  overwhelm- 
ingly present,  it  is  very  seldom  that  artflcial 
remedies  ever  amount  to  anything.  The 
Chinch  Bug,  the  Rocky  Mountain  Grass- 
hopper and  the  Colorado  Potato  Beetle  have 
not  been  exterminated  beyond  a  perad  venture, 
and  may  become  abundant  whenever  meteo- 
rological aud  other  combmations  are  favor- 
able. 

Parasitic  infestation,  however,  occupies  a 
very  different  ground  in  its  relations  to  the 
noxious  tribes;  it  is  not  merely  spasmodic  in 
its  operations,  lint  on  the  contrary,  it  is  con- 
stant aud  continuous,  and  in  obedience  to  an 
unalterable  dictate  of  nature.  We  might 
almost  as  reasonably  expect  a  fish  to  cast  its 
spawn  in  a  hay-mow,  or  a  robin  to  build  its 
nest  on  the  bottom  of  a  mill  dam,  as  for  a 
parasitic  insect  to  find  any  other  nidm  for  its 
eggs  than  the  body  of  a  living  caterpiller, 
grub  or  worm;  and  there  is  sufficient  analogi- 
cal evidence  to  lead  to  the  conclusion  that 
there  is  not  an  insect  species  on  earth  that  has 
not  one  or  more  parasitic  enemies.  In  the 
general  equipoise  of  nature's  economy  the 
bane  and  antidote  go  hand  in  hand,  but 
through  human  intervention  this  equilibrium 
is  disturbed  or  entirely  destroyed.  This  is 
especially  the  case  where  the  noxious  insests 
of  one  realm  have,  through  commercial  inter- 
course, been  introduced  into  another  of  a 
similar  climate.  The  bane  may  be  introduced 
and  not  the  antidote,  and  hence  an  insect 
that  was  not  specially  destructive  in  its  native 
country  may  become  an  unmitigated  scourge 
in  a  foreign  one.  The  "white  cabbage  *but- 
terfly,"  when  first  introduced  into  the  United 
States,  increased  more  rapidly,  and  conse- 
quently was  more  destructive  than  it  is  now. 
This  was  supposed  to  be  owing  to  the  fact 
that  its  parasite  (Pleromahis  pupantni)  had 
not  yet  been  introduced.  But  that  parasite 
is  in  the  country  now,  and  through  its  inter- 
vention the  butterfly  has,  in  some  localities, 
become  almost  exterminated. 

Three  years  ago  we  received  from  Franklin 


*Pieria  rapu;. 


132 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[September 


county,  Pa.,  twenty-one  chrysalids  of  tliis 
buttertly,  out  of  which  we  only  bred  four  of 
the  flies,  but  from  the  other  seventeen  we 
bred  over  fifty  of  the  parasites.  Two  years 
ago,  out  of  twelve  armyt  worms  wliich  he  had 
confined,  eight  were  infested  by  parasites — 
from  one  to  three  in  a  single  worm.  Only  ten 
days  ago  S.  P.  Eby,  Esq.,  gave  us  tlie  frag- 
ments of  a  cocoon  containing  the  dead  body 
of  what  appeared  to  be  Orgi/cx  lencostujma,  or 
"  vapor  moth,"  which  contained  fully  a  dozen 
larvie  of  a  hymenopterous  parasite. 

In  our  early  entomological  experiences  we 
were  surprised  when  we  bred  a  large  wasp 
{Trofjus  fulvus)  from  the  chrysalids  of  the 
"Parsnip  worm"  {PajjiHo  astcrias),  but  it 
goon  became  a  common  occurrence,  nor  longer 
excited  surprise. 

But  the  foregoing  is  not  "«/ie  all  "  of  para- 
sitic insects.  In  addition  to  a  large  number 
of  fjregarimis  species,  there  is  still  a  greater 
number  that  may  be  regarded  as  solitary  in 
their  infestations— that  is,  only  one  individual 
occurring  in  the  body  of  its  host,  the  magni- 
tude of  the  host  being  just  large  enough  to 
fully  develop  the  parasite.  Perhaps  the  reason 
that  only  one  individual  is  found  in  such  a 
nidus  is  because  there  would  not  be  sufficient 
aliment  to  develop  two ;  and  often  the  para- 
site itself  is  infested  by  one  that  is  smaller 
still.  Aphith,  or  "  plant  lice,"  are  very  liable 
to  be  infested  by  parasites,  and  it  frequently 
occurs  that  a  whole  colony  is  extinguished  by 
parasitic  infestation.  The  Aphids  are  found 
firmly  adhering  to  a  twig  or  leaf  of  tree  or 
plant,  the  body  swollen  or  bleached,  with  a 
small  aperture  on  the  side  or  back  of  the  ab- 
domen, through  which  the  parasite  (a  hyme- 
nopter)  has  made  its  escape.  But  there  are 
also  cases  in  which  two  or  more  may  occupy 
the  same  host.  Nor  is  this  the  limit  of  para- 
sitic infestation,  for  the  very  ajgs  of  insects 
becomes  infested  by  parasites,  and,  small  as 
the  infested  eggs  are,  they  find  sufficient  ali- 
ment within  the  shell  to  complete  their  larval 
development. 

All  of  the  foregoing  relates  to  those  para- 
sites that  penetrate  the  body  of  their  hosts, 
and  live  upon  their  substances,  manifesting 
no  external  sign  of  their  presence  until  they 
arrive  at  maturity;  they,  however  do  not  all 
spin  a  cocoon;  some  pass  also  the  i)upa  state 
within  the  body  of  the  host.  But  there  are 
also  external  parasites  that  affect  insects  the 
same  as  lice  do  other  animals.  The  "dor- 
beetles,"  (Co^jris)  and  the  "chick-beetles," 
(Elater)  are  especially  subject  to  them.  On 
one  occasion  we  confined  seven  or  eight  large 
white  "grubworms"  in  a  box  of  decayed 
wood  and  earth.  We  raised  from  them  one 
mature  specimen  of  Pt  lidnota  punctata  (great 
grape  beetle. )  All  the  remainder  of  them  tell 
a  prey  to  a  large  voracious  white  "maggot," 
from  which  we  reared  a  specimen  of  Myclas 
flata,  a  large  two-winged  black  tly,  with  an 
orange  band  near  the  base  of  the  abdomen. 
We  found  the  maggot  among  the  grubs,  but 
can't  say  how  many  grubs  it  destroyed  before 
we  obtained  it.  It  however  only  seemed  to 
live  on  the  fluids  of  the  grub,  and  hence  it 
killed  more  than  it  consumed.  When  a  grub 
became  putrid  it  abandoned  it  and  attacked  a 
fresli  one.  It  also  fed  on  a  specimen  of 
Lumbrieus  or  fish-worm,  given  it. 

fLeucania  uniininc/a. 


Tiuis,  the  silent  work  of  nature  is  ever  per- 
tinaciously working  onward  towards  its  ulti- 
mate ends.  It  may  be,  and  often  is,  thwarted, 
partially  defeated,  or  turned  aside  from  its 
legitimate  purposes  by  contingent  interven- 
tions ;  but  when  its  freedom  is  restored  it  will 
gradually  converge  towards  its  accustomed 
channel.  Perhaps  the  forces  of  nature  en- 
counter no  greater  barriers  to  their  harmoni- 
ous progress  than  those  imposed  through 
human  ignorance.  Many  years  ago  we  noticed 
a  man  in  a  "potato-patch"  with  his  brows 
knit  and  his  lips  compressed  running  along  the 
rows,  and  engaged  in  a  most  vigorous  manipu- 
lalion.  Curious  to  know  upon  what  he  was  ex- 
ercising himself,  we  drew  near  him,  and  as  we 
approached  he  assumed  an  attitude  of  triumph, 
exclaiming  :  "There,  I  have  just  smashed  the 

last  d d  ladybug  in  the  patch."   When  we 

desired  to  know  his  reasons  for  smashing 
them,  he  replied  that  they  laid  the  eggs  from 
which  the  plant  lice  bred,  for  his  potato  vines 
were  seriously  infested  by  a  species  of  A2-)his. 
He  did  not  trouble  himself  about  the  Aphids 
—there  were  too  many  of  them— but  felt  sure 
that  they  would  not  long  survive  their  pro- 
genitors. Our  adverse  views  had  no  effect 
whatever ;  he  know  all  about  them  ;  he  was 
raised  among  them.  Now,  the  "lady-birds  " 
{Coccinillidce)  are  so  distinctly  the  enemies  of 
the  Aphids  that  the  group  including  them  is 
called  .4p/!M?yj/i«ya— "aphid-eaters."  Manual 
effort  alone  will  not  accomplish  the  destruc- 
tion of  noxious  insects;  it  must  be  intelligent 
eff"ort, discriminating  effort, persevering  effort; 
the  intelligence,  the  discrimination  and  the 
perseverance  of  the  little  microgaster,  which 
is  the  joint  subject  of  these  reflections.  It 
would  not  deposit  its  eggs  in  a  piece  of  putrid 
flesh,  in  a  decayed  fruit,  or  in  animal  fcsces, 
but  only  in  a  living,  noxious  worm.  The  pro- 
gress of  improvement  on  the  earth's  surface 
may  necessarily  disturb  the  equipoise  of  na- 
ture, and  where  this  is  the  case,  it  will  im- 
pose additional  vigilance,  additional  labor, 
and  additional  intelligence,  in  order  to  insure 
additional  compensation.  In  the  matter  of 
willing  and  doing,  it  is  of  some  moment  that 
we  ku  iW  what  not  to  will  and  do,  else  we  may 
be  standing  in  our  own  light,  and  knowing 
whatnot  to  do  is  a  progressive  step  towards 
knowing  what  we  ought  to  do. 


EXCERPTS. 
Boiling  water  will  remove  tea  stains  and 
many  fruit  stains  ;  pour  the  water  through 
the  stain,  and  thus  prevent  it  from  spreading 
over  the  fabric. 

Ripe  tomatoes  will  remove  ink  and  other 
stains  from  white  cloth  ;  also  from  the  hands. 

A  TEASBOONFUL  of  turpentine,  boiled  with 
white  clothes,  will  aid  the  whitening  process. 

Boiled  starch  is  much  improved  by  the 
addition  of  a  little  spermaceti,  or  a  littte  salt, 
or  a  little  gum  arable  dissolved. 

Beeswax  and  salt  will  make  flatirons  as 
clean  and  smootli  as  glass  ;  lie  a  hunp  of  wax 
In  a  rag,  and  keep  it  for  that  purpose  ;  when 
the  irons  are  hot  rub  them  with  a  rag,  and 
then  scour  with  a  paper  or  rag  sprinkled  with 
salt. 

Kerosene  will  make  tin  tea-ketteles  as 
bright  as  new  ;  saturate  a  woolen  rag  and  rub 


with  it ;  it  will  also  remove  stains  from  clean 
varnished  furniture. 

Kerosene  will  soften  boots  or  shoes  which  i 
have  been  hardened  by  water,  and  render  i 
them  as  pliable  as  when  new. 

Agriculture  is  the  financial  barometer 
of  the  United  States. — London  Paper. 

We  would  not  advise  the  sowing  of  white 
clover  in  lawr.s.  It  exterminates  other  grasses 
and  does  not  stand  heat  drought. 

Give  the  laboring  class  10  or  even  12  hours 
work  a  day,  with  plenty  or  good  newspapers 
and  no  strong  drink,  and  the  country  will 
soon  become  prosperous  and  its  men  en- 
lightened. 

The  value  of  poultry  in  the  United  States 
amounts  to  over  .S300,000,000.  This  large 
sura  would  be  increased  if  poultry  received 
the  same  attention  as  is  bestowed  on  sheep, 
cattle  or  horses. 

The  winter  wheat  crop  of  Illinois  this  year 
exceeds  50,000,000  bushels,  and  it  is  the 
largest,  except  that  of  1820,  ever  harvested 
in  that  State.  The  spring  wheat  aggregates 
over  .52,000,000  bushels,  a  little  under  the 
average  of  1879,  but  the  quality  is  much 
better. 

The  Herefords  in  the  London  market  are 
always  worth  more  per  pound  than  Short- 
horns. We  supposed  that  the  Short-horn  edi- 
tors and  advocates  had  conceded  this  fact, 
but  in  conversation  with  a  prominent  editor 
a  few  days  since  he  denied  it  was  true.  If  he 
will  place  this  in  some  direct  and  positive 
form  we  will  produce  the  proof  of  it,  and  will 
offer  this  much  now.  The  Chamber  of  Agri- 
culture Journal,  in  its  issue  of  June  19tb, 
speaking  of  tlie  Smithfield  market  of  London, 
says  :  "  The  Herefords  range  with  Scott  cat- 
tle at  OS.  lOd.  to  6s.  as  the  topping  current 
rate  of  the  morning  trade,  the  Hereford  cat- 
tle ranging  up  to  5s.  8d.  to  5s.  lOd.  These  j 
prices  are  for  ihe  stone  of  eight  pounds  weight. 
The  Canadians  sold  at  5s.  4d.  to  5s.  8d. ;  Dan- 
ish at  5s.  4d.  to  5s.  6d."  The  editor  he  refer- 
red to  has  all  the  means  at  his  disposal  to  in- 
form himself,  and  he  ought  to  know  that 
Hereford  beef  is  always  at  the  top  of  the 
market,  and  that  this  is  especially  true  with 
the  Herefords  from  grass. 

There  are  but  few  circumstances  that  will 
justify  the  burning  of  straw  as  it  comes  from 
the  machine.  Upon  all  uplands,  or  soils  in- 
clined to  be  light,  and  which  are  deficient  in 
vegetable  mold,  it  is  better  to  rot  the  straw 
and  apply  the  same  to  the  most  unproductive 
portions.  Where  the  soil  is  of  a  heavy  clay 
character,  and  fall  plowing  can  be  done  for 
the  growing  of  a  crop  the  following  summer, 
the  plowing  under  of  a  heavy  coating  of  straw 
will  render  the  soil  lighter  by  reasons  of  the 
diainage  afforded,  and  richer  by  the  partial 
decay  of  the  straw.  Occasionally  it  may  be 
of  advantage  to  burn  the  straw,  especially  if 
weed  seeds  or  the  eggs  and  larvae  of  insects 
are  unusually  abundant.  Consider  the  matter 
well  before  burning  the  straw,  for  when  rotted 
it  forms  a  rich  mold,  which  is  the  "  one  thing 
needful  "  on  all  our  clay  uplands.  East,  West, 
North  and  South. 

The  Mexican  Dog. — Of  the  hairless  Mexi- 
can dog,  which  is  the  shepherd  dog  of  that 
country,  the  Texas  Siftings  has  this  to  say  : 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


133 


The  Mexicans  call  him  polon,  the  Aiu(!n- 
cans  refer  to  him  as  no-hair  doj;,  while  the 
stranger  from  the  North  who  sees  him  for  the 
first  time  calls  him  a  cast-iron  dog,  for  that  is 
what  he  looks  like  at  first  glance.  Althongli 
not  particularly  intelligent  the  no-hair  tiog  is 
susceptible  of  a  high  polish,  for  iiis  hairless 
hide  shines  in  the  sun  as  if  it  had  been  recent- 
ly touched  up  with  stove-polish.  His  body  is 
about  the  size  and  somewhat  the  .shape  of  a 
watermehm — that  Is,  of  one  of  those  small 
watermelons  that  is  about  the  size  of  a  pelon 
dog.  He  differs,  however,  from  the  melon  in 
that  his  tail  is  adorned  with  a  tuft  of  blonde 
hair,  which  is  never  the  case  with  a  water- 
melon. He  wears  a  tuft  of  hair — another 
tuft  of  conrse,  not  the  same  one  at  all— on  liis 
head,  which  gives  him  a  very  striking  appear- 
ance. The  pelon  dog  is  found  in  Austin,  in 
San  Antonio,  and  in  tamales,  the  latter  being 
a  Mexican  dish,  the  ingredients  of  which  are 
as  uncertain  as  those  of  hash. 

Why  1900  is  not  a  Leap  Yeah.— The 
year  1000,  althoush  it  is  divisible  by  4  with- 
out a  remainder,  is  not  leap  year,  and  it  comes 
about  in  this  way:  Under  the  "Julian 
period  "  the  solar  year  was  considered  to  con- 
sist of  three  hundred  and  sixty-live  days  and 
a  quarter  of  a  day,  but  as  the  actual  or  civil 
year  could  not  be  made  to  include  a  quarter 
of  a  day,  an  additional  day  was  inserted  in 
the  calendar  every  fourth  year  to  make  up  for 
four  lost  quarters,  and  this  is  the  21)th  of 
February.  But  the  Julian  method  of  inter- 
calation made  the  year  too  long  by  eleven 
minutes,  ten  and  one-third  seconds.  This  put 
the  calendar  ahead  of  solar  time  one  day  in 
120  years  ;  so  to  balance  this,  in  the  adjust- 
ment of  the  calendar  known  as  the  "Gre- 
gorian "  after  Pope  Gregory  the  XIII.,  now 
universally  adopted  in  Christian  countries  ex- 
cept Russia,  one  of  the  leap  years  is  dropped 
at  the  close  of  every  century,  except  when 
the  figures  of  thecenturial  year,  leaving  out — 
the  two  cyphers  at  the  end,  can  be  divided  by 
four  without  a  remainder.  Thus  1,(500  was  a 
leap  year,  and  2,000  will  be,  but  1,700,  IROO 
and  1000  are  not. 

Queries  and  Answers. 


THE   ROYAL  HORNED  CATERPIL- 
LAR. 


CoNEWAGO,  Lancaster  CO. .  Pa., 
August  25th,  1882. 
Editor  Lancastek  Fahmeii  : 


Dear  Sir :  With  this  mail  I  send  you  a  tin 
box  inclosing  a  large  worm  or  caterpillar, 
which  I  found  on  a  walnut  tree.  Please  de- 
scribe it  in  the  next  number  of  the  Farmeii. 

J.  F.  B. 

The  box  and  caterpillar  came  safely  to 
hand,  and  is  the  larva  of  the  "Regal  Walnut 
Moth,"  [Ceratocampa  regalis)  but  it  dees  not 
confine  itself  to  the  walinit,  for  we  have  found 
it  on  the  hickory,  and  Prof.  Riley  has  received 
it  from  correspondents  who  found  it  on  the 
persimmon.  It  is  also  found  on  the  butter- 
nut, on  the  cuttivated  "Duich-nut,"  and  oc- 
casionally on  the  sumac.  It  is  better  known, 
and  is  oftener  found  in  the  caterpillar  state 
than  in  the  moth  state.  In  Virginia  it  is 
called  the  "Hickory  Horned  Devil,"  and  by 
many  people  is  as  much  dreaded  as  a  veno- 
mous snake.  There  is  something  repulsive  in 
its  looks,  but  it  is  entirely  harmless,  as  far  as 


our  expericMice  goes.  Tliis  specimen  is  over 
five  inches  in  lenglh,  when  it  is  crawling,  and 
fully  two  inches  in  circumference.  The  whole 
body  is  green  in  color  ;  the  head  and  feelers 
arc  orange,  and  eight  largo  spines  on  the  first 
three  segments  are  of  the  same  color,  tipped 
with  black.  There  are  five  black  spine.s  on  all 
the  segments,  and  the  dorsal  s])ine  on  the  last 
segment,  but,  one,  is  much  larger  than  the 
others.  The  larva  goes  into  the  ground  in 
September,  forms  a  cell  therein  and  changes 
to  a  black  inqta,  and  comes  forth  a  large  and 
beautiful  moth  in  the  month  of  June  of  the 
following  year.  The  body  of  the  moth  is 
fully  two  inches  in  length  (female  specimens) 
and  expands  six  inches  from  tip  to  tip  of  the 
front  wings.  The  front  wings  are  fawn  col- 
ored, broadly  lalitudinally  lined  with  orange, 
and  two  large  lemon-colored  spots  near  the 
anterior  margin  and  the  tips.  The 
hind  wings  and  abdomen  are  orange  colored, 
with  a  few  inconspicuous  ashen  and  other  yel- 
low markings. 

This  insect  is  solitary  in  its  habits,  and 
one  brooded  ;  and,  as  it  is  usually  found  on 
wild  forest  trees,  it  is  not  generally  considered 
noxious. 


CONTRIBUTIONS. 


For  the  Lancastku  Farmer. 
GAPES  IN  POULTRY. 
Croup,  would  be  a  very  appropriate  name, 
as  it  has  much  the  same  effect  as  croup  with 
children  ;  believing  that  young  poultry  is  as 
liable  to  take  cold,  as  anything  else,  thei'efore 
a  phlegm,  or  a  roapy  substance  accumulates 
in  the  windpipe,  with  a  slight  discharge  of 
blood  from  the  lungs,  and  the  same  enclosing 
the  downy  plumes,  stop  up  the  air  passage. 
I  have  no  doubt  but  there  are  many  who  will 
doubt  my  theory  of  the  gape  worm.  But  as 
I  .said  in  my  last,  if  you  will  examine  the 
down  on  the  young  chick,  you  will  find  them 
all  double,  the  connection  being  the 
same,  and  at  the  same  place  as  the 
gape  worm;  you  will  also  find  the  end 
of  the  worm  nearest  the  connection  the 
hardest,  this  being  the  quill  of  the  feather. 
If  the  worm  is  not  full  grown,  it  will  be  quite 
hard,  and  with  a  strong  glass  you  will  see  fine 
threads  in  the  worm,  always  in  color  the  same 
as  the  chick  (not  intestines),  they  are  the  fine 
threads  of  down;  on  mashing  it,  they  will 
mingle  with  the  blood  and  water,  as  they  have 
become  soft  by  decomposition.  Probably  if 
the  chick  did  not  take  cold,  there  would  be  no 
accumulation  of  worms;  otherwise  the  down 
would  pass  away  without  any  hindrance  of 
breathing;  although  anything  so  fine,  like 
hair,  in  a  warm  and  moist  place,  is  liable  to 
become  a  living  animal  (the  hair  worm).  If 
the  chick  is  well  greased  soon  after  hatching, 
with  lard  and  salt,  and  kei>t  in  a  warm  and 
dry  i)lace,  and  fed  on  dry  food,  there  will  be 
little  or  no  gapes.  Yours  truly —  Wm.  J. 
Pule,  Aim.  30,  1882. 


For  TiiK  Lancaster  Farmer. 
SHALLOW  CULTIVATION. 
The  remarks  in  the  August  Lancaster 
Farjiei!,  on  "Shallow  Cultivation  for  Fruit," 
reminded  me  of  the  case  of  farmer  Wm. 
Kliuger,  at  Weishampletown,  Schuylkill  co., 
Pa.,  who  a  few  years  ago  was  gravely  advised 


by  a  stranger  to  plow  deep  around  the  apple 
trees  in  his  fine  young  orchard,  if  he  wanted 
to  see  the  trees  pros[)er  well.  He  did  so, 
ripping  up  the  roots  on  both  sides  of  the  trees 
eflectually,  leaving  very  few  untouched.  The 
result  was  that  some  of  the  trees  died  and  all 
the  rest  sullcred  lor  several  years  from  want 
of  succors  in  the  ground.  It  took  about  three 
years  before  the  orchard  recovered  from  the 
injury.  The  farmer  was  very  much  vexed  at 
his  own  folly  lor  following  the  advice  of  that 
wiseacre. — /.  F.  W. 


NOT  THE  TARIFF  QUESTION. 

For  ThK  l.AKCASTKR  FARMBR. 

My  respected  opponent,  P.  S.  R.,  writing 
in  the  last  number  of  The  Farmer,  while 
prof'e.s.sing  to  answer  my  communication  in 
the  July  number,  gets  entirely  away  from  the 
(fueslion  we  were  discussing  and  favors  us 
with  an  es.say  on  "The  Tariff" — a  subject  that 
has  no  necessary  connection  with  the  one  at 
i.ssue  between  us,  and  enters  upon  new  ground 
where  I  feel  no  call  to  follow  him.  The  only 
•luestion  was  respecting  the  so-called  Balance 
of  Trade.  My  opponent  assumed  that  if  in 
trading  with  other  countries  we  import  more 
value  than  we  export  it  was  proof  of  a  balance 
against  us  and  that  we  were  doing  a  losing 
business.  This  1  denied,  and  gave  my  reasons 
for  my  opinion — reasons  which  it  is  unneces- 
sary to  inform  those  who  have  read  both  arti- 
cles, Mr.  B.  has  not  even  attempted  to  con- 
fute.— J,  P.,  Lancaster  Sept.  8,  1882. 


For  TiiK  Lancaster  Farmer. 
THK  EEL— ITS  HABITS  AND  GROWTH. 

The  following  sketch  on  the  habits 
and  growth  of  the  eel,  has  been  prepared 
from  an  article  on  "Eels  and  Eel-sets" 
which  appeared  in  the  January  num- 
ber of  m ark- wood'' s  Ma<jazine.  As  the  article 
was  much  too  lengthy  for  publication  in  the 
New  Era,  it  was  very  much  cut  down, 
and  only  the  part  relating  to  their  habits  and 
mode  of  reproduction  are  given  : 

The  eel  has  puzzled  many  naturalists,  and 
is  destined  to  puzzle  many  more.  As  to  the 
natural  history  and  habits  of  the  eel,  natural- 
ists generally  agree  that  there  are  three  sorts 
indigenous  to  this  country  (England)  namely, 
the  sharp-nosed  or  silver-bellied  eel,  the  grig 
or  surg,  and  the  broad-nosed  eel. 

The  grig  is  a  yellowish  eel  with  a  projecting 
under-jiiw;  the  broad-nosed  eel  is  stated  to  be 
an  uglier-looking  eel,  with  a  broader  head, 
and,  according  to  Pennell,  fierce  and  voracious 
in  its  habits;  while  the  silver-bellied  eel  is  a 
firm,  fine-flavored  eel,  with  a  dark,  almost 
black  back,  a  silvery  belly,  and  a  fine  sharp 
head.  This  is  the  eel  which  migrates  seaward 
in  the  autumn,  and  is  the  eel  by  which  eel- 
setters  live. 

Mr.  Pinkerton  says  the  grand  distinction 
between  the  sharp-nosed  and  broad-nosed  eel 
is,  that  the  sharp-nosed  species  is  a  migratory 
fish  while  the  other  is  not.  He  admits  that 
the  latter  has  its  summer  and  winter  quarters, 
for  eels  are  very  susceptible  of  the  ef- 
fects of  cold  and  electricity,  and  it  wan- 
ders about  a  good  deal  at  night,  in  search  of 
prey;  but  it  does  not  migrate  to  the  sea  in 
large  shoals,  as  the  sharp-nosed  species  usual- 
ly does.  It  is  about  the  middle  of  autumn 
that  the  annual  migration  commences,  the 
eels  moving  in  the  night,  and  always  choosing 


134 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[September, 


a  dark  night  for  the  purpose.  A  change  of 
wmd,  ii  clap  of  ihuniler,  a  cloudy  night  be- 
coming clear  and  starry,  will  at  once  stop  the 
movement. 

No  one  has  ever  seen  the  eels  returning,  but 
in  the  spring  of  the  year  the  young  eels  come 
np  by  millions,  keeping  close  to  the  banks, 
and  swimming  in  almost  solid  columns.  They 
will  surmount  almost  any  obstacle,  creeping 
wherever  there  is  any  moisture,  oftentimes 
through  grass  and  over  stones  and  timber. 
This  "eel  fare"  lasts  several  days;  and  the 
tiny  elves,  something  like  darning  needles  in 
size,  ean  sometimes  be  scooped  out  by  the 
bucketful,  and  applied  to  the  land  for  manure, 
baked  into  cakes  for  the  men,  or  given  to  the 
pigs  for  food. 

But  to  return  to  the  movements  of  the  eels 
in  the  migrating  season.  Big  and  little,  old 
and  young,  start  on  this  singular  voyage;  and 
big  and  little,  old  and  young,  remain  and 
"bed"  themselves.  Thousands  of  bubbles 
rising  to  the  surface  show  where  they  work 
far  down  into  the  soft  mnd.  This  bedding  is 
to  escape  the  cold  wtnter  to  which  eels  are 
very  sensitive,  and  is  easily  intelligible.  But 
why  do  they  migrate  '?  For  one  reason,  the 
brackish  water,estuaries  and  harbors,is  warm- 
er than  either  sea  or  river.  The  admixture 
of  fluids  of  different  densities  causes  a  rising 
temperature,  and  fresh  and  salt  water  are 
daily  mixed  by  the  tides,  and  lessen  the  cold. 
Thus  while  some  eels  prefer  to  seek  the  warmth 
of  the  mud,  others  seek  heat  in  brackish 
water.  But  sooner  or  later,  all  eels  of  the 
silver-bellied  species  go  down  to  the  sea,  and 
none  of  those  that  go  down  return.  This  is 
spoken  of  so  positively  by  all  eel-fishers,  that 
it  cannot  be  doubted;  and  in  such  rivers  as 
the  Severn,  there  is  no  room  for  doubt,  be- 
cause of  the  facilities  there  are  for  observa- 
tion. Then  how  is  the  supply  kept  up;  and 
how  is  it  that  eels  are  always  found  in  the 
river  of  a  large  size? 

The  answers  to  these  questions  are,  that 
young  ones  are  produced;  and  the  eels  are  so 
that  although  immense  numbers  leave  the 
rivers  each  year,  yet  equally  immense  num- 
bers remain.  Now  comes  the  curious  part  of 
it,  so  far  ar  Norfolk  rivers  are  concerned.  In 
other  rivers  the  procreation  takes  place  large- 
ly in  the  estuaries  or  sea,  and  the  elvers  re- 
turn to  stock  the  rivers.  In  the  lower  part  of 
the  Norfolk  river  the  elvers  are  not  noticed  in 
spring,  or  any  other  time  of  the  year;  and  so 
continually  are  these  eel-men  on  the  river  day 
and  night  that  such  a  phenomenon  conld 
hardly  escape  their  attention.  Neither  could 
they  fail  to  detect  the  return  of  the  old  eel, 
supposing  they  came  back  singly  or  in  small 
detachments,  for  seeing  that  the  cold  weather 
does  not  end  until  March,  and  that  the  eels 
begin  to  descend  in  .July,  and  contimie  until 
theead  of,November,only  three  months  would 
be  allowed  for  their  ascent,  so  that  if  they 
did  ascend  they  must  come  up  in  droves. 

We  have  all  heard  of  the  notion  that 
chopped  horse  hairs  thrown  into  the  water 
turn  into  eels,  and  the  many  other  ideas  ac- 
counting for  their  breeding  in  equally  absurd 
ways.  Some  of  the  more  intelligent,  however, 
believe  that  the  young  ones  are  produced  in 
the  river  in  the  spring,  and  have  been  stated 
positively  that  tliey  have  cut  eels  open  in 
February  and  found  them  full  of  young  eels. 


It  is  only  at  the  first  obstacles  on  the  rivers 
Yare  and  Bure— the  flouring  mills  on  the  up- 
per reaches— that  the  elvers  are  ever  noticed; 
and  here  they  appear  in  large  numbers.  In 
the  "New  Mills"  in  the  city  of  Norwich  is  a 
building  which  completely  spans  the  stream. 
There  are  brick  walls  on  each  side  of  the 
river,  and  no  means  of  access  save  through  the 
sluices,  and  by  the  floats  of  the  wheels.  Here 
the  tiny  elvers  force  their  way  in  countless 
thousands,  wriggling  through  every  crevice, 
on  their  upward  march.  But  it  is  positively 
stated  that  no  adult  eels  ever  ascend,  yet  be- 
tween "hay  harvest"  and  November  the  eels 
descend  in  thousands,  and  of  all  sizes.  Now, 
although  the  silver-bellied  eel  is  undoubtedly 
a  fast  grower,  yet  eels  of  the  size  caught  in 
the  nets  at  the  New  Mills  must  be  several 
years  old,  and  must  have  passed  all  their 
days,  since  elverhood,  above  the  mills.  Can  it 
then  be  reasonably  supposed  that  these  eels 
have  passed  so  much  of  their  lives  without 
procreation  of  their  species?  This  can  scarce- 
ly be;  and  it  is  therefore  a  fiiir  conclusion 
that  the  procreation  of  a  large  number  of  eels 
takes  place  in  fresh  water.  This  leads  then 
to  the  question.  What  is  the  object  of  the 
yearly  migration  of  the  silver-bellied  eel  ? 
If  the  above  suggestions  are  correct,  it  can- 
not be  for  breeding  purposes  alone;  and  it  is 
more  than  probable  that,  as  eels  multiply  as 
fast  as  other  fish  and  probably  grow  faster, 
and  as  they  bring  forth  their  young  alive,  and 
so  are  not  subject  to  so  many  chances  of  de- 
struction as  the  spawn  of  other  fish;  their 
numbers  are  so  incredibly  large  that  the  rivers 
must  get  over-crowded.  Therefore  each  year 
a  certain  portion  "swarms"  off  and  is  lost  in 
the  sea. 

It  will  have  been  noticed  that  the  eel  has 
been  alluded  to  as  being  viviparous.  Natu- 
ralists aflirm  that  the  eel  deposits  in  spawn  as 
other  fish  do,  and  state  that  the  microscope 
reveals  the  presence  of  spawn  and  milt  in  the 
eel.  This  is  so  much  opposed  to  all  the  state- 
ments and  experience  of  eel-fishers  and  eel- 
setters  that  it  cannot  be  accepted  as  a  fact, 
and  after  listening  to  so  many  eel-fishers  who 
stoutly  affirm  that  they  have  constantly 
opened  eels  in  February  that  have  been  full 
of  minute  living  eels  (not  parasites),  and  that 
in  a  tub  of  eels  young  ones  have  been  found 
in  the  morning  that  were  not  there  over  night, 
we  strongly  lean  to  the  theory  that  eels  are 
viviparous. 

The  young  fry  are  contained  in  a  membran- 
ous sac,  as  long  and  thick  as  one's  finger,  and 
eyes  and  back-bones  of  the  fry  are  distinguish- 
able. When  the  sac  is  cut  open,  the  fry  un- 
bend themselves  and  wriggle  about.  Kels  are 
found  in  this  State  during  February,  March 
and  April. 


Selections. 


A  GRAND  HARVEST. 
From  all  parts  of  the  country  we  have  con- 
current reports  of  the  abundance  of  nearly  or 
quite  all  the  staple  crops  produced  by  our  ag- 
riculture. Not  only  is  the  prospect  good,  but 
already  the  receipts  at  the  leading  commercial 
centres  of  the  seaboard  and  the  West  far  ex- 
ceed those  of  last  year  at  the  corj-e.s|)onding 
periods.  AVhat  is  still  more  remarkable  is 
the  fact  that  the  European  harvests  are  rath- 


er short,  especially  those  in  the  British  Isles; 
while  the  troubles  in  Ireland  interfere  very 
sadly  with  the  harvest  there,  and  the  Egyp- 
tian war  threatens  that  country  with  famine. 
Thus  financiers  and  speculators  appear  at  the 
present  time  to  agree  in  regarding  the  condi- 
tion of  things  commercially  as  highly  favor- 
.able  to  another  large  increase  of  the  balance 
of  trade  in  favor  of  this  republic  in  her  com- 
merce with  the  world  at  large.  It  is  true  that 
nominally  this  balance  has  still  been  in  our 
favor  during  the  whole  of  the  year,  notwith- 
standing the  shortness  of  the  crops  of  last  sea- 
son; but  Ufeverthele.'-s,  the  current  of  gold 
turned  towards  Europe  and  has  caused  us  a 
net  loss  of  at  least  120,000,000  of  our  stock  of 
gold;  while  at  the  time  our  foreign  debt  has 
again  been  increasing  in  consequence  of  the 
enormous  railway  building  movement  in  this 
country,  and  the  excessive  demand  for  large 
loans  of  money  for  that  pui-pose  abroad  and 
at  home. 

But  it  is  now  considered  quite  probable  that 
the  American  harvest  will  be  so  vast  as  to 
stimulate  a  tremendous  export  trade  in  all  our 
food-products  ond  agricultural  staples,  and 
thus  to  compel  the  European  bankers  to  make 
exchange  either  by  shipment  of  gold  hither  or 
by  the  return  of  masses  of  American  stocks 
and  bonds.  These  alternative  would  be  quite 
acceptable  to  the  country,  for  although  the 
gold  would  of  course  be  preferred,  as  under 
all  circumstances  the  best  and  most  substan- 
tial consideration,  yet  the  liquidation  of  the 
whole  of  the  foreign  debt  is  thegreateat  possi- 
ble desideratum  known  to  American  finance. 

It  will  be  perceived  that  this  present  pros- 
pect is  wholly  due  to  the  blessings  of  Provi- 
dence upon  the  labors  of  our  husbandmen  in 
those  arts  which  some  politicical  economists 
have  foolishly  discouraged  as  fit  only  tor  bar- 
barians. We  have  several  times  spoken  of 
last  year's  crops  as  having  been  unusually 
short,  but  we  must  beg  our  readers  to  bear  in 
mind  that  those  crops  supplied  all  the  wants 
of  our  own  people  with  a  large  margin  for 
export  and  a  considerable  surplus  to  carry  us 
safely  through  the  year  until  the  new  harvest 
of  the  present  season  could  be  garnered.  We 
consider  this  as  a  remarkable  illustration  of 
the  safety  of  this  country  from  the  dangers  of 
famine,  since  it  was  precisely  a  similar  state 
of  aflairs  which  in  1880  forced  France  to  ship 
to  the  United  States  !3;iO,000,000  in  gold  to 
buy  food  to  supply  the  deficiencies  of  her  own 
crops. — Oerniantown  Telegraph. 


OCCUPATION  AND  LONGEVITY. 

"Woe  to  them  that  are  at  ease!"  says  Car- 
lyle,  but  his  anathema  does  not  prevent  the 
English  village  parson  from  outliving  every 
other  class  of  his  countrymen,  not  excepting 
the  British  farmer,  whose  peace  of  mind  can- 
not always  be  reconciled  with  high  rents  and 
the  low  price  of  American  wheat.  Where 
agriculture  is  what  it  would  be — a  contract 
between  man  and  nature,  in  the  United 
States,  in  Australia,  and  in  some  parts  of 
Switzerland — the  plow  furrow  is  the  straight- 
est  road  to  longevity;  in  Canada  wheie  nature 
is  rather  a  hard  taskmaker,  the  probabilities 
are  in  favor  of  such  half-indoor  trades  as  car- 
pentering and  certain  branches  of  horticul- 
ture— summer  farming  as  the  Germans  call  it. 
Cold  is  an  antiseijtic,  and  the  best    febrifuge, 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


135 


but  by  no  means  a  panacea,  and  the.  warmest 
climate  on  earth  is  out  and  out  preferable 
even  to  the  border  lands  of  the  polar  zone. 
The  averaf^e  Arab  outlives  the  average  Esiiui- 
maux  by  twenty-live  years. 

The  hyi;ienic  benefit  of  sea  voyages,  too, 
has  been  amazingly  exaggerated.  Seafaring 
is  not  conducive  to  longevity;  the  advantage 
of  the  exercise  in  the  ritrging  is  more  than 
outweighed  by  the  effluvia  iif  the  cockpit,  by 
the  pickle  diet,  the  unnatural  motion  and  the 
foul  weather  misery,  and,  from  a  sanitary 
standpoint,  the  sea  air  itself  is  hardly  prefer- 
able to  mountain  and  woodland  air.  The 
eozoon  may  have  been  a  marine  product,  but 
our  Pliocene  ancestor  was  probably  a  forest 
creature. 

"For  what  lengtli  of  time  would  you  un- 
dertake to  warrant  the  health  of  a  seaman?" 
Varnhagen  asked  a  Dutch  marine  doctor. 
"That  depends  on  the  length  of  his  furlough," 
replied  the  frank  Hollander,  and  it  will  re- 
quire centuries  of  reform  to  redeem  our  cities 
from  the  odium  of  a  similar  reproach.  In 
victuals  and  vitality  towns  consume  the 
hoarded  stores  of  the  country,  and  only  the 
garden  suburbs  of  a  few  North  American 
cities  are  hygienically  self-supporting.  Perma- 
nent in-door  work  is  slow  suicide,  and  be- 
tween the  various  shop-trades  and  sedentary 
occupations  the  difference  in  this  resiiect  is 
only  one  of  degree.  Factories  stand  at  the 
bottom  of  the  scale,  and  the  dust  and  vapor 
generating  ones  below  zera;  the  weaver's 
chances  to  reach  the  average  age  of  his  species 
have  to  be  expressed  by  a  negative  quantity. 
In  France,  where  the  tabulation  of  compara- 
tive statistics  is  carried  further  than  any- 
where else,  the  healthfulness  of  the  principal 
town  trades  has  beeu  ascertained  to  decrease 
In  the  following  order:  nousebuildinsr,  huck- 
stering, hot-bed  gardening  (florists),  carpenter 
and  brick  mason  trades,  street  paving,  street 
cleaning,  sewer-cleaning,  blacksmiths,  arti- 
sansmiths  (silver,  copper  and  tin  concerns), 
shoemaking,  paper  making,  glass-blowing, 
tailor,  butcher,  housepainter,  baker,  cook, 
stonemasons  and  lapidaries,  operatives  of 
paint  and  lead  factories,  weavers,  steel 
grinders — the  wide  difference  between  brick 
and  stonemasons  being  due  to  the  luiig-iufest- 
ing  dust  of  lapidary  work,  which,  though  an 
outdoor  occupation,  is  nearly  as  unhealthy  as 
steel  grinding.  Lead  paint  makers  have  to 
alternate  their  work  with  jobs  in  the  tin  shop, 
and  after  all  can  rarely  sland  it  fOr  more  than 
tifteen  years.  Needle-grinders  generally  suc- 
cumb after  twelve  or  fourteen  years. — Popular 
Science  Monthly. 


THE   WAR   IN   EGYPT. 

The  prospect  of  a  speedy  termination  of 
the  Egyptian  difficulty  does  not  improve.  In- 
deed, it  looks  now  as  though  England  has  on 
hand  a  serious  war  which  is  not  likely  to  be 
brief,  even  if  no  general  European  complica- 
tion arises  from  it. 

Meantime  the  industries  of  Egypt  are  griev- 
ously deranged  ;  trade  is  at  a  stand-still,  and 
all  manufacturing  operations  are  suspended, 
and  agriculture  is  largely  interrupted. 

The  geographical  and  the  social  character- 
istics of  Egypt  are  peculiar,  and  of  such  a 
nature  that  war  affects  the  country  far  more 


disastrously  than  would  be  i)ossible  in  any 
other  land. 

Tlie  Europeans  who  have  been  driven  out 
furnislied  most  of  the  capital  for  all  com- 
mcucial  and  industrial  enterprises,  filled  most 
of  the  positions  requiring  scientific  knowledge 
or  mechanical  skill,  and  controlled  the  ma- 
jority of  the  means  for  making  luoductive 
and  profitable  the  labor  of  the  native  masses. 
In  their  ab.seuce  a  speedy  revival  of  prosiierity 
is  impossible,  even  if  the  war  should  end  at 
once. 

Within  the  past  twenty  years  the  agricul- 
tural products  of  Egypt  have  been  nearly 
trebled  by  means  of  the  caiiital  and  machinery 
introduced  from  Europe.  The  irrigation  and 
consequent  cultivation  of  vast  areas  of  sugar 
and  cotton  and  corn  land  have  been  made 
possible  by  the  introduction  of  steam  pumps 
and  other  modern  irrigation  machinery.  Were 
the  natives  able  to  operate  such  machinery 
they  cannot  now  do  so  for  lack  of  coal,  and  so 
to  a  serious  extent  tlie\'  cannot  produce  the 
crops  on  which  their  prosperity  depends. 

The  cotton- ginning  factories  and  steam- 
presses,  by  means  or  which  the  cotton  croj) 
of  Egypt  has  been  made  fit  for  profitable  ex- 
portation, were  introduced  by  Europeans  and 
largely  operated  by  them.  The  same  is  true 
of  the  sugar  mills  and  the  railways  and  other 
means  of  rapid  and  economical  transportation. 
The  natives  themselves  are  incapable  of  ope- 
rating the  railways  or  of  conducting  an  ex- 
port trade,  were  such  trade  possible  in  Egypt 
in  time  of  war.  As  a  consequence  the  gath- 
ered crops  are  lying  in  the  interior  unsold  ; 
cultivation  is  largely  suspended  and  thousands 
of  native  workpeople  are  threatened  with 
starvation. 

The  commercial  and  industrial  arrange- 
ments incident  to  the  war  are  not  confined  to 
Egypt.  Even  if  no  harm  befalls  the  Suez 
Canal,  and  there  is  no  suspension  of  traflic 
through  it,  England  cannot  but  suffer  severe- 
ly, though  indirectly,  in  her  commercial  and 
manufacturing  interests. 

Fully  two-thirds  of  the  cotton  crop  of 
Egypt,  averaging  280,000,000  pounds,  has  hith- 
erto|  gone  to  England.  In  the  Bolton  district 
alone  .5,000,000  spindles  are  employed  on 
Egyptian  cotton  ;  and  in  the  whole  of  Eng- 
land some  20,000  work  peeple  are  employed 
upon  this  staple.  The  stoppage  of  the  supply 
cannot  but  affect  them  disastrously. 

The  large  dependence  of  English  industry 
upon  Egyptian  products  is  further  illustrated 
in  the  case  of  cotton-seed,  about  $9,000,000 
worth  of  which  is  imported  annually.  Last 
year  Hull  alone  took  120,000  tons,  and  in  its 
crushing  2,51)0  men  and  boys  were  emi)loyed. 
Still  more  serious  will  bo  the  efl'ect  of  the 
stoppage  of  the  supply  of  Egytian  cotton  seed 
upon  English  agriculturists,  who  depend  very 
largely  upon  cotton-seed  oil-cake  for  feeding 
their  cattle.  The  English  soap  boilers  use 
about  50,000  tons  of  Egyptian  cotton-seed  oil 
a  year,  and  must  likewise  severely  feel  a 
cuttting  off  of  the  supply  from  that  region. 
England  also  draws  from  Egypt  annually 
$6,000,000  or  $7,000,000  worth  of  wheat  and 
beans,  $3,()00,000  worth  of  sugar,  and  more 
than  $2,(100,000  worth  of  wool,  ivorj',  gums, 
and  other  native  products. 

In  return  for  all  these,  Egypt  has  taken 
manufactured  goods,   machinery,   coal,    and 


cotton  fabrics,  the  producers  of  which  cannot 
but  lose  heavily  by  the  ruin  which  has  fallen 
uiion  I'.gypt. 

How  far  these  English  lo.S8e8  will  react  upon 
American  trade  it  is  impossible  to  foresee. 
The  deficiency  in  cotton  and  corn  can  be 
made  good  from  this  side,  but  it  is  doubtful 
if  any  marked  advantage  will  accrue  to  Amer- 
can  producers  unless  the  war  shoufd  involve 
other  powers  than  Egypt  and    Great   Britain. 

The  first  efl'ect  anticipated  by  our  ship- 
ping mercliants  is  an  advance  on  ocean  freight 
and  in  marine  insurance,  through  the  with- 
drawal of  first-class  steamers  for  transport 
service  to  the  seat  of  war,  and  the  substitu- 
tion fortliem  of  second  and  third-class  freight- 
ers in  the  regular  carrying  trade. — Scientific 
Anierkun. 


THE  CLIMATE   IN  DIFFERENT  PARTS 
OF  THE   UNION. 

Figures  gleaned  from  the  observation  points 
of  forty-nine  States  and  Territories  show  that 
the  hottest  places  in  the  Union  are  Florida, 
Louisiana  and  Arizona,  the  mean  annual 
temperature  of  which  is  69.  Texas  ranks 
next  at  07,  Alabama  06,  Mississippi  04, 
Arkansas  6;!,  South  'Jaroliua  02,  Indian  Ter- 
ritory 60,  North  Carolina  59,  Georgia  and 
Tennessee  stand  on  a  par  at  58,  Virginia  57, 
Kentucky  56.  The  mean  temperature  of  56 
prevails  in  California,  Missouri  and  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia;  54  in  Maryland  and  Penn- 
sylvania, 53  in  Delaware,  Ohio  and  t.'regon; 
52  in  Idaho,  Utah  and  West  Virginia.  51  in 
Indiana,  Kansas,  New  Mexico  and  Washing- 
ton Territory;  50  in  Connecticut,  Illinois 
Nevada  and  New  Jersej ;  49  in  Iowa  and  Ne- 
braska; Massachusetts  ranks  with  Rhode 
Island,  New  York  and  Colorado  at  48; 
Michigan  and  Dakota  are  equal  at  47.  Alaska 
is  not  the  coldest  part  of  the  Union,  as  is  com- 
monly supposed,  but  stands  with  New  Hamp- 
shire at  40;  colder  than  tliese  are  Maine  and 
Wisconsin  at  45,  Montana  and  Vermont  at 
43,  Minnesota  at  42,  and  coldest  of  all 
Wyoming  at  41. 


PURE    AND   WHOLESOME. 

Nearly  all  the  American  cotton  seed  oil 
shipped  to  Europe  is  christened  "olive"  oil, 
tnd  re-exported  to  this  country,  where  we 
consnme  it  with  the  greatest  gusto,  as  "real 
extra  Lucca."  This  suggests  to  our  mills  the 
importance  of  securing  a  market  here  at 
home,  where  they  can  sell  their  oil  to  much 
greater  advantage,  since  they  will  not  have  to 
pay  double  freight  to  Marseilles  and  back. 
Our  people  have  been  putting  cotton  seed  oil 
on  their  salads  as  olive  oil  for  years;  why  con- 
tinue this  practice  any  longer  V  Why  not  con- 
fess what  is  well  known  that  cotton  seed  oil  is 
not  like  glucose  or  oleomargarine — an  adultu- 
rant— but  as  good  and  as  pure  as  the  product 
of  Italy  in  every  respect  ?  It  is  true  that 
when  we  first  began  to  manufacture  it  many 
persons  pretended  to  find  about  it  a  somewhat 
bitter  taste.  But  this  taste  has  latterly  been 
completely  eradicated,  and  now  our  factories 
turn  out  as  fine  a  salad  oil, and  chemically  and 
gastrouomically  exactly  the  same  as  the  best 
farms  of  Tuscany  and  Lucca.  This  oil  should 
suiiplant  lard  in  the  Southern  household  ;  it  is 
cleaner,  better,  cheaper  and  in  every  way  su- 
perior to  lard.    Its  use  instead  of  lard  has  be- 


136 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[September, 


come  quite  conimoa  in  the  southern  Atlantic 
and  Gulf  States  during  the  past  few  years, 
and  everybody  who  has  tried  it  has  been  de- 
lighted with  it.  Here  is  a  field  for  our  mills 
moie  promising  than  Italy,  that  needs  only  (o 
be  properly  worked  up  to  make  rich  returns. 
It  is  something  that  will  benefit  the  whole 
South,  for  the  cotton  planters  are  all  interest- 
ed in  finding  a  market,  and  thus  giving  a  value 
to  a  product  which,  a  few  years  ago,  was 
waste,  and  wliich  they  were  then  anxious  to 
get  rid  of  at  any  price. 


TEMPERATURE  AND  RAINFALL. 

The  following  tables  of  temperature  and 
rainfall  for  June  have  been  received  from  the 
Signal  Service  Bureau,  prepared  under  direc- 
tion of  General  W.  B.  Ilazen. 

Average  Temperature  for  June,  1882. 


DISTRICTS. 


For 
several 
years. 


New  Entcland 

JlidiHe  Atlantic  .States 

Southern  .\tlftntic  States... 

Florifia   Peniiisula...T 

Eastern  Gulf  Stales 

Western  (iulf  .States 

Rio  Grande  Valley 

Tennessee ^ 

Ohio  Valley 

Lower  Lake  Region 

I'pper  Lake  Region 

Extreme  Northwest 

Upper  ^liswissippi  Valley.. 

Mi>^(>uri  Valley 

Kortlieni  Slope 

Middle  Slope 

Southern  .Slope 

Northern  Plateau 

Mifldle  Plateau .' 

•Southern  Plateau 

North  Pacific  Coast 

Middle  Pacific  Coast 

Souh  Pacific  Coast 

Moinit  Washin}?ton,  N.  H.. 
Pike's  Peak,  Colorado 


Average  for 
June,   Signal 
Service  obser- 
vations. 


64.8 
70.7 
77.4 
80.8 
79.2 
79.1 
8.5.1 
76.4 
72.8 
60.0 
62.6 
62.7 
70.1 
71.2 
63.4 

n.i 
79.9 

64.6 
67.0 
79.9 
60.7 
69.1 
71.2 
43.6 
33.7 


For 
1882. 


65.0 
70.8 
77.4 
81.4 
79.1 
79.1 
84.3 
76.2 
70.9 
04.4 
60.6 
61.2 
68.0 
71.3 
62.7 
69.0 
79.1 
65.5 
65.4 
75.4 
61.0 
G6.9 
69.1 
41.8 
30.8 


o  B  <^  > 


0.2  above 
0.1  above 

Normal 
0.3  above 
0.1  below 
Normal 
0.8  below 
O.li  below 
1,0  below 
1.6  Ijelow 

2.0  below 
1.5  beluw 

2.1  below 
0.1  above 
0.7  below 

2.1  below 
0.8  below 
0.9  above 

2.2  below 
3.8  below 
0.3  above 
2.2  below 
2.1  below 
1.8  below 
3.4  below 


Average  Precipitation  for  June,   1882. 


UISTKICTS. 


several    ^Z,ao 
years,      l^^^" 


Xcw  En^lnnd 

Middle  Atljintic  States 

•South  .\tlantic  States 

l'"lorida  Pminsula 

Eastern  Gulf  States 

Wf.stern  fiulf  States 

Rio  Grande  Valley 

'I'ennessee 

Ohio  Valley 

Lower  Lake  Keirion 

L'l)per  I,ake  Kc^ioii 

Extreme  Northwest 

rppi'i-  Mississippi  Valley.. 

Mi.s.-»oiiri  Willey 

Northern  Slope 

Middle  Slope 

Southern  sloi>e 

North-^rn  I'hiteau 

Middle  Plateau 

Southern  Plateau 

North  I'acifip  Coast 

Middle  Pncilie  CoaM ' 

South   I'a.-ific  Coant 

M<innt  Washington,  N.  U, 
Pike's  Peak,  Colorado 


Average  for 
June.  Signal 
Service  obser- 
vations. 


Inches. 

Inche. 

2.75 

3.61 

3.81 

2,80 

4.90 

4.45 

4.76 

5.69 

4.18 

2.85 

4.14 

2.24 

1.77 

1.12 

4.31 

3.80 

4.54 

5.41 

3.51 

3.62 

4.37. 

5.76 

4.13 

4.48 

6.05 

7.01 

4.94 

6.29 

2.68 

2.82 

1.S8 

3.23 

2..50 

2.78 

1.33 

0..34 

0..58 

1.70 

0.41 

0.80 

l.:!8 

1.17 

0.21 

0.10 

0.01 

0.13 

8.24 

11.40 

1.80 

3.10 

m. 


w  =- 


Inches. 
0.14  deflc'y 
1.01  defic'v 
0.45  defic'y 
0.93  excess 
1.63  defic'y 
1.90  defic'y 
10..35  defic'y 
10.51  defic'y 
0.87  excess 
0.11  excess 
1.39  excess 
0.35  excess 
,'1.96  excess 
1.35  e.xcess 
0.14  excess 
11. .35  excess 
0.28  excess 
0.99  defic'y 
1.12  excess 
0,.39  excess 
1O.21  defic'v 
10.11  defic'y 
0.12  excess 
,3.16  excess 
1 1.30  excess 


BARN   YARD   MANURES. 

In  the  system  of  agriculture  practiced  in  the 
United  States,  barn  yard  manure,  from  its 
cheapness  and  efliciency,  must  for  a  long 
time  constitute  the  staple  fertilizer  under 
ordinary  conditions  of  practice. 

Dr.  J.  B.  Lawes,  in  his  valuable  pamphlet 
on  "Fertility,"  says: 

In  the  district  where  I  live  the  land  is  cul- 
tivated on  a  five  course  shift,  and  the  crops 
which  arc  grown  and  sold  oft'  the  land  would 
cost  more  to   produce  by  the  means  of  pur 


chased  artificial  manures  than  the  sura  which 
the  tenant,  under  the  above  system  of  culti- 
vation, pays  for  them  in  rent,  or  in  other 
words,  as  far  as  regards  the  production  of  the 
crop,  the  landowner  sells  his  fertility  cheaper 
than  the  inauufacturer  of  manure  could  sup- 
ply it. 

The  principle  that  underlies  this  statement, 
startling  as  it  may  appear,  applies  with  two- 
fold force  to  successful  fa.im  practice  in  this 
country. 

On  the  average  American  farm,  with  its 
cheaper  land,  and  soils  that  have  been  under 
cultivation  for  a  comparatively  .short  time, 
the  natural  stores  of  fertility  that  have  been 
accumulated  in  past  ages  must  be  the  leading 
element  in  determining  the  profits  of  grain 
production  at  low  prices;  and  when  this 
natural  source  of  profitable  cultivation  is 
properly  reinforced  with  the  barn-yard  manure 
that  can  readily  be  made,  under  a  fairly  good 
system  of  management,  to  retard  and  dimin- 
ish the  exhaustion  that  is  unavoidable  in  a 
paying  system  of  husbandry,  the  commercial 
fertilizers,  which  are  too  often  urged  upon 
farmers  as  the  essential  basis  of  good  fanning 
will  find  their  true  place  as  supplemental 
manures  that  are  desirable  for  special  pur- 
poses. 

Aside  from  the  fact  that  barn-yard  manure 
is  a  complete  fertilizer,  supplying,  as  it  does, 
the  potash,  phosphoric  acid,  and  nitrogen, 
which  are  considered  the  only  valuable  con- 
stituents of  purchased  manures,  it  seems  to 
have  a  specific  action  on  the  soil  that  cannot 
be  obtained  with  any  combination  of  chemical 
fertilizers. 

In  the  liothansted  experiments  with  drain- 
age water.s,  from  the  plots  which  had  been 
under  continuous  cultivation  with  the  same 
crop  for  more  than  thirty  years,  it  was  ob- 
served that  "whilst  the  pipe-drains  from 
every  one  of  the  other  plots  in  the  experi- 
mental wheat-field  run  freely,  perhaps  four 
or  five  times  or  more  annually,  the  drain  from 
the  dunged  plot  seldom  runs  at  all  more  than 
once  a  year,  and  in  .some  seasons  not  at  all." 

Dr.  Voelcker  remarks  that  "this  result  is 
interesting  and  important,  for  it  illustrates  in 
a  striking  manner  the  beneficial  effects  of 
barn-yard  manure  on  the  soil  in  ameliorating 
its  texture,  and,  generally  speaking,  its  me- 
chanical or  physical  condition,  in  consequence 
of  which  the  growing  crops  will  sufi'er  less 
during  seasons  of  drought." 

After  a  careful  investigation  as  to  the 
causes  of  the  small  discharge  of  water  by  the 
drain  of  the  dunged  plot,  Drs.  Lawes  and 
Gilbert  concluded  that  "the  result  was  due 
to  the  greater  power  of  absorption  and  reten- 
tion of  moisture  by  the  dnuged  soil  near  the 
surface." 

The  power  of  retaining  a  large  amount  of 
moisture,  in  an  available  form,  and  without 
making  the  soil  wet,  seems,  therefore,  to  be  in- 
creased by  the  application  of  barn-yard  ma- 
nure, and  this,  with  the  increased  porosity 
which  renders  the  water  of  the  lower  strata  of 
soil  available  for  plant  growth,  explains  the 
greater  immunity  of  manured  land  from  the 
effects  of  excessively  dry  or  wet  seasons. 

The  advantages  of  the  barn-yard  manure, 
under  the  unfavorable  conditions  of  a  wet, 
backward  si)ring,followed  by  a  severe  drought, 
were  decidedly  marked  in  the  crop  of  1881 
throughout  the  entire  season. 


From  the  first  appearance  of  the  plants 
above  the  surface  to  the  time  of  harvest,  the 
barn-yard  manure  plots  could  be  clearly  dis- 
tinguished, even  at  a  distance,  by  the  vigorous 
and  rapid  growth  of  the  crop,  and  when  the 
tassels  and  ears  were  forming,  the  stalks  ware 
not  only  much  larger,  but  they  gave  indica- 
tions of  a  mature  development  that  was  not 
observed  on  the  other  plots.— Mm?^  Miles, 
Houyhton  Farm. 


PRESERVING  FENCE  POSTS. 

Several  plans  have  been  tried  for  increasing 
the  natural  durability  of  the  poplars,  elms, 
etc.,  when  u.sed  for  posts. 

Of  these,  the  most  effective  has  been  im- 
mersing them  in  hot  coal  tar,  where  they  are 
kept  at  a  boiling  temperature  for  thirty  or 
forty  minutes.  Vats  are  used  for  the  work 
built  on  the  principle  of  the  old  sorghum 
evaporators.  The  posts  are  put  in  and  taken 
out  of  the  hot  tar  with  large  nippers  made  for 
the  purpose. 

Pots  of  willow,  Cottonwood,  white  elm,  etc., 
thus  treated  have  proven  more  durable  than 
white  oak  posts  set  green.  With  the  cotton- 
wood  it  has  been  found  that  the  tar  would 
penetrate  into  the  pores  of  the  wood  better 
wlien  green  than  after  they  become  dry. 

It  has  been  also  found  that  elm  boards 
were  very  strong,  durable  and  free  from  warp- 
ing when  treated  to  a  bath  cf  the  boiling  gas- 
tar. —  Western  Farmer. 


SOME  WHEAT  STATISTICS. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  a  journal  of  such 
good  standing  as  BradstretV s  should  fall  into 
such  errors  regarding  wheat  statistics  as  are 
to  be  found  in  its  last  issue.  Commenting  on 
wheat,  BradstreeVs  says : 

Two  years  sgo,  on  August  1,  1880,  it  was 
estimated  that  there  were  .50,000,000  bushels 
of  wheat  left  over  out  of  the  crop  of  1879; 
add  to  this  the  large  crop  of  1880,  which  was 
stated  by  the  Agricultural  department  at 
490,000,000  bushels,  and  the  crop  of  1881, 
which  may  be  estimated  at  not  over  400,000,- 
000  bushels— giving  a  total  supply  of  940,000,- 
000  bushels  of  wheat  tor  the  two  years  to 
August  1,  1882.  Out  of  this  we  exported  in 
the  form  of  wheat  and  wheat  fiour  in  the  year 
to  July  1,  1881,  198,828,-581  bushels  of  wheat, 
and  in  the  year  to  July  1,  1882,  121, .523,246 
bushels  of  wheat,  making  a  total  of  320,351,- 
827  bushels. 

On  August  1,  1882,  there  was  practically 
110  wheat  of  the  old  crop  left  in  the  country; 
consequently  the  balance  over  what  was  ex- 
ported was  consumed,  say,  619,948,173  bush- 
els, or  at  the  rate  of,  say,  320,000,000,  which, 
with  an  increasing  population  both  by  immi- 
gration and  natural  increase,  would  probably 
require  340,000.000  for  the  year  ending 
August  1,  1883. 

The  estimate  of  50,000,000  old  stock  on 
hand  August  1,  1880.  is  much  too  high,  as  it 
was  a  noticeable  fact  that  stocks  of  old  wheat 
were  at  tliat  date  unusually  small.  Instead 
of  the  crop  of  1880  being  490,000,000  bushels 
it  was  8,000,000  bushels  larger,  while  the  crop 
of  1881  was  380,000,000  bushels,  or  20,000,OCO 
bushels  less  than  BradstreeVs  figures.  For 
the  year  ending  .July  1,  1881,  we  exported  of 
wheat  and  fiour  180,321,464  bushels,  or  12,- 
000,000  bushels  less  than  what  BradstreeVs 
gives.  In  speaking  of  the  stock  on  hand  in 
1880  and  1882,  Bradstreet  takes  August  1  as 
the  date,  but  when  giving  the  exports  it  uses 
the  fiscal  year  ending  July  1    or  rather  June 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


137 


30,  which  causes  a  serious  error— as  July  1882 
is  ihus  lost  siglit  of,  wlien  it  ought  to  have 
been  stated  tliat  at  July  1,  1882,  the  stock  of 
old  wlieal,  including  flour,  was  probably  not 
less  than  40,(100,000  bushels.  Certainly  it  was 
fully  as  large  as  the  old  stock  on  hand  July  1, 
1880.  So  that  the  amounts  for  the  two  dates 
will  balance  each  other,  leaving  the  exports 
and  consuuii)tion  to  be  provided  for  solely  out 
of  the  two  crops.  Another  luistalje  of  lirad- 
slreeVs  is  niakiuL;  one-half  of  010,000,000  bush- 
els 320,(  00,000  bushels,  instead  of  in  round 
numbers  .■ilO,000,000  busliels.  Thus  in  the  few 
lines  devoted  to  the  subject  there  were  some 
six  or  sev(  u  serious  blunders,  well  caUnilated 
to  mislead. 

The  crop  of  1880  was  498,000,000  bushels 
and  that  of  1S81,  380,OUO,000  bushels,  or  a 
total  of  870.000,000  bushels.  From  this  we 
exported  305,000,000  bushels,  leaving  a  bal- 
ance of  573,000,000  bushels  for  two  years' 
consumption,  or  an  average  of  287,000,000 
bushels  a  year  for  seed  and  bread,  which  just 
coriespouds  with  what  we  have  always 
claimed.  The  amount  required  for  bread  and 
seed  this  year  will  Ijc  a  little  over  .300,000,000 
bushels  and   no  more. — — Baltimore  Journal 

of  Commrrce. 

^ 

IMPORTANCE  OF  HAVING  A  GOOD 
QUEEN. 

In  every  season  the  queen  must  be  aceom- 
pauied  by  worlcer  bees  surticient  to  produce 
and  retain  an  increased  temperature  in  the 
hive.  As  the  queen  is  not  assigned  to  build 
the  breeding  cells,  or  furnish  the  brood  with 
food,  the  workers  attend  to  that  for  her.  Slie 
is  rightly  called  the  "moiher  of  bees"  because 
she  gives  life  to  all  the  young  bees  that  exist 
in  tlie  colony,  by  producing  the  eggs  which 
develop  into  the  future  worlvers  and  drones. 
Tlie  success  of  the  colony  and  its  perpetuation 
depends  upon  tlie  fruitfuluessof  the  queen.  If 
a  weak  colony  be  given  a  prolific  queen,  it  will 
ipiickly  increase  to  a  strong  one  and  the 
strongest  colony  will  soon  be  reduced  to  weak- 
ness if  the  queen  produce  few  or  no  eggs, 
either  on  account  of  advaned  age  or  other  de- 
fect. Being  aware  of  these  facts  the  apiarist 
slKnild  tenderly  care  for  liis  queens  and  espe- 
cially to  wiuter  only  such  colonies  as  have  very 
fruitful,  faultless  and  not  too  old  queens. 
Many  queens  are  nearly  useless,  even  when 
yonng,  and  otliers  still  prolific  in  old  age,  but 
the  latter  are  very  liable  to  lose  their  strength 
and  fruitfulness  at  a  very  inconvenient  time, 
when  they  slioidd  be  depositing  the  most 
brood  and  when  substitution  is  very  uncertain 
on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  drones.  In  con- 
sideration of  this  it  is  very  advisalile  to  su- 
persede a  queen  in  about  the  third  summer ; 
and  the  most  favorable  time  is  when  the  bees 
are  swarming. 

The  first  patt  of  tliis  operation  will  be  tlie 
most  difficult,  especially  if  the  colony  is  very 
numerous  or  has  gathered  much  honey.  One 
method  which  has  been  recommended  is  to  al- 
low the  colony  from  which  you  wish  to  re- 
move tlie  <iucen  to  become  ipiiet,  then  quickly 
remove  her,  place  the  young  queen  in  the  hive 
and  the  superseding  is  over — before  the  colony 
fairly  realizes  her  presence.  But  there  is  no 
surety  of  success  in  this  method,  for  the  bees 
are  often  so  attached  to  the  old  queen  that 
they  will  not  brook  substitution,  and  immedi- 
ately destroy  the  intruder. 


There  are  so  very  many  plans  given  for 
catching  the  queen  that  the  operation  has  bfe- 
comc  so  simplified  that  it  can  easily  l)e  accom- 
plished in  the  strongest  colony.  It  is  not 
uoccssary  to  look  all  over  the  combs  and  in 
every  corner  of  the  hive  to  find  the  queen, 
but  you  can  easily  locate  lier  upon  a  comb,  in 
any  part  of  the  liive.  This  is  not  done  by  in- 
serting combs  of  honey  from  the  cells  but  Is 
fed  by  the  bees — but  by  giving  lier  an  oppor- 
tunity to  deposit  eggs  witliout  disturbance, 
especially  drone  eggs,  which  occupation  best 
pleases  lier  majesty.  For  this  pnrpose  choose 
empty  brood-combs,  or  such  as  are  partially 
filled,  for  the  queen  will  be  in  haste  to  occupy 
all  space  and  fill  tlicsc  cells  with  eggs  in  order 
to  clo.se  the  brood.  If  you  will  examine  that 
hive  in  twenty-four  hours,  without  creating 
disturbance,  you  will,  in  nearly  every  in- 
stance, find  the  queen  on  this  comb. 

To  get  a  queen  out  of  a  box  hive,  about  the 
only  way  is  to  drum  tlie  bees  out  and  allow 
tlie  queen  to  pass  out  with  them.  There  will 
be  no  difficulty  in  discovering  an  Italian  queen 
from  her  golden  coior,  for  she  excels  the 
worker  bees  in  lirightness.  The  astronomer 
does  not  have  to  search  the  heavens  wlien 
seeking  Venus,  Jupiter,  or  Mars,  for  they  so 
far  surpass  the  surrounding  planets  in  bril- 
liancy that  they  catch  the  eye  at  a  glance. 
No  more  does  the  bee-keeper  seek  in  vain  his 
Italian  queen,  and  in  queen-i earing  this  is 
quite  an  object.  After  the  queen  is  captured 
and  the  colony  becomes  fully  aware  of  its 
loss,  the  bees  will  build  queen  cells  and  rear  a 
successor.  We  may  also  expect  some  "after 
swarms  ;"  and  the  first  one  will  probably  ap- 
pear in  about  fourteen  days,  the  time  being 
varieci  l)y  the  strength  of  the  colony. 

But  to  those  bee-keepers  who  are  not  seek- 
ing an  increase  of  colonies  but  rather  depend 
npon  the  lioney  harvested  for  tlieir  profits, the 
method  we  have  given  would  be  of  no  value. 
Such  bee-keepers  must  immediately  i)lace  a 
young  queen  in  the  colony  from  which  tlie 
queen  has  been  removed,  in  order  to  [irevent 
after  swarming  and  cause  as  little  disturbance 
among  the  honey  gatherers  as  possible.  The 
new  queen  must  be  caged  at  least  24  hours, 
when  introduced;  some  prefer  pl.acing  a  queen 
cell  in  the  hive  that  is  nearly  developed,  but 
this  requires  skill  and  patience.  I  have  re- 
cently tried — and  with  much  better  success — 
hanging  the  entire  comb  containing  tlie 
queen-cell  in  the  hive  which  contains  no 
queen.  Queen  cells  are  not  scarce  in  tlie 
swarming  season ;  every  colony  which  has  pro- 
duced an  early  swarm  will  contain  several 
queen  cells  which  must  be  used  at  just  the 
proper  time — that  is,  when  nine  or  ten  days 
old,  for  if  delayed  longer,  some  may  have  fully 
matured,  and  if  the  bees  are  not  inclined  to 
swarm  these  new  queens  may  destroy  tlio.se 
remaining  undeveloped,  by  biting  througli  the 
cells.  The  bees  usually  place  the  queen  cells 
upon  one  or  two  combs;  attention  is  necessary 
to  distribute  them  sutSciently,  that  every 
qiieenless  colony  may  be  supplied  with  comb 
containing  one  or  more  queen  cells.  This 
method  of  superseding  queens  is  certainly  very 
simple  and  practical,  as  well  as  expeditious^ 
Very  little  disturbance  is  created  among  the 
bees,  and  scarcely  any  interruption  of  labor. 
The  young  queen  will  soon  become  fertilized 
and  commence  depositing  e.jgs.     Should  she 


by  any  means  be  lost  or  destroyed  during  the 
wedding  flight,  a  new  queen  cell  should  be 
immediately  inserted,  and  care  should  be 
taken  to  select  one  nearly  matured,  that  the 
bees  may  not  become  too  much  excited. 

DRAINING  OK  LAND. 

Notwitlislanding  all  that  has  been  .said  and 
written  upon  the  subject  of  underground 
drainage,  it  lias  not  yet  become  a  popular 
operation  on  our  farming  lands.  There  are 
various  obvious  reasons  for  this.  Many  per- 
sons have  doubts  regarding  its  value.  The 
expense  of  thorough  drainage  is  considerable, 
although  the  labor  of  digging  and  cost  of  ma- 
terials is  often  exaggerated,  yet  the  difficulty 
of  procuring  either  is,  in  most  localities,  suf- 
ficient to  deter  those  who  have  no  pructical 
experience  in  the  execution  of  the  work,  and 
who  cannot  avail  tliemselves  of  intelligent 
s'lpervision,  for  in  this,  as  in  all  other  practi- 
cal operations,  very  mush  depends  upon  the 
economic  application  and  direction   of  labor. 

The  experience  of  practical  drainers,  both 
in  this  and  other  countries,  proves  beyond  all 
controversy  the  great  advantages  which  ac- 
crue from  the  Ihorougli  drainage  of  all  soils. 
Even  in  lands  not  jiarlicularly  retentive  of 
water  the  eflect  of  underground  ventilation  or 
aeration  is  evidenced  by  the  increased  capacity 
for  production.  With  a  drained  soil  the  culti- 
vator is  prepared  either  for  a  wet  or  dry  sea- 
son, for  it  is  Well  established  that  draining  in- 
creases the  capacity  of  the  soil  for  retaining 
moisture  or  moist  air,  which  is  precisely  what 
the  roots  of  plants  require.  It  is  a  mistake  to 
suppose  that  draining  actually  has  the  effect 
of  drying  laud  to  the  extent  of  depriving  it  of 
all  available  moisture.  The  reverse  is  nearer 
the  truth,  that  there  is  more  av.iilable  mois- 
ture for  plants  in  drained  than  there  is  in  un- 
drained  land.  Every  description  of  soil  has 
its  relative  degree  of  porosity  or  power  for  re- 
taining moisture.  Piaty  or  mo.ssy  soils,  main- 
ly composed  of  partially  decayed  organic  mat- 
ters, are  the  most  porous,  and  consequently 
are  the  greatest  absorbents  of  water,  while 
compact  clayey  soils  have  this  caiiacity  in  a 
very  limited  degree.  Draining  a  peaty  soil 
will  not  deprive  it  of  iiorosity ;  it  may  be 
likened  to  a  sponge  which  will  retain  all  the 
water  that  may  be  poured  on  it  until  its  pores 
are  filled,  but  no  more  ;  so  draiuing  relieves 
the  soil  of  suiierfluous  moisture  that  cannot 
be  retained  or  held  in  suspension  by  air,  and 
which,  if  not  removed  by  percolation  can 
only  be  removed  by  the  slow  process  of  sur- 
face evaporation. 

Clay  soils  cannot  porduce  to  the  full  extent 
of  their  ability  unless  underdrained.  The 
ordinary  routine  operation  of  plowing  has  a 
tendency  to  form  a  compacted  strata  immedi- 
ately below  the  cultivated  or  plowed  portion, 
which  acts  as  a  basin  in  the  retention  of  wa- 
ter. Such  soils  are  cold  and  late,  because  the 
water  prevents  the  heat  of  the  sun  from  warm- 
ing the  soil  until  the  water  has  been  removed 
by  evajioration,  which  jiroduees  cold  ;  .so  that 
in  addition  to  the  impracticability  of  early 
spring  cropping  of  such  soils,  every  summer 
shower  cools  the  earth  surrounding  the  roots 
of  the  growing  plants,  which  thus  .sustain  a 
series  of  checks  in  their  progress  to  maturity. 

These  evils  are  removed  by  draining.  Even 
the  strongest  clays  are  more  or  less  permeated 


-138 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER- 


[September, 


by  veins  ol'  sand  or  gravel,  sometimes  by  a 
layer  of  vegetable  matter  whicb  has  collected 
in  a  crack  or  fissure,  but  so  long  as  there  is 
no  outlet  beneath,  these  conducting  veins  are 
inert,  but  when  underlaid  with  drains  their 
action  is  at  once  apparent;  the  subsoil  that 
previously  held  water  like  a  basin  now  trans- 
mits it  like  a  filter,  and  as  the  w^ater  sinks  the 
air  follows  ;  the  rains  descend  freely  through 
the  soil,  carrying  to  the  roots  the  nutritive 
elements  with  which  it  is  charged  ;  the  ab- 
sorbing property  is  increased,  it  holds  more 
moisture  in  suspension,  and  crops  remain  lux- 
uriant even  in  seasons  of  drouth,  and  super- 
fluous water  being  removed  from  below,  the 
heat  of  the  sun  is  economized  in  warming 
tlie  soil,  instead  of  being  expended  in  the 
evaporation  of  surface  water. 

Briefly  it  may  be  stated  that  some  of  the 
advantages  of  underdraining  consist  in  the 
removal  of  stagnant  water  from  the  surface, 
and  excess  of  moisture  from  heavy  rains;  the 
temperature  of  the  soil  is  increased,  which  al- 
lows early  planting  of  crops,  and  hastens 
their  maturity;  it  equalizes  the  temperature 
of  the  soil  during  the  growing  season;  it 
equalizes  the  moisture  of  the  soil;  so  that 
crops  are  in  a  great  measure  exempt  from  the 
evils  resulting  from  excess  of  rainfall  on  the 
one  hand,  or  from  a  deficiency  of  rain-fall  on 
the  other;  the  roots  of  plants  are  supplied 
witli  soluljle  food  carried  down  by  rains,  as 
well  as  that  which  is  rendered  available  by 
the  decomposing  influences  of  air  and  moisture 
on  the  surrounding  soil,  and  on  such  manures 
as  are  applied  for  additional  fertilization:  the 
land  is  more  economically  worked,  and  culti- 
vation suffers  less  interruption  at  all  seasons, 
and  as  a  consequence  crops  are  increased  to 
their  maximum  production,  at  least  so  far  as 
they  are  de[)endcut  upon  the  physical  condi- 
tion of  the  soil,  a  factor  of  equal  importance 
with  that  of  its  chemical  constitution. —  Wm. 
ISaunders. 


THE    PRACTICAL     AND     THE    SCIEN- 
TIFIC IN  AGRICULTURE. 

The  earnestness  and  zeal  with  which  agri- 
cultural investigations  are  conducted  in  our 
day,  indicate  not  only  great  intellectual  ac- 
tivity in  the  agricultural  community,  but  they 
indicate  also  a  deep  desire  to  ascertain  the 
best  fountains  of  agricultural  knowledge.  The 
work  of  the  college  is  becoming  more  and 
more  aeceptable,  but  the  work  of  agricultural 
associations  is  becoming  more  and  more  use- 
ful. The  experimental  science  of  farming, 
that  science  which,  without  exercising  undue 
curiosity  with  regard  to  the  laws  of  nature, 
observes  and  collects  all  the  facts  which  may 
guide  us  in  such  an  observance  of  these  laws 
as  will  secure  our  prosperity  and  success  in 
farming.  And  ^this  is  the  science  we  most 
need;  " a  science  founded  upon  the  accumu- 
lation of  facts  and  the  accumulation  of  ex- 
periments." For,  as  the  Duke  of  Argyle  re- 
cently said,  "we  can  never  have  agricultural 
science  unless  wc  know  the  facts  with  which 
we  have  to  deal.  So  long  as  we  want  a  system 
of,  agricultural  statistics,  we  are  deficient  in 
one  of  the  very  bases  upon  which  an  agricul- 
tural Science  can  be  founded." 

Of  the  value  of  this  kind  of  science  to  the 
farmer  the  most  enterprising,  agriculturists 
have  long  been  aware.     The  foundation  of  all 


knowledge  of  agriculture  is  the  accumulation 
of  fixed  facts,  suggested  perhaps  by  accident, 
discovered  perhaps  by  science  ;  but,  however 
obtained,  proved  or  confirmed  by  the  practi- 
cal farmer  on  the  land.  A  theory  which  bears 
this  test  may  become  a  law  at  once  for  the 
farming  community,  and  until  it  has  borne 
such  a  test  it  is  theory  still,  no  matter  what 
its  origin  may  have  been,  whether  college  or 
farm  yard.  While,  therefore,  an  agricultural 
school  may  be  devoted  to  science  as  a  guide 
to  agriculture,  and  may  be  engaged  in  culti- 
vating a  single  farm  according  to  the  best 
known  principle,  it  must  depend  upon  a  wide- 
spread community  of  farmers  for  the  last 
grand  process  of  proving  and  diflusiug  its 
theories.  And  when  we  remember  that  agri- 
culture is  not  an  exact  science,  and  cannot  be 
until  the  skies  and  the  seasons  are  subdued 
by  man,  and  that  the  facts  discovered  in  the 
field  by  the  diligent  cultivator  are  often  of 
more  practical  value  than  those  laid  down  by 
the  student  in  his  closet,  we  shall  not  be  sur- 
prised at  the  success  which  associated  farmers 
have  met  with  in  the  work  of  advancing  agri- 
cultural education.  In  fact  the  most  substan- 
tial and  useful  literature  of  agriculture  goes 
to  prove  this. 

The  books  to  which  the  farmer  turns  most 
eagerly  for  knowledge  are  those  which  con- 
tain the  facts  which  now  constitute  the 
treasury  of  his  library:  Arthur  Young, 
traversing  all  England  for  the  materials  out 
of  which  to  write  his  admirable  volumes, 
Jethro  TuU  toiling  with  his  own  hands  to  ex- 
tract from  the  soil  itself  the  doctrines  of 
horse-hoeing  and  drill  husbandry  with  which 
to  enrich  his  native  island;  Mr.  Cully,  de- 
voted to  the  improvement  of  cattle  as  the 
best  college  in  which  to  learn  how  to  discuss 
their  breeding  and  feeding;  Fitzherbert,  who, 
although  justice  of  common  pleas,  was  as 
he  tells' us  "an  experienced  farmer  of  more 
than  forty  years,"  and  wrote  the  "Books  of 
Husbandries;"  and  so  the  admirable  writers 
of  modern  days  all  write  from  the  great  stand- 
point of  experience,  AVhat  richer  fountains  of 
agriculture  knowledge  can  be  found  than  the 
transactions  of  our  agricultural  sscieties  ? 
Where  can  a  better  lesson  be  read  than  is  con- 
tained in  those  modest  volumes  issued  an- 
nually and  containing  the  recorded  experience 
of  successful  farmers  ¥  We  turn  to  this  foun- 
tain of  knowledge  with  confidence,  and  we 
turn  from  it  with  new  light  and  courage  for 
the  pursuit  of  farming.  What  a  treatise  on 
sheep-husbandry  might  be  written  by  sitting 
at  the  firesides  or  roaming  over  the  pastures 
of  our  great  wool-growing  States  and  taking 
notes  of  the  experiences  and  labors  of  the 
farmers  there?  What  fund  of  information 
upon  the  cultivation  of  crops,  the  manage- 
ment of  orchards,  the  use  of  manures,  the 
conduct  of  the  dairy,  lie  concealed  in  the 
farm-house  everywhere  ?  It  is  a  combination 
of  this  practice  and  economic  science  which 
should  be  the  desire  and  motto  of  every 
farmer's  a.ssociation,  and  is  the  foundation  of 
the  farmer's  best  knowledge. 

Let  the  example  thus  set  be  followed  always 
and  everywhere.  Let  our  scientific  teachers 
learn  to  respect  the  practical  knowledge  of 
the  farmer,  and  let  the  farmer  lay  aside  his 
jealousy  of  the  learning  of  the  schools.  To 
this  just  and   proper  combination  of  mental 


forces  how  would  the  earth  unfold  her  secrets '. 
how  would  the  fields  rejoice  under  well- 
directed  cultivation  ;  how  would  the  whole 
animal  economy  of  the  farm  be  developed  and 
improved  ;  how  would  the  whole  business  of 
agriculture  be  brought  into  subjec'.ion  to  sys- 
tematic laws.  Without  this  combination,  de- 
prived of  this  accumulation  of  facts,  science 
in  agriculture  becomes  powerless  ;  with  it,  it 
becomes  a  most  important  ally  to  the  farmer  ; 
in  fact,  it  is  reduced  to  one  mode  of  practice 
itself,  and  meets  with  the  highest  success. 
For  in  whatever  the  farmer  does  he  is  obliged 
to  recognize  an  influence  which  the  hand  of 
man  cannot  reach,  which  no  investigation  can 
fathom,  no  human  power  guide.  Agriculture 
obeys  the  laws  of  nature  ;  science  endeavors 
to  ascertain  and  explain  them.  Science  may 
attend  upon  agriculture  as  a  guide  and  stimu- 
lus to  the  best  exertion  ;  but  it  is  the  patient 
and  prudent  and  experienced  farmer  who 
knows  what  land  he  needs,  what  crops  he  can 
raise,  what  fertilizers  he  requires,  and  what 
labor  he  can  best  apply.  It  is  the  union  of 
practice  and  science  which  makes  farming 
perfect. — Hon.  Geo.  B.  Loring. 

OUR  Local  Organizations. 


LANCASTER  COUNTY  AGRICULTURAL 
AND   HORTICULTURAL  SOCIETY. 

The  Lancaster  County  Agricultural  and  Hoiticul- 

tural  Association  held  a  stated  meeting  on  Monday 
afternoon,  September  4,  1882,  in  their  room  in  City 
Hall. 

The  following  named  members  were  present : 
John  C.  Linville,  Salisbury ;  S.  P.  Eby,  Esq.,  city  ; 
James  Wood,  Little  Britain  ;  W.  B.  Paxson,  Cole- 
rain  ;  Daniel  Smeych,  city;  F.  R.  Diffenderffer,  city; 
C.  H.  Gast,  city  ;  Peter  Hershey,  city  ;  J.  M.  John- 
ston, city  ;  J.  Frank  Landis,  East  Lampeter  ;  John- 
son Miller,  Lititz  ;  Levi  S.  Reist,  Oregon  ;  Phares 
Buckwaltcr,  East  Lampeter  ;  Eph  S.  Hoover,  Man- 
heim  ;  W.  H.  Brosius,  Drumore. 

The  president  being  absent  James  Wood  was 
called  to  the  chair. 

John  C.  Linville  stated  that  Henry  M.  Engle  had 
informed  him  that  he  had  corresponded  with  Prof. 
Thomas  M.  Edge,  of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculturs, 
and  that  Prof.  Edge  had  consented  to  deliver  a  lec- 
ture before  the  society  at  its  next  stated  meeting  in 
October. 

Crop  Reports. 

Levi  S.  Relet,  of  Oregon,  reported  that  the  crops 
in  all  sections  of  Lancaster  county  were  good  ;  the 
wheat  and  hay  had  been  garnered  and  produced 
bountifully ;  coru  and  potatoes  promised  equally 
well,  and  even  the  tobacco,  which  only  a  short  time 
ago  it  was  feared  would  be  almost  a  failure,  is  turn- 
ing out  unexpectedly  good.  Within  the  past  ten 
days  it  has  grown  wonderfully  ;  the  leaves  are  large 
and  clean,  of  good  color  and  apparently  good 
quality.  The  peach,  pear  and  apple  crops  in  his 
neighborhood  are  quite  fair,  and  taken  all  in  all,  the 
farmers  have  to  be  thankful  for  as  prolific  a  harvest 
of  all  kinds  as  he  has  any  recollection  of. 

J.  Frank  Landis,  of  East  Lampeter,  reported  that 
there  would  be  about  three  fourths  of  a  full  crop  of 
corn  and  potatoes  in  his  section;  the  late  tobacco  is 
growing  finely  and  will  yield  much  better  than  was 
expected;  apples  are  scarce  and  imperfect,  and 
grapes  are  rotting  on  the  vines. 

John  C.  Linville,  of  Salisbury,  agreed  that  mostof 
the  crops  were  good,  as  represented  by  Mr.  Reist, 
but  in  his  neighborhood  the  oats  was  not  a  good 
crop.  He  does  not  grow  tobacco,  but  he  has  seen  it 
in  his  neighbors'  fields,  and  never  before  saw  such  an 
improvement  as  there  has  been  within  the  past  ten 
or  fifteen  days.  Notwithstanding  the  long  drouth, 
the  grass  and  clover  fields  look  well — the  young 


1882,] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


139 


clover  lookiiiK  better  Ibau  he  luis  seen  it  look  within 
the  past  four  years.  Apples  are  diseased  and  are 
drojipiug  oil"— scarcely  a  perfect  one  is  to  bo  found 
on  the  trees. 

W.  E.  Paxson,  of  Colerain,  had  never  seen  the 
prospect  of  the  corn  crop  better;  the  clever  and  pas 
ture  fields  also  look  well  and  the  late  rains  have 
greatly  improved  the  tobacco,  which  looks  very  well; 
apples,  with  the  exception  of  the  russets,  are  drop, 
ping  oil". 

Johnson  Miller,  of  Lititz,  said  the  late  rains  have 
greatly  improved  the  corn  and  tobacco,  and  the 
latter  now  looks  very  well;  the  wheat  crop  was  ex- 
cellent; the  apples  are  rapidly  droppiu;;  oil";  the 
peaches  are  being  attacked  on  the  tree  by  bees  and 
wasps:  the  grapes  are  rotting  on  the  vines  in  some 
places;  the  young  clover  looks  better  than  he  has 
ever  seen  it  at  this  time  of  the  year;  some  farmers 
are  cutting  their  tob.icco,  which  looks  as  if  it  would 
be  about  an  average  crop. 

Peter  Ilershey  said  he  thought  the  tobacco  in 
Salisbury  was  better  than  that  nearer  Lancaster, 
though  everywhere  there  has  been  wonderful  im 
provcment  within  the  last  ten  days;  the  corn  is 
healthy,  but  the  ears  are  short;  grass,  timothy  and 
clover  look  very  well;  apples  are  scarce  and  tailing 
oil",  except  the  Baldwin,  Smith's  Cider  and  a  few 
others,  which  contain  some  line  fruit;  wheat  turned 
out  very  well  and  oats  poorly. 

James  Wood,  of  Little  Britain,  said  the  wheat  wag 
excellent,  and  believes  the  corn  will  be  equally  good  ; 
of  oats  there  was  not  more  than  half  a  crop;  his  own 
yielded  lil  bushels  to  the  acre  ;  not  many  apples  are 
grown  in  his  neighborhood,  and  no  peaches;  hedon't 
grow  tobacco,  but  sees  some  very  good  crops  in  the 
ower  end  ;  the  hay  was  good  and  jiotatoes  will  yield 
over  an  average  crop.  Take  it  all  in  all  this  is  one 
ol  the  very  best  seasons  the  farmer  has  ever  had. 

Selecting  and  Breeding  Dairy  Stock. 

Mr.  W.  E.  Paxson,  of  Colerain,  read  the  following 
essay  : 

In  respectful  obedience  to  your  request  I  will  pre- 
sent as  briefly  as  may  be  some  remarks  based  on  the 
subject  of  "selecting  breeding  and  dairy  stock." 
The  milking  qualities  of  our  domestic  cows  are  to 
some  extent  artificial,  the  result  of  judicious  care 
and  breeding.  In  the  natural  or  wild  state  the  cow 
yields  only  enough  to  nourish  her  offspring  for  a  few 
weeks  and  then  goes  dry  for  several  montlis  or  dur- 
ing the  greater  part  of  the  year.  There  is  therefore 
a  constant  tendency  to  revert  to  that  condition  which 
is  prevented  only  by  judicious  treatment,  designed 
to  develop  and  increase  the  milking  qualities  so  valu- 
able to  the  human  race.  If  this  judicious  treatment 
is  continued  through  several  generations  of  the  same 
family  or  race  of  animals  the  qualities  which  it  is 
calculated  to  develop  become  more  or  less  fixed,  and 
capable  of  transmission  ;  and  instead  of  being  ex- 
ceptional or  peculiar  to  an  individual  they  become 
the  permanent  characteristics  of  a  breed.  A  knowl- 
edge of  the  history  ol  the  diflTerent  breeds,  and  es- 
pecially of  the  dairy  breeds,  is  of  manifest  importance 
and  will  aid  the  farmer  perhaps  in  making  an  Intel 
ligent  selection  with  reference  to  the  special  object  of 
pursuit.  In  selecting  any  breed,  therefore,  the 
farmer  must  select  that  breed  or  herd  which  is  best 
adapted  to  that  branch  of  dairying  wliich  he  pur- 
sues. An  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  various 
breeds  of  cattle  known  among  us  has  led  us  to  dis- 
tinguish the  most  prominent  r'reeds— especially  those 
adapted  to  the  dairy  ;  and  the  importations  of  these 
famous  breeds  have  been  so  frequent  and  extensive 
in  the  United  States  within  the  last  few  years  that 
they  are  now  pretty  generally  diffused  over  the  coun- 
try and  within  the  reach  of  every  farmer.  If  the 
dairyman  is  selling  his  milk  the  cow  that  will  yield 
the  most  milk  will  be  the  profitable  one.  If  he  is 
making  butter  then  he  must  have  a  large  yield  of 
cream  of  the  best  quality,  no  matter  what  the  flow 
of  milk  ;  and  the  cow  that  will  be  the  profitable  one. 
How  careful  then  should  he  be  in  his  selection,  and 
to  breed  from  that  stock  with  the  hope  of  improve- 
ment. 

With  the  dairyman  the  cow  is  the  machine  that 
manufactures  the  dairy  goods.  Then  should  he  not 
be  as  careful  in  selecting  his  herd  of  cows  as  I  he 
manufacturers  would  be  in  selecting  machinery  to 
workout  his  fabrics?  And  yet  the  manufacturer 
gives  greater  attention  to  his  machinery  than  the 
dairyman  to  his  herd  of  cows.  Nearly  one  third  of 
all  the  cows  kept  by  dairymen  in  the  county  produce 
less  milk  than  will  pay  their  keep.  They  are  simply 
a  clog  upon  the  business,  and  the  sooner'they  are  dis- 
posed of  the  better.  Does  not  this  important  mat- 
ter behoove  every  one  engaged  in  the  dairy 
business  to  set  himself  at  work  m   weeding  out  the 


poor  cows  so  that  they  may  be  able  to  reap  larger 
products  from  their  dairies?  Test  each  cow  by  her- 
self and  see  how  many  do  pay  profit  enough  to  re 
tain 'hem,  and  get  rid  of  these  small  profit  ones  an 
soon  as  possible.  It  is  necessary  that  we  should 
endeavor  to  improve  our  dairy  stock;  and  how  can 
this  be  done?  Not  surely  by  indiscriminale  crossing, 
this  is  why  we  have  so  many  mongrel  herds,  and 
why  so  large  a  share  of  their  progeny  Is  so  jmor. 
Our  object  in  crossing  should  be  improvement,  and 
wo  ought  to  know  when  we  make  a  cross  whether 
we  are  likely  to  get  it.  We  must  be  careful  not  to 
in  any  way  deteriorate  the  form  and  health  of  the 
anhnal,  and  the  quality  ol  the  milk,  as  well  as  not 
to  lessen  the  flow.  As  far  as  possible  it  is  best  to 
breed  our  herds  from  pure  blooil.  A  great  part  of 
the  art  of  breeding  lies  in  the  principles  of  judicious 
crossing,  for  it  is  only  by  attending  projierly  to  tills 
that  success  is  to  be  attained.  All  eminent  breeders 
know  that  ill-bred  animals  arc  unprofitalile,  and  the 
old  saying  stil  holds  good  that  "like  begets  like." 
If  this  be  true,  which  doubtless  it  is,  then  how  care 
ful  we  shocdd  bo  not  to  breed  from  an  Inferior  ani 
mal;  and  I  hope  the  time  is  gradually  passing  away 
when  the  intelligent,  practical  farmer  will  be  willing 
to  put  his  cows  to  any  mere  runt  of  a  bull  simply  be- 
cause his  services  may  be  had  for  li.'i  cents.  A  calf 
sired  by  a  pure-bred  bull,  particularly  of  a  race  dis- 
tinguished by  firmness  of  bone,  symmetry  of  form, 
and  early  maturity,  will  bring  a  much  higher  price 
at  the  same  age  than  a  calf  sired  by  a  scrub. 

In  closing,  let  me  make  one  remark  in  regard  to 
the  treatment  of  our  cows.  There  is  an  old  adage 
among  the  Germans  that  "the  cow  milks  only 
through  her  throat."  Never  was  better  said.  Alas, 
how  many  ot  us  forget  this,  and  instead  of  giving 
them  the  treatment  and  care  which  they  deserve, 
they  are  neglected.  The  productiveness  of  the  cow 
does  not  depend  on  her  breed  so  much  as  on  her 
food  and  management.  Proper  shelter  and  good 
nutritious  food  should  bo  provided  for  herduringthe 
winter  months  and  then  we  may  expect  good  results. 

It  is  fortunate,  indeed,  that  wiser  and  more  hu- 
mane ideas  prevail  with  regard  to  the  care  of  stock 
of  all  kinds,  now,  than  that  treatment  which  it  re- 
ceived in  the  early  history  ot  our  country,  when 
'many  thousand  perished  from  exposure  and  starva- 
tion. And  I  hope  that  the  idea  which  was  so  pre- 
valent among  our  farmers  once  who  styled  them- 
selves "practical  farmers,"  is  thoroughly  rooted  out 
never  to  be  practiced  again  that  cows  and  young 
stock  should  remain  outdoors  exposed  to  the  cold 
winter  days  in  order  that  they  might  be  toughened 
Isnotthisan  erroneous  idea?  >Io  thrifty  ("armer. 
will  subject  his  stock  to  such  treatment  with  such 
an  object  in  view. 

The  Question  Discussed. 

J.  C  Linville  thought  the  essay  much  to  the  point 
and  furnished  much  information  that  would  be  of 
value  to  the  farmer  as  well  as  to  the  dairyman .  We 
don't  pay  enough  attention  to  our  dairy  stock  ;  the 
margin  of  profit  on  dairy  products  is  small  at  best, 
and  the  difference  between  a  good  and  a  bad  cow  is 
the  difTereuce  between  a  moderate  profit  and  an  ab- 
solute loss.  We  should  dispose  of  all  cows  that  do 
not  pay  for  their  feed  ;  if  we  liave  good  butter  cows 
we  should  raise  our  stock  from  their  calves  and  not 
buy  our  cows  from  the  West. 

S.  P.  Eby  thought  the  essay  contained  a  number 
of  valuable  suggestions.  The  proper  care  of  cattle 
is  important ;  the  thoroughbred  is,  as  the  essayist 
says,  an  artificial  animal  and  will  run  back  to  its 
natural  state  unless  judiciously  treated  and  kindly 
cared  for.  We  should  devote  as  much  attention  to 
our  cows  as  we  do  to  our  horses.  The  one  should  be 
curried  and  kept  clean  as  well  as  the  other.  They 
should  not  be  msrely  well  sheltered  in  winter,  but 
their  stalls  should  be  kept  clean  and  well  ventilated. 

In  answer  to  the  question  as  to  what  is  a  thorough- 
bred, Mr.  Linville  said  it  is  an  animal  that  has  been 
carefully  bred  for  many  generations  until  its  type  is 
fixed — whether  tliattyi/e  be  Alderney,  Jersey,  Guern- 
sey, Devon,  Durham  or  other  breed.  Some  of  our 
native  cows  arc  as  good  or  better  than  the  thorough 
breds,  but  the  diHieulty  is  the  type  is  not  fixed,  and 
three  times  out  of  four  the  calves  will  not  be  of  the 
type  of  the  cow.  In  answer  to  another  question, 
Mr.  Linville  said  the  Jersey  and  Guernsey  breeds 
were  much  alike,  and  that  no  Alderneys  are  im- 
ported into  this  country. 

Mr.  Paxson  said  the  Guernseys  were  rather  larger 
than  the  Jerseys,  and  of  not  quite  such  line  points 
or  color  ;  for  milk  and  butter  production  they  are 
much  alike.  He  thought  farmers  should  raise  their 
own  stock  from   carefully-selected   bulls   and  cows. 

Levi  S.  Keist  said  that  notwithstanding  the  great 


advanlages  resulting  from  improved  breeds  of  cattle, 
Lancaster  county  farmers  have  always  been  slow  in 
Intro 'ucing  them.  They  stick  to  the  old,  common 
breeds,  saying  that  cattle-raising  don't  pay  anyhow, 
and  that  our  land  Is  too  dear  to  devote  to  stock-rais- 
ing. He  agreed,  however,  with  what  the  essayist 
had  saiil. 

On  motion,  the  thanks  of  the  society  were  voted 
to  Mr.  Paxson. 

How  to  Secure  Better  Meetings. 
Johnson  .Miller  said  some  plan  should  l>e  adopted 
by  which  a  better  attendance  at  the  regular  meetings 
of  the  society  could  be  attained.  But  very  little  pro- 
gress has  been  made  in  this  direction  during  the  past 
ten  years.  He  suggested  that  if  the  meetings,  in- 
stead of  being  held  in  the  city  every  month,  were 
held  at  the  residences  of  the  members  in  different 
parts  of  the  county,  the  attendance  would  be  much 
larger  and  meetings  more  attractive.  This  plan  has 
been  adopted  by  the  Ocloraro  Farmers'  Club,  with 
good  results.  He  had  attended  one  of  their  meetings 
at  which  a  large  number  of  farmers  were  gathered, 
and  a  pleasant  and  profitable  time  followed.  Our 
meetings  are  held  on  Monday,  always  a  busy  day, 
on  which  those  members  who  do  get  to  town  have  a 
great  deal  of  work  to  do  and  rarely  reach  the  meet- 
ing before  half  past  two  o'clock,  and  some  of  them, 
to  reach  home  by  the  cars,  have  to  leave  before  the 
adjournment,  as  was  his  case  now.  He  had  no 
motion  to  make,  but  asked  the  society  to  consider  the 
suggestion. 

S.  P.  Eby  moved  that  the  consideration  of  the 
matter  Ije  postponed  until  next  meeting  so  that 
members  could  have  time  to  think  over  It.  The 
present  meeting  was  a  small  one,  and  it  would  not 
be  advisable  to  act  hastily.  Mr.  Eby's  motion  was 
agreed  to. 

Cutting  Corn-Fodder  for  Feed 
The  question,  "  Will  it  not  pay  the  farmer  to  cut 
his  corn  fodder  before  feeding  it  to  his  cattle/"  was 
answered  by  Peter  Hershey,  who  said  that  his  ex- 
perience was  that  it  did  not  pay  to  cut  the  fodder  ; 
he  had  practiced  cutting  it  for  several  years  but  had 
quit  it.  It  is  true  that  the  fodder  is  more  easily 
handled  when  cut  and  when  it  finds  lis  way  to  the 
manure  pile  it  rols  more  rapidly  and  makes  shorter 
manure,  but  the  labor  and  expense  of  cutting  it  over 
balances  the  advantages  gained. 

John  C.  Linville  said  he  had  a  good  fodder  cutler 
and  used  it  two  or  three  years  and  liked  it;  the  corn- 
stalks have  not  much  nutriment  in  them,  but  they 
help  to  fill  the  stomach  and  will  do  to  eke  out  a 
short  hay  crop;  but  the  labor  of  cutting  the  fodder 
costs  more  than  it  comes  to,  if  you  have  to  hire  help 
to  do  it;  labor  is  expensive  and  useless  you  have 
plenty  of  spare  time  of  your  own  he  would  not  re- 
commend culling  the  fodder. 

Streaks  in  Butter. 
"What  is  the  cause  of  streaks  In  butter?"  was  an 
swered  by  J.  Frank  Landis.     He  said  the  streaks  re- 
sulted from  imperfect  working  and    washing  of  the 
butter,  and  they  might  be  avoided  by  care  in  this  re 
spect.    The  butter  should  ba  made   of  good   cream 
from  good  cows,  the  cream  should  bee  t  a   tempera- 
ture of  .5.5  or  60  degrees  when  churned,  and  after  be- 
ing churned  sliould  be  carefully  worked  so  as  to  re- 
move all  the  buttermilk  and  the  best  quality  of    salt 
should  be  used.     Mr.  Landis  read  from   an   agricul 
tural    journal    a    paragraph    which     substantially 
agreed  with  his  own  views. 

Howr  to  Sow  Timothy  Seed. 
"Is  it  better  to  sow  timothy   seed   before   or   after 
the  drill?"  was  answered  by  Levi  S.  Keist,  who   said 
he  would  prefer  sowing  it  alter  the  drill,  and   before 
a  fall  af  rain.     Unlike  some  other  farmers  he   could 
not  grow  timothy  from  seed  sown  in  the  spring. 
The  best  Variety  of  Wheat. 
"What  kind  of  wheat  should    we  sow  this   fall?" 
was  next  discussed. 

J.  Frank  Landis  said  a  majority  of  the  farmers  in 
his  neighborhood  who  have  been  growing  the  Fnltz 
variety  are  giving  it  np  and  going  back  to  the  old 
Mediterranean  or  Lancaster  variety,  which  brings  a 
better  price  at  the  mills  than  the  Fultz  wheat. 


140 


THE  LANCASTER   FARMER. 


[September, 


Levi  S.  Keist  said  the  farmers  in  his  neighborhood 
were  also  giving  up  the  Fultz  wheat.  Id  Mount  Joy 
they  are  introducing  a  new  variety,  the  name  of 
which  he  had  forgotten.  Samuel  Hossler  has  the 
seed  and  it  is  said  to  be  very  prolifie. 

James  Wood  said  there  would  be  very  little 
change  of  seed  in  his  neighborhood.  The  farmers 
were  about  ready  to  give  up  the  Fultz,  but  it  has 
done  so  well  this  year  that  tbey  are  going  to  give.it 
another  trial.  There  is  a  new  variety  being  intro- 
duced by  some  farmers  called  the  Russian  wheat,  for 
which  ?.S  per  bushel  is  asked.  It  was  introduced 
into  Lancaster  county  by  New  York  seedmcn  who 
were  so  well  pleased  with  it  that  they  bought  up 
for  seed  all  the  crops  that  were  sown. 

J.  C.  Liuville  said  the  Shumaker  wheat,  being  in- 
troduced by  some  farmers,  has  red  chaff  and  red 
grain,  and  is  better  for  milling  purposes  than  the 
Clauson  or  Fultz  ;  it  stands  the  winter  better  than 
either,  but  is  more  liable  to  be  attacked  by  the 
Hessian  fly  ;  the  straw  is  tall  and  liable  to  lodge. 

J.  Frank  Landis  said  the  Clauson  did  not  do  well 
on  heavy  soil ;  it  ripened  too  late  and  the  seeds  did 
not  mature  as  well  as  other  varieties. 

Following  Corn  with  Wheat. 

"  What  is  the  best  method  of  preparing  corn 
ground  for  wheat  ?  " 

Levi  S.  Reist  answered,  cut  the  corn  stubbles  ofT 
close  to  the  ground  and  drill  in  the  wheat  without 
plowing. 

J.  Frank  Landis  endorsed  this  plan  :  he  cultivated 
his  corn  as  late  as  August,  kept  the  ground  as  level 
as  possible  and  after  the  corn  is  off  drill  in  the  wheat 
without  plowing. 

J.  C.  Linville  said  that  no  answer  will  apply  to  all 
cases.  He  had  not  succeeded  in  raising  good  rye  or 
wheat  on  corn  ground  without  plowing.  His  soil  is 
too  heavy.  He  would  plow  the  ground,  roll  it,  har- 
row it  and  roll  it  again.  If  the  soil  is  loamy  it  is 
Dot  necessary  to  plow  it,  but  in  heavy  soils  inside 
plow  by  all  means. 

James  Wood  harrows  in  the  seed  without  plowing, 
but  has  known  both  plaDS  to  succeed  aud  both  to 
fail.  Much  no  doubt  depends  on  the  soil  and  the 
season. 

Forestry. 

Levi  S.  Reist  announced  that  he  had  received  from 
the  Lieutenant  Governor  of  Canada  an  invitation  to 
attend  the  Forestry  Convention,  and  in  connection 
read  from  a  paper  some  startling  statistics  showing 
the  wonderful  consumption  of  wood  in  the  construc- 
tion of  our  railroads — one  fact  being  that  the  ties 
alone  of  the  railro.-ids  in  the  United  States  if  placed 
end  to  end  would  reach  to  the  moon  and  back  again. 

Fruits  on  Exhibition. 

F.  R.  DifTenderfTer,  Levi  S.  Reist  and  J.  Frank 
Landis  wep-  appointed  a  comittee  to  test  and  report 
on  the  fruit  brought  to  the  meeting.  Their  report 
was  as  follows  : 

The  fruit  on  exhibition  consisted  of  one  plate  of 
seven  peaches,  large  in  size  and  fully  ripe  ;  three 
plates  of  seedling  peaches  of  the  Sener  variety,  all  re- 
sembling the  parent  in  general  appearance,  although 
not  quite  so  large  ;  the  one  marked  No.  3  was  rather 
better  flavored  than  the  Sener  itself.  All  are  worth 
cultivating,  and  are  very  handsome  in  appearance. 
These  were  all  exhibited  by  Daniel  Smeych  of  this  city. 

Mr.  Smeych  also  had  a  plate  of  Telegraph  and 
Champion  grapes,  very  fine  in  appearance  and  well 
flavored.  Also,  a  large  foreign  plum  of  a  fine  yel- 
low color  aud  handsome  appearance. 

S.  P.  Eby  Exhibited  one  of  Rogers  grapes,  but  not 
being  fully  ripe  the  particular  variety  is  unknown. 
Also,  some  Bartlett  pears  from  a  tree  planted  in 
l«7fl;  a  Benoni  apple  from  a  tree  planted  in  the  fall 
of  1K7.5;  also,  a  pear  of  the  Brandy  wine  variety,  and 
some  early  Crawford  peaches  of  large  size;  also, 
Clapp's  Favorite  pears  from  a  tree  planted  in  1R79; 
also  some  very  handsome  trumpet  flowers  of  reddish 
color  and  growing  abundant  clusters. 

Mr.  Reist  had  two  seeding  apples  for  name,  but 
your  committee  are  unable  to  pronounce  definitely 
upon  this.    They  are  of  medium   size,  reddish  in 


color,  aud  of  a  pleasant  taste.      They  are  very  juicy 
and  would  make  fine  cider  apples. 

Berks  County  Fair. 
Joseph  F.  Witmer,    Eph.  S.    Hoover    and    Calvin 
Cooper  were  appointed  delegates  to  attend  the  Berks 
county  fair,  commencing  on  the  -4th  of  September. 


POULTRY  ASSOCIATION. 

The  Lancaster  County  Poultry  Association  met 
statedly  in  their  room,  in  the  City  Hall,  at  half-past 
ten  o  clock  on  Monday  morning,  September  4,  1882, 
with  the  following  members  present :  George  A. 
Geyer,  Spring  Garden  ;  J.  B.  Lichty,  city;  Charles 
Lippold,  city  ;  J.  B.  Long,  city  ;  J.  M.  Johnston,  city; 
J.  E.  Sebum,  city  ;  C.  A.  Gast,  city  ;  and  F.  K.  Dif- 
fenderffer,  city. 

The  minutes  of  the  last  stated  meeting  were  read 
and  approved. 

Peter  Brunner,  of  Mouut  Joy,  aod  Mrs.  Theodore 
H.  Patterson,  of  Safe  Harbor,  were  elected  to  mem- 
bership in  the  society. 

Secretary  Lichty  reported  that  he  was  receiving 
much  encouragement  in  securing  advertisements  for 
the  catalogue.  A  number  of  special  premiums  were 
also  being  offered,  among  which  was  a  silver  cup 
valued  at  $25. 

Several  members  reported  that  they  had  sent  a 
number  of  pigeons  aud  chickens  to  the  exhibition  of 
the  State  Agricultural  Society,  at  Pittsburg. 

After  an  informal  discussion  on  the  subject  of 
ducks,  chickens  and  pigeons,  at  which  nothingof  in- 
terest to  the  public  was  developed,  the  meeting  ad- 
journed. 


STATE  BOARD  OF    AGRICULTURE. 

The  next  meeting  of  the  Pennsylvania  Board  of 
Agriculture  will  be  held  in  Washington,  Pa.,  begin- 
ning on  Wednesday,  October  18,  and  continuing  sev- 
eral days.  A  large  number  of  delegates  from  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  State  will  be  prescDt.  These 
meetings  are  open  to  everybody,  and,  as  the  subjects 
all  interest  our  farmers,  it  is  expected  that  they  will 
be  in  attendance  in  large  numbers.  Each  subject 
will  be  treated  by  a  person  who  knows  what  he  is 
talking  about.  Among  the  essayists  is  Henry  M. 
Engle,  who  will  read  a  paper  on  "  Ice  Houses  for 
Farmers." 

FULTON   FARMERS'  CLUB. 

In  accordance  with  their  established  custom,  the 
Farmers'  Club,  of  Fulton  township,  held  their  an- 
nual fair  and  pic-nic  on  Saturday,  September  2,  at 
Black  Barren  Spring,  in  Fulton  township,  one  of  the 
prettiest  places  in  the  lower  end  of  the  county. 
Though  it  threatened  raiu  all  morning  the  sturdy 
farmers  with  their  wives  and  daughters  began  to 
come  in  at  an  early  hour  and  by  noon  fully  four 
hundred  persons  were  on  the  grounds,  which  were 
prepared  for  the  occasion.  A  grand-stand  had  been 
erected,  which  was  handsomely  decorated  with 
flowers  and  greens  and  in  front  of  it  were  placed 
rows  of  benches  for  the  accommodation  of  the  audi- 
ence. Near  the  stand  were  long  tables,  which  had 
been  placed  under  the  trees,  and  these  were  soon 
made  attractive  by  the  large  variety  of  articles 
placed  on  exhibition  by  the  farmers  as  they  came  in. 
In  another  part  of  the  grounds  were  the  faeming  im- 
plements and  the  live  stock.  Though  no  premiums 
are  offered,  those  who  attend  these  gatherings  take 
enough  interest  in  them  to  make  a  very  creditable 
display  as  the  following  list  of 

Articles    Exhibited 
with  the  names  of  the  exhibitors  will  show  : 

William  King,  of  Kirk's  Mills,  exhibited  three  va- 
rieties of  apples,  two  varieties  of  grapes,  corn  and 
Worster's  Cabinet  Creamery. 

May  H.  .Stubbs,  Wakefield.— Three  varieties  of 
grapes,  plums,  double  squash,  box  of  honey  and  a 
cup  of  crab  apple  jelly. 

Josiah  Brown,  Lyle.— Corn,  cucumbers,  Jerusalem 
cucumber  and  tomatoes. 

Lyman  C.  Blackburn,  Pleasant  Grove.— Water- 
melons. 


May  Morgan,  Goshen. — German  wax  beans  and 
corn. 

Grace  A.  King,  Lyle. — Two  varieties  of  grapes, 
tomatoes,  cabbage,  apples,  peas,  beets  aod  canned 
peaches. 

J.  R.  Blackburn,  Pleasant  Grove. — Peas,  sweet 
potatoes  and  wheat. 

Rebecca  D.  King,  of  Kirk's  Mills.  Jelly,  canned 
plums,  and  canned  gooseberries. 

Ra"hel  Gibson,  Little  Britain. — Preserved  toma- 
toes. 

Jacob  Moore,  Lyle. — Peas  and  beets. 

Deborah  Jackson,  Wakefield. — Can  of  apples. 

Lindley  King,  Wakefield.— Two  varieties  of  apples 
and  one  of  sweet  potatoes. 

W.  P.  King,  Wakefield.— -Lima  beans,  acme  toma- 
toes. 

Kirk  i&  King,  Wakefield. — Canned  tomatoes  and 
canned  corn. 

Lauretta  A.  Kirk,  Wakefield. — Large  beet. 

Thos.  P.  King,  Wakefield.— Corn. 

Gilpin  Reynolds,  Wakefield. — Watermelons, citron 
and  beet. 

Philena  Reynolds,  Wakefield. — Canned  and  pre- 
served peaches. 

Joseph  Brown,  Wakefield. — Early  Rose  potatoes. 

George  Balderson,  Colora,  Cecil  county,  Md. — 
Forty  two  varieties  of  apples,  cut  flowers,  and  potted 
strawberry  plants. 

S.  L.  Gregg,  Greene.  -Four  varieties  of  apples, 
five  varieties  of  pears  and  grapes. 

Haines,  Brown  &  Bro.,  Lyle. — Green  fox  grapes, 
potatoes,  short-horn  bull  and  four  short-horn  cows, 
and  corn  on  which  the  ears  grew  fully  eight  feet 
from  the  ground. 

Neal  Hamilton,  Goshen — Buckeye  cultivator,  Davis 
swing  churn,  four  varieties  of  corn  egg  plant,  three 
varieties  of  tomatoes,  lima  beans,  nasturtions,  and 
Hartford  prolific  grapes. 

Sallie  Hamilton,  Goshen. — -Cabbage  and  hard  soap. 

Wm.  Ingram,  Pleasant  Grove. — Bartlett  pears 
and  sweet  potatoes. 

Willie  N.  Hamilton,  Goshen. — Oddities  in  potatoes, 

Jonathan  Pickering,  Little  Britain — Seven  varie- 
ties of  grapes  and  Fultz  wheat. 

S.  S.  Herr,  Pleasant  Grove. — Potatoes. 

J.  W.  Thompson,  Pleasant  Grove. — Odessa  or 
Russian  white  wheat  and  Root's  corn  planter. 

Melissa  Tucker,  Harford  county,  Md. — Leaves  of 
Egyptian  corn  and  twenty  varieties  of  cut  flowers. 

Alvin  King,  Wakefield.— Five  varieties  of  potatoes, 
apples  and  tomatoes. 

Jos.  C.  Stubbs,  Peters  Creek. — Two  varieties  of 
wheat  and  pen  of  Southdown  sheep. 

Annie  Hamilton,  Goshen. — Corn  husk  doll  and  tea 
cake. 

Ellis  Tucker,  Harford  county,  Maryland. — Concord 
grapes . 

C.  H.  Stubbs,  M.  D.,  Wakefield.-Christine  grapes 
and  Rhubarb. 

Wm.  A.  Johnson    Oxford. — Estey  Organ. 

Isabella  Reed,  Pleasant  Grove. — Two  coops  Ply- 
mouth Rock  chickens. 

Emmor  Smedley,  Wakefield. — Short-horned  bull. 

A.  C.  .lenkins.  Rock  Springs,  Cecil  county,  .Mary- 
and. — Missouri  grain  and  fertilizer  drill . 

Jas.  C.  Bird,  Rismg  Sun,  Maryland. — Spangler 
fertilizer  attachment  for  grain  drills  and  the  Success 
pump. 

A.  M.  Brown,  PleaSi.nt  Grove. — Wheat  and  oats. 

Watson  Reeder,  Rising  Sun,  Md. — Penn  Revolving 
harrow. 

Howard  Coales,  Little  Britain — Acme  harrow  two 
varieties  of  potatoes,  lima  beans,  and  Livingston 
tomatoes. 

Jos.  A.  Roman,  Colora,  Cecil  county,  Md. — Mangel 
wurzel  beets. 

R.  L.  Flaherty,  Pleasant  Grove. — Peerless  potatoes, 

Harry  Reed,  son  of  George  K.  Reed,  of  this  city, 
who  is  now  boarding  with  J.  Wesley  Thompson,  the 
lessee  of  the  farm,  had  on  exhibition  two  of  Mr. 
Black's  Alderney  cows,  "  Belle  "  and  "  Maggie," 
which  were  cared  for  by  him  and  are  in  good  condi- 
tion. 


1882.  J 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


-141 


The  morning  passed  very  quickly,  all  present  seem 
ing  to  enjoy  themselves  as  only  farmers  and  their 
families  can  when  thrown  together.  They  examined 
each  other's  exhihits  and  compared  notes,  eaeli  being 
benefited  by  t!ie  experience  of  the  otlie*r,  and  tlie  ira 
plements  were  constantly  surrouuded  by  small 
crowds  of  men  eagerly  listening  to  the  explanations 
made  by  the  owners. 

Address  of  Welcome. 

After  dinner  an  hour  or  more  was  spent  in  poeial 
converse,  when  the  president,  William  King,  called 
the  meeting  to  order  and  introduced  James  Black, 
Esq.,  of  this  city,  who  on  behalf  of  tlie  Fulton 
Farmers'  Club,  extended  thanks  and  a  cordial  wel- 
come to  all  pressent  and  more  than  all  to  those  who 
have  tried  to  eontribnte  to  the  success  of  the  fair,  by 
bringing  with  them  the  products  of  the  neighborhood. 
The  face  of  the  members  of  the  elnb  are  not  known  to 
the  citizens  of  Lancaster,  but  the  published  reports  of 
their  proceedings  are  read  with  great  interest,  and 
the  little  society  is  held  in  high  regard.  This  club 
and  like  associations  are  of  value  to  the  public  as 
well  as  socially,  and  the  country  is  better  in  every 
way  for  them.  They  will  be  found  to  exist  only 
where  there  are  educated,  moral  and  intelligent  peo- 
ple. The  speaker  said  he  might  talk  on  the  common 
theme  that  agarieulture,  farmers  and  farms  are  the 
basis  of  wealth,  but  the  main  thought  with  him  was 
that  these  organizations  are  making  better  larmers 
better  men  and  better  Christians  and  that  they  can 
thus  band  together  and  destroy  every  foe  to  their 
homes  and  happiness.  Therefore  he  hoped  that  if 
they  met  together  again  in  another  year  the  club 
will  be  enlarged  in  numbers,  and  that  the  exhibit 
will  be  as  much  larger  as  this  exhibit  is  larger  than 
last  year's.  Addressing  the  young  men  and  women 
he  asked  why  they  could  not  have  in  that  place  a 
counterpart  of  the  Oxford  fair  or  the  county  fairs. 
He  believed  they  could  have  there  exhibited  the  finest 
specimens  of  all  that  is  produced  on  the  farm,  and 
standing  on  that  platform  men  to  address  them  who 
have  given  the  science  of  agriculture  the  attention 
of  their  lifetime.  He  closed  by  thanking  his  hearers 
for  their  close  attention. 

Seth  L.  Kinsey, 
of  Harford  county,  Md.,an  intelligent  young  farmer 
was  the  next  speaker  introduced  by  the  president  to 
address  his  "friends  and  fellow  tillers  of  the  soil," 
and  In  the  beginning  he  spoke  of  the  purpose  for 
which  this  assemblage  was  held  as  being  most 
worthy  and  commendable;  not  a  meeting  to  further 
political  schemes  but  one  where  there  exists  only  a 
generous  ambition  to  excel  in  the  condition,  quality, 
and  perfection  of  the  articles  placed  on  exhibition 
and  a  general  desire  to  pass  a  day  of  social  enjoy- 
ment, instruction  and  improvement.  How  great  is 
the  delusion  of  those  persons  who  suppose  that  farm 
life  is  rude  and  uncultured,  and  attended  only  with 
toil  and  weariness.  Who  can  look  on  this  as- 
sembly, on  the  evidences  of  eivilizattoa  and 
advancement  we  see  about  us  in  the  fertile  fields  the 
grazing  herds,  the  handsome  yet  substantial  and 
useful  buildings  and  remembering  the  wonderful 
art  and  skill  there  represented  yet  say  that  farm 
life  is  rude  and  uncultured.  But  we  need  not  stop 
here  for  greater  and  more  wonderful  and  beautiful 
than  all,  the  works  of  Nature  surround  us,  offering 
us  ideas,  teaching  us  lessons,  and  leading  us  into 
paths  that  tend  ever  to  our  moral,  intellectual  and 
spiritual  advancement.  There  are  two  ways  of 
farming,  as  perhaps  of  doing  everything  else — a 
right  and  a  wrong  way.  The  first  leads  toabundaut 
success,  and  the  second  to  diecouragement  and  ulti- 
mate failure.  Farming  is  not  as  many  appear  to 
suppose,  merely  a  laborer's  occupation,  in  which 
animal  force  is  alone  required;  it  is  a  science,  and 
the  man  who  makes  farming  a  success  has  as  good  a 
right  to  be  proud  of  what  he  has  done  as  the  most 
worthy  and  eminent  of  our  merchants  or  professional 
men.  It  is  not  for  ue  now  to  attempt  to  suggest  how 
farming  is  to  be  made  a  success,  but  one  thing  is 
very  certain — diiferent  soils  need  difl'erent  kinds  of 
fertilizers  to  enable  them  to  produce  satisfactory 
yields,  except  in  the  case  of   manures,  which    are 


suited  to  all  soils,  and  upon  which  too  much  value 
cannot  be  placed  or  loo  much  care  exercised  to  col 
Icct  as  large  a  quantity  as  possilile.  They  may  be 
justly  regaided  as  the  farmer's  savings  banks,  while 
chemical  fertilizers,  which  we  cannot  do  without  at 
present,  are  surely  a  drain  through  which  passes 
much  of  the  profits  of  farming.  The  man  who  ex- 
pects tOBUcced  at  farming  must  not  only  work,  but 
also  study  and  observe,  and  here  comes  in  the  ad- 
vantage of  establishing  farmers'  clubs  in  order  that 
the  knowledge  gained  by  individuals  may  he  imparted 
toothers,  for  by  this  mutual  exehangeof  Ideas,  opin- 
ions, etc.,  much  good  must  inevitably  result.  The 
speaker  had  read  with  jileasureand  profit  th'^  reports 
of  the  meetings  of  the  club  as  published,  and  by  no 
means  the  least  interesting  parts  of  those  reports  is 
that  the  young  women  of  the  community  are  repre- 
sented at  these  meetings  and  aid  in  their  success  by 
their  literary  oti'crings.  Woman's  presence  and  in 
flnence  must  always  add  to  the  interest  and  success 
of  every  enterprise  where  business  and  social  life 
can  be  combined.  In  farmingcommunities  the  wives 
and  mothers  who  teach  their  daughters  to  respect 
work  and  consider  a  competent  knowledge  of  house- 
keeping as  one  of  the  essential  parts  of  their  educa- 
tion, will  be  given  them  knowledge  that  is  of  more 
vaule  then  gold,  as  it  will  insure  to  them  such  hap- 
piness as  they  could  never  know  were  they  itrnorant 
of  these  subjects,  but  knowing  are  able  to  fill  the 
positions  of  wife  and  mother.  The  speaker  closed  by 
congratulating  the  management  on  the  success  of 
their  meeting  and  with  many  wishes  for  the  welfare 
and  success  of  the  club  and  success  of  its  members. 
"  Manual  Labor  and  How  it  May  be  En- 
couraged" 
was  the  subject  chosen  by  the  next  speaker,  Wash- 
ington B.  Paxson,  of  Colerain,  and  he  said  he  knew 
of  no  subject  that  was  of  greater  interest  and  im- 
portance to  the  agriculturist.  Labor  is  the  tmne  and 
sinew  of  every  nation.  It  was  labor  that  has  laid  the 
foundation  of  our  republic;  that  has  cleared  away 
the  forest  and  cultivated  the  soil  and  caused  it  to 
bring  forth  the  golden  harvest;  that  has  built  our 
towns  and  cities;  that  has  constructed  our  railroads; 
In  short,  it  feeds,  clothes  and  defends  us.  All  that 
man  possesses  or  may  expect  to  possess  is  acquired 
by  incessant  toil.  Every  path  that  leads  from  the 
great  highway  of  labor  is  cut  out  by  human  inven- 
tion to  shirk  duty  and  is  leading  and  training  the 
rising  generation  to  dislike  labor,  instilling  into  their 
minds  that  it  is  a  disgrace  to  work.  Such  a  training 
Is  ruinous,  and  these  ideas  must  be  eradicated  he- 
fore  the  laboring  class  is  appreciated  as  it  should  be. 
Labor  would  become  more  honorable  if  we  could  do 
away  with  those  absurd  class  distinctions  which 
make  the  occupation  of  a  man  the  standard  of  his 
worth.  The  man  who  spends  his  life  In  clearing  and 
cultivating  a  farm,  provides  for  his  family  and  the 
community,  but  lives  and  dies  almost  unnoticcii. 
Think  of  his  exalted  position,  his  unrivaled  industry 
and  frugally,  discharging  his  duties  to  his  family 
serving  his  country  and  honoring  his  God  and  tell 
me  that  such  an  occupation  is  degrading.  We  es- 
teem too  highly  the  man  that  gains  a  fortune 
through  trickery,  and  moves  through  the  world 
making  a  grand  display  in  society.  How  little  the 
world  admires  yet  how  heroic  the  resolution  which 
prompts  the  young  man  to  clear  land  and  make  a 
home  for  his  family.  How  can  manual  labor  be 
elevated  in  the  scale  of  employment  and  encouraged 
to  take  a  higher  rank?  In  the  first  place  honest  la- 
bor should  receive  more  attention  in  our  domestic 
circles,  and,  secondly,  it  should  be  introduced  into 
our  schools.  It  is  evident  that  there  is  something 
wrong  in  our  educational  system,  for  to  educate  a 
child  now  is  to  wean  it  from  manual  labor.  To 
educate  a  young  man  now  is  sending  him  forever 
from  the  farm.  Education  and  manual  labor  are  not 
working  harmoniously  together  and  the  speaker 
feared  they  never  will  until  that  aversion  and  preju- 
dice is  removed.  How  can  this  be  done  ?  Only  by 
a  proper  system  of  training.  In  some  of  the  leading 
countries  of  Europe,  industrial  schools  have  been 
established,  where  agricultural    and   the   industrial 


arts  are  taught,  not  only  in  the  higher  but  in  the 
primary  schools,  and  these  have  proved  highly  suc- 
cessful. 

It  is  now  a  recognized  truth  that  the  succcsjful 
cultivation  of  the  soil  lb  both  a  science  and  an  art. 
The  idea  that  of  all  vocations  In  life  the  tilling  of 
the  soil  requires  the  least  education  and  training 
must  he  eradicated,  for  experience  has  demonstrated 
that  a  high  degree  of  knowledge  is  requisite  to  de- 
termine what  kinds  of  crops  are  adapted  to  diiferent 
kinds  of  soil  and  to  preserve  the  the  fertility  of  that 
soil,  and  great  skill  Is  required  in  planting,  culttva- 
ting  and  securing  the  crops.  What  our  country 
wants  to-day  are  practical  and  Intelliuent  agricul- 
turists: there  is  a  great  demand  for  .xkllled  farm  help. 
If  our  farmers'  sons  could  be  taught  to  believe  that 
laboring  on  the  farm  is  as  honorable  as  any  other 
employment,  and  as  much  desirable,  then  this 
lack  of  skilled  labor  on  the  farm  would  in  some  de- 
grees be  mitigated. 

In  conclusion  the  speaker  advocali-il  the  formation 
of  an  agricultural  society  In  every  community  where 
I'armers  and  their  families  can  minijle  together  and 
discuss  the  various  modes  of  farming  and  exchange 
ideas.  Such  associations  are  instructive  and  those 
who  belong  look  forward  with  bright  anticipations 
to  the  meetings.  Farmers  as  a  rule  have  too  little 
acquaintance  with  each  other,  know  too  little  of 
what  others  are  doing  even  in  their  own  neighbor- 
hood. Absorbed  each  in  his  own  affairs,  they  do  not 
consider  the  ways  in  which  they  might  be  mutually 
helpful  to  each  other. 

The  above  are  but  short  abstracts  of  the  addresses 
which  occupied  several  hours  in  their  delivery.  Mr. 
Dickey,of  Oxford,  played  several  fine  selections  on 
the  organ,  and  the  audience  again  dispersed  through 
the  ground  to  pass  the  rest  of  the  day  as  suited 
their  fancy. 

Agriculture. 


Pasture  Grasses.  / 

Pastures  should  not  consist  of  one  kind  of  trrass 
only,  because  (1)  stock  prefer  a  variety,  going  from 
one  to  the  other  thus  keeping  their  appetites  whetted; 
(9)  becanse  the  grasses  having  dilfi-rent  periods  at 
which  they  mature,  one  kind  having  passed  its  best 
stage,  another  comes  to  its  best,  and  takes  its  place, 
and  (3)  because  grasses  vary  in  the  degree  of  stand- 
ing wet  and  drouth,  hence  if  one  sort  is  injured,  by 
vicissitudes  of  the  weather,  another  may  be  to  an 
equal  degree  benefited.  It  should  be  more  the  prac 
tice  to  stimulate  pastures  with  special  manures.  This 
is  as  necessary  a  thing  to  do  as  to  feed  a  particular 
animal  freely,  because  it  is  falling  off  in  flesh.  Among 
the  best  stimulants  to  tardy-growing  grass,  isnitrate 
of  soda;  and  this  may  be  used  freely  on  pastures 
without  great  outlay,  and  with  prompt  and  benefi- 
cial results. — Xational  Live  Stock  Journal. 


Experiments  with  Green  Manuring. 

Mr.  J.  C.  Chadhourne,  of  Vaesalboro',  has  been 
experimenting  with  green  manuring  on  a  small  scale, 
and  with  very  satisfactory  results.  He  had  a  piece 
of  land  containing  about  two  acres  which  had  been 
neither  ploughed  nor  dressed  for  fifteen  or  twenty 
years,  and  was  producing  not  more  than  five  hun- 
dred pounds  hay  to  the  acre.  A  year  ago  last  spring 
he  ploughed  it,  and  after  thoroughly  pulverizing  the 
sod,  he  sowed  upon  it  at  the  rate  of  four  bushels  of 
western  corn  to  the  acre.  The  corn  grew  well  and 
when  it  was  at  maturity  of  growth,  he  ploughed  it 
under.  It  was  estimated  that  there  was  from  forty 
to  fifty  tons  of  green  fodder  fier  acre. 

In  April  last  he  sowed  the  field  to  clover  and 
Timothy,  and  harrowed  it  in;  and  the  last  of  July  he 
made  from  the  ,two  acres,  three  tons  of  excellent 
hay.  When  ploughed,  on  a  portion  of  the  field,  the 
plough  turned  up  white  sand;  on  another,  black 
mould,  and  on  the  balance  coarse  gravel.  On  a 
part  of  the  field  Timothy  was  in  full  bloom  the  last 
of  July  and  very  handsome.  Mr.  Chadbourne  says 
it  was  the  finest  hay  he  ever  cut  upon  his  farm.    He 


142 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[September, 


proposes  to  continue  his  experiments  with  green 
manuring  and  is  very  much  encouraged  in  his  past 
success.  Other  parties  in  Vassalboro'  are  moving  in 
the  same  direction,  and  are  making  anxious  in- 
quiries for  the  best  methods  of  fertilization  by  green 
manuring. 

Wheat  Raising. 

A  great  stride  towards  successful  wheat-raising 
was  made  when  the  drill  was  brought  into  use,  and 
a  much  greater  stride  could  be  made  if  the  drill- 
hoes  were  twice  as  far  apart  and  were  made  to  sow 
not  more  than  thirty  to  forty  pounds  to  the  acre. 

In  order  to  make  the  greatest  possible  quantity  on 
a  given  area,  the  wheat  plant  (or  any  other  plant) 
must  have  room  to  carry  out  its  habit  and  develop 
according  to  its  nature.  One  grain  of  wheat  cannot 
do  this  on  less  than  sixteen  square  inches.  One  ker- 
nel should  make  on  an  average  all  over  a  field  at 
least  twenty  good  heads,  and  every  head  should  pro- 
duce at  least  forty  grains,  every  pound  should  be 
made  to  produce  its  bushel  all  over  the  world.  One 
pound  has  been  made  to  produce  from  sixty  to  one 
thousand  fold.  These  facts  are  from  thin-sowing. 
No  instance  i»  on  record  where  ^thick-sowing  ever 
produced  more  than  seventy  bushels  per  acre. 

Sowing  much  wheat  "to  get  a  good  stand"  is  the 
worst  kind  of  economy.  The  farmer  loses  his  seed, 
and  never,  In  any  instance,  can  make  as  large  a  yield 
as  by  thin  sowing. 

The  greatest  enemy  wheat  has  to  contend  with  is 
wheat.  Instead  of  giving  each  kernel  about  an  inch 
square,  as  mo3t  farmers  do,  they  should  in  every 
case  reduce  the  quantity  per  acre  and  sow  thin 
enough  to  give  it  /ixteen.  Thousands  of  instances 
are  on  record  where  one  grain  has  produced  from 
ten  to  one  hundred  and  eighty  good  stalks  and  as 
many  heads  without  dividing.  Last  year  from 
seventy  six  kernels  ten  and  one  fourth  pounds  of 
good,  plump  grain  was  raised.  On  fifty-one  square 
rods  this  year  I  sowed  just  twenty-eight  ounces  of 
picked  seed  in  rows  one  and  two  feet  apart,  and 
what  I  have  now  to  show  as  the  product  is  19  1-2 
bushels  of  as  nice  grain  as  the  sample  enclosed. 

To  thick-sowing  in  every  State  and  locality  I  can 
oifer  many  objections,  but  to  thin  sowing  and  culti 
vation  there  is  not  one  that  can  be  made  tenable. — 
Ae  E.  Blount  in  Qermantown  Telegraph. 


What  of  the  Future  as   Regards   Grain. 

As  the  decline  in  wheat  has  attracted  so  much  at- 
tention, and  farmers  are  reported  to  be  holding 
back  for  better  prices,  it  may  be  well  to  examine  a 
few  statistics  upon  the  matter.  To  us  the  decline 
seeme  only  natural, though  from  its  suddenness  there 
may  possibly  be  a  temporary  reaction.  We  have  a 
yield  of  wheat  of  not  less  than  500,000,000  bushels 
and  the  very  superior  quality  of  it  will  increase  its 
bre»d  making  properties  to  much  above  the  average. 
For  a  population  of  ■54,000,000  we  need  at  the  outside 
for  broad  24.3,000,000  bushels  and  for  seed  not  over 
57,000,000  bushels,  or  a  total  for  all  of  our  home 
wants  of  300,000,000  bushels,  leaving  a  surplus  of 
200,000,000,  all  of  which  is  available  for  export,  as 
the  stock  of  old  wheat  and  Hour  in  the  country  is 
fully  40,000,000  bushels— and  this  is  ample  for  re- 
serves. 

Now,  with  300,000,000  bushels  surplus,  what  are 
we  to  do  with  it?  The  highest  amount  of  wheat  ever 
exported  was  180,000,000  bushels  (flour  included) 
for  the  year  ended  June. W,  18,S1,  and  the  average 
export  value  for  the  whole  year  was  $1.11  a  bushel 
while  for  the  year  ended  June  30,  1879,  the  average 
value  was  $1.00  a  bushel.  During  the  year  ending 
June  30,  1881,  we  had  almost  the  world  for  our 
customers.  Nearly  every  European  country  needed 
large  imports,  both  France  and  England  bavin" 
smaller  crops  than  they  ore  promised  this  year. 
The  requirements  of  Europe  were  greater  than  they 
win  probably  be  for  the  next  twelve  months,  and 
then  we  had  but  little  competition.  Russia  had 
short  crops  and  conrequcntly  a  very  small  surplus, 
while  India  had  not  begun  to  ship  wheat  to  any  cou- 
Blderable  extent.      Thus,  we  have  the  prospect  for  a 


smaller  demand  than  in  1S80-'81,  and  more  competi- 
tion from  other  countries  than  in  that  year, 
while  in  the  face  of  all  this  our  surplus  is 
14,000,000  bushels  greater  than  the  amount  we  then 
exported.  In  view  of  these  facts  the  part  of  wisdom 
would  seem  to  be  to  ship  our  wheat  out  as  freely  as 
possible. — Baltimore  Journal  of  Commerce. 


What  Manure  Loses  by   Heating. 

It  is  not  always  true  that  a  pile  of  manure  steam- 
ing with  heat  and  smelling  strongly  is  losing  am- 
monia. Ammonia  is  a  very  volatile  and  pungent 
gas  and  might  be  known  by  its  peculiar  scent,  which 
is  freely  given  off  by  close,  ill-ventilated  horse 
stables,  or  by  the  coat  of  ill-cleaned  horses.  But  it 
is  not  often  that  this  peculiar  scent  escapes  from  ma- 
nure heaps;  on  the  contrary  it  is  a  more  disagreeable 
odor,  similar  to  that  of  rotten  eggs.  This  is  sulphu- 
r'^ted  hydrygen,  and  not  ammonia,  and  oocasions  no 
loss  to  manure  except  the  sulphur.  If,  in  making  a 
manure  pile,  some  plaster  is  mixed  in  the  heap,  all 
the  ammonia  will  be  caught  and  held  by  it,  and  all 
water  contained  in  the  manure  will  also  contain  a 
large  quantity  (700  times  its  bulk)  of  it,  and  will  not 
give  it  off  at  a  heat  that  can  be  raised  in  a  manure 
pile.  If  the  manure  is  left  to  heat  and  get  dry  and 
"fire  fang"  or  slowly  burn  to  a  white,  dry,  light  stuff, 
then  the  ammonia  is  lost  and  the  manure  seriously 
injured. 


Good  Crops  in  Alabama. 

Never  in  the  country  were  better  crops  made  than 
this  season,  and  we  may  reasonably  calculate  a  brisk 
business  with  the  business  men.  All  kinds  of  crops 
are  a  certainty,  except  cotton,  and  the  cotton  is  form 
ing,  growing,  and  all  the  bolls  found  up  to  the  20th 
of  September  will  make  good  cotton  before  frost ; 
with  an  average  season  for  the  next  50  days,  and 
notwithstanding  the  small  acreage,  the  yield  will  be 
larger  at  Selma  by  20,000  bales  than  it  was  this 
year.  Farmers  have  very  generally  produced  their 
own  substances,  and  by  next  Christmas  we  predict 
the  farmers  of  south  Alabama  will  be  in  a  condition 
they  have  not  been  since  the  war — out  of  debt  and 
their  cribs  and  smoke-houses  full,  and  of  substances 
the  result  of  their  own  abor  and  economy. — Habile, 
Ala.,  Gazette. 


Magnesia  foj  Wheat. 
The  author  ranks  magnesia  along  with  nitrogen, 
phosphoric  acid,  lime,  and  potash.  The  proportion 
of  nitrogen  and  of  phosphoric  acid  increases  in  wheat 
from  time  of  blossoming  to  maturity.  Lime,  on  the 
contrary,  decreases,  andjdoes  not  seem  to  play  a  very 
important  part  in  the  production  of  the  grain,  but 
along  with  potash  serves  chiefly  in  the  development 
of  the  straw.  Magnesia  is  more  important  than 
lime  in  the  formation  of  grain  The  mean  require- 
ments of  wheat  in  order  to  produce  40  hectoliters 
per  hectare  are  :  Nitrogen,  92.6  kilos;  phosphoric 
acid,  37;  lime,  25.2;  magnesia,  12.3,  and  potash, 
116.2.  The  laying  of  wheat  and  other  corn  is  not 
due  to  deficiency  of  silica  in  the  stalks,  but  to  a 
diseased  condition,  consequent  on  excessive  moisture 
and  deficient  sunlight. — £C.  Joulie. 


HORTICL    TURK. 


Keeping  Grapes   Fresh. 

Particularly  at  this  season,  when  grapes  are  ripen- 
ing, the  discussion  is  generally  started  as  to  the 
best  method  of  preserving  them  through  the  winter. 
Some  of  these  methods  involve  a  great  deal  of  labor 
and  after  all  are  seldom  successful  and  rarely  worth 
the  labor  and  expense.  Besides,  who  cares  about 
keeping  grapes  all  winter  ?  Every  fruit  has  its  sea- 
son, and  when  that  comes  to  an  end  the  desire  for  It 
passes.  Apples  can  be  kept  until  July  in  a  very  good 
condition  and  with  very  little  labor;  but  who  caies 
for  them  after  April  ?  It  is  so  with  pears— the 
relish  for  them  disappears  at  the  end  of  January, 
about  as  long  as  they  can  be  easily  kept.  Peaches, 
the  season  of  which  is  very  brief,   are  canned,    and 


when  well  done  they  are  liked  by  a  great  many  peo- 
ple, though  we  do  not  think  they  are  growing  in 
popularity  with  those  of  a  rather  fastidious  taste — 
many  families  never  using  them  at  all. 

Ae  to  grapes,  they  can  very  easily  be  kept  in  good 
condition  until  Christmas,  and  beyond  this  are  very 
little  cared  for.  And  the  best  method  to  put  them 
up  is  that  pursued  by  the  grape-growers  of  New 
York  and  Michigan — the  clean,  dry  pine  box,  pack- 
ing them,  after  removing  all  the  decayed  or  over- 
ripe berries,  firmly,  without  the  addition  of  any  sub- 
stance as  a  protection— putting  in  the  boxes,  holding 
from  two  to  four  pounds,  only  the  pure  bunches  of 
grapes. 

We  know  of  no  better  way;  there  may  be:  and  if 
any  of  our  readers  possess  it,  we  shall  be  glad  to 
make  room  for  telling  us  what  it  is. — Oermantoien 
Telegraph. 


Beneficial  Effect  of  Mulching  on  Berries. 
Among  the  more  intelligent  horticulturists  of  this 
country  the  plan  of  mulching  the  surface  for  a  part 
of  the  summer   months   with   some  cheap  material 
has  long  ago  been  accepted  as  a  wise  and  economical 
method  for  fruit  growers  to  adopt.     That  such  a  sys- 
tem  will    keep   the   surface   soil    moist   in   time  of 
drought,  and  the  soil  loose  and  open  during  a  wet 
season,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  as  any  fruit  grower 
who  has  tried  the   experiment   can   testify.     While 
talking   to   a   successful   small   fruit   grower   about 
mulching  a   short  time   ago,  he   said  :  "  If  I   could 
find  no  material  to  mulch  my  berries  with,  I   would 
abandon  the  business."     Another  person   remarked  : 
"  I  covered  my  acre   of  Kittaninny  blackberries  last 
year  with  a  heavy  coating  of  salt  hay,  and  the  effect 
was  magnificent — large  berries  and  plenty  of  them — 
while   some   of  my   neighbors  who   did   not   mulch 
suffered   severely  from  the  drought."     This  kind  of 
testimony  could   be  given  without  limit,  as  the  expe- 
rience of  practical    men  who  have  given  the  subject 
careful  thought  and   practically  tested   the  value  of 
mulching.     Until  quite  recently  strawberries  seemed 
to  be  the  only  fruit  that  was  benefitted  by  mulching, 
and  that  more  on  account  of  the  mulch  keeping  the 
berries    clean  and   free    from   dirt   or  gravel    than 
anything  else.     But  the  usefulness  of  a  mulch  is  by 
no   means   confined   to   the   strawberry ;  but   where 
material  can  be  had  cheap,  there  is  no  question  but 
it  would  pay  well  to  mulch  raspberries,  blackberries, 
currants,  gooseberries  and  pears.      Nor  is  there  any 
question   but  what   the   size   of  fruit   would   be   in- 
creased, and  growth  more  uniform.     Where  the  sur- 
face is  covered  before  hot  weather  sets  in,  the  mulch 
will  serve  a  threefold  purpose  when  put  on  heavy 
enough.     As  stated,  it  keeps  the  surface  soil   moist 
and   of   uniform   temperature   during    the   growing 
months,  the   crop  of  fruit   is   not   checked,  nor  the 
growth   of  wood   retarded   by  an   excessive  drouth. 
Again,  under   a   mulch,  the   surface   never  becomes 
compact, no  matter  how  much  rain  strikes  the  hay  or 
straw,  and  then  filters  through  gradually  giving  the 
best   condition  for   plant   growth.      Even    on    clay 
ground,  where   the   surface   has   been   mulched   for 
three  or  four  consecutive  years,  it  is  diflicult  to  com- 
pact the  surface. 


Taking  in  Fall  Flowers. 

The  time  is  approaching  when  we  must  do  what 
we  canto  secure  the  floral  beauties  that  have  been 
with  us  the  latter  part  of  summer  and  the  flrst  part 
of  autumn.  But  how  many  of  them  will  we  have  to 
give  up  to  die  ?  We  really  needed  them  only  for  the 
summer  decoration  of  the  grounds;  and  we  have  no 
place  to  keep  them  over  winter,  and  besides  this  it  is 
certain  that  in  the  case  of  many  young  plants  it  will 
be  better  in  every  way  than  those  thines  which  we 
covered,  even  if  all  things  suited  to  that  end.  Still 
there  are  some  which  we  will  save  "anyhow,"  and 
it  may  be  as  well  to  say  a  few  words  as  to  the  proper 
way  to  go  about  it. 

Of  course  the  leading  diflSculty  is  that  the  plants 
arc  so  likely  to  wither  up  and'  die  away  after  taking 
up  and  potting,  and  we  have  therefore  to  direct  our 
energies  to  prevent  this  very  thing.      The  kind  of 


1883.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


U3 


plants  will  deckle  the  treatment.  Some  things,  like 
carnation  or  sweetwilliani,  have  a  mass  of  email 
roots  in  a  close  bunch,  and  with  this  comparatively 
small  tops.  These  rarely  wither,  even  under  rather 
poor  hands.  On  the  other  hand,  a  geranium  has 
very  few  roots.  It  seldom  comes  up  but  all  the  dirt 
falls  away,  and  in  an  unskillful  hand  all  the  leaves 
would  fall,  and  for  the  whole  winter  the  plant  pre- 
sents a  sorry  sight.  To  prevent  such  leaves  from 
withering  and  dying  away  is  the  point.  Much  may 
be  done  with  these  sprawly-rooted  things  by  "water- 
ing them  well  before  lieginning  to  lilt  them,  and 
they  should  have  a  thorough  soaking.  Then,  some 
of  the  younger  and  softer  leaves  should  be  picked 
off,  for  it  is  these  which  are  the  most  reckless  in 
drawingon  the  plant's  liquid  supplies.  Of  couree 
the  plants  must  be  put  into  their  pots  or  tubs  at 
once  on  lifting,  to  keep  them  from  drying,  and  the 
whole  thoroughly  soaked  with  water  on  completion. 
Then  tlie  pots  should  be  set  into  shade  and  shelter, 
where  neither  sun  nor  wind  can  get  at  them,  and 
where  air  without  the  loss  of  moisture  can  be  given 
to  them.  Some  plants  will  not  much  "miss  their 
move,"  as  the  gardeners  say,  and  may  be  put  in  the 
lull  light  after  a  day  or  so,  while  some  may  need 
this  sort  of  protection  for  a  week.  The  rule  is  to 
put  them  into  the  full  light  as  soon  as  they  show 
no  disposition  to  wither  under  a  moderate  sun. 


Save   the  Peachstones. 

Now  is  the  time  to  be  putting  these  away  under 
ground,  so  as  to  have  them  in  good  condition  to  be 
ptanted  out  in  beds  of  rows  in  the  spring.  Nor  is  it 
well  to  put  it  off  until  next  season,  thinking  to  do  it 
then,  as  it  may  find  you  without  any  to  put  away. 
So,  now,  when  they  are  to  be  had  in  abundance.  It  is 
better  to  attend  to  it  at  once.  If  some  ot  the  seed  of 
the  best  varieties  are  left  to  grow  without  being 
budded  there  will  be  a  fair  chance  of  their  producing 
fruit  of  as  good,  and  perhaps  better,  quality  than 
those  that  you  bud,  but  generally  speaking  it  is  not 
advisable  to  depend  too  much  upon  seedlings . 


A  Hint  for  Window  Gardening. 

A  recent  English  writer  gives  the  following,  which 
suggests  a  way  in  which  hardy  wood-climbers  might 
be  made  available  for  window  decoration  in  winter 
or  early  spring: 

"Some  years  ago,  as  I  was  passing  through  a  room 
used  only  occasionally,  I  perceived  an  odor  of  fresh 
flowers  that  surprised  me,  as  none  was  ever  kept 
there.  On  rising  the  curtain  of  the  east  window,  1 
saw  that  a  branch  of  Dutch  honeysuckle  had  found 
its  way  between  the  two  sashes  at  one  corner,  while 
gjowing  in  the  summer,  and  had  extended  itself 
quite  across  the  window;  and  on  the  branch  inside 
there  were  three  or  four  clusters  of  well-developed 
flowers;  with  the  usual  accompaniment  of  leaves, 
while  on  the  main  bush  outside  there  was  not  yet  a 
leaf  to  be  seen.  The  flowers  inside  were  just  as 
beautiful  and  fragrant  as  if  they  had  waited  until 
the  natural  time  of  blooming.  Since  then  I  have 
tried  the  experiment  purposely,  and  always  with 
the  same  result." 

A  heavy  covering  of  the  ground  over  the  roots  of 
the  plants  with  leaves,  and  sufficient  protection  of 
the  stem  outside,  would  allow  this  method  to  be 
practiced  in  quite  severe  climates. 

Household  Recipes. 

Fio  Pudding. — An  excellent  pudding  can  be 
made  of  tigs,  and  I  think  it  will  be  generally  liked 
If  well  made,  as  every  thing  ought  to  be.  Let  the 
figs  be  cut  up  and  mixed  with  eggs,  flour,  snet,  milk 
etc.,  in  the  usual  current  method,  and  that  is  all. 

To  wniTEN  Scorched  Linen. — If  a  shirtbosom 
or  any  other  article  has  been  scorched  in  ironing,  lay 
It  where  bright  sunshine  will  fall  directly  upon  it.  It 
will  remove  it  entirely. 

To  COOK  Turnips. — Pare  and  slice  and  boil  in  as 
little  water  as  possible.  When  almost  done  and  al- 
most dry,  add  an  even  tablespoonful  of  sugar  to 
each  quart  of  turnips,  and  salt  to  make  palatable. 


When  dry  and  tender  mash,  add  two  or  three  spoon- 
fuls of  thick  sweet  cream  and. serve  hot. 

Almond  Cake — One  and  one-half  cups  sugar, 
half  cup  butter,  four  eggs,  half  cup  milk,  two  cups 
flour,  two  teaspoonfuls  baking  powder;  bake  ui 
slrcets.  Icing:  White  of  thri'C  eggs  beaten  still', 
three  tablespoonfuls  white  sugar,  one  cup  chopped 
nut  meats;  flavor  to  taste  and  put  these  between  and 
on  top  of  laj'ofs. 

Pan  Dowdv — Fill  a  pudding  pan  with  apples — 
pared,  quartered  and  cored;  cover  the  top  with  a 
crust  rolled  out  of  light  bread  dou<h;  make  a  hole 
in  the  lid  and  set  the  pan  in  a  brick  oven.  After  It 
has  cooked  lift  the  crust  and  add  inulasses  or  brown 
sugar,  a  liltle  powdered  cinnamon  and  nutmeg  to 
taste,  also  one  tablespoonful  of  butter;  stir  it  well, 
cut  the  crust  into  square  bits,  mix  altogether,  cover 
it  with  a  large  plate,  return  it  to  the  oven  for  three 
or  four  hours.  Serve  hot.  A  pan  dowdy  may  be 
baked  in  a  stove  oven,  in  which  case  the  apples  had 
better  be  stewed  and  the  erust  baked  separately, 
then  mix  altogether  and  bake  two  hours. 

Smothered  Chicken. — Cut  a  good  sized  chicken 
open  on  the  back  and  spring  the  breast  bone  back  so 
that  it  will  lie  flat;  wash  it  well  In  salt  ami  water; 
lay  it  in  the  baking  pan  with  the  outside  of  the  bird 
up;  rub  it  over  with  butter  and  sprinkle  well  with 
flour;  cross  the  legs  and  tie  them  and  cramp  tlie 
wings;  pour  over  it  a  quart  of  water  and  set  it  into 
the  oven  to  bake,  dripping  the  gravy  over  it  occa- 
sionally. When  well  browned  turn  it  over  and 
sprinkle  a  little  flour  over  the  inside  surface  and 
set  it  back  in  the  oven.  About  ten  minutes  before  it 
is  needed  for  the  table  turn  it  over  again,  so  as  to 
have  the  outside  of  the  chicken  a  bright  yellow 
brown  when  placed  on  the  platter.  It  is  very  deli- 
cious cooked  in  this  style. 

Pumpkin  Pie. — Cut  the  pumpkin  Into  as  thin 
slices  as  possible,  and  in  stewing  it  the  less  water 
you  use  the  better;  stir  so  that  it  shall  not  burn  ; 
when  cooked  and  tender  stir  in  two  pinches  of  sail ; 
mash  thoroughly,  and  then  strain  through  a  sieve  ; 
while  hot  add  a  tablespoonful  of  butter  ;  for  every 
measured  quart  of  stewed  pumpkin  add  a  quart  of 
milk  and  four  eggs,  beating  yolks  and  whites  sepa- 
rately ;  sweeten  with  white  sugar  and  cinnamon  and 
nutmeg  to  taste,  and  a  saltspoon  of  ground  ginger. 
Before  putting  your  pumpkin  in  your  pies  it  should 
be  scalding  hot. 

Sheep's-head  Soup.— Cut  the  loins  and  lights 
Into  small  pieces,  and  stew  them  in  four  quarts  of 
water  with  some  onions,  carrots  and  turnips,  one  cup 
of  rice,  pepper  and  salt,  a  few  cloves,  a  little  parsley 
and  thyme;  stew  until  nearly  tender,  strain,  and 
when  colli  remove  the  fat ;  when  used  thicken  with 
flour  and  butter. 

Pickled  Onions. — Peel  the  onions  and  let  them 
lie  in  strong  salt  and  water  nine  days,  changing  the 
water  each  day  ;  then  put  them  into  jars  and  pour 
fresh  salt  and  water  on  them,  this  time  boiling  hot ; 
when  it  is  cold  take  them  out  and  put  them  on  a  hair 
sieve  to  drain, after  wliich  put  them  In  wide-mouthed 
bottles  and  pour  over  them  vinegar  prepared  In  the 
following  manner  :  Take  vinegar  and  boil  it  with  a 
blade  of  mace,  seme  salt  and  ginger  in  it ;  when 
cool  pour  over  the  onions. 

Lemon  Pudding. — Put  in  a  basin  one-quarter 
pound  of  flour,  same  of  sugar,  same  of  bread  crumbs 
and  chopped  suet,  the  juice  of  one  good  sized  lemon, 
and  peel  grated,  two  eggs,  and  enough  milk  to  make 
it  the  eonsistency  of  porridge ;  boll  In  a  basin  for 
one  hour  ;  serve  without  sauce. 

Readt-Made  Glue. — A  good  glue  ready  for  use 
Is  made  without  the  application  of  heat  by  dissolv- 
ing the  glue  in  common  whisky  instead  of  water. 
Both  are  put  together  in  a  bottle,  which  is  then 
corked  tight  and  allowed  to  stand  for  three  or  four 
days.  If  prepared  in  this  way,  it  will  keep  for  years 
and  always  be  ready  for  use,  except  in  extremely 
cold  weather,  when  it  will  be  necessary  to  set  it  in 
warm  water  before  using.  A  strong  solution  of  isin- 
glass made  in  the  same  manner  is  an  excellent  ce- 
ment for  leather. 


Apple  Jelly. — Put  three  quarts  of  water  Into 
your  stew-kettle  and  pare  one  dozen  large  apples 
and  slice  them  Into  the  water  ;  when  all  are  cut,  boil 
until  soft,  then  pour  into  a  jelly-liag.  Let  drain  and 
l)res8  out  all  jou  can.  To  one  pint  of  juice  add  one 
pound  of  white  sugar  and  boil  moderately  for  half 
an  hour,  stirring  occasionally. 

A  Remedy  por  Diptheria.— Dr.  Setserlch  for 
children  of  one  year  gives  a  remedy,  for  Internal 
use  every  one  or  two  hours,  as  follows:  Natr. 
benzoic,  pur,  . '5  0  solv.  In  aq.  distill  at  aq.  menth. 
piper,  ana  4(J.O  syr,  cort.  aur.  100.  For  children 
from  one  to  three  years  old  he  prescribes  It  from 
seven  to  eight  grammes  for  100  grammes  of  distilled 
water  with  same  syrup;  for  children  from  three  to 
seven  years  old  he  prescribed  ten  to  flfleen  grammes 
and  for  grown  persons  Irom  flfteen  to  twenty-flve 
grammes  for  each  100  grammes.  Besides  this  he 
used  also  with  great  success  the  insuDlatlon  on  the 
diptherial  membrane  through  a  glass  tube,  in  serious 
cases  everv  three  hours,  In  light  three  limes  a  day 
of  the  natur.  benzoic  pulver.  For  grown  people  he 
prescribes  for  gargling  a  dilution  of  ten  grammes 
of  this  pulver  for  200  grammes  of  water.  The  effect 
of  the  'einedy  is  rapid.  After  twenty-four  or 
thirty  .six  hours  the  feverish  symptoms  disappear 
completely  and  the  temperature  and  pulse  become 
normal.  This  remedy  was  used  also  with  the  same 
success  by  Draham  Braun  and  Professor  Klebs,  In 
Prague;  Dr.  Senator  Cassel,  and  several  others  la 
Russia  and  Germany. 

Household  Hints. — To  determine  the  quality  of 
silk,  take  ten  flbres  of  the  Ulling  in  any  silk,  and  if 
on  breaking  they  show  a  feathery,  dry  and  lack 
lustre  condition,  discoloring  the  fingers  in  handling, 
you  may  at  once  be  sure  of  the  piesencc  of  dye  and 
artificial  weighting.  Or  take  a  small  portion  of  the 
fibres  between  the  thumb  anil  forefinger,  and  very 
gently  roll  them  over  and  over,  and  you  will  soon  de- 
tect the  gum,  mineral,  soap  and  other  ingredients  of 
the  one  and  the  absence  of  them  in  the  other.  A 
simple  but  efl'ective  test  of  the  purity  Is  to  burn  a 
small  quantity  of  the  fibres  ;  pure  silk  will  Instantly 
crisp,  leaving  only  a  pure  charcoal  ;  hcavlly-dyed 
silk  will  smoulder,  leaving  a  yellow,  greasy  ash.  If 
on  the  contrary,  you  cannot  break  the  ten  strands, 
and  they  are  of  a  natural  lustre  and  brilliancy,  and 
fail  to  discolor  the  fingers  at  the  puint  of  contact, 
you  may  well  be  assured  that  you  may  have  a  pure 
silk  that  is  honest  in  its  make  and  durable  in  Its 
wear. 

Health  Hints. — Flaxseed  tea,  which  is  good  for 
cough  and  sore  throat,  is  made  as  follows  :  Put  two 
tablespoonfuls  whole  flaxseed  in  a  pint  of  boiling 
water,  boil. fifteen  minutes.  Cut  up  one  lemon  and 
put  in  a  pitcher,  with  two  tablespoonfuls  of  sugar. 
Strain  the  tea  boiling  hot  through  a  wire  strainer 
into  the  pitcher  and  slir  together.  .Medical  men 
claim  that  a  pound  and  a  quarter  of  oatmeal  will 
supply  as  much  nitrogen  and  almost  as  much  nitro- 
gen and  almost  as  much  fat  to  the  body  as  one 
pound  of  uncooked  meat  of  ordinary  quality.  A  man 
gets  three  times.as  much  nourishment  at  the  same 
cost  in  oatmeal  as  he  does  in  meats.  One  pound  and 
a  half  of  Indian  meal  Is  equal  to  one  pound  of  un- 
cooked meat  in  nitrogen,  and  surpasses  it  in  fat. 
One  who  has  tried  it  communicates  the  following 
about  curing  sore  throats:  Let  each  one  of  your 
readers  buy  at  any  drug  store  one  ounce  of  cam- 
phorated oil,  and  five  cents'  worth  of  chlorate  of  pot- 
ash. When  any  soreness  appears  In  the  throat,  put 
the  potash  in  a  half  tumblerful  of  water,  and  with 
it  gargle  the  throat  thoroughly:  then  rub  the  neck 
tlioroughly  with  the  camphorated  oil  at  night  before 
going  to  bed,  and  also  pin  around  tbe  throat  a  strip 
of  woolen  flannel.  This  Is  a  simple,  cheap  and  sure 
remedy. 

DicY  CuRiNo  Pork  and  Beef.— Mr.  Gillette  In- 
formed us  that  he  had  lor  a  number  of  years  prac- 
ticed, with  entire  success  and  great  satisfacticn,  a 
method  of  dry  curing,  which  supplied  far  better  and 
sweeter  bacon  and  ham  than  the  usual  brining 
process.  After  killing  the  carcasses,  dry  and  thor- 
oughly cool  24  hours  or  so.  The  sides  and  hams 
are  then  rubbed  over  thoroughly  with  molasses — he 
used  the  Porto  Kico.  Salt  is  heated  in  an  iron  vessel 
to  a  dry  line  powder,  and  almost  "red  hot,"  when 
it  is  spread  r(nickly  over  the  smeared  pork,  and  when 
cool  enough  is  thoroughly  mixed  with  the  hand. 
After  tliree  days  the  same  process  is  repeated.  They 
they  then  lay  lu  a  dry  and  cool  place  for  a  couple  of 
weeks,  when  they  are  ready  for  smoking.  No  brine 
is  used  to  toughen  the  pork  or  hams  or  affect  the 
flavor.  The  smoking  is  continued  at  intervals,  with 
care  not  to  get  up  a  heat  l)y  a  continuous  Are.  Two 
fires  a  day  are  make  with  corn  cobs,  or  dry  oak  or 
hickory.  Tne  total  smoking  that  is  the  time  the 
meat  is  totally  surrounded  with  smoke,  100  to  120 
hours  in  all.    After  smoking  enough,  the  bacon  or 


144 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[September,  1SS2 


haras  are  packed  in  barrels,  anri  covered  over  with 
with  a  thick  layer  of  dry  wood  ashes.  He  says  he 
lias  never  lost  a  pound,  and  never  failed  to  have 
bacon  and  hams  sweet  and  delicious  to  tlie  taste, and 
commanding  the  hitrhest  price  in  the  market.  We 
should  add,  that  in  curina:  very  large  hams  by  the 
process,  as  a  safety  precaution,  he  makes  a  small 
opening  down  to  the  bone  joints,  and  fill  them  with 
the  hot  salt. 

He  cures  beef  in  the  same  way,  but  only  puts  it 
through  the  salting  process.  Indeed,  some  of  his 
neighbors  give  ham  only  the  first  salting,  but  he 
deems  the  second  application,  as  above  described,  as 
better,  and  insuring  perfect  success  always. 

Stewed  Cohx. — Into  a  pint  of  nicely-prepared 
brown  sauce  put  in  a  pint  of  sweet  corn  cut  from  the 
ear,  and  cook  it  slowlyfor  half  an  ho\ir.  Serve  it  hot. 

Brown  Sauce. — Make  a  brown  sauce  as  follows  : 
Put  over  the  fire  in  a  sauce-pan  one  tablespoonful 
each  of  butter  and  flour,  and  stir  them  constantly 
until  they  are  light  brown,  and  then  stir  in  very 
gradually  a  pint  of  boiling  water,  a  teaspoonful  of 
salt,  and  a  quarter  of  a  saltspoonful  of  pepper,  let 
it  boil  two  minutes,  and  use  it  hot. 

Boiled  Sweet  Cohn. — Remove  the  husk,  except 
the  inner  layer,  from  short,  plump  ears  of  sweet 
corn  ;  turn  this  layer  far  enougn  to  permit  the  re- 
moval of  the  corn  silk,  then  replace  it,  and  tie  a 
short  string  around  it  to  hold  it  in  place  ;  boil  the 
corn  in  boiling  water  without  salt  until  the  milk  is 
opaque  white,  ten  to  twenty  minutes  ;  then  remove 
string,  husk,  cover  corn  with  napkin,  and  serve  it 
with  a  dish  of  melted  butter,  pepper  and  salt. 

Stewed  Corm  and  Tomatoes. — Stew  together 
for  half  an  hour  one  pint  of  corn  cut  from  the  ear, 
one  pint  of  tomatoes  peeled  and  sliced,  one  table- 
spoonful  of  butter,  one  teaspoonful  of  sugar,  one 
saltspoonful  of  salt,  and  quarter  of  a  saltspoonful 
pepper  ;  serve  hot  on  toast. 


Live  Stock. 


Improved    Sheep, 

The  Alabamains  have  given  but  little  attention  to 
growing  stock,  and  more  especially  to  sheep,  because 
the  negroes  must  have  a  hog  for  every  negro  child, 
and  the  dog's  appetite  is  very  injurious  to  the  health 
of  the  sheep.  We  hope  hereafter  Alabama  will  de- 
termine to  have  more  sheep  and  fewer  dogs.  All  the 
sheep  that  we  see  are  of  the  commonest  andcoursest 
grades.  It  is  just  as  easy  to  grow  a  fine  Southdown, 
Cotswold  or  Merino  as  it  is  a  scrub,  and  the  fine  ani- 
mal is  doubly  profitable.  We  intend  to  appeal  to 
the  farmers  of  our  State  to  improve  their  breed  of 
sheep  until  they  hear  us  and  follow  our  advice.  The 
next  two  months  is  the  period  for  looking  after  fine 
wooled  rams,  to  cross  on  the  common  ewes  that  are 
now  here.  This  is  the  cheapest  and  most  successful 
way  to  improve  the  common  sheep,  and  at  the  same 
time  keep  them  strong  enough  to  endure  the  climate. 

Sheep  taken  from  Kentucky  or  Ohio  and  carried  to 
Southern  Alabama  or  Florida,  lose  at  first  in  the 
weight  of  their  fleece,  and  finally  in  its  quality,  wool 
becoming  courser  and  mixed  with  hair.  To  keep  up 
the  quality  of  their  flocks,  the  owners  of  sheep 
ranches  in  those  sections  must  therefore  bring  in 
new  blood  from  Northern  flocks,  or  their  wool  will 
rapidly  deteriorate  in  value.  The  Northern  sheep 
man,  therefore,  while  not  able  to  compete  with  them 
in  raising  wool  cheaply,  owing  to  the  difference  of 
climats  and  cost  of  land,  yet  has  the  advantage  of 
being  able  to  dispose  of  young  stock  at  good  prices 
to  his  competitors  in  wool-growing.  It  is  as  neces- 
sary with  them  to  procure  this  stock,  and  thev  can 
never  breed  it  for  themselves.— .VoHtgomery  (Ala.) 
Southern  Agricnllurist . 


Management  of  Piggs. 

The  greatest  danger  to  whl?h  young  pigs  are  sub- 
ject to  overfeeding.  A  pig  at  weaning  has  a  very 
small  stomach  and  very  limited  powers  of  digestion, 
and  yet  these  young  animals  are  permitted  to  gorge 
themselves  with  sour  milk  and  meal  slops  as  soon  as 
they  are  weaned  until  their  sides  are  swollen.  This 
over-feeding  produces  indigestion,  with  disorder  of 
the  brain,  or  so-called  staggers,  nervous  disorders, 
with  paralysis  or  epilepsy;  the  growth  is  arrested, 
the  breath  is  fetid,  the  teeth  become  black,  and  some 
people  ignorantly  bel  eve  that  black  teeth  are  doing 
it  all.  The  teeth  are  knocked  out  with  a  stone  o"r 
a  bolt  in  a  rough  manner,  and  the  mouth  made  so 
sore  that  the  pig  refuses  to  eat  for  a  while,  and  then 
recovers  from  the  abstinence.  So  that  the  removal  of 
the  teeth  is  claimed  to  be  the  real  cause  of  the  re- 
covery. Black  teeth  do  not  cause  disease:  they  are 
asymptomof  it  only,  and  when  the  health  is  good 
the  teeth  are  all  right.  Half  a  pint  at  a  time  of 
sweet  skimmed  milk  is  a  sutHcient  meal  for  a  weaned 

^ 

A  New  Catte  Disease. 
Persons  who  have  just  returned  from  a  tour  of  18 
miles  through  North  Heidleberg  and  Jefferson  town- 
ships bring  the  most  alarming  reports  concerning  the 
deaths  of  cattle  from  a  new  and  mysterious  disease. 
Cattle  have  been  known  to  drop  dead  1.5  minutes 
after  they  were  first  attacked.     Two  cows  of  Harri 


sou  Haak  were  driven  into  pasture  early  in  the  morn- 
ing. They  were  apparently  well,  but  in  20  minutes 
they  dropped  dead.  The  rest  of  the  herd  commenced 
bellowing  and  pawing  the  earth,  and  pranced  about 
the  di'ad  carcasses  that  were  rapidly  swelling.  In  a 
short  time  six  more  of  the  same  drove  were  dead. 
The  owner  had  the  swollen  bodies  carefully  limed 
and  buried  in  the  woods.  In  this  way  some  35  head 
of  cattle  perisheid  on  different  adjoining  farms.  Some 
died  in  the  stable.  One  farmer  found  two  cows  dead 
in  the  barnyard.  Among  the  other  losers  are  Levi 
Moyer,  Moses  Schaeffer,  John  Snyder,  Henry  Zerbe, 
Gabriel  Lutz,  Benjamin  Haas,  Widow  Klopp,  John 
Lutz,  William  Umbenhower,  Joseph  Ernest  and 
others. 

When  the  cattle  are  first  attacked  they  refuse  to 
eat  or  drink.  They  seem  to  be  seized  with  a  chill 
and  breathing  becomes  dilHcult.  Some  moan  and 
appear  to  be  in  great  pain.  In  a  short  time  they  lie 
down  and  die  in  great  agony.  Their  bodies  swell  out 
of  proportion  antl  a  very  foul  odor  is  emitted.  A 
hasty  examination  of  one  of  the  bodies  shows  that 
the  blood  of  the  dead  animals  turns  completely 
black. 

Benjamin  Lutz,  a  veterinary  surgeon,  has  been 
kept  very  busy  for  the  past  few  days,  and  at  present 
is  working  day  and  night.  He  says  the  disease 
starts  in  the  head,  and  he  has  become  deathly  sick 
while  boring  the  horns  of  sick  cattle.  He  says  that 
the  cows  are  dying  from  appeplexy  of  the  spleen, and 
his  opinion  is  concurred  in  by  Drs.  Owens  and 
Collins,  who  are  busily  engaged  in  the  work  of  at 
temiing  to  various  herds  now  in  quarantine.  The 
spleen  of  some  of  the  dead  carcasses  is  found  to  be 
quite  putrid.  The  bodies  of  dead  animals  are  very 
poisonous  and  one  man  has  already  died  from  lock- 
jaw and  blood  poisoning.  His  name  was  Harrison 
Haag.  He  undertook  to  skin  a  carcass  for  its  hide 
and  also  to  perform  a  post  mortem.  Some  of  the 
poison  of  the  animal  got  Into  his  system  through  a 
wound  on  the  hand,  and  in  a  few  hours  his  entire 
system  was  poisoned.  His  body,  arms  and  limbs  be- 
came fearfully  swollen  and  covered  with  black 
blotches.  He  was  then  attacked  with  lockjaw  and 
died  in  terrible  agony.  Two  others  who  assisted  him 
narrowly  escaped  death.  Their  blotches  were  burn 
ed  with  caustic  Since  then  no  attempts  have  been 
made  to  skin  animals  or  examine  them.  They  are 
buried  in  a  hurry  and  the  balance  of  the  herd  quar 
antined.  All  barnyards  and  stables  are  being 
thoroughly  cleaned,  and  farmers  are  strictly  quaran 
tiuing  all  their  cattle.  The  disease  is  contagious 
and  said  to  be  worse  than  rinderpest  or  pleurophe- 
umonia. 


The  latest  returns  of  live  stock  and  fresh  meai'im- 
portations  from  the  United  States  and  Canada  into 
England  at  the  port  of  Liverpool  shows  large  iu- 
crea-ises.  For  a  single  week  in  August  the  quantity 
of  live  stock  was  double  the  quantity  for  the  week 
preceding  it,  and  in  fresh  meat  there  was  censider 
able  advance,  particularly  in  beef.  The  totals  were  : 
Cattle,  1,808;  sheep,  2,860;  quarters  of  beef,  4,748; 
carcases  of  mutton,  453.  No  hogs  whatever  were 
landed. 


Literary  and  Personal. 


Walt  Whitman's  "  Leaves  of  Grass." — Tears 
ago,  we  had  a  copy  of  this  work,  on  loan,  for  a 
week  or  ten  days,  and  gave  it  an  ordinary  perusal, 
and  whatever  opinion  we  may  have  entertained  or 
expressed  in  regard  to  it,  we  certainly  never  would 
have  thought  of  classing  it  with  obscene  or  immoral 
literature.  There  may  be  some  passages  in  it  that 
are  repulsive  or  impure  to  the  "  immodestly  mod- 
est," but  there  are  also  such  passages  in  the    Bible. 

If  "  to  the  pure  all  things  are  pure  "  can  be  at  all 
predicated  of  intelligent  beings,  then  we  may  view 
humanity  in  all  its  aspects,  and  from  any  standpoint 
in  which  it  may  be  presented,  with  moral,  philan- 
thropic and  philosophic  incontamination. 

Sinultaneoslt  with  the  announcement  of  the  re- 
appearance on  Thursday  July  20th,  of  Walt  Whit 
man's  "Leaves  of  Grass"  from  the  presses  of  Kees 
Welsh  &  Co.,  book  publishers  of  this  city,  comes  the 
statement  that  the  Philadelphia  Society  for  the  Sup- 
pression of  Vice  and  Immorality  are  preparing  to 
anticipate  the  issue  of  the  much  maligned  book  by 
an  endeavor  to  have  it  placed  under  the  category  of 
obscence  literature,  thus  to  prevent  its  circulation 
through  the  mails. 

THE  REV.  MR.  MORROW's  VIEWS. 

Speaking  yesterday  on  the  sublect  of  the  Vice 
Society's  measure  of  interference  and  his  own  posi- 
tion in  regard  to  thePhiladeiphia  publisher's  request 
that  he  would  review  the  book  Mr.  Morrow  said: 
"The  members  of  this  society  are  my  friends,  and  its 
work  is  my  work,  but  in  this  particular  instance  I 
think  they  have  made  a  mistake.  I  deprecate  the 
attempt  to  suppress  the  circulation  of  a  book  of  this 
character,  and  tear  that  It  will  not  have  the  good 
effect  intended.  In  Europe  where  Whitman's 
"Leaves  of  Grass"  is  looked  upon  as  one  of  the 
highest  types  of  the  American  classic,  the  endeavor 
to  suppress  the  book  is  regarded  with  astonishment. 
As  an  exponent  of  a  peculiar  form  of  thought,  it  is 


entitled  to  a  place  in  American  literature,  and  as 
such  its  publication  should  be  unobstructed."  I 
have  no  wish  at  the  present  time  to  become  identified 
with  either  side  in  the  fight  which  is  now  going  on 
over  Mr.  Whitman's  work,  as  it  would  probably  in- 
terfere with  certain  movements  with  which  I  am 
myselfconnected.  But  if  you  ask  me  what  I  think 
of  the  book  from  a  moral  point  of  view,  I  would  say 
that  in  my  opinion  it  is  neither  lewd  nor  obscene. 
Nor  but  that  to  the  minds  of  many  of  our  readers  it 
may  appear  so  and  be  so— that  depends  largely  upon 
the  purpose  for  which  it  is  read.  Tlie  obnoxious 
poems,  I  believe,  were  not  written  in  a  spirit  of 
lewdness. 

"  Walt  Whitman  is  robust,  virile,  but  not  obscene. 
In  his  poetry  he  tries  to  carry  out  certain  ideas  of  his 
own,  ideas  that  may  not  be  consonant  with  accepted 
notions  of  morality,  but  which  with  him  are  convic- 
tions. He  believes  that  the  human  form  in  all  its 
parts  and  functions  should  be  made  a  commonplace 
theme  in  social  intercourse,  and  one  or  two  of  his 
poems  are  exponents  of  this  belief. 

"  '  Leaves  of  Grass  '  should  be  read  in  the  same 
spirit  as  that  in  which  it  was  written,  and  not  as  an 
encouragement  to  immorality.  I  give  Whitman 
credit  for  attempting  to  formulate  thoughts  which 
are  to  him  earnest  convictions.  His  doubtful  pas- 
sages differ  from  those  m  Shakespeare  and  other 
classical  poets,  in  that  the  latter  are  expressions  of 
the  current  notions  of  the  morality  of  the  day, 
while  Whitman's  are  exponents  of  his  own  ideas, 
and  are  at  variance  with  present  conceptions  of  mo 
rJility.  I  should  not,  however,  for  mv  own  use, 
want  one  line  in  his  book  expurgated.  But  if  I 
wanted  my  daughter  to  read  it  I  would  expurgate 
many  passages.  Now,  you  can  umlerstand  my  rea- 
sons for  deeming  it  unwise  to  suppress  the  work.  It 
is  a  book  which  can  only  circulate  where  the  eon 
tents  will  be  digested  by  mature  minds,  and  where 
its  capabilities  for  moral  injury  are  null." — From 
the  Philadelphia  Press,  July  lo/A,  1882. 

Department  of  AoRicULTaRE. — Special  Report 
No.  47.  Climate,  soil  and  agricultural  capabilities  of 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia.  By  J.  C.  Hemphill, 
Washington.  D.  C,  1882.  «5  pages  octavo,  in  which 
is  ably  discussed  a  multitude  of  matter  relating  to 
the  Sea  Islands  of  the  State;  how  the  soil  is  fertil- 
ized; the  preparations  for  planting;  the  planter's 
profit  on  long  staple  cotton  ;  the  rice  growing  region  ; 
the  central  cotton  region  ;  the  methods  of  cultiva- 
tion ;  the  cultivation  of  corn  ;  the  upper  and  middle 
country ;  labor  and  wages ;  small  farms  in  South 
Carolina  ;  number  of  farms  ;  farms  occupied  ;  the 
colored  people  of  the  State  ;  the  lien  law  and  its 
operations  ;  farming  on  advances  ;  official  figures  as 
to  the  extent  of  the  system  ;  cotton  manufacturing 
in  the  State;  profits  of  the  mills;  compression  of 
cotton  ;  the  phosphate  industry  of  South  Carolina  ; 
trade  in  fertilizers;  agriculture  in  Georgia ;  Upper 
Georgia;  Southern  or  lower  division;  market  gar- 
dening in  the  State,  with  many  instructive  tabulated 
statistics. 

Premium  List  op  the  New  .Mexico  Exposi- 
tion, and  driving  Park  Association.  Second  annual 
fair,  to  be  held  at  the  city  of  Albuquerque,  Septem- 
ber 18;  19,  20,  21,  22  and  23,  1SS2.  A  demi  eight  vol. 
of  forty-eight  pages,  divisions  A  to  (},  subdi- 
vided into  twenty-four  classes,  including  rules  and 
regulations,  etc.,  etc.  We  observe  that  our  friend, 
Dr.  W.  L-  Stracham  has  a  "finger  in  the  pie,"  be 
ing  the  superintendent  of  minerals,  which  will 
doubtless  be  a  prominent  feature  in  the  exhibition. 
The  premiums  are  very  liberal,  and  there  ought  to  be 
and  doubtless  leill  be  a  successful  fair. 

Justice.  A  weekly  newspaper  devated  to  anti 
monopoly  principles.  New  York,  one  dollar  a  year. 
No.  1,  vol.  1,  (of  an  indefinite  series)  has  reaehed 
our  table,  an  imposing  folio  with  an  imposing  title, 
and  the  following  inscription  decorating  its  banner; 
'Our  principles  anti-monoDoly.  We  advocate,  and 
will  support  and  defend  the  rights  of  the  many  as 
against  privileges  for  the  few.  Corporations,  the 
creation  of  the  State  shall  be  controlled  by  the 
State.  Labor  and  capital  allies,  not  enemies;  justice 
for  both." 

Published  by  the  "Justice  Publishing  Company," 
a  very  fair  and  well  gotten  up  journal, the  proclaimer 
of  principles  which  we  have  heard  announced  by 
diliertut  political  parties  these  very  many  years — 
principles  endorsed  by  the  majority  of  educated 
mankind,  and  doubtless  also  practical  until  they  be- 
come incorporators  themselves,  or  possess  the  means 
to  become  bondholders  thereof,  then 

"Whiteman   berry   unsartin. 
And  nigga  neber  sure" 
is  too  often  most  lamentable  realized. 

One  would  suppose  that  Justice  is  a  too  self  evident 
factor  in  (the  moral  ultimation  of  man,  to  need  a 
corporate  effort  to  effect  its  illumination  in  practical 
life.  If  we  thought  it  essential  we  might  say  that 
we  are  in  sympathy  with  above  principles  in  sjiirit 
and  in  truth—  and  much  more  of  the  same  sort,  but, 
having  heard  them  "'rumpeted"  these  fifty  years  or 
more,  we  have  concluded  that  they  never  will  be 
practiced  until  each  individual  begins  the  work  of 
reform  iu  his  own  person.  There  may  bb  other 
modes  and  the  newspaper  may  be  au  auxilary  in 
their  development — we  bid  it  "God-epeed." 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER 


III 


THE  PENN 

HARROW 

BEST  IN  THE  WORLD 

IT  HAS  NO  EQUAL 


By  remo\'iuK  the  wlnj?  and  whe^  from  the  orl^nal 
yo\i  liuvo  a  oompLete  oue-Uortio  "A"  Uoirow. 


Patented  April  13,  1880. 


The  above  cut  represents  the  Penn  Harrow 
complete,  with  all  ita  combinations  of  Five  Hot* 
rows  and  a  h1c<1  for  each  Harrow;  and  each 
Bucoeediujrchantro  19  made  from  this  Harrow  without 
the  I'^a^t  additional  expense.  By  liookini^  the  team 
to  either  point,  B  or  C,  the  center  revolves  and  (?ivea 
the  pToiind  Two  Strokes  and  Two  Cro.-^Bing-s  in 
pa.-'ping'  over  it  once,  iiiakinpr  it  the  most  ell'ective 
pulverizer  in  the  market.  ;.j  ~ 
THIS  IIARROAV  HAS  ONIiY  TO  BE 
USED  TO  BE  APPRECIATED, 
See  it  beTore  purchasing  and  you  vail  buy  do  other. 


The  Penn  Harrow 

■CHANGED  TO  A    THREE-CORNER  ROTABY 
HARROW. 


Indispensable  for  Orchards,  as  the  revolvinprwhei 
harrowH  riprht  up  to  and  oil  around  the  trees  witl 
out  barkiuy  them. 


The  Penn  Harrow 

OHAKGED  TO  SINGLE  "A"   HAKROW. 

n 


The  Penn  Harrow 

CHANGED  TO  DOUBLE  "A"  HARROW. 


Remove  the  -wheel  from  the  orlfrinal,  reverse  th^ 
win^,  and  it  makes  tho  most  complete  Double  "A'| 
Harrow  Ui  tho  market 


The  Penn  Harrow 

.CHANGED  TO  A  SQUARE  HARROW, 


By  removinpr  the  wheel  from  the  orlcrlnal  you  have 
a  Harrow  with  threo  i)oiut-^  to  hook  to.  By  hooking 
to  B  or  C  you  can  barrow  in  a  furrow,  and  haiTow 
the  bottom  and  both  sides,  or  f^vir  a  ridK'e  flud  har- 
row the  top  and  buth  Fidi-s,  or  you  can  lift  cither 
point  and  have  three  point-;  on  the  ground— some- 
thin  cr  thab  cauuot  bo  done  %vith  auy  sthe^ 
Ilarro^v. 


The  Penn  Harrow 


ON   ITS  SLED. 


It  has  always  been  a  preat  inconvenience  to  cret  the 
Harrow  to  and  from  the  l\cl-l.  The  Penn  Harrow 
obviates  this,  as  no  matter  vvliirh  Harrow  you  wiwh 
to  use  in  the  combination,  it  Iiojs  its  own  sled 
to  lianl  it  on. 


The  Penn  Harrow 

la  made  oi"  the  best  white  oak,  with  Rtoel 
teeth, well  painted.  In  evcrv  wav  firMl-rlass. 

Formerly  a  harrow  vit^a  the  most  unhandy  ijuple- 
menton  the  farm;  with  our  improvement  it  is  the 
most  convenient,  ^vill  4I0  double  (he  work  of 
any  other  harrow  nnd  saTe  the  lariiier  linlf 
hi-<4  labor,  and  if*  \i  iirraiitcd  to  <io  n.11  mo 
represent  or  money  relundfd.  OKllER,  AT 
ONCE  AM*  IJE  CONVlNCiCU, 

Price  of  thf  light  draft  Combination  P^nn  Harrow, 
$30*    Sendfora  Catalogue  and  see  irJiat  farmers  say. 

AGENTS    WANTED   IN   EVERY   COUNTY. 

PEM  HARROW  MAHDFACTDRIMG  CO. 

CAMDEN.  N.  J. 

8ep-.3m 


PHILIP  SCHUM,  SON  &.  CO.. 

38  and  40  West  King  Street. 

We  keep  on  hand  of  our  own  mauufacture, 

QUILTS,  CO^TIRLETS, 

COUNTERPANES,  CARPETS, 

Bureau  and  Tidy  Covers.  Ladies'  Furnishing  Goods,  No- 
tions, etc. 

Particular  attention  paid  to  customer  Rag  Carpet,  and 
scowering  and  dyeine  of  all  kinds. 


Nov-1  y 


PHILIP  SCHUM,  SON  &  CO., 


Lancaster,  Pa, 


THE  HOLMAN  LIVER  PAD 

Cures  by  absorption  without  medicine. 

Now  is  the  time  io  apply  these  remedies.  They  will  do 
tor  you  what  nothing  else  on  earth  can.  Hundreds  of  citi- 
zens of  Lancaster  siy  so.    Get  the  genuine  at 

LANCASTER  OFFICE  AND  SALESROOM, 

22  East  Orange  Street. 

Nov-lyr 


DISSOLUTION  OF  PARTNERSHIP  S 
The  co-partnership  in  the  merchant  tuiiorinp:  busi- 
herctofore  exi'-ting  un('#;-  the  firm  of  Kiith\0  i  &  Fisher, 

iH  this  day  di-solved  by  inuiual  consent.  All  jiersoiis  in 
any  manner  indebted  to  said  firm,  ure  respectfully  so- 
licited to  make  immediate  payment  to  S.  S.  Riithvon, 
who  is  hereby  authorized  to  receive  tt»e  cyime,  and  those 
having  claims  against  slid  firm,  will  please  present  them 
for  settlement. 

S.  S.  UATHVON. 
M.  FISHEK, 
101  North  Queen  Street,  Lancaster,  Pu. 


Until  further  announcement,  the  bussiness,  without 
interruption,  wil  be  conducted  by  the  undersigned,  who 
solicits  a  continimnce  of  the  patronage  heretofore  be- 
stowed upon  the  firm,  and  whioh  is  hereby  greatfully 
acknowledged. 

S.  S.  RATHVOW, 

PRACnOAL  TAILOR, 

No.  101  North  Queen  Street, 

LANCASTER,  PA. 


Fruit,  Shade  and  Ornamental  Trees. 

Plant  Trees  raised  iu  tbiB  coanty  aud  salted  to  this  climate . 
Write  for  prices  to 

LOUIS  C.  LYTE, 

Bird-in-Hand  P.  C,  Lancaster  co.,  Pa. 

Nureery  at  SmoketowQ,  six  miles  east  of  Lancaster. 

79-1-12 


WIDMYER  &  RICKSECKER, 

UPHOLSTERERS, 


And  Manufacturers  of 


FURNITURE  PD  CHAIRS, 

WARKROOMN: 

102  East  King  St.,  Cor.  of  Duke  St. 

LANCASTER,  PA. 

79-1-12) 

Special  Inducements  at  tho 

NEW  FURNITURE   STORE 

W.  A.  HEINITSH, 
fro.   xs  1-2  z:.  x£.xpr<3r    s'X'xi.eisit' 

(over  Bursk'B  Grocery  Slorei,  LaiicaHtcr,  Pa. 
A  general  aBsor'inent  of  turnitureof  all  kiuUs  constantly 
on  hand.    Don't  forget  the  number. 

XS  1-a  'Xietm-t  XSixis  Stx-eet, 

Nov-ly]  (over  Burek'a  Grocery  Store.) 

For  Good  and  Cheap  Work  go  to 
F.  VOLLMER'S 

FURNITURE  WARE   ROOMS, 

No.  309  NORTH  QUEEN  ST., 

(Opposite  Northern  Market), 
Also,  all  kinds  of  picture  frames.  nov-ly 

GREAT  BARGAINS. 

A  large  assortment  of  all  kinds  of  Carpets  are  still  sold  at 
lower  I'ates  tbjiu  ever  at  the 

CARPET  HALL  OF  H.  S.  SHIRK, 

No.  202   West  King  St. 

Cull  and  examine  our  stock  and  satisfy  yourself  that  wo 
can  show  the  largest  assortment  of  these  Brussels,  three 
plies  and  ingrain  at  all  prices— at  the  lowest  Philadelphia 
prices. 

Also  on  hand  a  large  and  complete  assortment  of  Rag 
Carpet. 

Satisfaction  guaranteed  bath  as  to  price  and  quality. 

You  are  invited  to  call  aud  see  my  goods.  No  trouble  in 
showing  them  even  if  you  do  not  want  to  pu-chase. 

Don't  forget  this  notice.  You  can  save  money  here  if  you 
want  to  Jjuy. 

Particular  attention  given  to  customer  work. 

Al80  on  hand  a  full  assortment  of  Counterpanes,  Oil 
Cloths  aud  Blankets  of  every  variety,  [nov-lyr. 


C.  R.  KLINE 
)\ttof(ney-at-|:iAW, 

OFFICE :    15  NORTH  DUKE  STREET, 

LA.NCASTBR.   FA.. 

Nov-ty 

SILK-WORM  EGGS. 

Amateur  Silk-growers  can  be  .supplied  with  superior 
silk-worm  eggs,  on.reiisonable  t«rnis,  by  applying  imme- 
diately to 

GEO.  O.  HEN8E1., 

may-3ni]  No.  238  Ea-st  Orange  Street,  Laneaster,  Pa. 

LIGHT  BRAHMA  EGGS 

For  hatcliing,  now  ready— from  the  be,st  strain  in  the 
county~rtt  the  moderate  price  of 

$X,SO  for  a  setting  of  X3  HgS^- 
L,  KATUVON, 

Nc.  9  North  Queen  St.,  Examiner  Offlee,  Laneaster,  Pa. 


WANTED.— CANVASSEK.'<  for  llie 
LANCASTER  WEEKLY  EXAMINER 
In  Everv  Township  in  the  County.    Good  Wages  can  be 
made,    inquire  at  THE  EXAMINER  OFFICE. 

No.  9  North  Queen  Street,  Lancaster,  P» 


IV. 


THE  LANCASTER   FARMER 


[September,  1.882. 


WHE  RE  TO  BUY  GOOD 


IN 


LANCASTER. 


BOOTS  AND   SHOES. 

MARSHA  I.I.  A  SOJf.  Xu.  12  Centre  Scuiaic,  Lan- 
caster, Dealers  in  Boots,  Slioes  and  Rubbers.    Re- 
pairing promptly  attended  to. 

MIjEVY.  No.  3  East  King  street.    For  the  bes 
a    Dollar  Shoes  in  Lancaster  go  to  M.  Levy,  No.  3 

East  Kinff  strePt. 


BOOKS  AND   STATIONERY. 

JOHX  IJAER'S  SOX'S,  Nos.  15  and  17  North  Queen 
Street,  have  the  largest  and  best  assorted  Book  and 
Paper  Store  in  the  City. 


FURNITURE. 


HEIXIT.SH'S,  No.  l.i',.;  East  King  St.,   (over  China 
Hall)  is  the  cheapest  place  in  Lancaster  to   buy 
Furniture.    Picture  Frames  a  specialty. 


CHINA  AND  GLASSWARE. 

HIGH  *  MARTIjr.  No.  l.T  East  King  St.,  dealers 
in  China,  Glass  and  Queensware,   Fancy  Goods, 
Lamps,  Burners,  Chimneys,  etc. 


FARMING  FOR  PROFIT. 

It  is  conceded  that  this  large  and  comprehensive  book, 
(advertised  in  another  column  by  J.  C.  iNIcCunly  &  Co., 
of  Philadelphia,  the  -well-known  publishers  of  Standard 
works.)  is  not  onlv  the  newest  and  handsomest,  but  alto- 
gether the  BEST  work  of  the  kind  which  has  ever  been 
published.  Thoroughly  treating  the  great  subjects  of 
general  Agriculture,  Live-Stock,  Fruit-Growing,  Busi- 
ness Principles,  and  Home  Life;  telling  just  what  the 
farmer  and  the  farmer's  boys  want  to  know,  combining 
Science  and  Practice,  stimulating  thought,  awakening 
inquiry,  and  interesting  every  member  of  the  family, 
this  bo'ok  must  exert  a  mighty  influence  for  good.  It  is 
highly  recommended  by  the  best  agricultural  writers 
and  the  leading  papers,  and  is  destined  to  have  an  ex- 
tensive sale.    Agents  are  wanted  everywhere.         jan-lt 


GLOVES,  SHIRTS,  UNDERWEAR. 
SHIETS  MAdFtO  order, 

AND  WARKANTBD  TO  FIT. 

E.  J.  ERISMAN, 
56  North  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

-1-12] 


CLOTHING. 


MYKKS  A-  KATHI'OX.  Centre  Hall,  No.  12  East 
King  St.    LargestX'lothing.House  in  Pennsylvania 
outride  of  Philadelphia ' 

DRUGS  AND  MEDICINES. 

GW.  Hl'1.1..  Dealer  in  Pure  Drugs  and  Medicines 
,    Chemicals,   Patent  Medicines,  Trusses,  Shoulde 
Braces,  Support«r»,  to.,  1.5  West  King  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa 

JOHSr  F.  LOUe  A  SON,  Druggists,  No.  12  North 
Queen  St.    Drugs,   Medicines,   Perfumery,    Spices, 
Dye  Stutfs,  Etc.    Prescriptions  carefully  compounded. 


DRY  GOODS. 


GIVLEK,  BOWERS  *  Hl'BST,  No.  25  E.  King 
St.,  Lancaster,  Pa.,  Dealers  in  Dry  Goods,  Carpets 
and  Merchant  Tailoring.    Prices  as  low  as  the  lowest. 


HATS  AND  CAPS. 


CH    AMER,  No.  39  West  King  Street,  Dealer  in 
•    Hats,  Caps,  Furs,  Robes,  etc.    Asaortment  Large. 
Prices  Txiw. 


JEWELRY  AND  WATCHES. 

HZ.  RHOAns  *  BRO.,    No.  i  West  King  St. 
•    Watches,   Clock  and  Musical  Boxes.     Watches 
and  Jewelry  Manufactured  to  order. 


Thirty-Six  Varieties  of  Cabbage;  26  of  Corn;  28  of  Cu- 
umber;  41  of  Melon;  33  of  Peas;  28  of  Beans;  17  of 
Squash;  23  of  Beet  and  40  of  Tomato,  with  other  varieties 
in  proportion,  a  large  portion  of  which  were  grown  on 
mv  five  seed  farms,  will  be  found  in  ray  Vegetable 
and  Flower  Seed  falalogue  for  1S«3.  Sent  free 
to  all  who  apply.  Customers  of  la,st  Seoson  need  not 
write  for  it.  All  Seed  sold  from  my  establishment  -war- 
ranted to  be  fresh  and  true  to  name,  so  far,  that  should 
it  prove  otherwise,  I  will  refill  the  order  gratis.  The 
original  Inlrodncer  of  Early  Ohio  and 
Barbank  rofatoes.  Marblehead,  Early  C«rn, 
the  Hnbbard  Squash.  Marblebead  Cabbage, 
i>llinney*8  Melon,  and  a  score  of  other  New  Vegeta- 
bles, I  in%nte  the  patronage  of  the  public.  New  Vegeta- 
bles a  specialty.  

JASIES  J.  B.  OREGORT, 

Marblebead,  Mass. 
Nov-6mo] 


PRINTING. 


JOHSi   A.    HIESTAND,  9  North  Queen  St.,  Sale 
Bills,   Cireulars,  Posters,  Cards,   Invitations,   Letter 
and  Bill  Headsand  Envelopes  neatly  printed.    Prices  low. 


EVAPORATE  YOUR  FRUIT. 

ILLUSTRATED    CATALOGUH: 

FREE  TO  ALL. 

AMERICAN  DRIER  COMPANY, 

Chambersbargr,  Pa. 

Apl-tf 


Lu^n^nDi^ETZEa:  t^sTie^ie.-a^'T- 


TJndfcr  this  name  we  offer  to  Merchants  and  Farmers  a 

of  superior  excellence.  Not  till  this  year  had  the  stock  increased  sufficiently  to  offer  it  for  sale 
— the  strain  all  being  derived  from  one  stool  selected  five  years  ago.  We  control  every  bushel 
and  expect  to  distribute  it  widely,  feeling  sure  that  it  is  an  acquisition  of  vaU-.e,  being  Hardy, 
Vigrorous,  Early,  Stiff  in  Straw,  very  Prolific,  entirely  from  Bust,  and  making  Flour  of  the 
Highect  (jnality.  This  Wheat  is  far  superior  to  the  Clawson,  and  those  svlio  sow  it  this  Au- 
tumn v/ill  be  able  to  sell  to  their  neighbors  for  Seed  all  the  resulting  crop  at  good  prices.  We 
do  not  expect  any  will  be  sent  to  mill. 

We  append  a  few  sworn  testimonials  showing  the  estimation  in  which  it  is  held  by  well 
known  millers  in  the  State  of  New  York. 

Pricf-s,  mchiding  bags:  $1.50  per  Peck,  $5.50  per  Basliel,  $10.00  2  Bnshels. 

DAYID  LANDEETH  &  SONS, 

SEED  GROWEBS,  Philadelphia. 


OVID  STEAM  MILLS, 
George  W.  .lones  A:  Bro. ,  Props. 
Having  grotind  and  baked  some  of  the  flour  made 
from  the  "  Landrcth  "  "White  Wheat,  wo  find  the  Wheat 
to  be  A  No.  1  White,  and  a  first-class  wheat  fur  grinding. 
The  flour  being  very  white,  the  bran  thin  and  light.   We 
regard  the  "Laridreth"  Wheat  much    superior  to  the 
Clawson  variety.     We  saw  it  before  it  was  harvested, 
the  heads  were  very  large,  the  straw  bright  and  stitT,  and 
think  it  wili;become  one  of  the  leading  wheats. 
August  14,  1SS2.  GEO.  W.  JONES  &.  BRO., 

Millers. 

STATE  OF  NEW  YORK,  1  ,„ 
COUNTY  OF  ONTARIO,  f  *'• 

Richard  H.  Willing,  of  Phelps,  in  s.aid  county,  being 
duly  sworn  deposes  and  says,  I  have  used  the  Hour 
made  from  the  New  White  Wheat  known  a^  "  Lan- 
dreth,*'  from  the  grist  I  ground  for  II.  S.  Bonnel',  and  I 
have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  in  my  long  experience 
in  milling  1  have  never  seen  or  had  such  nice  sweet  and 
spongy  bread.  K.  U.  WILLING,  Miller. 

Subscribed  and  «worn  to  before  1 
me  August  5,  1882.  f 

LYSANDER  REDFIELU, 

A  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  and 

for  the  County  of  Ontario  N.  Y. 


O^^D,  August  14. 
I  have  ground  trial  samples  of  the  New  Wheat  "  Lan- 
drcth," and  find  it  excelling  the  Clawson  and  equ^l  to 
any  variety  I  have  ever  seen.  The  berry  is  large,  white, 
with  thin  skin  and  light  bran.  The  fiour  makes  unusu- 
ally white  bread.  M.  MAXWELL, 

Miller. 

STATE  OF  NEW  YORK,  I  „„ 
COUNTY   OF   ONTARIO,  P^- 

Ezra  A.  Hibbard,  and  Fanny  Hibbard,  his  wife,  of  the 
town  of  Phelps,  in  the  said  county,  being  duly  sworn, 
depose  and  say  :  We  have  used  in  our  family  flour  made 
from  the    "  Landreth  white  Wheat,"    grown  by   H.  S 
Bonnell,  and  we  can  say  that  it  makes  the  sweetest  and 
best  bread  and  pastry  that  we  have  ever  had  or  used. 
E.  A.  HIBBARD, 
FANNY  HIBBaED. 
Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me, ) 
August  ."ith,  1882,  J 

LYSANDER  REDFIELD, 
Justice  of  the  Peace  in  and  for  Ontario  co.,  N.  Y. 


eep-lt 


A  HOME  ORGAN  FOR  FARMERS. 


II  FiEli,, 


A  MONTHLY  JOURNAL, 

Devoted  to  Agmulture,  Horticulture,  Do- 
mestic Economy  and  Miscellany. 


Founded  Under  the  Auspices  of  the  Lancas- 
ter County  Agricultural  and  Horti- 
cultural Society. 


EDITED  BY  DR.  S.  S.  RATHVON. 


TERMS  OF  SUBSCRIPTION  ; 


ONE  DOLLp  PER  ANNUH^, 

POSTAGE  PREPAID  BY  THE  PROPRIETOR. 

All    subscriptions    will    commence   with    tht 
January  number,  unless  otherwise  ordered. 


Br,  8,  S.  Rathvon,  who  has  so  ably  managed  the  editorial 
department  in  the  past,  will  continue  in  the  position  of 
editor.  Hie  contributions  on  subjects  connected  with  the 
science  of  farming,  and  particularly  that  specialty  of  whicl> 
he  is  80  thoroubly  a  master — entomological  science — some 
knowledge  of  which  has  become  a  necessity  to  the  Buccees- 
f \il  farmer,  are  alone  worth  much  more  than  the  price  of 
this  publication.  He  la  determined  to  make  **The  Farmer* 
a  necessity  to  all  households. 

A  county  that  has  so  wide  a  reputation  as  Lancaster 
county  for  its  agricultural  products  should  certainly  be 
able  to  support  an  agricultural  paper  of  Its  own,  for  the 
exchange  of  the  ojiinione  of  farmers  interested  In  this  mat- 
oter.  We  ask  the  co-oporation  of  all  farmers  interested  in 
this  matter.  Work  among  your  friends.  The  "Farmer"  1 
only  one  dollar  per  year.  Show  them  your  copy.  Try  and 
induce  them  to  subscribe.  It  is  not  much  for  each  sub. 
scriber  to  do  but  it  will  greatly  assist  us. 

All  communications  in  regard  to  the  editorial  management 
should  be  addressed  to  Dr.  S.  S.  Rathvon,  Lancaster,  Pa., 
and  all  business  letters  in  regard  to  subscriptions  and  ad- 
vertising should  be  addressed  to  the  publisher.  Katee  of 
advertising  can  be  had  on  applictition  at  the  office. 


JOHN  A  HIESTAND. 

No.  g  North  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 


$72, 


A  WEEK.   $12  a  day  at  home  easily  made.    Ck>stly 
(Outfit  free.  Addrees  TsuE  &  Co.,  Augusta,  Maine 


01T?3  DOLLAB  PER  A1T1TUJ\I -SINGLE  COPIES  10  CENTS. 


Dr.  S.  S.  KATHVOH,  Editor. 


LANCASTER,  PA.  OCTOBER,  1882 


JOHN  A.  HIESTAND.  Publisher 


Kiit<^re<l  at  tli<-    I'OMt Oflico  nt  I.anc-itMtcr  as 

CONTENTS  OF  THIS  NUMBER. 

EDITORIAL. 

The  Stanwicli  Nectarine 145 

Luscious  Grapes 1-15 

Somethiut;  about  "Hair- Worms"  and  Eels 145 

Kilclicii  Garden  for  October 14li 

How  not  to  apply  Stable  Maimrc. 

Necropliore 146 

Seedlinsr  Peach \ 1411 

CONTRIBUTIONS. 

The  Value  of  Clover  on  Land 147 

The  Leaves 147 

Save  the  Peach  Stones 447 

SELECTIONS. 

Fighting;  the  Phylloxera  in  Europe 147 

Protectiiifr  Plants  duJing  Winter 148 

Self  Dependence 148 

Tbl  Preservation   of  Forests    from    wanton  De- 
struction, and  tree  planting 143 

A  Univer.^iii  Minu  of  \VeaIlli — \Var  Against  Trees 
aiul  Its  Itltreet.s— C'alliuj^  a  Hail — Forests  in  the 
Territttries — Forestry  Laws — .Imiicioiis  Thin- 
ning— A  C'oniinissioner  of  W<jo(ls  aiul  Forest — 
Tree  Planting — Planting  Trees  iin  Pniilie  Kuatl- 
sides — Tree  Planting  on  Farms — .Stony  *_JrountI 
— -\  Forestry  Commissioner — 'flic  Dominion. 

Cultivation  of  Peppers 150 

How  to  Bottle  Wine 1.50 

Practical  Forestry  Illustrated 151 

Summer 1.52 

.\utiMiin — >Vinter — .Spring. 

How  to  Keep  Houses  Healthy 152 

The  Coining  Fence 1.52 

The  Trade  in  Nuts 1.53 

Work  and  Leisure 153 

Stable  Cleaning 1.5,'? 

Worthless  Dogs 1.5:5 

The  Black  Walnut  153 

OUR  LOCAL  ORGANIZATIONS. 
Lancaster  County  Agricultural  and  Horticultural 

Society  154 

Cro])  Reports — The  Vatne  of  Clover  Land — Shonld 
Th^-re  be  Less  Kenning'.' — lla.v  as  a  Fertilizer — 
Going  to  the  York  Fair — The  Xcxt  Meeting — 
Fruit  Keport 

The  Poultry  Association 1.55 

Fulton  Farmers'  Club 1.55 

Questions  aiivl  Answers — Crops — Literary  Exer- 
cises. 

Linnajan  Society 15l> 

AGRICULTURE. 

Wheat  Growing 13(; 

An  Excellent  Fertilizer 1.5tj 

How  to  Keinovc  Stumps 15C 

The  Telephone  on  the  Farm 1.56 

Octagonal  Barns 156 

HORTICULTURE. 

York  Imperial  Apple 1.57 

Keeping  Apples 1.57 

Apple  Notes  1.57 

Root  Pruning 157 

The  Cherry  and  Apple 157 


HOUSEHOLD    RECIPES 

Chow,  Chow 157 

Stutfed  Tomatoes ^^^ 

Pancakes ^'" 

Rissole  Soup ^" 

Lamb  Chops ■' 15~ 

Potato  Mound 1^''' 

Ladies'  .Cabbage  l'""^ 

Damson  Tart, l'^^ 

Potato  Porridge 1'"'^ 

Roasted  Sweetbreads  IS'' 

Boil  and  Blanch  the  Sweetbreads IS'^ 

Potato  Croiiuettcs 1^^ 

Rice  Pudding  Cold  158 

Breakfast  Cakes  158 

Cream  Nectar 15S 

Potatoes  au  Maitre  d'Holel 158 

Stewfd  Tomatoes  and  Onion  158 

Stewed  Pears  with   liiee 158 

Ox-Cheek  Soup 158 

Stewed  Calfs'  Hearts  158 

Apple  Soullle  Pudding 158 

LIVE  STOCK. 

Raising  a  Colt 1-58 

Hints  on  Raising  Stock  158 

Swine  Raising— A  Different  System  Desirable 1-58 

More  Fretiuently  Milking  ^ 1.5S 

Jersey  Cows  and  their  Records 1.58 

Facts  About  Horses 151) 

Overloading  Cows'  Stomachs 1.50 

Quarantined  Cattle 159 

APIARY. 

Some  loforination  At  out  the  Queen  Bee 1.59 

Twelve  Facts  for  Beginners 1.59 

A  System  for  Wintering ; 1.59 

Preparing  for  Winter 159 

POULTRY. 

Guinea  Hens 160 

Care  of  Fowls 160 


Ducks  . 


.160 


Which  is  the  More  Profitable  160 

Fatteninff  Turkeys  160 

Farm   and  Workshop  Notes 160 

Literary  and  Personal 160 


x«roNP.A.i%E:ii. 
FARM  &  FEED  MILLS 

The  Cbeapest  and  Best. 

Will  Crush  and  Grind  Any  tiling. 
Illustrated  Catalogue  FItEE. 

Adta  L.J.  MILLER,  ciDcimiLO. 


Agents  Wantrd.    The  Culminaline  Triumph. 

HOW  TO  LIVE! 

A  complelo  Cyclnpeiiia  of  hmiseli'iUl  knowledRp  for  the 
masses ;  now  ready.  Not hiiiB  lik<'  it.  (•uiti^th!«t.  Ii"W 
nriced.  inustrnteil.  iiiic(|IIhIo(1  in  .uithorhlnp.  S.-n<i  for 
Fressnoticeaanrt  fnll  part.iciil»r«uow.  Ou(lJtan<i  int-truc- 
tionshow  to  sell,  free  to  actual  agents.  SucctBs guaran- 
teed faithful  workers.  Stat*?  experience,  if  any,  and  terri- 
tory desired.  W.U.TUOMPSON.Pub.,4d4  Arch  Bt.Phil*. 


ott-lt 


I.ANr»~ETirS  FIKI  I>  SEF.DS, 
LANIHiKTII  ;s  l-I.t'WKR  SEED*. 

Aiii-ifiillu  nl  Iinpleinenls  in  (ircBt  viiriely. 

HortM'ii  turul  'I'ltols  in  j;:!!-  t  variety. 

Kctiuisites  for  CJa  (ie-i  aii<l  Green  House. 

Red  arid  White  Clover.  Alwike  Clover,  Lucerne. 

Blue  til-ass  (iroe    Gr*ss.  Oreliard  Grub)*,  Herde  Grasa, 
Perennial  bye<Vra*s. 

Mixe<l  Lawn  Grass  Seed,  very  lii  es    quality. 

Phi'  t  Food  fur    •    use  i'huit.s 

B<jne  Meal  oi"  the  rtirest  <iuality 

I'eruvjan  Gnnno,  Land  Phuster. 

Farm  .'^ah,  Fliixsett!  Meal 

Ca'bolic  -ops,  ParisGreen. 

L  ndon  Purp  e.    '  avis  Purple. 

liisecl  Po"  der,  Tobuceo  Dust. 
ILU'STII.ATKD     CAT  ALOGl'FS    FHEE.         PRICES 

LOW.     CAUt-  FUL  \i  TENTION  Gl'AK  vNTP:ED. 

Founded    1784.      1500  acres  under  cultivation 

growing  LandretH's  Garden  Seeds. 

D.  LANURE  TH  &  SONS, 
Nos-  21  and  2;^>  South  Sixth  Street, 

Between  Maiiket  and  Chestnut  Sts., 

ASI).S.    W.  COBKER    DBLAWAKK   AVKNIK.  AND  AltCIl  ST., 

oct-(!m  PniLADELPIIIA. 


Garmore'sKar'S?!/;.'.. 

An  Invcnt4.-4l  nnd  worn  by  him 

pcrPcetly  rc-icrin^  thchcannt'.  En- 
tirely de.-iffor  thirty  years,  he  heirs  with 
tliciu  even  vlii<;pers,  dif;tinctly.  Are 
not  ohKcrvuhlf,  and  remain  in  posi* 
tion  withoui  .ml.  Dcscrijuive  Circular 
I-ree.  CATTIOX:  Do  not  be  deceived 
by  brtgi^s  ear  drums.  Mine  is  t)ic  only 
successful  artificiril  Ear  Uruni  mAnu> 
facturcd. 

JOHN    GARMORE, 

Filth  &  Kacc  Sts.,  CiiRinna:i,  0> 


•  1:  ■  .  ;ii,i;lc-lFRHlCO»lli»ppllc*nU,  »nd  tociulomertwllboot 
.i!'M,;[;  U.  It  c.')ntain«  five  colored  plktes  0><>  eneX^vUtn, 
'    ut  ■-••Mj  Tinjcci,  »nJ  full  (Iticripttoni,  piicei  bh.I  dlrectUmi  for 

1  lADtiut  lbU<>%ftrietiii<'f  V'.^rUt'le  and  Flower  S-tdi,  Plkiit*. 

l-VuitTroci,  etc.     liiviiluAble  to  ftll.     Seud  for  St.     Addreu, 

B.  M.  FEBSY  &  CO..  Detroit.  UidL 


.hiT.-4ni 


(tj/>0;i  week  in  your  own  town.     Terms  and  ?.'»  o 
iPODAddnts  H.  Hai.lf.tt  k  Co..  Porilitnd,  Maim 


.'»  outlit  free 
Maine. 


■  Ur* 


Wk  Want  Gkrman  Books. 

WE  WANT  BOOKS    PKINTE1>  IN  LA.N'CASTER  CO. 

W*e  Want  All  Kinds  of  Old  Books. 

LIBRARIES.  ENCiLlSH  OK  GERMAN    BOUGHT. 

Casli  ])uid  for  Books  in  any  (luanlity.    Send  youraddreaft 

and  we  will  call. 

REKK  WEL^iH  dc  CO., 

23  South  Ninth  Street,  Phihidelphia. 


THE  LANCASTER   FARMER. 


►  EXXSYI.VASriA  RAILROAD  SfHEUUI^E. 

Trains  leave  the  D-'i'Ot  w  tbis  city,  as  follows  : 


WE   TWARD. 

Pacific  Express' 

Way  Paesengert    

Niagara  Express 

Hanover  Accuiniuodatiou.. 

Mail  train  via  Jit.  Joy 

No.  2  via  Columbia 

Sunday  Mail 

Fast  Line* 

Frederick  Accommodation. 

Hariisburg  Accom 

Columbia  Accommodation.. 

Harrisburg  Expiess 

Pittsburg  Express 

Cincinnati  Express* 


I  eavr 
Lancaster. 

2:40  a.  m. 

5:1)0  a.  m. 
11:00  a.  m. 
11:0.5  p.m. 
10:20  a.  m. 
1I.2.T  a.  m. 
III:.'iOa.  m. 

2;.'»  p.  m. 

2:.'K  p.  m. 

ri:l.j  p.  ra. 

7:20  p.  m. 

7:30  p.  m. 

8:50  p.  m. 
11:30  p.  m. 


.\rrive 

Harrisburg. 

4:05  a.  m. 

7:50  a.  m. 

11:20  a.m. 

Col.  10:40  a.  lu. 

12:40  p.  m. 

12:55  p.  m. 

12:40  p.  m. 

3:25  p.  ra. 

Col.  2:45  p.  m. 

7:40  p.  m. 

Col.  S:20  p.  m. 

8:40  p.  m. 

10:11)  p.  m. 

12:45  a.  m. 


RASTWAllD.  Lancaster.     ',    Philadelphia 

CSncinniiti  Expres-s 2..5.5  a.  m.     :      ii:00  a.  m. 

F.ist  Line* .5:08  a.m.  7:40  a.m. 

Harrisburg  Ex|irc8s 8:05  a,  m.     1     10:00  a.  m. 

ColHmbia  Accommodation..        9.10  p.  m.     j     12:0    p.  m. 

Pacific  Express* :10  p    m.  3:40  p.m. 

Sunday  llaU 2:00  p.m.  5:00  p.m. 

Johnstown  Express 3:05  p.m.    I      6:30  p.m. 

Day  Express' 5::!5  p  m.    ,       7:20  p.m. 

Harrisburg  Accom 0:23  p.  m.    [      9:30  p.m. 

The  Hanover  Accommodation,  west,  connects  at  Lancaster 
with  Niagara  Express,  west,  at  9:35  a.  m.,  and  will  run 
through  to  Hanover. 

The  Fi-cderiok  .Vccommodation,  west,  connects  at  Lancas- 
ter with  Faat  Line,  west,  at  2:10  p.  m.,  and  runs  to  Frederick. 

The  Pacific  Express,  east,  on  Suuday,  when  flagged,  will 
stop  at  M'idletown,  Ehzabethtowu,  Mount  Joy  and  Landis- 
rille. 

'The  only  trains  which  run  daily. 

tRune  daily,  except  Monday. 

NORBECK  &  MILEY, 


PRACTICAL 


\m  Builders, 


i'OX  &  (!0'S  OLB  STA\I), 

Co[oef  of  hk  mi  Vine  Streets, 

LANCASTER,  PA. 


THE  LATEST  IMPROVED 

SIDE-BAR  BUGGIES, 

PH^^TONS, 

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The  Lancaster  Farmer. 


Dr.  S.  S.  RATHVON,  Editor. 


LAKCASTER.  PA.,  OCTOBER,  1882. 


Vol.  XIV.  No.  10. 


Editorial. 


THE     STANWICH     NECTARINE. 

Mr.  Samuel  W.  Taylor,  of  North  Mulberry 
street,  Lancaster,  Pa.,  has  placed  us  under 
obligations  for  a  small  but  handsome  dona- 
tion of  lliis  luscious  fruit,  and  wliat  increases 
its  value  is  tlie  fact  tliat  it  was  of  liis  own 
fullivatiou,  an  acliievement  in  wliicli  he 
stands  alone  in  Lancaster  connty,  if  not  in 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania  ;  for  it  was  not  pro- 
fessed, even  by  tlie  nurseryman  from  whom 
be  obtained  it,  that  it  could  be  successfully 
raised  in  the  open  air.  Such  a  contingency 
might  occur,  but  it  was  by  no  means  an  as- 
sured quality  of  the  fruit.  Mr.  Taylor  has, 
however,  successfully  accomplished  it  for  the 
last  two  or  three  years.  The  present  season 
was  the  most  successful  one,  the  tree  yit^kling 
a  fair  crop,  and  some  of  the  fruit  measuring 
7j  inches  in  circumference,  of  a  greenish 
tinge,  with  a  l)right  vermilion  cheek,  and 
fniely  flavored.  Tlie  tree  is  very  healtliy 
looking,  being  deep  green  in  the  color  of  its 
foliage  ;  stands  near  the  middle  of  his  lot ; 
has  a  soutliern  exposure,  and  a  western  and 
nortliorn  protection,  btit  not  entirely  shielded 
from  the  wintry  blasts.  Of  course,  our  fruit- 
growing patrons  will  be  aware  that  the  nec- 
tarine (Pcrska  krvis  of  De  Candolle)  is  nearly 
allied  to  the  peach  ;  indeed,  in  flavor  and  in 
form,  it  is  essentially  a  peach,  witli  the  sraootli 
skin  of  a  plum.  When  fidly  ripe  the  skin  of 
the  fruit  is  thin  and  tender,  find  need  not  be 
removed  in  eating  it.  It,  however,  lacks  the 
color  and  the  peculiar  tiavor  of  the  best 
varieties  of  tlie  peacli  ;  but  for  canning  there 
is  less  waste,  because  the  skin  need  not  be 
reijioved,  and  its  presence  does  not  impair  the 
quality  of  the  fruit. 

Mr.  Taylor  tliinks  in  another  season,  he 
can  improve  the  size  and  quality  of  the  fruit 
by  judicious  thinning.  Tlie  present  season 
when  this  work  sliould  have  been  attended 
to,  be  was  ill,  and  confined  to  his  room,  and 
did  not  recover  until  it  became  too  late.  It 
is  much  more  of  a  peach  than  the  Apricot  is, 
and  the  seed  differs  very  little  from  the  a])- 
pearance  of  a  peach-stone.  On  the  whole, 
we  think  the  result  is  very  much  in  favor  of 
its  general  cultivation. 

LUSCIOUS  GRAPES. 

We  gratefully  acknowlidge  the  receipt  of 
nine  very  fine  clusters  of  grapes,  from  our 
esteemed  friend  and  clever  fruit-grower,  H. 
M.  Engle,  of  the  Marietta  nurseries.  If  these 
fairly  represent  the  quantity  and  quality  of 
his  crop  the  present  season  tliey  most  certainly 
indicate  an  unqualified  success — at  least  as 
far  as  quality  is  concerned.  The  clusters,  ac- 
cording to  the  respective  varieties, were  large, 
full,  and  the  berries  remarkably  perfect  and 
uniform  in  size.  The  Merrimau  (Rogers 
No.  19,)  large  berry  and  color  black.  Wilder 
(Rogers,  No.  4),  of  the  same  color,  but  less  in 
the  berry.  lioyers  No.  33,  nearly  the  same 
size  and  color  as  the  WUdcr. 


Tlie  Israella  and  the  Eumelan  are  medium 
and  small  in  size  and  dark  in  color,  and  the 
clusters  of  a  fair  size.  The  Lindlcy  (Rogers, 
No.  9),  a  large  red  grape; ;  and  the  Inna,  simi- 
lar in  color,  but  small  in  berry  and  fair  cluster. 
The  Martha  and  the  Or«tou,  both  green  in 
color,  but  dillering  much  in  size  of  berry. 
This  is  by  no  means  intended  as  a  technical 
description  of  the  above-named  fruit,  hut 
only  an  external  glance  at  it.  As  to  flavor, 
or  edible  qualities,  of  course  the  respective 
varieties  more  or  less  ditl'er,  but  we  don't 
know  that  we  are  able  just  now  to  make  that 
dill'erence  plain  in  its  details.  Moreover,  tastes 
also  differ.  Let  any  novice  take  a  dozen 
varieties  of  grapes,  in  order  to  test  their 
(pialities,  and  by  the  time  he  gets  to  the  Iiot- 
tom  of  the  list  his  taste  will  be  so  much  de- 
moralized that  ho  can  hardly  tell  "  'tother 
from  which."  It  may  be  different  with  an 
expert,  but  we  confess  we  are  like  the  unso- 
phisticated Hibernian,  who  when  asked  which 
(if  his  dozen  children  he  liked  the  best,  very 
promptly  replied,  "Paith,  then,  I  like  them 
all  the  best."  Our  gratitude,  however,  is  not 
based  up  on  the  quality  or  external  appear- 
ance of  the  fruit.  In  its  donation  is  mani- 
fested a  recognition  of  our  humble  and  long 
continued  labors  as  editor  of  the  Fakmkr  ; 
and,  although  we  have  not  in  any  sense  de- 
manded such  recognition,  yet  On  all  occasions 
when  it  has  been  vouchsafed,  it  has  loomed 
up  as  a  green  spot  in  the  desert  of  our  edi- 
torial days,  and  we  have  felt  duly  grateful. 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  "HAIR-WORMS" 
AND    EELs. 

In  the  article  of  our  esteemed  contributor, 
W.  J.  P.,  on  the  Origin  of  Gaiies  and  the 
Generation  of  Eels,  published  in  the  August 
number  of  the  Farmer  (p.  117),  he  makes  use 
of  the  following  unqualified  declarations  on 
the  first-named  topic.  "Anything  of  this 
kind  "  (that  is,  the  down  of  young  chickens), 
"or  hairs  from  anything,  placed  in  a  warm 
wet  place,  and  receiving  air,  will  become 
living  animals.  They  are  very  common  at 
this  time  of  the  year,  where  stock  go  to  drink, 
in  the  foot-prints,  containing  water.  They 
differ  in  size  and  length,  dejiending  upon  the 
part  of  the  body  from  which  the  hair  has 
fallen.  I  took  the  other  day  from  the  ditch, 
below  my  pump,  a  knot  of  hairs  that  was  all 
alive  ;  it  was  just  as  it  had  been  taken  from 
the  comb  and  wrapped  around  the  linger,  and 
a  hair-pin  stuck  through  it.  I  removed  the 
pin,  shook  them  out  In  a  basin  of  warm 
water  ;  they  appeared  to  enjoy  their  liberty 
very  mucli." 

Wo  don't  dispute  the  facts  of  our  contri- 
butor's observations  in  regard  to  his  "  knot 
of  hairs  ;"  for  hair-worms  are  usually  found 
in  such  knots,  and,  from  that  very  circum- 
stance, the  generic  name — Oordius^v/hich  has 
been  given  to  them  is  derived,  in  allusion  to 
the  "Gordian  knot"  cut  by  Alexander  the 
Great.  But  we  can't  believe  that  that  knot 
of  hairs  ever  belonged  to  a  human  head  (even 


if  it  had  a  "  hair-pin  stuck  through  it  ").  And 
we  would  suggest  that  before  he  comes  to  an 
unepialified  conclusion  on  the  subject,  he  should 
try  the  experiment  of  animating  human  hairs, 
or  the  "hairs  from  anything."  Forty  years 
ago  we  devoted  six  months  to  the  experiment, 
and  signally  failed ;  but  we  experimented 
with  horse-hair,  for  we  were  assured  that  our 
living  Gordians  were  only  animated  liorsc- 
hairs.  We  liave  before  us  an  old  illustrated 
work  on  natural  history,  piiblislied  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-live  years  ago,  in  whicli  the 
author  combats  the  idea  that  horse-hairs  be- 
come animated,  very  successfully.  Although 
the  light  of  science  seems  to  have  exploded  tlie 
theory  over  and  over  again,  it  has  still  its  fol- 
lowers, and  probably  always  will  have,  simply 
because  mankind  is  disposed  to  judge  from 
appearance  only.  Finding  a  saddle  and  bridle 
under  a  patient's  bed,  is  no  evidence  that  he 
has  eaten  a  horse. 

We  have  found  these  Gordians  or  Hair- 
worms in  roadside  pools  ;  in  enclosures  where 
no  domestic  animals  were  allowed  to  intrude; 
in  the  bodies  of  beetles  and  grasshoppers  ;  in 
the  seed  cavities  of  apples  ;  in  the  centre  of 
cabbage-heads  ;  and  they,  or  species  allied  to 
them,  iiave  been  found  in  the  eyes  of  horses, 
in  the  brain  of  birds,  in  the  bodies  of  calves, 
pigs  and  sheep,  and  in  the  trachea  of  fowls; 
and  they  have  generally  been  found  knotted 
or  tangled,  except  when  found  very  small. 
Nor  is  that  all.  In  the  museum  of  the  Liu- 
na;an  .Society  we  have  a  female  Hair-worm 
that  has  a  string  of  eggs  externally  attached 
to  her,^aiid  another  specimen  in  which  the 
eggs  can  be  seen  within  her  body.  Still,  we 
do  not  consider  that  our  observations  are 
final,  but  we  think  that  our  contributor  has 
taken  a  too  narrow  and  ha.sty  view  of  the 
subject. 

We  are  not  now,  and  never  have  been,  a 
Galliniculturist,  and  pretend  to  no  special 
knowledge  on  the  subject  of  the  diseases  that 
are  common  to  the  feathered  tribes.  We  are 
always  willing  to  accord  all  the  merit  we  pos- 
sibly can  to  the  theories  and  opinions  of  those 
who  profess  an  experimental  knowledge  of 
the  life,  habits,  (jualities  and  diseases  of  the 
"poultry  world,"  but  we  confess  we  are  not 
prepared  to  receive  the  doctrine  that  heat  and 
moisture  will  transmute  the  down  of  little 
chickens  into  strongulidce,  or  •' gape- worms." 
We  arc  compelled  to  doubt  it,  even  if  such 
doubt  should  consign  us  to  the  company  of 
those  who  in  aforetime  were  wont  to  *sk, 
"  Have  any  of  the  doctors  believed  on  him  ?" 
We  mean  no  disrespect,  but  we  think  the  doc- 
trine needs  revision  and  further  confirmation. 
No  doubt  our  contributor  is  sincere,  and  the 
appearances  may  be  quite  satisfactory  to  him, 
for  we  observe  in  an  explanatory  paper  on  the 
same  subject,  published  in  the  September 
number  of  the  Fak.mki!  {[>.  133),  he  reiterates 
the  same  views  with  the  qualification  that, 
"  probably  if  the  chick  did  not  take  cold  there 
would  be  no  gape- worm."  A  view,  which, 
instead  of  simplifying  only  complicates  the 


146 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[October, 


question.  AVe  supposed  that  those  who  were 
practically  connected  with  poultry  culture, 
and  who  ought  to  have  some  knowledge  of 
the  diseases  that  are  contingent  to  that  busi- 
ness, would  have  given  their  views  u])on  the 
subject. 

As  to  the  question  of  the  breeding  of  eels, 
we  are  confident,  from  personal  observation, 
that  the  young  ascend  the  streams  in  the 
spring  and  descend  them  in  the  fall  in  very 
large  numbers  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  we  do 
not  deny  that  there  are  individuals,  if  not 
species,  that  become  local  in  their  habits.  In- 
deed, some  thirty  years  ago,  we  visited  a  lake 
in  Lycoming  county,  into  which  eels  had  been 
long  previously  introduced,  and  in  which 
they  •became  very  large,  weighing  as  mncli  as 
ten  pounds,  and  out  of  which  they  could  not 
have  migrated  without  going  some  distance 
over  land  ;  nor  could  there  have  been  any 
migration  into  it,  for  it  was  at  least  thirty 
miles  distant  from  the  river,  and  the  dis- 
charge of  water  from  the  lake  was  small  and 
precipitous,  and  as  their  presence  was  con- 
tinuous and  the  fish  very  large,  the  inference 
is  that  they  must  have  inhabited  the  lake 
for  many  years.  In  former  numbers  of  the 
Farmer  we  have  given  our  observations  on 
the  migration  of  eels  in  the  .Susquehanna,  and 
these  have  been  corroborated  by  intelligent 
authority. 

It  seems  a  little  singular  that  the  most  ex- 
perienced pisciculturists  and  naturalists  have 
never  placed  on  record  the  easy  and  certain 
mode  of  eel  generation  that  our  contributor 
does.  In  the  September  number  of  the 
Fakjier,  commencing  on  page  i;53,  is  an 
article,  abridged  from  a  larger  article  pub- 
lished in  BlachuoocVs  Magazine,  in  which  the 
writer  puts  a  different  face  on  the  matter. 
He  reiterates  the  doctrine  that  eels  are  not 
ovqmroits.  but  on  the  contrary  viviparous,  or 
perhaps  ovo-vinparous.  As  some  oth*  fishes, 
and  also  some  snakes  possess  these  different 
characteristics,  it  is  not  impossible  they  may 
be  extended  to  some  species  of  eels.  Under 
any  circumstances,  it  shows  that  the  simple 
process  of  eel-generation  is  not  a  definitely 
settled  question,  however  confident  different 
observers  may  be  in  the  finality  of  their 
theories. 

We  sjieak  that  vhich  wc  do  kumc  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  it  is,  that  eels  do  ascend  the  Susque- 
hanna river  in  the  spring,  and  descend  in  the 
fall ;  whether  the  habit  is  universal  or  not, 
it  at  least  cAsts. 


KITCHEN  GARDEN     FOR     OCTOBER. 

In  the  Middle  States,  the  labors  of  the  gar- 
dener are  varied,  as  during  the  preceding 
month  ;  but  he  who  then  neglected  duties 
necessary  to  be  done,  has  lost  time  not  to  be 
regained— the  autumn  is  upon  him.  Seeds  of 
a  few  varieties  may  still  be  sown.  Tlie  prin- 
cipal labors  are,  however,  the  protection  of 
crops,  already  grown,  transplanting  others, 
and  setting  out  trees  and  shrubs.  Asparagus- 
beds  dress.  Cabbage  plant  out  in  light  land 
for  next  season's  use.  Beets  and  carrots  store 
now,  or  early  nest  month.  Lettuce  plant 
out  for  next  spring.  Potatoes  dig.  Bpinach 
sow  at  once,  if  not  sown  last  month.  Vacant 
ground,  trench.     [Landrcths''  Ilural  licgisfer.) 

And  when  you  sow  spinach,  don't  forget 
the  extia  curled  Bloomsdiile,  an  improvement 


on  the  best  former  stock.  This  edible  plant 
was  introduced  and  named  by  Landreths 
many  years  ago,  and  is  conceded  by  all  gar- 
deners to  be  the  very  best  under  cultivation 
in  this  country.  Very  productive  in  leaf, 
thick  foliage,  and  deeply  corrugated,  very 
like  a  Savoy  cabbage. 

How  not  to  Apply  Stable  Manure. 

"The  worst  method  of  applying  manure  is 
to  place  the  same  in  small  piles  all  over  the 
field,  and  allow  it  to  remain  to  be  leached  by 
every  rain  storm.  The  spots  thus  covered 
soon  become  saturated,  and,  in  loose,  open 
soil,  the  soluble  soaks  into  the  subsoil,  or  is 
carried  away  in  drains  (if  any  exit),  thus 
forcing  an  overgrowth  on  these  spots,  and  a 
baldness  in  other  places.  Manure  when  car- 
ried to  the  field,  should  be  at  once  spread 
and  ploughed  in,  if  not  intended  as  a  top 
dressing." 

Good  wholesome  advice,  but  one  would 
hardly  suppose  that  any  intelligent  farmer  of 
the  present  period  needed  it ;  and  yet,  now 
and  then,  these  neglected  piles  of  manure 
may  be  seen  for  weeks  after  they  have  been 
hauled  on  the  land.  Some  other  work  has 
been  considered  of  more  importance,  and  the 
manure-speading  has  been  compelled  to  await 
a  more  convenient  season.  Like  a  good  many 
other  manual  operations  of  the  household, 
that  which  is  last  ought  absolutely  be  the 
first. 


NECROPHORE. 


The  Burying  Beetle,  Alias  Clarion  Beetle. 

The  word  Nccrophore  is  derived  two  Greek 
words  signifying  a  dead  60%  and  a  carrier  ; 
and  is  applied  to  a  genus  of  beetles  named 
Necrophorus,  of  which  there  are  about  twenty 
species  in  the  United  States,  that  have  been 
described,  named  and  catalogued.  They  be- 
long to  the  familSiLPiiiDCE,  called  after  Silpha, 
the  typical  genus  of  the  family  group,- an  ar- 
bitrary term,  perhaps,  of  which  the  derivation 
is  not  clear.  In  plain  English  the  different 
genera  of  the  family  are  usually  denominated 
"scavenger  beetles,"  and  they  perform  an 
important  function  in  the  economy  of  nature. 
This  mild  October  weather  revives  them  and 
brings  them  abroad  ;  and  to-day  (6th)  one 
was  captured  by  the  senior  reporter  of  the  In- 
telligencer aud  placed  in  our  possession. 
This  is  Nccro2}horus  marginatus,  about  an 
inch  in  length,  in  color  black,  with  transverse 
orange  marks  on  the  wing  covers.  The  indi- 
viduals of  this  genus  are  commonly  called 
"sexton  beetles, "or  "burying beetle, "  from  a 
singular  habit  they  have  of  burying  the  sub- 
stances in  which  they  deposit  their  eggs. 
Perhaps  I  ought  also  to  state  that  the  name 
of  "  carrion  beetle  "  has  been  very  generally 
applied  to  the  family,  and  wherever  there  is 
a  putrid  carrion  exposed  there  you  may  find 
them,  their  cogeners  and  their  more  remote 
family  relatives.  But  the  genus  Necroplwrus 
has  a  peculiar  habit  that  does  not  pervade  the 
whole  family.  If  the  carcass  is  large,  for  in- 
stance that  of  a  horse,  ox,  sheep,  swine,  dog, 
&c.,  these  beetles  will  make  no  attempt  to 
bury  it ;  except,  perliaps,  a  small  detached 
portion  of  it.  But  when  it  finds  the  dead  car- 
cass of  a  toad,  a  rat,  a  mouse,  or  a  small  bird, 
it  forwith  commences  to  bury  it,  in  which 
labor  the  sexes  unite.    They  dig  out  the  earth 


from  under  it,  and  when  the  carcass  sinks 
down  a  little  below  the  surrounding  level, 
they  cover  it  with  the  earth  removed  in  mak- 
ing the  excavation.  Into  this  nidus  the  eggs 
are  deposited,  the  larva^  are  hatched  and  ma- 
tured. Exposed  to  the  hot  sun  and  the  rapid 
decomposition,  assisted  by  the  various  species 
of  "  Blow-flies,"  their  larvie  could  not  become 
fully  developed,  and  hence  would  perish. 
There  are  districts  in  Mexico  and  South 
America,  where  carrion-beetles  are  not  known ; 
the  air  is  so  pure  and  dry  that  carcasses  be- 
come "jerked"  or  dried,  before  decomposi- 
tion takes  place.  Our  beetle  buries  the  carcass 
to  prolong  decomposition.  The  name  of 
"  Buzzard-beetle  "  suggested  by  the  aforesaid 
reporter,  would  be  appropriate  ;  because  as  a 
scavenger  and  for  its  size  it  will  compare  with 
the  "Buz." 


SEEDLING   PEACH. 

Epiirata,  Pa.,  October  12th,  18S2. 
PROF.  S.  S.  Rathvon  :  Herewith  we  send  you  a 
late  seedling  peach.  It  is  a  medium  sized  peach. 
Having  noticed  it  two  years  ago  we  then  thought 
it  merited  further  notice.  This  year  the  tree  is  full 
again  of  very  fine  peaches.  We  do  not  think  that 
there  is  a  finer  pe.ach  out.  We  want  your  opinion 
whether  you  think  it  is  worth  propogating;  or  if 
anything  is  out  similar  to  it  let  us  know  what  it  is. 
You  may  report  in  the  Fahmer  or  by  mail,  as  you 
think  proper.  Yours  respectfully, 

S.  R.  Hess  &  Son. 
Your  peach  was  duly  received,  and  almost 
immediately  submitted  to  the  practical  test 
of  Messrs.  H.  M.  Engle,  J.  C  Linville  and 
W.  L.  Ilershey — three  members  of  the  Lan- 
caster County  Agricultural  and  Horticultural 
Society — and  they  unhesitatingly  concluded 
that  it  is  worthy  of  propogation  and  distri- 
bution, in  which  we  heartily  coincide.  Good 
late  peaches  are  very  desirable,  and  this  seems 
to  "  fill  the  bill."  There  seems  to  be  some  in- 
decision as  to  the  variety,  but  the  prepon- 
derance of  opinion  is  that  it  is  a  "Salway," 
or  a  cross  between  that  variety  and  "Kteffer's  • 
Smock."*  Mr.  Engle  happened  to  have  a 
Smock  with  him,  so  that  we  were  able*  to 
compare.  In  external  appearance  it  closely 
resembles  the  Smock,  but  is  more  acid — not 
so  sweet.  The  Smock  is  a  foreign  peach,  and 
was  originated  by  the  celebrated  Mr.  Kickard, 
of  England.  We  had  not  a  Salway  tocompare 
it  with,  but  if  it  differs  from  that  variety  in 
appearance  flavor,  texture  and  habit,  of 
course,  you  will  have  the  privilege  of  naming 
it  as  a  new  variety.  Therefore,  we  would  say, 
"go  ahead,"  give  it  a  wide  circulation,  and 
you  will  be  doing  a  good  work  for  the  late 
peach  crop  of  Lancaster  coimty.  There  is, 
however,a  later  peach  cultivated  in  the  county. 
Mr.  Windolp,  of  Marietta,  we  think,  has  a 
variety  that  will  not  ripen  before  the  20th  of 
October.  Probably  some  of  yours  may  con- 
tinue until  that  date. 


One  writer  on  ensilage  truly  says  :  "It 
will  assist  enormously  in  making  mankind 
independent  of  the  weather,  for  the  constant 
use  of  the  plow  and  the  cultivator,  and  the 
raising  of  strong,  growing  crops  will  greatly 
obviate  the  difficulties  from  drought  while  the 
serious  loss  and  expense  of  havcsting  crops  in 
wet  seasons  will  be  greatly  diminished  by  this 
method  of  presejving  food." 

*Not  the  "old  Smock,"  of  twenty  or  thirty  years  ago. 


1S82.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


147 


Contributions. 


FOK   IIIK  LancASTKR  K.MOIKIt. 

THE  VALUE  OF  CLOVER  ON  LAND. 

Tlic  grass  cioi)  is  said  to  t)fi  one  of  the 
tl'.rco  greatest  cro))?  of  the  country,  and  we 
may  safely  say  tliat  clover  is  the  most  valu- 
able of  all  the  grass  erops. 

After'  our  land  has  lost  its  virgin  soil 
from  the  cultivation  of  crops  we  must  use 
some  means  to  renovate  it  again,  to  hring  it 
baek  to  its  virgin  soil,  which  lo  accomplish 
\vc  must  necessarily  use  some  artllicial  means. 
1  {)resume  tlie  object  of  the  (piesUon  was  to 
discuss  the  value  and  benefits  of  clover,  and 
its  effect  on  our  lands  over  other  grasses. 
No  grass  and  no  hay,  no  manure  ;  no  manure, 
no  hay. 

One  among  many  other  vvays  to  bring  our 
worn  out  lands  to  their  virgin  soil  again  is  to 
let  it  rest  with  a  crop  of  grass,  and  I  coidd 
recommend  no  belter  than  clover.  It  may 
make  an  inferior  jiay  to  .some  others,  such  as 
timothy  and  blue  or  meadow  grass,  but  it 
comes  up  iiuicker  and  endures  more  pasturing, 
keeps  the  soil  covered  more,  draws  more  from 
the  atmo.sphere  than  other  grasses,  makes 
more  milk,  and  lastly,  keeps  abetter  mulch  or 
top  dressing,  which  we  all  know  to  be  so 
essential  to  keep  up  the  soil.  This  mulch 
serves  the  same  as  the  foliage  of  trees,  which 
serves  to  feed  the  soil. 

Another  good  effect  we  must  not  forget, 
namely  :  the  turning  down  of  .this  grass, 
which  keeps  the  soil  loose  and  mellow  to 
retain  the  rain. 

I  think  about  the  latter  end  of  March  or 
the  beginning  of  April  a  good  time  to  sow 
clover  seed,  providing  thp  weather  is  favor- 
able ;  about  six  quarts  to  the  acre  or  one 
bushel  on  live  acres,  on  wheat  or  rye.  After 
harvest  good  judgment  and  discretion  ought 
to  be  used  to  treat  it  to  its  best  advantage. 
If  dry  weather,  do  not  pasture  too  close,  not- 
withstanding turning  cattle  on  to  tramp  it 
.solid  has  a  good  effect.  The  drouth  can  not 
scorch  it  so  severely.  Keep  it  covered  all  the 
time.  It  is  decidedly  the  best  crop  of  grass 
for  the  land.  Timothy  may  be  more  valuable, 
at  least  in  the  market;  it  may  bring  more 
from  the  acres,  but  will  exhaust  the  land 
more,  and  is  admitted  to  leave  the  soil  more 
compact  and  hard  than  clover.  Now,  I  would 
say,  if  you  try  clover  and  it  has  not  the  effect 
you  think  it  ought  to  have,  sow  more. 

In  another  thing,  which  will  bo  adopted 
in  the  near  future,  clover  will  have  the 
advantage  over  all  other  grass-soiling.  A 
farmer  can  cut  his  grass  and  begin  again  at 
the  beginning  when  he  is  tlrougli,  and  so  re- 
peat a  number  of  times  ;  more  so  than  any 
other  grass.— P.  S.  R. 


For  The  Lancakter  Fakmp.r. 
THE     LEAVES. 

It  is  said  that  the  leaves'aro  the  lungs  of 
trees,  through  which  the  sap  passes  before  it 
is  taken  up  by  the  growing  frnit,  and  that  by 
this  process  it  (the  sap)  gets  its  supply  of 
vitality  from  the  air,  as  the  blood  of  the 
animal  does  in  passing  through  the  lungs  of 
the  body.  That  leaves  are  essential  to  the 
growth  of  the  fruit  is  evident  to  my  mind 
from  the  condition  I  find  my  grapes  in  this 


season.  Early  in  the  summer  I  obs(u-ved  that 
the  leaves  were  attacked  on  the  underside  by 
a  little  lly,who.S(^  depredations  gave  the  leaf  a 
speckled  apiiearanee,  and  many  of  them  with- 
ered and  died.  I  once  had  a  mind  to  use  a 
hose,  and  drench  the  vines  from  underneath 
with  an  abundance  of  water  from  the  hy- 
drant, but  I  neglected  to  do  it.  Now  (Sept. 
S)  nearly  all  the  leaves  aro  half  dead,  and 
many  of  the  grapes  arc  wilting  and  falling 
ofl";  and,  althougli  the  vines  aro  full,  I  fear 
there  will  be  but  a  scant  crop  of  grapes 
lit  for  use.  Some  remedy  ought  to  be  i)ro- 
vided  to  prevent  the.se  "  what-do-you-call- 
'enis  "  from  destroying  the  grape  frnit. 

I'lease  call  and  see  my  vines,  and  then  .say 
ni  your  excellent  Farmer  what  you  thint. — 
■T.  F.  W.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 


For  TiiK  I,ancarti:r  Farmkk. 
SAVE  THE  PEACH  STONES. 
jV)'.  h'uthvon,  Ed. :  In  this  month's  issue  of 
your  Journal,  an  article  (Save  the  Peach 
Stones)  is  timely,  and  to  show  the  importance 
of  it  I  will  give  a  few  instances  of  success, 
without  even  trying. 

From  an  orchard  not  far  from  here  La 
Grange  Peaches  grew,  and  a  party  taking 
some  with  him  home,  there  came  up  a  tree 
somewhat  resembling  the  parent,  but  larger, 
better  and  later,  and  which  I  named  Steadily, 
that  is  now  nourishing  from  New  Jersey  to 
the  middle  of  Texas,  and  giving  general  satis- 
faction. But  for  my  discovering  it,  it  would 
never  have  been  known  outside  of  the  imme- 
diate neighborhood.  A  few  years  after  I  got 
it  the  original  tree  was  carried  down  the 
Missouri  river,  and  now  steamboats  pass 
where  it  stood.  Another  instance  is,  a  Miss 
Bllen  Fanner  took  some  lino  late  yellow  clings 
to  one  of  my  daughters,  in  Hermann, Texas, 
some  years  ago,  who,  being  a  horticulturist,  told 
me  they  were  so  flue  that  I  ought  to  procure 
buds.  It  was  then  too  late  for  that  season  ; 
but  the  year  following  I  sent  for  buds,  but 
the  tree  was  on  the  decline,  and  nothing  but 
a  few  feeble  twigs  were  got.  Thinking  it 
would  possibly  recover,  the  buds  were  set, 
and,  to  my  surprise,  in  the  following  season 
they  made  hne  trees,  apiiarently  healtliy  and 
quite  vigorous.  In  the  same  year  the  old  tree 
died,  and  would  have  been  gone  irretrievably 
had  I  not  saved  It. 

Now  tliere  are  three  trees  here  bearing 
fruit,  and  fruit  it  is.  About  as  late  as  a 
peaih  can  ripen.  Tlie  largest  size  .specimens 
measuring  12  inches  in  circumference,  and 
weighing  14  ounces.  Some  on  the|trees  yet, 
which  may  even  exceed  the  above. 

Form  nearly  round,  deep  yellow,  with  a  red 
cheek.  Flesh  yellow  next  the  .skin  ;  but 
nearly  blood  red  at  the  stone,  which  red  ex- 
tends fully  half  way  out,  and  grows  paler  as 
it  recedes  from  the  stone.  Highly  aromatic, 
but  not  so  sweet  as  the  heath  cling,  a  cling 
stone,  named  Ellen  Fauncr.  But  my  own 
experience  with  early  ones  is  what  was  in- 
tended more  p.articnlarly  in  this  article. 
About  six  years  ago  about  200  stones  of  Hale's 
Early  were  planted  in  nursery  beds  for  the 
purpose  of  budding  early  varieties  upon,  and 
perchance  something  new  in  case  some  were 
left  unbuddcd. 

This  season  about  fifty  of  them  bear  fruit. 
Some  identical  with  the  Hale,  and  rotted  just 


as  bad ;  some  very  inferior,  while  about 
twelve  were  really  valuable.  But  only  three 
were  noticed  particularly,  and  the  trees 
notched  as  they  wore  discovered,  Nos.  2,  ."!  and 
5.  They  came  in  within  a  fewdaysof  Anjou's 
June,  and  liisted  until  that  variety  was  gone. 
Nos.  2  and  4  arc  larger,  handsomer  and 
better  than  the  Anjou,  and  No.  :i  not  quite 
as  large  as  the  others,  but  as  handsome  as 
anything  could  be.  An  extensive  nursery- 
man told  me  that  he  could  sell  trees  of  them 
at  fifty  cents  apiece  if  his  agents  had  a  painting 
of  them  and  my  recommendation  of  thtan.  But 
I  only  budded  for  my  own  use,  not  wishing  to 
add  to  the  already  numerous  list  of  peaclics, 
although  I  added  some  twenty  more  varietiea 
to  my  collection  this  season. 

In  planting  the  stones  of  choice  varieties 
1  think  one  can  count  upon  at  least  one-half 
not  worth  growing.  I  have  always  such 
coming  on,  and  if  they  don't  suit  me,  bud 
them,  frequently  budding  on  limbs  two  inches 
in  diameter,  and  which  will  grow  large  enough 
to  bear  half  a  bushel  on  one  limb.  We  fruited 
about  forty  varieties  this  season  ;  and  in  all 
my  time  of  observation,  fifty  years,  never 
saw  them  so  fine,  nor  ever  expect  to  see  such 
nSnin.—Sanuid  Miller,  Bluffion,  Missouri,Sept. 
25, 1882. 

Selections. 


FIGHTING    THE    PHYLLOXERA    IN 
EUROPE. 

The  destruction  to  which  the  grape  crop  of 
France  and  Germany  is  subjected  on  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  phylloxera  in  the  vineyards 
has  been  the  cause  of  much  study  and  investi- 
gation by  wine-producers  and  scientific  men, 
to  find  out  the  most  practical  and  economical 
means  of  preventing  these  pestilential  insects 
from  pursuing  their  course  of  devastation. 

In  order  to  form  an  idea  as  to  what  extent 
the  grape  crop  of  France  suffered  by  the 
plague  of  1881,  it  is  only  necessary  to  refer  to 
a  report  made  to  the  Department  of  State  by 
our  able  consul  at  Bordeaux.  He  reports  that 
there  were  100,000  hectares  of  vineyards 
destroyed  in  1881,  against  37,000  hectares  in 
1880. 

Of  the  various  remedies  recommended  for 
destroying  the  phylloxera,  the  results  ob- 
tained from  the  use  of  bisulphide  of  carboii 
und  poliisniuiii  sulpho-carbonatc  have  been  most 
satisfactory.  By  comparing  the  condition  of 
the  vines  treated  respectively  with  bisulphide 
of  carbon  and  potassium  sulpho-earbonate,  it 
was  found  that  in  the  former  cascthey  grew 
stronger  and  remained  green  for  a  longer  pe- 
riod than,  those  under  the  influence  of  the 
lalter,or  the  potassium  sulpho-earbonate  treat- 
ment, but  the  yield  ingrapes  was  not  so  good- 

It  appears  that  the  use  of  bisulphide  of 
carbon  in  the  vineyards  of  France  in  1881 
did  not  have  the  desired  ell'ect  which  Pasteur, 
from  personal  observations  made,  was  at- 
tributed to  the  extreme  amount  of  moisture 
contained  in  the  soil  during  that  season.  The 
same  authority,  having  obtained  good  results 
from  its  use  in  his  vineyards,  makes  the  fol- 
lowing suggestions  as  his  experience  : 

1.  Only  those  vines  should  be  treated  whose 
diseased  condition  has  not  Iiecn  of  long 
standing. 

2.  The  treatment   to  he  continued  during 


148 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[October, 


the  winter  only  by  normal  temperatures,  and 
discontinued  as  soon  as  the  temperature 
begins  to  fall  too  low. 

3.  The  soil  must  be  good  and  dry. 

4.  If  the  vines  are  in  a  compact  soil  and 
the  phylloxera  is  old,  the  number  of  holes  in 
tlie  soil  should  be  increased  and  only  small 
doses  of  the  bisulphide  of  carbon  adminis- 
tered. 

5.  The  manuring  must  be  strong,  and  pot- 
ash salts  applied  in  conjunction  with  stdhle 
manure. 

0.  The  condition  of  the  vines,  must  be 
■watched  closely,  and  if,  after  one  or  two 
years,  the  insects  have  been  entirely  de- 
stroyed, the  treatment  is  to  be  discontinued  ; 
but  if  there  are  a  few  still  remaining  unkilled 
the  bisulphide  of  carbon  should  be  resumed 
only  in  very  moderate  doses. 

As  a  preventive  against  the  plague,  Avignon 
recommends  the  use  of  common  tar.  Gayon 
has  carried  on  investigations  with  the  view  of 
finding  out  such  organisms  that  could  live  as 
parasites  on  the  phylloxeaa,  but  as  yet  his 
e:;orts  have  not  been  very  successf'il.  Thur- 
man  writes  concerning  the  proposed  method 
of  Gouillontl  Depret  in  the  use  of  bromine 
against  the  phylloxera  that,  besides  its  being 
an  expensive  one,  the  injurious  effects  it  pro- 
duces on  the  health  of  the  workmen  renders 
it  quite  dangerous. 

With  reference  to  the  treatment  of  phyl- 
loxerated  vines  with  potassium  sulpho-carbo- 
nate,  P.  Mouille,  who  has  had  eight  years'  ex- 
perience with  its  use,  makes  the  following 
observations : 

1.  The  application  of  sulplio-carbonate  be- 
fore or  in  the  beginning  of  the  phylloxera  in- 
vasion will  prevent  its  increase  in  the  vine- 
yards and  allow  to  the  vines  the  power  of  pro- 
ducing their  normal  yield  of  grapes. 

2.  From  its  use  the  destruction  of  the  vines 
will  be  lessened  and  the  sickliest  ones  restored 
under  all  climatic  influence. 

3.  Potassium  snipho-carbonate  is  a  manure 
of  the  first  quality. 

Mouillfert  claims  that  by  the  judicious  use 
of  sulpho-carbonate  it  is  a  complete  means  of 
fighting  against  this  terrible  enemy  to  the 
grape  crop. 

In  conclusion,  I  would  siy  that  the  pros- 
pects of  this  year's  grape  crop  in  Germany 
are  most  favorable,  and  an  abundant  crop  is 
predicted.  Tlie  season  thus  far  has  been  ex- 
traordinarily propitious  for  all  other  crops.— 
Wm.  1>.  Warner,  Commercial  Ayent  of  Dus- 
seldorf. 


PROTECTING       PLANTS       DURING 
WINTER. 

The  utility  of  protecting  plants  during 
winter  is  not  sufficiently  aiipreciated  ;  even 
those  of  reputed  hardiness  in  any  given  cli- 
mate will  well  pay  the  expense  of  partial  pro- 
tection from  the  severity  of  low  temperatures. 
It  is  sometimes  remarked  that  a  plant  to  be 
fitted  for  general  cultivation  must  have, 
among  its  good  qualities,  the  faculty  of  taking 
care  of  itself  at  all  seasons  ;  but  it  must  be 
remembered  that  the  majority  of  plants, 
grown  for  the  sake  of  their  products,  have 
been  removed  from  their  natural  conditions, 
by  change  of  climate,  selection,  crossing,  hy- 
bridizing, &c.,  to  such  conditions  as  are  found 
most  conducive  towards  realizing   the  pur- 


poses for  which  thej'  are  grown  ;  protection 
from  extremes  of  temperature,  therefore,  be- 
comes a  part  of  cultui'e  routine,  and  in  many 
instances  it  is  one  of  much  importance. 

The  degree  of  cold  that  plants  will  resist 
without  being  injured  cannot  be  definitely  as- 
certained short  of  actual  experiment ;  their 
powers  of  resistance  depend  upon  many  con- 
tingencies. A  plant  will  sometimes  be  de- 
stroyed by  exposure  to  a  temperature  not 
lower  than  it  had  previously  encountered 
without  sustaining  any  apparent  injury.  It 
is  not  to  be  suppased  that  this  seeming 
anomaly  is  due  to  any  change  in  the  laws 
of  nature;  but  it  is  to  be  traced  to  causes 
that  influence  the  resisting  power,  and 
upon  the  knowledge  of  these  causes  depends 
our  ability  to  aid,  by  culture  processes  and 
appliances,  this  power  of  resistance  in  plants 
which  form  tlie  objects  of  special  culture  and 
care. 

The  exact  process  by  which  cold  destroys 
plants  is  a  matter  upon  which  there  is  yet 
room  tor  conjecture.  The  mechanical  ac- 
tion of  frost  on  vegetable  tissue  is  undoubt- 
edly a  cause  of  injury;  fluids  expand  while 
freezing,  and  the  expansion  of  the  sap  while 
undergoing  this  process  lacerates  and  disrupts 
the  tissue,  interrupts  the  conijeclion  of  the 
sap  vessels  and  hastens  destruction  and  de- 
composition, especially  in  delicate  and  succu- 
lent growths.  When,  therefore,  a  plant  has 
reached  a  degree  of  matur  ity  which  has  con- 
verted the  fluid  matter  into  woody  fibre,  its 
power  of  resisting  cold  is  much  greater  than 
when  its  tissue  is  highly  charged  with  watery 
matter,  so  that  it  is  a  well  established  axiom 
that  plants  resist  cold  in  the  inverse  ratio  of 
the  quantity  of  water  which  they  contain,  or 
in  proportion  to  the  viscidity  of  their  fluids. 

But  it  is  also  well  known  that  the  mere 
thermometric  degree  of  cold  does  not  indicate 
the  extent  of  the  injury  that  plants  sufl'er 
during  winter.  The  hygrometric  condition 
of  the  atmosphere  is  at  least  of  equal  impor- 
tance. 

Plants  that  pass  with  safety  through  a  zero 
cold  in  December,  will  frequently  be  destroyed 
by  the  cold  dry  winds  of  March,  although  the 
thermometer  may  not  indicate  more  than  ten 
degrees  of  frost.  The  intense  acidity  of  these 
cold  winds  act  in  a  similar  manner  as  the  hot 
dry  winds  of  summer. 

Tlie  moisture  of  the  plant  is  extracted  by 
evaporation,  and  the  resulting  injury  will  de- 
pend upon  the  auiourtt  thus  evaporated. 

It  follows,  therefore,  that  whatever  tends 
to  render  tissue  moist  and  prevents  its  solidi- 
fication, increases  its  susceptibility  to  injury 
from  cold  ;  and  whatever  tends  to  reduce  its 
humidity  and  hasten  the  conversion  of  fluid 
matter  into  woody  fiber,  increa.ses  its  power 
of  resisting  cold  ;  and  upon  the  recognition  of 
these  principles  all  protectmg  appliances 
should  be  hused.— William  Saunchrs. 


SELF-DEPENDENCE. 

No  alliance  with  others  can  ever  diminisli 
the  necessity  for  personal  endeavor.  Friends 
may  counsel,  but  the  ultimate  decision  in 
every  case  is  individual.  As  each  tree  though 
growing  in  the  same  soil,  watered  by  the  same 
rains,  and  warmed  by  the  same  sun  as  others, 
obeys  its  own  law  of  growth,  preserves  its 
own  physical  structure  and  produces  its  own 


peculiar  fruit ;  so  each  person,  though  in 
the  closest  communion  and  intercourse  with 
others,  and  surrounded  by  similar  influences, 
must  be  himself,  and  must  do  liis  own  duties, 
contest  his  own  struggles,  resist  his  own 
temptations,  and  suffer  his  own  penalties. 

There  is  too  much  dependence  placed  upon, 
co-operation  for  security  from  evil,  and  too 
little  reliance  upon  personal  watchfulness  and 
exertion.  There  are  some  who  seem  to  feel 
in  a  great  measure  released  from  obligations 
if  they  do  not  receive  such  aid,  and  some  will 
plead  the  shortcomings  of  others  as  an  excuse 
for  their  own. 

We  would  by  no  means  disparage  the  elTect 
of  influence  or  discourage  in  the  slightest  the 
generous  assistance  which  we  all  owe  to  one 
another,  or  undervalue  the  important  effect 
of  a  worthy  example.  These  are  vital  ele- 
ments of  growth,  and  their  results  can  never 
be  fully  estimated.  But  they  shonld  not 
usurp  the  the  pla-je  of  a  proper  self-reliance, 
nor  diminish  the  exercise  of  individual  powers. 
Moral  force  must  be  a  personal  possession.  It 
can  never  be  transferred;  and  while  we  gladly 
welcome  whatever  is  good  from  all  sources, 
it  can  only  be  food  that  must  be  digested  be- 
fore it  can  truly  nourish  us.  Material  benefits 
may  be  conferred  by  simple  gift,  but  mental 
and  moral  activities  can  only  be  sustained  by 
their  own  exercise.  Thoughts  may  be  changed 
but  not  thought  powers  ;  moral  help  and  en- 
couragement may  be  given,  but  virtue  cannot 
be  transferred;  responsibility  cannot  be 
shifted. 

Tlie  most  permanent  good  we  can  do  to 
others  is  to  nourish  their  iudividual  strength. 
To  aid  the  physically  destitute  most  effectively, 
food,  fuel  and  clothing  are  not  nearly  so  valu- 
able as  steady  remunerative  employment.  To 
educate  a  child  is  not  half  so  important  to  in- 
still large  amounts  of  information  as  to  set  his 
mind  to  work,  to  bring  out  his  mental  powers, 
to  stimulate  his  thought  and  quicken  his  fac- 
ulties. And  in  moral  life,  especially  in  cities, 
where  massed  together,  and  men  inclined  to 
lean  upon  each  other,  the  best  lesson  to  en- 
force is,  that  virtue,  to  exist  at  all,  must  be 
strictly  individual.  That  w'hich  cannot  stand 
alone,  but  depends  on  props  and  supports, 
which  needs  the  constant  spur  of  fear  and  the 
bribe  of  reward,  to  insure  its  activity,  is  but 
the  semblance  of  virtue  and  will  crumble  be- 
fore temptation.  A  well  developed  body  ever 
e.xcites  admiration,  but  a  well-developed  and 
.self-reliant  spirit  is  a  nobler  thing.  It  is  calm, 
modest  and  unassumiug,  yet  firm  in  conscious 
integrity  of  purpose  and  steadiness  of  aim. 
Inflated  by  no  vanity  it  is  at  once  humble  yet 
coiu-ageous;  helpful  to  the  tempted,  and  yet  ■ 
resolute  in  assailing  evil. 

THE  PRESERVATION  OF  FORESTS 

FROM  WANTON  DESTRUCTION, 

AND  TREE  PLANTING. 

The  greater  part  of  the  Norih  American 
continent  was  covered  with  forests  when  first 
invaded  by  Europeans.  These  forests  .had 
stood  for  many  years  undisturbed,  except  by 
the  slow  decay  of  one  generation  of  trees,  if 
we  may  so  speak,  and  the  slow  growth  of  an- 
other. Those  operations  had  been  going  on 
simultaneously  since  the  creation,  or  since 
the  last  great  convulsion  of  nature,  and  the 
annual  falling  of  leaves  and  the  gradual  de- 
cay of  branches  and  trunks  had  covered  he 


1SS2.J 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


^49 


earth  witli  a  vegetable  mould  of  cousiderable 
deplli. 

A  UNIVERSAL  JUNE  OK  WEALTH. 

This  mould,  possessing  all  the  elements  of 
fertility,  was  an  immense  treasure,  everywhere 
abouiiiliug,  and  tempting  the  settler  to  clear 
away  the  trees  and  reap  tlie  benetitof  the  vir- 
gin soil.  When  trees  were  enl  down,  a  crop, 
which  had  probably  required  several  hundred 
years  to  grow,  was  reaped  in  a  few  weeks  or 
years,  thereby  leaving  the  earth  bare,  and  the 
vegetable  mould  was  used  up  in  a  few  years 
by  continued  cropping  in  wheat,  corn  and  po- 
tatoes. The  writer  knew  an  excellent  bush 
lot  which  produced  great  crops  at  lirsl  to  l)e 
reduced  in  less  than  ten  years  to  mere  rocks 
and  stones.  And  this  process  of  exhausting 
the  vegetable  soil  went  on  everywhere  as  fast 
as  settlonients  advanced.  Of  course  where 
the  subsoil  was  good  and  was  turned  up  in 
part  to  mix  with  the  vegetable  mould,  fertility 
continued  much  longer,  but.  In  course  of  time, 
all,  except  prairie,  lands,  were  reduced  so 
much  in  fertility  as  to  require  the  application 
of  fertilizers  at  great  expense.  Had  the  soil 
at  first  re(iuired  these  fertilizers  the  progress 
of  settlement  would  bave  been  exceedingly 
slow  or  more  probably  there  would  have  been 
no  progress  at  all. 

War  Against  Trees  and  Its  Effects. 

The  labor  of  cutting  down  great  trees,  cut- 
ting them  into  short  logs  and  piling  them  up 
in  log  heaps  to  burn,  was,  however,  so  great, 
that  a  feeling  of  dislike  to  trees  as  the  settler's 
natural  enemy  became  general,  and  the  ven- 
geance against  them  was  so  great  that  in  ex- 
tensive regions  the  laud  was  completely  bared, 
and  rendered  thus  not  only  unsightly  but  un- 
sheltered. Bleak  winds  had  full  play  and 
droughts  parched  the  earth.  What  was  even 
worse,  the  clearing  away  of  trees  on  the  hills 
and  mountains  by  the  settlers,  the  lumbermeu 
and  forest  fires,  left  the  snow  of  winter  exposed 
to  the  siiring  sun  ;  and  the  sudden  melting 
and  runuiugoff  of  this  accumulation  of  frozen 
water  made  dangerous  floods  in  the  streams 
in  early  summer  and  left  those  streams  nearly 
dry  in  the  hot  season. 

Calling  a   Halt. 

At  length  the  evil  results  of  the  indiscrimi- 
nate cutting  down  of  trees  began  to  be  per- 
ceived. The  improvidence  of  previous  gene- 
rations was  lamented,  and  eflbrts  to  conserve 
what  forests  were  left  and  to  plant  trees,  grad- 
ually became  popular.  The  first  class  of  efforts 
was  directed  to  preserving  a  few  acres  of  the 
original  forest  in  each  farm  where  that  still 
could  be  done,  and  merely  thinning  the  trees 
for  firewood,  fencing,  &c.,  thus  leaving  the 
smaller  trees  room  to  grow  more  rai)idly. 
The  grove  thus  preserved  became  one  of  the 
most  necessary  and  valuable  portions  of  the 
farm,  and  that  without  any  labor  of  plowing, 
.sowing  or  cultivating.  It  also  aflbrded  a  de- 
lightful shade  in  hot  weather  for  man  and 
beast. 

Forests  in  the  Territories. 

The  preservation  of  the  vast  forests  in  the 
Territories  belonging  to  the  nation  attracted 
attention  also,  and  laws  were  enacted  to  pro- 
tect them  from  wanton  waste.  Secretary  of 
the  Interior  Schurz  distinguished  himself  for 
endeavoring  to  enforce  these  laws,  which  are 
very  difficult  of  execution  on  account  of  the  op- 


portunities lumbermen  have  in  an  almost  un- 
inhabited region  for  cutting  trees  on  Goveru- 
ment  land,  and  the  frequency  of  forest  fires 
kindled  by  careless  Indians,  hunters,  trappers 
and  lumbermen  settlers.  These  fires  often  do 
more  damagi;  to  forests  in  a  few  days  than 
lumbermen  could  do  in  as  many  years,  and 
how  to   prevent   them   is    yet    au    unsolved 

problem. 

Forestry  Laws. 

The  only  remedy,  and  that  only  a  partial 
one,  that  can  be  suggested,  for  the  wanton 
destruction  of  forests,  is  a  national  system  of 
forestry  laws  somewhat  similar  to  those  of 
France,  Germany,  Austria,  Norway  and  other 
European  countries,  which  prohibit,  under 
severe  penalties,  the  injury  or  destruction  of 
trees  by  unauthorized  persons  ;  and  also  the 
kindling  of  fires,  or  even  'smoking  in  the 
woods.  A  forest  police  was  created  to  see  to 
the  execution  of  these  laws,  and  at  the  same 
time  providing  for  the  utilizing  of  forests  by 
gradual  thiiniing  out  and  selling  the  largest 
trees,  so  as  to  leave  more  room  for  the  smaller 
ones.  In  this  way  the  public  forests  are  an 
annual  source  of  revenu.;,  and  after  centuries 
of  such  management  they  are  in  as  good  con- 
dition as  they  were  at  first. 

Judicious  Thinning. 
In  passing  through  Plattsburgh,  N.  Y., 
once  the  writer  saw  the  Saranac  thickly  cov- 
ered with  sawed  lumber,  and  he  asked  an  old 
gentleman  if  that  river  was  not  yet  lumbered 
out.  The  reply  was,  "I  have  known  it  for  60 
years,  and  the  quantity  of  lumber  coming 
down  has  been  pretty  much  the  same  all  the 
time.  There  is  as  much  now  as  there  was  (50 
years  ago."  This  shows  the  result  of  a  judi- 
cious fystem  of  thinning  forests. 

A  Commissioner  of  Woods  and   Forest. 

If  the  United  States,  and  each  State  had  a 
department  of  woods  and  forests,  with  a  suit- 
able head  and  the  necessary  subordinates, 
much  could  be  done,  not  only  for  the  preser- 
vation of  forests  belonging  to  the  public,  but 
to  persuade  settlers  to  le.ave  a  suitable  portion 
of  their  farms  in  wood,  and  to  counsel  from 
time  to  time  in  public  documents,  not  only 
care  in  husbanding  present  forests,  but  some 
general  system  of  tree  planting  by  States,  cor- 
porations, and  individuals,  so  as  to  provide  a 
supply  of  timber  for  the  future. 
Tree  Planting. 

The  second  branch  of  this  great  subject  is 
tree  planting,  and  here  credit  must  be  given 
to  the  United  States  Government  for  its  en- 
couragement of  this  necessary  work  in  the 
prairies.  The  law  giving  100  acres  to  anyone 
who  wJll  plant  and  maintain  for  a  few  years 
40  acres  in  trees,  has  had  a  great  effect  al- 
ready in  providing  for  a  future  supply  of  tim- 
ber in  the  prairie  States  ;  those  groves  will 
also  break  the  terrible  prairie  "blizzards," 
and,  probably,  to  some  extent,  attract  rain- 
clouds  to  mitigate  prairie  droughts.  A  fine 
spirit  of  tree-planting  has  also  been  manifest- 
ed in  many  cities  and  villages  ;  and  "Arbor 
Day,"  or  a  day  sot  apart  in  spring  for  tree 
planting,  has  become,  in  some  parts  of  the 
country,  an  institution  for  the  purpose  of 
beautifying  streets  and  public  and  private 
grounds. 

Planting  Trees  on  Public  Roadsides. 

The  public  roads  .shoidd   be  lined  on  each 
side  with  trees,  which,  when  grown,  would  do 


something  toward  sheltering  and  beautifying 
the  country  everywhere;  but  along  railroads 
there  should  be  something  more  than  isolated 
trees.  There  should  be  a  rather  broad  belt  on 
the  windy  side,  thickly  planted  with  the  vari- 
ous  kinds  of  trees  needed  for  repairing  the 
roads.  This  belt  woidd  shelter  the  railway 
from  storms,  catch  and  retain  the  winter's 
snows  which  gives  us  so  nuieh  trouble,  aud, 
before  many  years,  supply  much  useful  limber 
when  the  supply  from  other  sources  might  be 
exhausted. 

Tree  Planting  on  Farms. 
Every  farm  should  have  a  belt  of  timber 
planted  all  along  its  windy  side  ;  this  belt,  not 
less  than  fifty  feet  wide,  should  be  planted 
thickly  with  the  various  kinds  of  trees  that 
grow  best  and  fastest  in  the  neighborhood, 
the  thinnings  of  which  for  useful  purposes 
would  soon  be  valuable,  whilst  the  shelter  it 
would  give  from  prevailing  winds  would  be 
invaluable.  All  swamps  not  covered  with 
trees  should  be  planted  with  white  and  red 
cedar  and  tamarac,  all  of  which  grow  best  in 
damp  ground,  aud  produce  most  excellent 
timber  for  various  purposes.  The  leaves  also 
of  these  trees  would  absorb  the  unwholesome 
air  which  swamps  generate. 

Stony  Ground. 
There  is  on  many  farms   more  or  less  of 
ground  so  rocky  that  it  will  not  repay  the  ex- 
peu.se  of  cultivation,   and  all   of  such  spots 
should  be  planted  with  trees.    Tiiese  may  bo 
got  out  of  the  woods  or  farm  nurseries ;  or 
what  would  be  easier,  cheaper  and  probably 
much   more  eUectual,   the  seeds  of   various 
kinds  of   trees  could  be   sown,  imitating  as 
nearly  as  possible  the  natural  processes  which 
have  produced  all  the  forests  of  the  country. 
The  seeds   of  the  different  trees  should  be 
g.athered  in  the  woods  .just  at  the  time  that 
they  fall  naturally,  and  they  should  be  imme- 
diately planted  in  little  shallow  holes  among 
the  stones  and  covered   with  a  little  earth. 
There   the  rains  of  autumn,  the  snows  of 
winter,   aud   the  sunshine  of  spring  would 
bring  up  quite  a  crop  of  young  trees,  which 
shoidd  be  fenced  in  from  cattle  and  left  to 
them.selves.     They  would  require  no  labor 
after  the  first  sawing  and  fencing  except  sub- 
sequent thinning  out  from  year  to  year  of 
those  that  were  too  crowded  or  most  valuable 
for  economic  purposes.   If  hickory  nuts,  black 
walnuts,  butternuts,  chestnuts  and  the  .seeds 
of  sugar  maples,  pines  and  spruces  were  any 
of  them  or  all  of  them  sown  every  here  and 
there  over  the  place  intended  for  a  grove  the 
most  valuable  kinds   and   those  that  thrive 
best  could  be  ultimately  left  to  become  great 
trees.     After  ten  years  the  annual  thinnings 
of  this  grove  for  firewood,  fencing,  hop-poles, 
railroad  ties,  etc.,  would  probably  make  it  as 
valuable  a  part  of  the  farm  as  any  other,  and 
when  the  black  walnut  and  butternut  trees 
became  large  enough  to  be  sold  to  cabinet- 
makers the  value  of  the  grove  would  be  very 
great.     The  present  race  of  farmers  may   say 
they  would  not  live  to  see  the  trees  become 
fit  for  the  cabinet-makers,  but  none  the  less 
would  the  growth  of  that  grove  increase  the 
value  of  the  farm  every  year,  and  that  whether 
the  owner  sold  it  or  left  it  to  his  children. 
A  Forestry  Commissioner. 
What  is  Very  much  needed  as  a  preliminary 
0  covering  of  a  considerable  portion  of  the 


150 


THE  LANCASTER    FARMER. 


[October 


land  with  these  groves  is  the  advice  of  sci  eu- 
tists  aud  experts  as  to  the  kind  of  trees  suita- 
ble for  different  soils,  the  rapidity  of  their 
growth  and  the  relative  value  of  their  wood. 
This  information  should  be  collected  and 
scattered  by  a  judicial  commissioner  of  woods 
aud  forests  in  each  State,  just  as  tlie.ish  com- 
missioners now  give  information  about  fishes. 
To  plant  or  sow  millions  of  trees  is  just  as  ne- 
cessary as  to  hatch  and  distribute  millions  of 
food  fishes. 

The  Dominion. 
With  respect  to  the  Domhiion  of  Canada 
there  is  great  need  for  tree  planting  in  the 
fertile  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrance  for  a  con- 
siderable distance  around  Montreal,  and  still 
more  need  in  the  prairies  of  the  northwest.  In 
the  latter  region  of  vast  capabilities,  to  which 
much  attention  is  now  turned,  a  system  of 
granting  land  on  condition  of  planting  trees 
might  be  most  advantageously  infroduced 
now,  as  every  year  will  render  such  an  ar- 
rangement more  difficult.  The  other  provin- 
ces of  the  Dominion  are  still  well  supplied 
with  timber,  and  the  system  of  selling  "tim- 
ber limits  "  to  lumbermen  is  conservative  of 
the  forests,  but  there  is  need  for  great  pre- 
caution against  forest  fires  or  wasteful  usse  of 
valuable  timber.  A  capable  commissioner  of 
woods  and  forests  for  the  Dominion  would 
therefore  prove  a  valuable  functionary,  if  he 
were  not  only  an  expert,  but  an  enthusiast  in 
forestry,  as  otherwise  his  appointment  would 
merely  add  another  salary  to  the  expenses  of 
Government. 


CULTIVATION  OF  PEPPERS. 

Black  and  white  pepper  grow  on  the  same 
vine;  and  green  pepper-berries,  just  before 
maturity,  after  gathering,  turn  black  and 
make  "black  pepper,"  while  "  white  pepper  " 
is  obtained  by  gathering  the  berries — fire-red 
in  color — when  fully  ripe,  and,  through  long 
soaking  in  water  aud  subsequent  stirring  and 
shaking,  relieve  the  berries  of  the  outer  skin  ; 
whe«eafter  the  latter,  on  being  dry,  become 
"white." 

In  what  country  the  pepper-vine  originated 
I  am  unable  to  say  ;  but  Eastern  history 
shows  that  the  northern  half  of  Sumatra,  the 
once  mighty  old  sultanate  of  Acheen  (pro- 
nounced Atjeh,  V)y  the  Malays),  when  the 
Portuguese,  Dutch,  and  British  (in  rotation) 
came  to  that  country,  •was  far-famed  for  that 
spice,  which  drew,  at  Acheen  Busar  in  North 
Sumatra  (near  the  entrance  of  the  Straits  of 
Malacca),  the  native  traders  from  many  East- 
ern countries  and  islands,  who  there  ex- 
changed the  products  ot  their  countries  or 
purchased  for  cash.  And  during  the  reign  of 
Queen  Elizabeth  and  her  successor.  King 
James,  a  British  naval  squadrou  visited 
Acheen  and  met  with  a  hearty  reception  from 
the  Sultan  ;  succeeded  in  making  a  treaty  of 
peace  and  commerce  with  him,  and,  as  a  re- 
sult, in  establishing  factories  for  and  of  the 
Ijriti.sh  East  India  Company. 

After  the  British  East  India  Company,  dur- 
ing the  last  century,  acquired  the  island  of 
Penang  from  the  Kajah  of  Quedah,  a  Siamese 
sozerain  (mucli  interesting  history  is  aitaclied 
to  tills  acquisition,)  so  favorably  situated  for 
commercial  purjioses,  and  made  it  a  very  im- 
portant factory  and   place  of  residence  for  a 


subgovernor  (the  famous  Sir  Stanford  Raffles 
resided  there  for  a  long  time)  the  great 
Acheen  trade  gradually  drifted  to  Pulo- 
Pcnang  (Prince  of  "Wales  Island,)  and  with  it 
the  pepper  trade,  principally.  At  that  time 
Singapore  had  not  been  acquired  by  the  Brit- 
ish, and  not  before  1S19,  when  the  island  was 
covered  with  a  dense  trackless  jungle. 

After  the  acquisition  of  Penang  the  na- 
tives on  the  peninsula  of  Malacca,  especially 
in  the  Province  of  Frang,  a  Siamese  sozerain 
province,  commenced  to  plant  pepper,  aud 
with  excellent  success;  aud  now  it  is  exten- 
sively planted  by  Malays  and  Chinese 
In  many  places  on  the  peninsula  of  Malac- 
ca, also  in  siam.  Cochin  China,  and  in  Sara- 
wak, Borneo.  That  grown  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  peninsula  and  on  the  island  of 
Singapore,  known  in  the  market  as  "Singa- 
pore pepper,"  is  by  far  the  best,  commanding 
a  higher  price  than  Acheen  pepper. 

Penang  maintained  the  Acheen  pepper 
trade  until  the  Dutch  commenced  their  war 
of  conquest  in  Acheen  in  1873,  blockading  the 
coast  and  preventing  the  exports  of  all  Ache- 
nese  products.  At  that  time,  owing  to  the 
spread  of  wild  rumors  about  the  destruction 
of  the  pepper  gardens  in  Acheen,  etc.,  pepper 
reached  the  figure  of  $14  for  a  short  time.  It 
was  feared  the  supplies  from  Acheen  being 
cut  off',  that  the  spice  would  become  scarce, 
and  as  a  consequeuce  many  Chinese  planters 
increased  its  cultivation  ;  in  fact,  to  such  ex- 
tent that  the  Acheen  war  was  no  longer  look- 
ed upon  as  the  cause  of  influence  in  prices. 
Later  some  of  the  chiefs  of  certain  Acheenese 
provinces,  having  submitted  to  Dutch  rule, 
were  allowed  to  send  pepper  to  Penang  on 
vessels  having  a  permit  from  the  Dutch  consul 
in  Penang  to  supply  them  with  rice  and  other 
needed  goods.  Tlien  it  happened  that  some 
of  the  rajahs  who  had  submitted  to  the  Dutch, 
after  having  been  pretty  well  supplied  with 
the  necessaries  of  life,  turned  truant  again, 
aud,  as  a  consequence,  their  coasts  were  again 
blockaded,  or  it  was  discovered  that  some  of 
them  had  received  contraband  of  war,  and 
were,  therefore,  put  under  close  restrictions. 
At  any  rate,  the  "old  Acheen  trade  at  Penang 
has  become  seriously  crippled  since  that  war 
commenced,  but  contractors  in  Penang  profit- 
ed heavily  by  sujiplying  the  Dutch  array  in 
Acheen,  owing  to  the  proximity,  with  beef 
and  many  other  necessaries  of  life. 

The  Dutch  are  now  making  efforts  to  make 
"Ole-Seh,"  the  old  port  of  Acheen  Busar,  in 
fact  well  protected  by  a  fort  and  man-of-war, 
a  trading  port,  and  to  export  "Acheen  pepper 
from  Aclieen"  themselves;  at  least .  so  the 
.lava  and  Singapore  papers  inform,  and  I  pre- 
sume they  will.  As  I  shall  in  a  future  report 
write  about  Sumatra  and  her  provinces  again, 
I  will  not  now  enter  upon  any  further  details 
about  "Atjeh." 

As  to  the  pepper  vine,  it  presents  a  very 
hanusome  appearance;  a  pepper  garden  at  a 
distance  looks  like  a  "hop-yard.  Some  plant- 
ers, however,  trellis  the  vine,  and  I  think 
myself  that  it  is  the  best  plan.  It  grows  every- 
where round  about  here  very  easily  and  luxu- 
riantly on  fair  upland  soil,  and,  like  tlie  grape- 
vine, needs  occasional  pruning,  weeding  and 
fertilizing.  Willi  a  little  care  and  attention 
it  yields  abundantly  and  proves  a  good  source 
of  income.     The  quantity  of  pepper  exported 


annually  from  the  Malay  peninsula  and  ports 
in  Dutch  India  is  simply  imuiense,  and  is  al- 
most exclusively  planted,  gathered  and 
brought  to  market  by  natives,  Malays  aud 
Chinamen  chiefly. 


HOW  TO  BOTTLE  WINE. 

Every  wine-owner,  wishing  to  bottle  his 
wine,  should  analyze  it  to  ascertain  what 
proportion  of  alcohol,  sugar  and  neutral  con- 
stituents it  contains,  for  the  production  of 
effervescence,  which  is  a  very  important  ope- 
ration ;  and  the  breakage  wliich  might  arise 
from  an  excess  of  saccharine  matter  would 
lead  to  very  serious  losses. 

To  help  the  formation  of  effervescence,  if 
the  wine  has  not  euough  sugar  in  it,  more  is 
given  to  it  by  means  of  a  preparation  called 
"liqueur,"  or  sirup,  which  is  nothing  but 
pure  wine  containing  candied  sugar  in  solu- 
tion, and  is  composed  of  100  kilos  of  candied 
sugar  to  100  liters  of  wine.  The  analysis  of 
the  wine  having  been  made  beforehand,  it  is 
ea.sy  to  calculate  the  amount  of  sirup  to  be 
inserted.  An  almost  exact  measure  can  be 
taken  with  the  help  of  a  vinometer. 

At  this  time  much  care  must  be  taken  in 
the  choice  of  bottles,  to  the  regularity  of 
shape,  to  their  color,  and  especially  to  their 
superior  strength.  It  is  worse  than  useless  to 
use  poor  bottles.  The  bottles  are  thoroughly 
rinsed,  perfectly  dried,  and  before  being  filled 
are  carefully  inspected,  both  inside  and  out- 
side. 

When  the  wine  and  bottles  are  ready  the 
workmen  proceed  to  drawing  or  bottling,  an 
operation  which  is  effected  by  means  of  taps 
with  six,  eight,  or  ten  spouts. 

The  bottles  when  filled  pass  into  the  hands 
of  the  corker.  The  methods  of  corking  most 
in  use  are  done  with  a  mallet. 

When  the  bottle  is  corked  the  cork  must  be 
secured.  This  third  operation  is  the  "wiring," 
to  effect  which  short  dieces  of  wire  are  looped 
in  the  middle  and  fitted  under  the  ring  at  the 
top  of  the  neck  of  the  bottle,  and  for  which 
a  wiring  machine  is  used. 

The  bottles  are  then  stored  in  the  wine- 
vaults,  or  left  in  the  cellars,  as  the  case  may 
be,  where  they  are  stacked  with  rods  and 
laths.  In  hot  years  fermenation  sets  in 
sooner ;  the  sugar  is  decomposed  by  the  acids 
in  the  wine  ;  carbonic  acid  is  set  free  :  alcohol 
is  produced,  and  a  deposit ;  effervescence 
takes  place,  and  the  weaker  bottles  break. 
They  are  then  removed  as  soon  as  possible  to 
the  vaults,  after  being  marked  on  the  upper 
sides,  so  that  they  may  be  placed  in  the  same 
position  as  before,  the  marking  being  made 
with  white  chalk.  These  are  piled  in  the 
vaults  in  stacks,  as  in  tlie  cellars. 

Often  when  this  effervescence  occurs  the 
deposit  mentioned  is  of  more  or  less  tenacious 
character.  As  a  rule  it  presents  dark  traces, 
and  on  the  side  a  thin,  white  substance,  which 
ajipears  to  adhere  to  the  bottle,  and  which 
sometimes  cannot  be  removed  by  shaking  the 
bottle. 

In  the  month  of  July,  when  the  bottling  is 
over,  the  workmen  find  employment  in  hoop- 
ing, removing  the  defective  hoops,  replacing 
tfaem  by  new  ones,  &c.  These  are  the  opera- 
tions included  in  the  word  "hooping,"  and 
they,  with  the  vintage,  lead  us  to  the  time  of 
early  frost. 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


151 


At  this  tiiuf  soDK'  houses  bring  what  they 
liave  bottled  up  a^'iiiu  to  the  upper  cellar. 
This  is  a  good  plan,  as  the  cold  lielps  tlu!  dc- 
p(jsit  to  dry.  Others  content  themselves  with 
changing  tlieir  position,  removing  the  leaky 
and  broken  bottles,  and  making  new  piles  of 
bottles.  It  is  at  this  time  also  that  attention 
is  paid  to  the  inasiiiic,  the  name,  given  to  the 
deposit  on  the  side  of  the  bottle,  and  which 
must  bo  removed.  This  deposit  is  removed 
by  means  of  a  machine  whichconsitsof  a  box, 
into  which  arc  placed  two  bottles  liaving  this 
deposit  in  them  ;  by  means  of  a  handle  a 
rotary  motion  is  imparted  to  the  bottles, 
which  are  further  subjected  to  continual  blows 
from  two  little  hammers.  These  continued 
shocks  produce  a  shaking  which  is  sufficient 
to  detach  the  adhesive  deposit.  The  removal 
by  hand  reipures  much  more  attention.  The 
workman  is  supiilied  with  an  iron  implement, 
and  has  to  take  care  to  hit  only  just  hard 
enough  to  detach  the  crust.  If  he  were  to  hit 
too  hard  it  might  give  rise  to  accident. 

AVhen  the  bottles  are  entirely  cleared  of  de- 
posit they  are  placed  neck  downwards,  either 
on  tables  or  on  rack.s.  The  latter  having  cer- 
tainly the  advantage|of  taking  up  le.ss  room 
than  rows  of  tables. 

After  being  kept  for  some  time  in  this  po- 
sition, the  wine  should  be  shaken,  so  as  to 
make  all  the  deposits  fall  on  the  cork.  This 
is  an  important  operation,  and  great  care  is 
taken  in  the  selection  of  workmen  to  do  it.  It 
is  done  by  very  slightly  lifting  the  bottle, 
and  giving  it  a  shake  or  two  in  that  position. 
To  bring  it  to  a  successful  issue  re(iuires  a 
month  or  six  weeks,  or  even  more,  the  bottle 
being  moved  every  day.  When  the  deposit 
has  altogether  settled  on  the  cork,  the  good 
bottles  are  placed  in  stacks,  with  necks  down, 
at  a  sharp  angle,  to  await  the  time  when  they 
are  ai^ain  uncorked.  Tiie  rest  are  replaced 
and  "worked"  a  second  time  on  the  racks. 

The  uncorking  is  also  a  difficult  and  deli- 
cate operation.  It  is  necessary  to  remove  the 
cork  and  wiring  with  the  least  pos.sible  loss  of 
wine,  the  bottle  being  all  the  time  kept  neck 
downward.  To  do  this  the  workmen  watches 
the  bubble  of  air  which  is  in  the  bottle,  and  so 
removes  the  cork  that  only  the  deposit  is  eject- 
ed by  the  rush  of  gas.  When  the  froth  comes 
he  uses  a  i)art  of  it  to  wash  the  neck  of  the 
bottle,  and  then  inserts  a  small  cork  prepared 
for  the  purpose,  which  prevents  too  great  a 
loss  of  gas. 

The  bottle  then  passes  into  the  hands  of  a 
man  who  lakes  out  enough  wine  to  admit 
the  necessary  amount  of  sirup.  The  wine  is 
now  very  "dry"  and  would  not  be  very  drink- 
able, although  some  countries,  especially 
England,  will  Iiave  nothing  but  dry  wines. 
This  dryness  is  corrected  by  the  addition  of 
what  is  called  the  "export  sirup,"  which  dif- 
fers from  what  is  put  in  at  the  time  of  the 
bottling  ;  it  is  composed  of  1.50  kilos  of  candied 
sugar  to  100  liters  of  wine,  and  three  quarts 
of  alcohol,  which  is  added  to  increase  the 
strength.  As  the  sugar  dissolves,  the  wine 
becomes  thick,  and  must  be  filtered  to  make 
the  liquid  perfectly  clear. 

The  bottles,  when  opened  and  emptied  to  a 
certain  depth,  are  taken  to  the  "mixer." 
Tlie  mixing  consists  in  putting  into  each  a 
certain  equal  quantity  of  sirup,  the  precise 
portion  differing  for  each  country.     When  a 


bottle  is  not  full  enough  it  is  filled  with  a  lit- 
tle wine.  The  bottle  is  tlien  placed  on  a  re- 
volving table,  and  as  it  revolves  all  the  bot- 
tles in  turn  come  to  the  corker. 

•This  second  and  final  corking  recpiires  more 
care  than  the  first.  The  corks  used  arc  of 
Spanisii  cork,  soft  and  strong,  hard  and  full, 
or  red  corks,  according  to  the  country  the 
wine  is  to  be  sent  to ;  they  arc  soaked  for  a 
few  days  before  in  cold  water  to  soften  them, 
and  they  bear  the|name  of  the  manufacturing 
firm  branded  on  the  end  which  enters  the 
liottle. 

For  the  final  corking  before  dispatch,  the 
corking  machine  is  often  a  mallet  machine, 
but  others  are  also  used.  The  cork  is  put  into 
the  tube,  pressed  and  made  to  come  level  with 
the  lower  end  of  the  tube,  and  with  a  clean 
sponge  the  few  drops  of  water  which  have  re- 
sulted from  the  compression  of  the  cork  arc 
wiped  oil',  and  then  the  bottle  is  filled  as  much 
as  is  wanted  and  is  corked,  the  cork  being 
driven  in  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  accord- 
ing to  the  destination  of  the  wine. 

The  tying  up  is  then  proceeded  with,  oiled 
string  being  used,  this  being  prepared  for  ex- 
portation, and  which  lasts  longer  in  cool 
vaults.  A  new  stringing  machine  has  been 
invented  which  has  been  of  much  use.  Before 
the  invention  of  this  machine  the  working  of 
a  "stringer"  could  only  be  performed  for  a 
few  hours  at  a  time,  it  being  so  hard  and 
tiring,  but  now  a  j'oung  man  from  10  to  18 
years  of  age  can  easily  string  bottles  all  day. 

After  the  string  is  put  on  the  wire  is  added; 
the  kind  most  in  use  now  is  galvanized  wire. 
It_  is  at  this  time  that  the  bottle  is  often 
shaken  once  or  twice  to  mix  the  "sirup" 
thoroughly  with  the  wine.  Then  the  bottles 
are  arranged  in  piles,  always  on  ends  and  are 
left  still  for  a  month  or  two,  being  examined 
then  to  see  if  the  cork  is  iu  order,  or  if  it 
shows  marks  of  leaking. 

Then  comes  the  packing.  This  is  done  in 
boxes  or  hampers.  The  bottles  are  in  straw, 
or  wrapped  up  in  straw  covers,  which  are 
manufactured  beforehand  in  different  man- 
ners ;  tin  or  golden  leaves;  cratings  of  wax  of 
different  colors ;  leaden  covers ;  labels  with 
the  name  of  the  house,  &c.  The  baskets  are 
closed  with  flexible  twigs  or  willow.  Besides 
these  fastenings  some  houses  use  a  wire  all 
around  the  basket ;  its  ends  sealed  together 
with  a  leaden  seal,  so  that  if  the  receiver 
finds  any  loss  when  it  is  delivered  to  him,  he 
cannot  claim  anything  from  the  carrier  unless 
the  seal  or  fastening  has  been  broken.  The 
cases  are  closed  by  means  of  nails.  They  are 
bound  with|wooden  or  metallic  bands,  and 
some  are  also  sealed. 

When  the  time  comes  to  send  the  wines 
away,  the  senders  should  take  care  that  the 
wines  are  in  their  right  positions,  i.  e.,  recum- 
bent. When  the  wine  lias  reached  its  desti- 
nation, it  should  be  taken  into  a  cool  place 
and  laid  down  horizontally.  It  .should  not 
be  used  for  a  full  fortnight,  or  even  for  a 
longer  time,  as  the  traveling  injures  it,  and  it 
would  be  unfair. to  judge  of  the  wine  on  im- 
mediate arrival. — John  L.  Frishic. 


PRACTICAL  FORESTRY 
TRATED. 


ILLUS- 


A  (luartette  of  our  Lancaster  disciples  of 
Blackstone,    composed    of    W.    K.    Wilson, 


Simon  P.  Eby,  A.  F.  Hostetter  and  Andrew 
M.  Frantz,  Esqs.,  visited  our  well-known 
rural  friend  of  Warwick,  Mr.  I.,evi  S.  Reist, 
who  is  more  than  any  other  man  in  Lancaster 
county  identified  with  the  planting  and  rear-- 
ing  of  new  forests.  Mr.  Heist  was  hoiioied 
lately  with  a  personal  invitation  to  attend  tUo 
American  Forest  Convention,  sitting  at  Mon- 
treal, in  the  British  dominion.  The  new 
forest,  comprising  about  twenty-five  acres, 
has  been  named  as  above  in  commemoration 
of  an  aboriginal  settlement  of  American  In- 
dians occupying  the  same  spot  in  tlie  early 
history  of  the  country,  called  the  "  Le  Hoy" 
settlement.  The  ground  occupied  by  the  new 
forest  was  under  the  plough  as  common  farm, 
and  as  late  as  twenty  years  ago.  It  is  situated 
about  one  mile  from  the  residence  of  Mr. 
Heist,  on  a  high  point  of  Gravel  Hill,  pre- 
senting a  view  for  extent  and  variety  of 
scenery  unsurpassed.  Mr.  Heist  owns  most, 
if  not  all,  the  land  along  the  roads  from  his 
residence  to  the  forest.  These  roads  arc  con- 
tinuous avenues  planted  with  trees  on  either 
side,  making  the  pas.sage  one  of  great  inter- 
est and  pleasure  to  the  pedestrian  as  well  as 
the  carriage  goer. 

Before  reaching  the  new  forest  you  pass  a 
place  devoted  by  Mr.  Reist  to  horticultural 
and  vegetable  culture,  where  now  arc  in  full 
riiieuess  a  large  quantity  of  rare  grapes  and 
the  popular  Hartford  in  perfection.  An  order 
was  left  with  the  Superintendent  to  pick  a 
basket  for  the  party  and  hand  it  over  upon 
the  return. 

The  forest  cannot  be  described  in  detail. 
Its  tree  growth  is  rank  and  healthy-looking, 
most  of  which  was  planted  and  reared  from 
the  seed,  consisting  of  oak,  chestnut,  locust, 
poplar,  maple,  etc.  There  is  a  circuitous  drive 
in,  around  and  through  the  forest,  along 
which  the  green  foliage  is  constantly  brushing 
the  horses  and  carri.ages,  up  and  down  liill, 
over  ravines  and  past  sparkling  springs.  A.side 
from  the  utilitarian  view,  it  is  one  of  the 
most  romantic  and  pleasurable  spots  in  the 
county,  which  must  be  seen  and  its  inspira- 
tion felt  to  be  properly  appreciated. 

The  order  with  reference  to  the  Hartfords 
was  well  executed.  The  superintendent  liand- 
ed  over  a  basket  of  rich  fruit,  not  by  struck 
measure,  but  heaped  full.  It  is  needless  to 
say  that  the  party,  under  the  sharpening  in- 
fluences of  a  free  mountain  air,  pitched  in 
pretty  fieely. 

In  view  of  the  reckless  destruction  of  the 
old  forests,  too  much  credit  cannot  be  given 
to  the  few  leading  men  who  devote  them- 
selves to  the  matter  of  raising  new  forests  for 
tlie  use  of  future  generations.  The  party  was 
highly  pleased  with  their  visit  and  would 
suggest  that  others  follow  their  example. 
Few  men  have  more  to  show  to  interest 
the  visitor  than  our  friend  Mr.  Reist, 
and  still  fewer  are  so  heartily  disposed  to 
make  a  visit  instructive  as  well  as  pleasiiut. 
The  party  of  visitors  feel  that  it  is  due  to 
their  host  that  they  should  make  this  public 
acknowledgment  of  their  satisfaction  with 
their  visit  personally  to  Mr.  Reist  as  well  as 
in  recognition  of  the  noble  enterprise  which  he 
has  undertaken.  The  forest  now  conld  fur- 
nish fencing  material,  telegraph  poles,  etc.,  in 
considerable  quantities.  The  home  of  Mr. 
Reist    and    its    surroundings    illustrate    the 


152 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[October, 


cliaiacter  of  the  owner  for  planting  and  re- 
newing original  forest  productions,  the  beau- 
tiful Golden  rod,  trees  loaded  with  the  poppy 

fruit,  etc.,  adorning  the  lawn.— i\r«(;  Era. 

^ 

SUMMER. 

Summer,  astronomically,  includes  the  period 
Ijetween  the  vernal  and  autumnal  equinoxes, 
or  from  June  21,  8.08  a.  m.,  lasting  9.3  days, 
14  hours  and  22  minutes. 

In  the  United  States  we  call  June,  July 
and  August  the  summer  months.  In  Eng- 
land, May,  June  and  July  are  known  as  tlie 
summer  months.  Between  the  tropics  there 
is,  properly  speaking,  no  summer,  the  hottest 
periods  being  when  the  sun  passes  to  the 
zenith  at  noon,  corresponding  at  the  equator 
to  our  equinoxes. 

Autumn. 

In  the  northern  temperate  zone  it  begins 
when  the  sun,  in  its  apparent  descent  to  the 
south,  crosses  the  equator  September  22, 10.30 
p.  m.,  ends  at  the  time  of  the  snu's  greatest 
southern  declination,  December  21st,  10.52 
a.m.,  lasting  89  days,  18  hours  and  15  minutes. 

In  the  United  States,  September,  October 
and  November  are  known  as  the  autumn  or 
fall  months ;  in  England,  August,  Sotember 
and  October  are  so  called.  In  the  Southern 
Hemisphere  they  have  their  autumn  wlien  we 
have  our  spring. 

Winter. 

Winter  begins,  astronomically,  on  the  short- 
est day,  December  21,  at  10.52  a.  m.,  and  lasts 
89  days,  1  hour  aud  4  minutes  (March  21.)  In 
the  U.  S.  winter  months  are  commonly  reck- 
oned December,  January  and  February  ;  in 
England,  November,  December  and  January. 
In  the  Southern  Hemisphere,  by  the  Ameri- 
can style,  the  winter  months  are  .June,  July 
and  August  ;  by  the  English  style,  May, 
June  aud  July. 

Spring. 

The  passage  of  the  sun  across  the  equator, 
when  the  days  begin  to  be  longer  than  the 
nights,  is  the  vernal  equinox.  In  the  North- 
ern Hemisphere  this  occurs  March  20,  at 
11.50  a.  m..  When  spring  begins.  Spring  lasts 
92  days,  20  hours  aud  12  minutes.  In  the 
United  States,  Marcli,  April  and  May  are 
popularly  known  as  the  spring  months  ;  in 
England,  February,  March  and  April. 


HOW  TO  KEEP  HOUSES  HEALTHY. 

The  custom  of  working  or  exercising  horses 
directly  after  eating;  or  feeding  after  hard 
work,  aud  before  they  are  thoroughly  rested, 
baiting  at  noon  when  both  lliese  violations  of 
a  natural  law  are  comitted  ;  these  are  the  pre- 
dis|)osing  causes  of  pinkeye,  and  of  most  dis- 
eases that  effect  our  horses.  Keep  the  horse 
quiet,  dry,  warm,  and  in  a  pure  atmosphere, 
the  nearer  ou'door  air  the  better,  and  stop 
his  feed  entirely  at  the  first  S3mptora  of  dis- 
ease, and  he  will  speedily  recover.  It  lias  been 
demonstrated  in  tens  of  thousands  of  cases  in 
family  life  that  two  meals  are  not  only  ample 
for  the  hardest  and  most  exhaustive  labors, 
physical  or  mental,  but  altogether  best.  The 
same  thing  has  been  fully  proved  in  hundreds 
of  instances  with  horses,  ami  has  never  in  a 
single  instance  failed,  after  a  fair  trial,  to 
work  the  best  results.  An  hour's  rest  at  noon 
is  vastly  more  restoring  to  a  tired  animal, 
whether  horse  or  man,  than  a  meal  of  any 


sort,  although  the    latter  may  prove    more 
stimulating. 

The  morning  meal  given,  if  possible,  early 
enough  for  partial  stomach  digestion  before 
the  musular  and  nervous  systems  are  called 
into  active  play;  the  night  meal  offered  long 
enough  after  work  to  insure  a  rested  condition 
of  the  body;  a  diet  liberal  enoufth,  but  never 
excessive  ;  this  is  the  law  and  gospel  of  hygi- 
enic diet  for  either  man  or  beast.  I  have 
never  tried  to  fatten  my  horses,  for  I  long 
ago  learned  that  fat  is  disease;  but  I  have 
always  found  that  if  a  liorse  does  solid  work 
enough  he  will  be  fairly'  plump  if  he  has  two 
sufficient  meals.  Muscle  is  the  product  of 
work  and  food ;  fat  may  be  laid  on  by  food 
alone.  We  see,  however,  plenty  of  horses  that 
are  generously— too  generously — fed,  that  still 
remain  thin,  and  show  every  indication  of 
being  under-nourished  ;  dyspepsia  is  a  disease 
not  confined  exclusively  to  creatures  who 
own  or  drive  horses.  But  for  perfect  health  and 
immunity  from  disease,  restriction  of  exercise 
must  be  met  by  restriction  in  diet.  Horses 
require  more  food  in  cold  than  in  warm 
weather,  if  performing  the  same  labor.  In 
case  of  a  warm  spell  in  winter  I  reduce  their 
feed,  more  or  less,  according  to  circumstances, 
as  surely  as  I  do  tlie  amount  of  fuel  consumed. 
I  also  adopt  the  same  principle  in  my  own 
diet.  The  result  is,  that  neither  my  animals 
nor  myself  are  ever  for  one  momerit  sick. — 
Medical  and  Suryicul  Journal. 


THE  COMING  FENCE. 
Farm-fencing  has  been  discussed  year  after 
year  with  increased  interest  ever  since  fencing 
was  used  to  divide  fields  and  farms  and  to 
keep  out  of  fields  and  crops  the  roving  cattle 
which  formerly  filled  the  highways  and  did 
immense  damage  to  the  honest,  hard  working 
farmer.  The  original  "  worm  fence  "  is  still 
in  existence,  and  so  is  the  "stump-fence  "  in 
the  wilder  parts  of  the  State  where  fences  are 
send  at  all.  Then  came  the  "po.st-aud-rail,  " 
which  in  most  improved  sections  continues  to 
be  the  most  popular  and  we  may  say  the  most 
efficient  fence  ;  but  lumber  is  getting  scarce, 
and  some  other  material  than  wood  must  be 
substituted.  The  "hedge  fence"  in  tlie  West- 
ern States  has,  within  the  last  ten  years,  been 
most  extensively  introduced,  and  many  be- 
lieve that  is  the  fence.  Next  came  the  iron 
fence,  the  common  wire  fence,  followed  by 
the  "barbed  wire  fence,"  which  just  now 
seems  to  claim  the  most  popularity.  But  there 
is  still  another  just  tried  in  the  West,  which 
is  coming  in  for  a  full  share  of  popular  favor. 
This  is  simply  a  wire  fence  without  barbs, 
woven  together  similar  to  a  fishing  seine, 
with  a  large  heavy  top  and  bottom  wire.  This 
fence,  it  is  said,  will  completely  withstand  all 
kinds  of  cattle,  with  no  possibility  of  injury, 
while  it  is  "  no  more  expensive  than  the  ordi- 
nary board  fence."  As  to  the  real  truth  of 
this  statement  we  cannot  say,  but  we  should 
fear  that  from  the  lightness  of  the  wire,  unless 
well  galvanized,  it  would  succumb  to  the 
effects  of  the  weather.  One  thing,  however, 
seems  to  be  well-estabished,  that  iron,  in 
some  form,  must  eventually  be  the  "  coming 
fence  "  to  stay.  Wood  has  become  too  expen- 
sive, but  we  cannot  bring  our  mind  to  believe 
that  the  live-fence,  however  it  may  be  es- 
teemed by  some,  will  ever  be  a  fixture  in  this 
country. 


THE  TRADE   IN   NUTS. 

In  the  past  few  years,  says  The  World,  the 
trade  in  foreign  and  domestic  nuts  has  de- 
veloped largely,  and  in  New  Y"rk,  with  its 
widespread  facilities  for  distribution,  aud  its 
local  wants,  has  become  an  important  center 
of  trade.  The  old  traditions  as  to  the  indi- 
gestibility  of  nuts  has  evidently  lo.st  its  ter- 
rors. Wholesale  fruit  dealers  now  regard  this 
stock  as  a  steadily  selling  commodity,  and 
count  surely  upon  an  increased  demand  at 
the  winter  holiday  season.  For  peanuts,  the 
South  has  become  famous  ;  and  Africa,  which 
used  to  send  whole  ship  cargoes  of  peanuts 
here,  is  almost  swept  out  of  the  market  by 
their  cultivation  in  Virginia,  North  Carolina 
and  Tennessee.  The  crop  for  those  States 
this  season  was  1,110,000  bushels  for  Virginia, 
550,000  bushels  for  Tennessee,  and  120,000 
bushels  for  North  Carolina.  The  peanut  is 
well  known  to  be  of  a  mild  nature,  which 
permits  its  sate  the  year  round.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  this  city  handles  nearly  one-half 
of  the  Virginia  crop. 

The  pecan  of  Texas  is  increasing  in  favor 
at  the  North,  aud  especially  in  the  Eastern 
States.  A  few  barrels  or  boxes  made  up  the 
consignments  a  few  years  ago  ;  now  car-loads 
and  invoices  of  one  to  two  hundred  barrels  are 
not  uncommon.  This  nut  is  of  the  family  of 
hickory  nuts,  but  has  a  much  softer  shell  and 
a  richer  flavor.  The  local  crop  of  hickory 
nuts,  or  shell-barks,  is  scanty  this  year.  The 
West,  however,  meets  the  deficiency — half  a 
dozen  car-loads  a  week,  if  they  .are  needed. 
Wild  chestnuts  are  getting  scarcer  at  the 
North,  and  there  is  ditJiculty  in  obtaining 
sound  lots.  They  will  not  disappear,  though, 
for  they  can  be  successfully  cultivated,  and,  in 
a  few  years  more,  there  will  be  a  full  supply 
of  larger  and  better  quality  that  will  compete 
with  the  expensive  Italian  chestnuts.  Black 
walnuts  are  maiidy  used  by  the  confectioner  ; 
they  and  butteriuits  are  apt  to  be  found  too 
rich  and  oily  for  table  use.  West  Virginia  and 
Pennsylvania  furnish  the  chief  sui)ply.  The 
hazelnuts  of  of  this  country  are  too  insignifi- 
cant for  commerce,  especially  as  their  noble 
cousin,  filbert,  is  always  to  be  had  in  plentvi 
A  few  samples  of  English  hazelnuts,  in  their 
outside  "shuck,"  occasionally  arrive  here  for 
show.  California  growers  promise,  in  a  few 
years,  to  make  additions  to  the  list  of  domes- 
tic nuts  of  sorts  that  come  from  Italy  or 
Spain,  and  of  what  is  known  as  Mediterranean 
stock.  An  immense  trade  is  doing  in  foreign 
nuts.  A  trustworthy  dealer  assured  The 
World  reiiorter  that  the  demand  is  fully  three 
times  as  great  as  it  was  five  years  ago. 
Almonds  have  always  a  steady  sale,siuce  large 
quantities  are  used  in  fine  baking.  What  are 
called  English  walnuts  come  mainly  from 
France  and  Spain,  and  were  formerly  called 
Maderia  nuts.  The  English  crop  is  used  at 
home.  The  best  received  here  are  the  Gre- 
noble and  Marbean.  Engli.sh  walnuts  are 
successfully  raised  in  the  Pacific  Coast  States. 
Brazil  nuts  never  sell  larsely.  They  are 
peculiarly  fat,  and  a  few  go  a  long  way.  For 
cocoanuts  there  is  a  steady  and  large  demand. 
The  process  of  desiccating  them  has  widened 
their  family  use.  One  purveyor  in  this  city 
buys  by  the  hundred  thousand.  The  season 
for  the  delivery  of  foreign  nuts  here  begins 


18S2.J 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


153 


about  the  first  of  Koveinber  ami  ends  early  in 
tlic  sprinjr.  They  are  largely  transhipped 
from  English  ports. 


WORK  AND  LEISURE. 

Old-fashioned,  routine  fanners  are  afraid 
sometimes  that  tliey  will  get  out  of  work,  and 
look  upon  such  an  occurreni'c  as  a  sort  of 
calamity.  We  have  known  farmers  to  refu.se 
to  buy  tlnesliing  machines  for  the  avowed 
reiisou  that  to  thresh  out  all  their  grain  all  at 
once  would  leave  them  nothing  to  do  in  tlie 
winter  exieiit  to  feed  slock,  and  to  pound  the 
rye  out  willi  Hails,  and  t!ic  oats,  wlieat  and 
corn  by  driving  hoi'ses  over  it  would  furnish 
them  and  the  boys  with  the  employment  de- 
sired, and  keep  all  hands  so  employed  that 
ennui  need  not  be  apprehended.  That  was 
not  the  word  used,  but  that  was  what  was 
meant. 

Employment  is  good,  excellent  indeed,  but 
tliere  can  be  too  much  of  it  sometimes,  and 
particularly  of  certain  kinds.  If  one  wants 
a  son  to  hate  farming  and  to  determine  to 
leave  it  at  first  chance,  it  is  only  necessary,  at 
least  if  he  is  a  bright,  l)usy  tliinker,  to  make 
a  drudge  of  him  iu  tliis  way.  (iive  him  no 
rest.  Make  it  appear  tliat  you  think  work, 
cliiefly  for  its  own  sake,  is  the  chief  end  of 
life,  and  if  he  don't  leave  at  tiie  first  opening 
be  isn't  much  of  a  boy.  Work  is  good,  so  is 
medicine,  liut  both  are  means  to  an  end,  not 
usually  the  end  itself.  Work  is  honorable  and 
necessary,  l)ut  people  who  work  merely  be- 
cause leisure  makes  them  lonely,  and  who 
cannot  find  entertainment  in  reading,  or  visit- 
ing other  farms  to  learn  nevv  methods,  or  in 
some  of  the  thousand  ways  by  which  intellec- 
tual progress  may  be  promoted,  tells  a  poor 
story  of  himself.  He  is  carrying  to  excess  a 
thing  which  is  good  in  its  place,  and  is  as 
much  oH'  the  track  in  this  respect  as  if  he 
were  intemperate  in  some  other  form. 

On  the  other  hand  there  is  no  virtue  in  in- 
dolence. The  farmer  can  justly  be  busy  all 
the  year,  because  farming  is  his  business. 
When  not  actually  engaged  iu  manual  labor 
he  can  be  busy  at  planning  work  for  the  next 
day,  the  next  week,  or  the  next  sea.sou,  and 
finding  out  all  he  can  as  to  the  best  metliods 
through  books,  agricultural  papers,  discus- 
sions witli  neighbors  or  at  agricultural  socie- 
ties, or  observations  on  the  work  of  others.  If 
owning  a  large  farm  and  at  all  "  forehanded  " 
tliere  may  be  little  necessity  for  him  to  work 
at  all,  as  many  consider  work;  he  can  employ 
liimself  more  profitably  at  supervising,  plan- 
ning and  keeping  his  employees  at  work— not 
in  any  mean  or  offensive  sense,  but  to  .see  tliat 
they  work  to  the  best  ad\.intage.  It  is  the 
true  principle  in  farming  that  the  sagacious 
and  clear-bead  thinker  shall  lie  at  the  head 
of  the  farming  operations,  and  those  who  can- 
not plan  shall  be  in  subordinate  positions  to 
carry  out  orders.  The  general  in  the  ranks  is 
out  of  iilace,  because  any  good  or  strong  sol- 
dier can  do  just  as  well  there  as  he  can,  but 
at  the  head  of  a  great  army  his  abilities  are 
worth  more  than  many  thousands  of  soldiers. 
So  of  the  first-class  farmer  ;  the  real  farmer  is 
more  tlian  a  laborer,  and  should  not  be  classed 
iu  the  same  category. 

Leisure  is  valuable  for  review,  rest  and  re- 
cuperation. The  man  who  has  none  is  badly 
oft'.    But  usually  this  is  a  matter  of  habit ;  de- 


votion to  business  never  should  be  so  grea*- 
that  there  is  no  lei.'iure  for  anytliing  else.  It 
is  excess,  and  excess  means  an  early  wearing 
out  and  premature  death.  Work  and  recre- 
ation or  leisure  should  be  so  blended  that  no 
sen.se  of  continuous  weariness  shall  be  felt, 
and  it  usually  can  be  if  people  are  inclined  to 
use  forethought,  and  not  give  way  to  imagined 
necessities.  The  necessity — or  desire  ratlier — 
to  amass  a  fortune  has  killed  thousands  ;  and 
thousands  of  farmers  and  others  are  sliorten- 
ing  their  lives  and  losing  the  chance  for  en- 
joying old  age  by  devotion  to  manual  labor, 
with  nobody  to  be  a  real  gainer  in  the  end. 
The  necessity  of  giving  thsir  children  '"a  good 
start"  in  the  world  is  often  made  the  excuse 
for  this  sort  of  sacrifice  ;  but  it  is  a  poor  one. 
The  best  start  for  children  is  to  bring  them  up 
properly  with  well-balanced  minds  and  the 
capacity  to  judge  of  things  by  their  real 
merits,  and  they  can  be  depended  on  to  start 
themselves  quite  as  well  as  they  should.  The 
lesson  has  been  taught  too  often  that  the  child 
"started"  with  abundance  of  money  at  his 
command  is,  on  the  average,  even  more  likely 
to  fail  wretchedly  than  the  one  who  has  the 
discipline  of  adverse  circumstances  to  en- 
counter. 


STABLE  CLEANING. 

Forty  to  fifty  years  ago,  and  we  are  sorry 
to  say  that  the  evil  still  exists  at  the  present 
time  at  points  far  away  from  towns  and  cities 
and  dense  populations,  there  was  nothing  so 
much  neglected  as  the  keeping  of  cow  stables 
clean.  As  a  common  rule  they  were  cleaned 
out  once  a  week — on  Saturday — and  then  it 
was  not  so  much  on  account  of  the  comfort 
and  health  of  the  animal  and  the  convenience 
and  tidiness  of  the  milker,  as  simply  because 
the  pile  of  manure  must  be  gotten  out  of  the 
way  to  allow  of  the  putting  up  and  letting  loose 
of  the  cattle  mornings  and  evenings.  We  have 
Seen  the  manure  in  the  cattle  stalls  two  feet 
deep  of  almost  clear  dung,  witli  the  hinder 
part  of  the  animal  at  least  one  foot  higher 
thau  tlie  front  pan,  and  the  cattle  being 
driven  out  the  pasture  field  with  iiuantities  of 
fresh  dung  htinging  to  their  flanks,  whicli 
from  day  to  day  received  layor  upon  layor  un- 
til it  was  one  disgusting  mass,  and  was  left 
there  until  it  became  dry  and  hard  and  fell  oil' 
in  flakes  of  its  own  action.  The  litter— about 
a  fourth  of  the  quantity  cattle  now  receive — 
consisted  of  the  stalks  of  cornfodder  which 
could  not  be  eaten,  the  weeds  left  in  the  hay, 
the  rakings  of  dirty  straw  lying  about  thg 
outbuildings,  and  sometimes  mixed  with  a 
few  leaves  fiom  the  woods.  The  food  of  the 
dairy  cows  consisted  of  musty  corn-fooder, 
second  crop  clover  and  orchaid-grass,  badly 
cured,  chaff  from  the  wiunowings  of  the 
theresbcd  grain,  o;Us  straw,  &c.  The  cows 
were  of  co  rse  as  thin  almost  as  skeletons, 
and  their  product  of  poor  milk  was  about  one- 
half  of  what  would  liave  been  obtained  from 
inoperly-fed  cattle.  The  fact  is  that  tlie  farmer 
took  no  pride  in  his  live  stock.  The  idea  of 
giving  them  clean  stalls,  good  ventilation  and 
nourishing  food,  never  entered  his  thoughts, 
and  if  it  did  would  have  been  regarded  as  an 
utter  waste  of  money,  without  any  return. 

But  look  at  the  slffliles  now  of  the  dairy- 
stock  !  Their  stalls  are  wide,  clean  and  fresh, 
the  cattle  themselves  .are  bright  and  .sleek, 


with  no  projecting  ribs,  and  pleasant  to  han- 
dle. Well-fed,  comfortable  in  cvery-way,  and 
giving  two  or  three  times  the  (piantity  of  milk 
and  as  rich  as  it  is  abundant.  The  butter 
from  such  cows  commands  twice  the  price 
fram  its  careful  manufacture  and  uniform  ex- 
cellence. At  the  present  time  al.so  the  farm- 
er feels  more  pride  in  his  dairy  stock  than  in 
anything  else  upon  his  farm.  He  finds  that 
they  give  a  double  return  for  all  the  extra  care 
and  cost  of  their  improved  treatment,  and 
that  he  has  nothing  upon  his  premises  that 
pays  him  so  well  in  every  respect  as  they. 

Finding  so  satisfactory  a  return  from  this 
part  of  his  stock,  he  extends  this  extra  care 
in  bis  purchases  of  slieei)  and  swine,  and  after 
a  few  years  of  trial  he  discovers  that  they  pay 
equally  well  in  proportion  as  his  cows.  And 
iu  this  way  his  improved  .system  of  husbandry 
progresses  from  year  to  year,  and  his  methods 
are  patterns  for  his  neighbors,  until  a  wliole 
di.strict  is  revolutionized  and  the  old  harum- 
scarum  ways  are  utterly  abandoned. 

WORTHLESS  DOGS. 

Some  heartless  wietch  has  been  putting  out 
poison  again,  and  this  time  Mr.  Ferguson's 
dog  Daisy  is  the  victim.  We  have  no  doubt 
that  any  one  of  the  poor  brutes  thus  destroyed 
were  of  infinitely  more  value  to  the  communi- 
ty than  the  cowardly  carcass  of  the  destroyer. 
— Pataha  Sjtirit. 

This  is  drawing  it  pretty  strong,  and  we 
should  jniL'e  that  the  writer  w^as  an  ardent 
lover  of  dog-flesh  or  entertained  a  desired 
spite  at  some  suspected  party.  In  any  event 
he  is  a  little  too  harsh.  If  the  truth  was 
known  we  should  learn,  no  doubt,  that  the 
lamented  curs  were  molesting  some  poor,  liard- 
working  fanner's  sheep,  who,  becoming  ex- 
asperated, put  out  iioison  in  .self-defense.  It 
would  be  a  blessing  to  the  country  at  large  if 
there  were  more  men  with  nerve  enough  to 
do  just  what  this  one  has  done.  True,  a  good 
and  valuable  dog  might  occasionally  l>e 
brouglit  to  an  untimely  end,  but  the  country 
would  soon  be  relieved  of  one  of  the  greatest, 
if  not  the  greatest,  drawbacks  to  sheep  hus- 
bandry. In  Ohio  it  has  been  estimated  by 
competent  authority,  that  the  lo.s."  sustained 
by  slieep  raisers  fiom  the  dei)redations  of 
dogs  alone  would  fully  reach  the  handsome 
sum  of  W\000  annually.  This  estimate 
might  safely  be  applied  to  the  Pacific  Coast 
in  proportionable  ratio— as  no  country  can 
produce  so  many  worthless  curs  to  the  popu- 
lation. A  prominent  sheep  raiser  once  told 
us  that  if  people  would  take  care  of  their 
dogs  he  could  take  care  of  the  wolves,  it  hav- 
ing been  argued  that  were  it  not  for  the  dogs 
(hounds)  the  wolves  would  destroy  all  the 
sheep  in  the  community.  A  good  dog  is  a 
valuable  animal,  but  he  should  be  looked 
after  by  his  owner  just  as  much  as  a  herds- 
man looks  after  his  herd,  it  will  bsbetterfor  all 
concerned.  We  cannot  blame  the  half-starved 
dogs  that  run  about  .seeking  something  to 
eat ;  it  is  the  masters  who  are  to  blame  and 
should  be  made  to  stand  the  damage  done. 


THE  BLACK  WALNUT. 
An  address  delivered  last  winter  by  W.  H. 
Ragan,  .secretary  of  the   ludiana  Horticultu- 
ral Society,  on   cultivating  the  black  walnut 
for  profit,  contains  so  much  that  is  valuable 


i54 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[October, 


tliat  we  are  induced  to  refer  on  the  present  oc- 
casion to  some  of  the  facts  which  it  presents, 
and  to  add  a  few  further  suggestions.  Mr. 
Ragan  thiulis  the  black  walnut  the  most  valu- 
able of  all  trees  for  artiflcial  plantations  and 
timber  belts.  lie  stales  that  a  man  in  "Wis- 
consin planted  "a  piece  of  land  "  twenty- 
three  years  ago  with  this  tree.  We  are  not 
informed  tlie  extent  of  the  land  covered  with 
it,  but  that  the  trees,  sixteen  to  eighteen 
inches  in  diameter,  were  sold  for  ¥27,000.  He 
adds  that  walnut  lumber  now  commands  from 
.S75  to  $100  per  thousand  feet  in  the  cities,  for 
parlor  decoration  and  other  purposes.  1  he 
tree  bears  nuts  at  an  early  age,  and  annually 
thereafter,  which  have  an  important  commer- 
cial value. 

In  raising  the  trees,  it  is  of  utmost  impor- 
tance to  do  everything  in  the  best  manner. 
Those  who  carelessly  plant  the  nuts,  especial- 
ly after  they  have  dried  for  a  long  time,  will 
probably  fail  to  get  trees;  or  if  any  grow,  and 
the  owner  expects  the  young  trees  to  takecare 
■  of  themselves,  he  will  be  greatly  disappoint- 
ed. Mr.  Rsigan's  directions  are,  therefore,  to 
tlio  point,  when  he  says  the  ground  should  be 
prepared  in  the  best  manner  in  the  autumn. 
Furrow  the  ground  off  each  way  as  for  corn, 
except  that  the  rows  should  be  seven  feet 
apart.  Take  the  nuts,  fresh  from  the  tree, 
and  plant  two  at  each  crossing.  They  are  to 
be  covered  shallow,  just  enough  to  hide  them. 
So  much  for  planting.  Then  next  spring  fur- 
row the  seven-feet  spaces  intermediate  be- 
tween the  rows,  and  plant  with  corn  or  pota- 
toes. The  corn  and  young  trees  will  be  all 
cultivated  alike,  and  young  trees  must  be 
kept  clean.  The  second  spring  thin  out  the 
trees  to  one  in  a  hill.  The  thinnings  will  till 
any  vacant  spaces  where  needed.  Corn  or  po- 
tatoes may  be  planted  the  second,  or  even  the 
third  year,  and  after  that  the  trees  must  be 
cultivated  and  kept  clean  until  they  occupy  the 
whole  ground  .so  fully  as  to  keep  down  by 
their  shade  all  weeds  and  grass.  Standing  so 
near  as  seven  feet,  the  trees  will  not  require 
trimming,  but  will  thus  trim  themselves.  But 
when  they  begin  to  suffer  from  crowding, take 
out  every  alternate  tree  in  each  row,  and  in  a 
few  .years  another  thinning  may  be  made  by 
taking  out  every  alternate  tree  in  the  rows 
at  right  angles  to  the  first,  leaving  them  four- 
teen feet  each  way.  If  the  trees  are  to  stand 
until  they  become  quite  large,  additional 
thinning  may  i)e  necessary.  But  they  should 
always  be  thick  enough  to  obviate  the  side 
trimming  of  branches.  The  thinnings  will 
always  possess  considerable  value. 

At  fourteen  feet  apart  there  would  be  over 
200  trees  to  the  acre,  and  these  should  sell  for 
live  dollars  each  in  a  quarter  of  a  century,  or 
at  $1,000  an  acre.  It  is  not  likely  that  the 
timber  will  become  cheaper  in  future  years. 
If  the  good  cultivaiion  and  management  here 
described  are  given,  there  will  be  little  or  no 
failure  of  a  full,  even  growth.  If  the  work 
iscarlessly  performed,  and  the  trees  neglected 
they  will  be  poor  and  scattered.  The  regular 
l)lanting  in  rows,  and  the  continued  cultiva- 
tion until  they  wholly  shade  down  all  other 
growth,  are  indispensable  to  success,  and 
they  are  equally  necessary  in  raising  planta- 
tions of  any  other  trees,  as  chestnuts,  locusts, 
or  catalpas. 


Our  Local  Organizations. 


LANCASTER  COUNTY  AGRICULTURAL 
AND   HORTICULTURAL   SOCIETY. 

The  society  met  in  tlieir  rooms  on  Monday,  Oeto 
ber  M,  1882,  when  the  following  persons  made  their 
.ippearanee  :  Wra.  H.  Brosius,  Liberty  Square;  H. 
M.  Engle,  Marietta;  W.  B.  Paxson,  Colerain ;  Levi 
S.  Reist,  Oregon  ;  Peter  S.  Heist,  Lltitz  ;  M.  D.  Ken- 
dig,  Creswell ;  Robert  Patterson,  Colerain;  C.  L. 
Hunseclier,  Manheim  township;  John  M.  Clark, 
Cliestuut  Level ;  J.  Hofl'man  Hershey,  Hohrerstown  ; 
Daniel  Sineych,  city;  S.  P.  Eby,  city  ;  H.  M.  Mayer, 
Rohrerstowu  ;  J.  M.  Johnston,  city;  H.  VV.  Stein, 
city  ;  VV.  W.  Griest,  city. 

Vice  President  Engle  called  the  meeting  to  order 
at  three  o'clock,  and  M.  D.  Kendig  was  elected  tem- 
porary secretary. 

On  motion  ol'  Wm.  H.  Brosius,  Wm.  T.   Clark,  of 
Liberty  Square,  was  elected  a  member  of  the  society . 
Crop    Reports. 

Peter  S.  Reist  reported  for  Warwick  township,  that 
the  wheat  is  about  an  average  crop  ;  corn  three 
fourths;  oats  one-half ;  grass  three-fourths  ;  apples 
three-fourths;  tobacco  three-fourths,  but  of  very 
excellent  quality.  The  chestnut  crop  promises  to 
be  extraordinary.  Sowing  is  about  three-fourths 
finished. 

Washington  B.  Paxson,  of  Colerain,  said  that  gra.«8 
is  green  and  growing;  seeding  three-fourths  done  ; 
wheat  looks  well ;  corn  is  as  good  as  usual ;  grapes 
abundant;  apples  generally  dropped  off;  tobacco 
generally  pretty  good,  though  a  great  deal  was  de- 
stroyed by  hail. 

Down  in  Drumore,  according  to  the  report  of  Wm. 
II.  Brosius,  grass  is  good,  corn  a  full  crop,  tobacco 
about  all  harvested,  and  seeding  pretty  much  done  ; 
apples  falling  off. 

M.  D.  Kendig  noticed  that  more  cattle  are  full  fed 
in  his  section  of  Manor  township  than  usual,  proba- 
bly by  reason  of  the  great  crops  of  straw  and  grass. 
The  tobacco  leaves  are  longer  than  they  have  been 
in  many  years,  which  augurs  well  for  good  curing. 
It  is  about  all  cut.  Corn  is  a  fair  crop.  All  the  ap  ■ 
pies  are  doing  poorly,  most  of  them  falling  off,  ex 
cept  Smith's  cider  and  the  Fallowater,  which  hang 
well  and  are  in  fine  condition.  Rainfall  for  Septem- 
ber i  6-10  inches. 

The  seeding  is  not  advanced  so  much  in  the  river 
corner  of  East  Donegal,  reported  Henry  M.  Enwlc 
as  it  is  in  the  other  sections  heard  from.  Corn  is  a 
full  crop.  The  ground  is  in  excellent  condition  ; 
young  grass  hasn't  looked  so  well  for  years  ;  apples 
are  poor  and  falling  off.  Rainfall  for  September  6 
inches,  and  for  August  2  inches. 

H.  M.  Mayer,  of  East  H.-mpfleld  (Rohrerstown) , 
reported  for  that  section  very  good  wheat  ;  a  good 
average  corn  crop  ;  apples  not  falling  off  so  much  as 
reported  elsewhere;  peaches  poor;  seeding  three- 
fourths  finished  ;  young  grass  in  excellent  cond.tiun  ; 
tobacco  a  good  crop,  it  having  been  topped  low  and 
then  obtained  magnificent  growth. 

The  Value    of  Clover  Land. 

Peter  S.  Reist  read  a  paper  on  the  "Value  of 
Clover  Land."      See  page  147. 

Wm.  H.  Brosius  asked  whether  in  the  light  of  the 
fact  that  timothy  is  supposed  to  exhaust  the  soil,  it 
would  do  to  stop  sowiiig  it  ? 

Mr.  Reist  thought  not,  as  his  experience  was  that 
you  would  be  unable  to  grow  clover  alone  for  two  or 
three  years. 

Robert  Patterson  inquired  what  is  the  best  time  to 
cut  clover  ? 

Mr.  Reist  answered  :  When  the  blossoms  are  just 
drying  off,  and  before  the  second  crop  has  much  of 
a  start. 

M.  D.  Kendig  said  that  ten  years  ago  he  stopped 
sowing  timothy,  and  let  the  clover  go  it  alone.  In 
three  years  he  couldn't  get  his  clover  to  grow,  and 
was  compelled  to  mix  them  again,  after  which  the 
clover  flourished. 

C.  L.  Huusecker  acknowledged  that  timothy  is  in- 
jurious,  but   contended  that   the   best   farmers  for 


years  have  been  sowing  timothy  and  clover  half  and 
half,  and  down  along  the  Cone.stoga,  where  many  of 
the  farmers  are  large  timothy  raisers,  he  failed  to 
notice  any  particularly  deleterious  efTcct.  Oats  is 
also  more  or  less  injurious,  but  the  finest  wheat 
comes  after  it,  and  oats  clears  the  land  of  weeds,  etc. 
Beans  also  injure  the  soil.  Clover  is  first-rate  to  re- 
pair the  damage,  and  so  is  lime.  Jacob  B.  Garber, 
who  probably  knows  as  much  if  not  more  about 
agricultural  affairs  than  any  other  man  in  the 
counfy,  writes  to  the  AijricuUurist  that  lime  is  both 
an  excellent  manure  and  a  first-class  stimulant. 

Mr.  Patterson  asked  if  lime  is  of  any  advantage 
without  manure  or  vegetable  matter  mi.xed  with  it? 

Mr.  Hunsecker  hadn't  studied  the  matter  scientifi- 
cally and  didn't  know. 

Henry  M.  Engle  thought  the  clover  question  a 
very  important  one.  Clover  is  undoubtedly  ihe  best 
and  cheapest  manure  for  poor  land,  although  lime 
may  bring  the  answer  in  less  time.  He  would  advise 
every  farmer  to  avoid  timothy  on  poor  land,  but,  if 
the  soil  is  in  a  fertile  condition,  we  can  sow  It  with 
some  degree  of  impunity.  Farmers  are  too  saving 
of  clover  seed ;  they  ought  to  sow  more  than  they 
do,  and  they  ought  to  be  careful  when  they  cut  it. 
It  is  objected  to  as  horse  feed,  and  the  reason  is  that 
it  is  over-ripe.  Cut  it  at  the  proper  time — when  the 
heads  are  all  fresh — gather  it  damp,  and  it  makes 
the  very  best  horse  feed.  The  only  trouble  in  sowing 
both  timothy  and  clover  on  rich  land  is  that  they 
don't  reach  maturity  at  the  same  time,  and  conse- 
quently when  the  clover  is  ready  for  harvest  the 
timothy  is  not,  and  vice  versa. 

Should  There  be  Less  Fencing? 

S.  P.  Eby,  Esq.,  read  the  following  paper,  entitled, 
"  Could  the  farmer  do  with  less  fencing  ?" 

So  long  as  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania,  relating  to 
fences  and  cattle  remain  unaltered,  the  farmer  will 
be  obliged  to  inclose  his  farm  with  a  fence  "  at  least 
five  feet;  high,  of  sufflcient  rails  or  logs,  and  closed 
at  the  bottom."  Failing  in  this,  he  has  no  redress 
for  damages  that  may  be  done  by  cattle  or  other 
stock  running  at  large.  And  he  will  be  liable  for 
any  hurt  or  damage  he  may  do  to  live  stock  in  driv- 
ing them  out  of  his  grounds. 

His  neighbor  may  put  up  the  line  fence  between 
their  adjoining  properties, in  case  he  refuses  to  do  so, 
and  make  him  pay  the  one  half  of  the  cost  thereof. 

There  seems,  therefore,  to  be  no  escape  from  the 
expense  of  keeping  up  fences  surrounding  his  farm, 
except  through  means  of  the  Legislature,  and  a 
change  of  our  fence  and  cattle  lawj. 

As  to  the  interior  of  his  farm,  it  becomes  a  ques- 
tion of  economy  with  himself.  While  he  continues 
to  rotate  his  crops,  and  pastures  all  his  fields  alter- 
nately every  fourth  and  fifth  year,  he  will  be  obliged 
to  have  some  barrier, either  temporary  or  permanent, 
between  his  fields  to  protect  the  crops  from  his  own 
cattie. 

A  few  farmers  have  adopted  soiling  as  a  substitute 
for  fencing.  Instead  of  pasturing  they  cut  the  grass 
and  feed  it  to  the  stock  in  the  stable  or  barnyard. 

This  practice  is  well  spoken  of  by  some  who  have 
tried  it.  They  allege  it  saves  feed,  increases  the 
manure  pile,  and  keeps  the  stock  in  good  condition. 
It  has  some  objections,  however  ;  it  adds  greatly  to 
the  labor  of  the  farmer  in  his  most  busy  season.  The 
attendance  must  be  regular  and  unremitting,  and 
the  grass  be  newly  cut;  otherwise  the  stock  will 
suflTer.  And  it  may  be  a  question  whether  with  the 
best  attendance  cattle  thus  confined  will  keep  in  as 
healthy  condition  as  if  allowed  free  range  of  the 
field,  to  crop  the  grass  at  will  freshly  from  the  sod. 

Another  mode  is  to  fence  off  and  keep  a  certain 
part  of  the  farm  for  exclusive  and  continuous  pas- 
turage. This,  if  managed  with  proper  care,  not  too 
closely  cropped  in  dry  weather,  and  treated  to  a  coat 
of  manure  occasionally,  can  be  brought  into  a  thicli 
growth  of  natural  grass,  very  nutritious  and  greatly 
relished  by  cattle.  It  is  the  mode  practiceil  in  many 
parts  of  Chester  and  Delaware  counties,  and  is  well 
thought  of. 

Of  course  since  rainfall  is  on  the  decrease  the  low- 
est and  raoistcst  ground  on  the  farm  should  be  se- 
lected for  this  i)Urpo6e,  and  it  should  have  shade 
trees  for  the  benefit  of"  the  stock  i-n  liot  seasons,  and 
if  possible,  water  tor  them  to  drink. 

Another  mode  is  to  keep  portable  fence,  and  in- 
close with  it  such  of  the  grass  land  as  is  desired  to 
pasture.  This  will  involve  the  cost  of  the  fence 
itself  and  the  trouble  of  moving  it  as  often  as  the 
pasture  is  changed. 

The  last  remaining  manner,  which  can  profitably 
be  adopted  when  the  stock  consists  of  only  one  or 
two  cows,  is  that  of  staking. 

This  will  require  some  training  to  accustom  the 
animals  quietly  to  submit  to  the  restraint  of  rope 
and  stake. 


1S82.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


155 


Mr.  Biosius  tlioughl  that  there  were  two  things  to 
cousider  :  The  expeuBO  of  feucinij  and  the  value  of 
liind.  He  favored  tlie  eoiliiii;  system  and  arfjued  tliat 
all  farm  land  could  he  enriohcd  more  hy  cultivalliiif 
than  by  |>asturiiis. 

Mr.  I'axson  inquired  wlielhfr  it  would  he  advisable 
lo  cut  and  haul  grass  from  meadow  land  rallicr  than 
past  u  IX'. 

Mr.  Brosius  replied  that  he  had  referred  lo  up- 
land, lo  agricultural  land. 

I'etcr  S.  Heist  found  there  was  a  great  deal  of  dif- 
ference between  the  theory  and  practice  on  the  fence 
ipieslion.  It  was  very  nice  to  talk  about,  but  some 
fi'nces  were  an  absolute  necessity  to  Ihe  I'armer.  He 
had  seen  many  try  to  abolish  them,  and  he  had  seen 
them  rebuild  their  fences.  He,  however,  denounced 
the  barbed  wire  I'cnce  and  sold  that  some  day  a  law 
would  be  enacted  forbidding  its  use.  In  tine,  he 
Ihought  that  no  farm  should  be  divided  into  fewer 
than  four  lields. 

Hay  as  a  Fertilizer. 

\V.  B.  Paxson  answered  tlie  quesliou  :  "  CJau  the 
farmer  sell  his  hay  and  maintain  the  fertility  of  the 
soil?"  He  said  that  the  most  prominent  question 
with  every  tiller  of  the  soil  is,  how  can  the  farmer 
preserve  and  increase  the  fertility  of  his  land,  or 
how  can  he  restore  exhausted  soil,  and  if  possible 
increase  its  productive  power?  This  is  a  question  of 
vast  importance.  Experience  has  demonstrated  the 
fact  that  barnyard  manure  does  return  to  the  soil  all 
tlie  fertility  that  the  crop  takes  from  it.  If  the 
farmer  sells  his  hay  then  he  will  have  less  barnyard 
manure  than  otherwise,  and  in  order  to  restore  the 
exhausted  soil  he  must  apply  artilicial  fertilizers, 
which,  in  my  opinion,  should  not  be  used  as  a  sub- 
stitute for,  but  to  supplement  barnyard  niaimre. 
Therefore  I  answer  the  question  in  the  negative. 
Going  to  the  York  Fair. 

The  following  were  appointed  a  committee  to  at- 
tend the  York  fair  :  \Vm.  II.  Brosius,  M.  D.  Kcndig, 
C.  L.  Huusecker. 

The  Next  Meeting. 

At  the  next  meeting  Wm.  H.  Brosius  will  speak 
on  agriculture. 

Fruit   Report. 

There  was  a  tine  display  of  grapes  on  hand,  and 
the  following  committee,  L.  S.  Keist,  Robert  Patter- 
son and  S.  P.  Eby,  reported  as  follows  concerning  all 
the  fruit  exhibited  : 

Goithe  Kodgers,  No.  1,  very  nice ;  Devon  Rodgers, 
No.  la,  very  fine ;  Wilder  Kodgers,  No.  4,  large  and 
fine  ;  .Massasoit  Kodgers,  No.  '.i,  very  good  ;  Lindley 
Rodgers,  No.  9,  sweet;  .Salem  Rodgers,  No.  .53,  very 
good  :  Rodgci's  No.  .'53,  large ;  Eineline  I'odgei'S, 
small  and  very  line  ;  Clinton,  a  good  grape  ;  .Martha, 
sweet  and  very  good  ;  Concord,  «  fine  grape  ;  Pax- 
ton,  a  good  grape;  Isabella,  veiy  line;  Croton, 
small  but  good;  Telegraph,  very  fine;  Maxatawney, 
white  and  good  ;  Franklin,  small  andtartish  ;  Har- 
ford, over  ripe  ;  Ives' Seedling,  small  and  luscious; 
loua,  beautiful  and  sweet. 

Mr.  Smeych  exhibited  the  following  :  Four  plates 
seedling  [leaehcs,  very  fine.  Grapes:  One  plate 
Pdaek  Hamburg,  large  and  fine  ;  one  plate  Bordeaux, 
line  ;  one  plate  Diana,  very  sweet ;  one  plate  Kodgers 
No.  1,  good  ;  one  plate  Kodgers  No.  2S,  fine;  one 
plate,  no  name,  good  ;  one  plate,  good  and  sweet. 
Two  .Springer  plums,  very  fine  and  sweet. 

Mr.  Levi  S.  Reist  exhibited  some  very  line  York 
Imperial  apples. 

POULTRY  ASSOCIATION. 

The  meeting  of  the  Poultry  Association  met  on 
Monday  morning,  October  2d,  Is.S'J,  and  wasattended 
by  the  following  persons  :  President,  (i.  A.  Geycr, 
Secretary,  .J.  P.  Liehty,  city  ;  Charles  Lippold,  eity  ; 
John  E.  Sebum,  city;  Dr.  E.  H.  \Vitmer,Neflsvine  ; 
Harry  Stein,  eity;  W.  W.  Grieat,  city;  Dr.  H.  D. 
Longaker,  city;  I.  Brooks,  West  Willow;  Joseph 
Tritslcr,  city  ;  J.  M.  Johnston,  city  ;  Wash.Hersliey, 
Chickies. 

Mr.  Liehty,  as  chairman  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee, reported  that  the  premium  list  had  been  ar- 
ranged in  part  as  follows  : 

For  poultry  -Si  for  first,  ?1  to  second,  highly  com- 
mended to  third  ;  for  pigeons,- ?1  to  first,  fifty  cents 
to  second,  highly  commended  to  third  ;  entrance 


fee,  seventy-five  cents  for  single  bird  for  poultry  and 
thirty-five  cents  per  pair  for  pigeons.  Of  the  cash 
specials  otl'ered  by  the  assochition  the  society  will 
charge  ten  per  cent.  The  premium  lor  breeding 
pens  is  S.'i.OO  each,  and  entrance  fee  J2.0(). 

A  breeder's  stake  will  be  made  up,  and  every  bird 
is  charged  one  dollar;  the  purse  will  be  divided 
thus  :  Sixty  per  cent,  to  first,  oO  to  second,  and  10 
to  third  ;  the  birds  must  be  raised  by  the  breeder. 

The  oiler  of  T.  B.  Dorsey,  of  Delaware,  of  a  $^5 
cup  for  the  best  bantam  on  exhibition — he  to  con- 
tribute §1.5  and  the  society  glO  of  the  required  92ij — 
was  accepted.  The  entrance  fee  $'.'.  A  Polish  cup 
with  same  conditions  was  also  accepted. 

.Mr.  W.  A.  Jetlrey,  of  A.shland,  (Jhio,  editor  of  the 
Xatlunal  I'oiiltnj  Journal,  olfered  a  Iwcnty-Uve  dol- 
lar silver  eup  for  the  best  collection  of  white  crested 
black  Pcjlish  by  any  one  exhibitor,  and  his  oiler  was 
accepted  with  thanks. 

The  above  report  of  the  Executive  Committee  was 
unanimously  adopted. 

Charles  E.  Long,  by  reason  of  his  iinibility  to  at- 
tend to  the  duties  of  a  member  of  the  Executive 
Committee,  tendered  his  resignation,  which  was  ae 
cepted.  Charles  Lippold  was  nominated  lo  fill  the 
vacancy,  and  he  will,  under  the  rules,  come  up  for 
election  at  the  next  meeting. 

Dr.  Longaker  said  he  was  enlarging  his  hatching 
house,  and  Mr.  J.  M.  Johnston,  of  the  InteUiijciiccr, 
precipitated  an  adjournment  by  telling  how,  "  when 
I  was  down  in  Georgia,"  a  spring  chicken  no  laiger 
thau  his  fist  swallowed  a  snake  as  big  as  his  hat ! 


FULTON   FARMERS'  CLUB 

The  regular  monthly  meeting  of  the  club  was  held 
at  the  residence  of  Day  Wood,  on  Saturday,  October 
7th,  1882. 

The  following  members  were  present  :  Day  Wood, 
Josiah  Brown,  J.  R.  Blackburn,  Lindley  King,  Mon- 
tillion  Brown,  S.  L.  Gregg,  Wm.  King,  John  Cauff- 
man,  Joel  King  and  E.  H.  Haines. 

Visitors  :  Dr.  S.  T.  Roman,  J  J.  Carter,  Harvey 
Howet,  Neal  Hamilton,  Isaac  Bradley  and  CliflTord 
Cook,  all  of  whom  were  accompanied  by  por- 
tions of  their  families,  making  a  company  that  filled 
to  overflowing  the  capacious  and  elegant  parlor  of 
the  host. 

The  members  all  having  exhibited  specimen3  of 
their  farm  products  at  their  last  meetin;j  made  the 
exhibit  lo  day  quite  small,  a  single  apple,  brought 
by  E.  H.  Haines  to  be  named,  was  the  sum  total, 
and  il  was  decided  to  be  a  Kiugof  Tompkins  county. 
Questions  and  Answers. 

Day  Wood — I  have  heard  it  said  that  it  pays  best 
to  feed  cattle  when  corn  is  high  in  price,  is  this  the 
case?  This  was  a  question  that  most  of  those  pres 
eut  seemed  to  have  thought  but  little  about,  but  all 
seemed  to  agree  that  as  corn  is  the  material  out  of 
which  winter  beef  is  made,  a  scarcity,  and  conse- 
quently high  price  of  the  former  must  of  a  neeessi'.y 
be  followed  by  a  searcily  and  high  price  of  the  lat- 
ter. If  corn  can  be  fed  to  steers  or  hogs  with  a  cer- 
tain per  cent,  of  profit  on  its  market  value,  whether 
the  price  be  low  or  high,  then  the  production  of  beef 
or  pork  is  much  more  profitable  to  the  farmer  in 
times  of  high  prices  thau  in  times  of  low  prices,  just 
upon  the  same  principle  that  a  miller  who  tolls  the 
grain  he  grinds  gets  twice  as  much  for  grinding  a 
bushel  of  wheat  when  it  is  worth  two  dollar*  per 
bushel  as  when  it  is  worlh  only  one  dollar  per 
bushel. 

.Josiah  Brown — In  this  neighborhood  does  it  pay 
belter  to  put  in  wheat  after  corn  than  tc  put  the 
stalk  ground  in  oats?  Several  were  in  favor  of  sow 
ing  the  wheat  provided  the  land  was  rich,  but  on 
thin  land  past  experience  did  not  recommend  the 
plan  much.  Some  objected  lo  putting  in  wheat  after 
corn  on  account  of  the  labor  retiuired  to  remove  the 
corn,  while  others  did  not  consider  this  any  great 
obstacle  if  the  right  plan  was  pursued,  which  is  to 
eut  two  rows  of  corn  where  you  wish  the  shocks  lo 
stand  and  lay  one  on  each  side,  then  cultivate  and 
drill  in  these  two  rows,  after  which  cut  and  shock 
the  corn  on  the  ground  thus  planted.    In  this   way 


the  corn  need  nut  be  carried  more  than  the  usual  dis- 
tance, and  the  shocks  will  not  kill  the  wheat  if  not. 
sutfered  to  stand  long. 

Monlilliou  Brown — lias  any  one  present  a  variety 
of  grape  that  docs  better  for  him  than  the  Concord  ? 
Some  of  the  members  were  cultivating  as  many  us 
eight  or  ten  varieties,  but  no  one  had  found  any  of 
them  lo  do  better  than  the  Concord. 

William  King— Is  it  better  to  put  apples  in  the 
cellar  Immediately  after  pickiug  or  barrel  tlicm  and 
leave  them  out  until  cold  weather  ?  J.  J.  Carter  was 
in  favor  of  leaving  them  out  of  doors  in  a  dry,  cool 
place.  Day  Wood  preferred  to  put  them  in  the  cel- 
lar. Dr.  Roman  said  to  get  barrels  that  were  per- 
fectly light  or  make  them  so  by  pasting  muslin  over 
the  joints,  put  the  apples  in  these,  head  them  up 
and  leave  the  barrels  under  the  trees,  but  on  some- 
thing to  keep  them  olf  the  ground,  until  freezing 
weather. 

Josiah  Brown  said  if  you  leave  the  apples  out  un- 
til the  cold  weather,  they  should  be  put  in  barrels, 
but  if  put  in  the  cellar,  they  should  be  put  on 
shelves. 

Martha  Browu — When  is  the  best  time  for  storing 
away  cabbage  for  winter  ?  Answered — Just  before 
Hallow-Een. 

Josiah  Brown  cuts  the  stalks  ofT  his  cabbage  and 
packs  the  heads  in  a  barrel  planted  in  the  ground  ; 
they  keep  well  and  are  easily  got  when  wanted. 

After  dinner  the,  usual  Inspection  of  the  farm 
and  stock  was  made.  The  condition  of  the  farm, 
the  crops  and  stock  were  all  considered  good. 

The  host  made  the  following  report  of  his  farming 

operations  for  IS81  : 

Crops. 

2(1  acres  of  wheat  produced ^t^M  bushels 

IT'i        "     corn  "         1,0.50 

10  "     oats  "         26.51^     " 

5  "     tobacco     "         6,241       pounds 

30  '•     hay  produced     30  4-hor8e  loads 

Hungarian  hay 5        "  " 

18  acres  clover  seed 6  bushels 

I2  acre  potatoes  52       " 

Receipts  between  Jan.  1,  1S81  and  Jan.  1,  1883. 

For  41..,  acres  of  tobacco  (S,052  lbs) !  877  21 

"   ij  cows  and  heifers, 20100 

"    2i;  lambsfti.  4.(i0 134  20 

•'    i;il)  pounds  wool  ff<  20c 27  80 

"    28  head  old  sheep  $4.00 112  00 

"    l,7'.lb  pounds  butter .572  80 

"  grain  sold  (wheat  and  clover  seed) 514  26 

"  4il4  dozen  eggs  82  30 

"  poultry,  calves,  pork  and  lard 198  '£i 

Total  sales .$2,719  SO 

Literary  Exerc  ses. 

Monlilliou  Browu  read  from  Tin-;  Lancaster 
Fakmek  au  article  on  "The  Practical  and  Scientific 
in  Agriculture,"  of  which  the  following  is  an  ex- 
tract: ."The  foundation  of  all  knowledge  of  agri- 
culture is  the  accumulati>>n  of  fixed  facts,  suggested 
by  accidents  discovered  perhaps  by  science;  but, 
howeverobtained,  proved  or  confirmed  by  the  practi 
cal  farmer  on  the  land.  A  theory  which  bears  this 
test  may  become  a  law  at  once  for  the  farming  com- 
munity, and  until  it  has  borne  the  test,  it  is  theory 
still,  no  matter  what  its  origin  may  have  been, 
whether  college  or  farmyard.  While,  therefore,  an 
agricultural  school  may  be  devoted  to  scicncce  as  a 
guide  lo  agriculture,  and  may  be  engaged  in  culti- 
vating a  single  farm  according  to  the  best  known 
principle,  il  must  depend  upon  a  widespread  com- 
munity of  farmers  for  the  last  grand  process  of 
proving  and  dill'using  its  theories.  And  when  we  re- 
member tliat  agriculture  is  not  an  exact  science  and 
cannot  be  until  Ihe  skies  and  seasons  are  subdued  by 
man,  and  that  the  facts  discovered  in  the  field  are 
often  of  more  practical  value  than  those  laid  down 
by  the  student  in  his  closet,  we  shall  not  be  sur- 
prised at  the  success  which  associated  farmers  have 
met  with  in  the  work  of  advancing  agricultural 
education." 

Sadie  Brown  read  from  the  Lancaster  Examiner 
an  editorial  on  "  Farmers'  Societies  and  Festivals." 

Rebecca  D.  King  read  a  temperance  story,  "  A 
Strong  Temptation." 

Neal  Hamilton  delivered  an  amusing  stump  speech 
he  had  learned  when  a  boy. 


156 


THE   LANCASTER  FARMER- 


[0.;tober, 


Day  Wood  read  an  article  on  "Ants,"  by  Mark 
Twain. 

Resolution  for  discussion  at  the  next  meeting  : 

Resolved,  That  the  experience  of  a  farmer  is  of 
more  benefit  to  him  than  the  writings  of  others. 

Montillion  Brown,  J  R.  Blackburn,  Phoebe  King 
and  Sadie  Brown  were  appointed  a  committee  to 
have  some  literary  exercises  for  the  next  meeting, 
which  will  be  held  at  the  residence  of  C.  C.  Cauff- 
raan  on  the  first  Saturday  in  next  month. 


LINN/EAN   SOCIETY. 

The  Society  met  in  the  ante-room  of  the  Museum 
on  Saturday  afternoon.  Sept,  aOth,  al2  o'clock  P.  M. 
Prof.  J.  S.  Stahr  in  the  chair,  and  S.  M.  Sener,  Esq., 
secretary  pro  tern. 

The  donations,  contributions,  and  additions  were 
the  following  to  the  museum  :  two  specimens  of  par 
rots  were  donated  by  Mr.  H.  B.  Fondersmith,  bird 
lancicr  of  East  Orange  street,  and  stuffed  and  mount- 
ed by  Mr.  George  O.  Hensel,  taxidermist  and  florist. 
One  of  these  birds  was  an  ash-colored,  or  gray  par- 
rot, and  the  other  green  and  red,  and  both  had  died 
in  their  cages,  a  fate  to  which  foreign  birds  ar  ex- 
tremely liable  in  our  northern  climate.  The  former  is 
Fsittacus  ctythacns,  and  the  latter  seems  to  be  an 
Immature  specimen  of  Psiitacus  festives,  of  South, 
America.  An  alcoholized  specimen  of  a  "Horn- 
worm,"  .Macrosia  Carolina,  infested  ;hy  about  three 
hundred  insect  parasites,  a  description  of  which  had 
been  published  in  the  Nem  Era  and  the  Lancastek 
Farmek  during  the  month  of  September.  Also  a 
specimen  of  the  larva  of  Dryocama  imperialis,  dona 
ted  by  Maj.  J.  R.  Windolph  of  the  Cornwall 
farms.  Also  a  mature  female  specimen  of  the 
"oil  beetle,"  Mela;  augusficolis,  captured  about 
a  mile  north  of  Lancaster,  about  a  week  ago. 
If  this  cannot  be  regarded  as  a  rare  insect,  on 
the  other  hand  it  is  never  found  very  abun- 
dantly in  this  locality.  When  captured,  it  exudes 
its  oil  ver,"-  freely,  has  an  unpleasant  odor,  and  from 
the  fact  that  all  the  other  insects  in  the  bottle  died 
and  the  oil-beetle  alone  survived,  it  may  be  inferred 
that  it  was  poisonous  to  them.  Mr.  -Milton  Wike 
of  Columbia,  donated  a  very  extraordinary  cranium 
of  a  "ground  hog — Arctomys  monax — found  in 
Martic  township,  near  McCall's  Ferry,  at  a  place 
called  the  "Pinnacle."  One  of  the  front  teeth  (incis- 
ors) in  the  upper  jaw  grew  round  in  a  circle  and  en- 
tered the  jaw  again  near  the  base  of  the  first  molar; 
and  the  other  in  a  similar  form,  grew  out  of  the  side 
of  the  mouth.  The  animal  could  not  have  possibly 
brought  its  molars  together  within  an  inch,  and  as 
this  animal  is  a  rodent,  and  lives  exclusively  on  veg 
etable  food,  it  must  certainly  have  starved  to  death. 
The  incisor  teeth  of  rodents  are  mainly  used  for  cut- 
ting, and  the  question  is, how  could  these  teeth  possi- 
bly have  grown  so  rapidly,  as  to  prevent  the  animal 
from  bringing  their  ends  together,  and  wearing  them 
down  as  is  usually  the  case?  for  there  is  hardly 
room  for  the  inference  that  they  grew  in  that  condi 
tion  after  the  death  of  the  animal.  If  it  starved  it 
would  be  an  interesting  fact  to  know  how  long  it  had 
survived  in  that  condition  before  death  ensued.  Two 
double  peach  stones,  from  double  peaches,  in  both 
cases  growing  from  one  stem,  and  inferentially  from 
one  blossom;  donated  by  Messrs.  Thomas  and  Fon- 
dersmith. This  phenomenon  occurred  quite  fre 
qucntly  the  present  season  and  in  one  instance,  at 
least,  three  were  found  growing  from  a  single  stem. 
A  specimen  of  bituminous  coal  from  Vancouver's 
Island,  British  America,  donated  by  Mr.  Washington 
L.  Hershey,  Chiques  farm.  Specimens  of  coffee, 
and  a  piece  of  the  keel  of  the  ill-fated  vessel  S.  S. 
Pliny,  which  was  wrecked  in  May  last,  on  the 
coast  of  New  Jersey,  between  Deal  Beach  and  Elbe- 
ron,  N.  J.,  donated  by  Messrs.  C.  A.  Heinitsh  and 
Joseph  Sleinbauser.  A  prepared  specimen  of  Ery- 
three  comasissima,  var.  pulchella;  or,  as  it  is  some 
times  called,  E  muhlenbergia;  was  added  to  the 
Herbarium  of  the  society  by  Prof.  J  S.  Stahr.  This 
plant  is  new  to  the  fiora  of  Lancaster  county,  and 
was  found  by  Prof.  Stahr  in  a  small  ravine  in  the 
western  pan  of  Lancaster  city  in  July  last.    Since 


then  it  has  also  been  found  at  Media  Hill,  by  Mr. 
Vetacher,  a  student  of  Dr.  M.  L.  Herr,  of  the  gradu- 
ates of  Franklin  and  Marshall  College.  It  belongs 
to  the  familj  Gentianaeeae,  and  is  nearly  related  to 
Sabatia  angularis,  commonly  called  "Century- 
plant,"  a  favorite  bitters  among  the  Pennsylvania 
Germans.  A  collection  of  prepared  plants  and 
flowers  was  exhibited  by  Mrs.  P.  E.  Gibbons,  also 
specimens  of  the  water  chestnut,  used  as  a  food  in 
France.  The  plants  were  collected  in  Huntingdon- 
shire, England,  by  Mrs.  Gibbons  on  her  late  visit 
there. 

To  the  library,  first  series  of  the  official  records  of 
the  Union  and  Rebel  armies,  in  the  war  of  the  rebel- 
lion ;  from  the  Department  of  the  Interior.  This 
series  includes  four  volumes,  royal  octavo,  compris- 
ing in  all  :!,460  pages.  United  States  Coast  and 
Geodetic  Survey  for  1S79,  a  quarto  of  214  pages  and 
fifty-three  progressive  sketches  and  illustrations, 
also  from  the  Department  of  the  Interior.  Nos.  6  to 
12  of  the  "Official  United  States  Patent  Office 
Gazette,"  Vol.  XXII.,  from  the  sime.  The  Lan- 
castek Fakmer  for  August  and  September.  Part  2, 
Vol.  Ill,  Proceedings  of  the  Davenport  Academy  of 
Natural  Science,  from  January,  1879,  to  December, 
1881,  193  pp.  Royal  8  vo.  and  4  plates  ;  from  the 
corresponding  secretary.  This  report  contains  a 
large  amount  of  interesting  Western  mound-lore, 
and  announces  the  death  of  its  late  president,  Joseph 
Duncan  Pitman,  in  the  prime  of  life,  an  industrious 
and  progressive  scientist,  and  one  who  had  already 
made  his  mark  in  the  scientific  world.  Three  enve- 
lopes containing  thirty  historical  and  biographical 
selections.  A  number  of  l)ook  catalogues  and  circu- 
lars. 

Prof.  Stahr  read  a  paper  entitled  "  Botanical 
Notes,"  in  which  he  referred  specifically  to  the  plant 
he  donated  ;  also  to  Viola  lanceolata,  provisionally, 
found  by  Mr  J.  C.  Foltz,  in  Drumore  township  ; 
also,  to  some  pecaliarities  in  several  specimens  of 
the  night-blooming  cacti  of  Lancaster  city. 

Prof.  Buehrle,  City  Superiutendent  of  the  public 
schools,  was  proposed  for  active  membership  by 
Prof.  Rathvon,  which,  under  the  rules,  lies  over 
until  the  next  meeting. 

S.  M.  Sener  was  unanimously  elected  assistant 
secretary. 

After  a  short  session  of  science  gossip,  the  society 
adjourned  to  meet  at  the  office  of  Dr.  Knight,  North 
Queen  street,  in  October,  of  which  due  notice  will 
be  given  by  the  secretary. 

Agriculture. 


Wheat  Growing. 

The  success  in  growing  wheat  in  Pennsylvania  the 
last  few  years  should  stimulate  us  to  raise  a  greater 
average  per  acre  than  has  been  the  case  in  many 
portions  of  the  State.  We  notice  that  as  much  aS 
an  average  of  thirty  bushels  has  been  obtained  this 
year  in  some  of  the  Western  States  ;  and  we  are 
well  aware  that  the  yield  has  been  increased  this 
year  in  Pennsylvania— in  some  special  instances 
over  forty  bushels  per  acre  have  been  obtained.  Of 
course  there  are  various  causes  influencing  success. 
That  which  might  be  an  aid  at  one  point  might  be 
an  injury  at  another.  But  there  are  one  or  two  mat- 
ters  that  wheat  growers  are  apt  to  forget.  The  first 
is,  that  as  a  general  thing  it  is  well  understood  that 
manure  must  be  liberally  applied  to  induce  a  good 
crop  ;  but  many  persons  plow  it  under,  hence,  it  is 
not  until  the  plant  has  set  its  roots  deep  down  into 
the  soil  that  it  derives  muc'i  benefit  from  the  manure. 
But  if  the  manure  is  so  placed  that  the  young  root- 
lets could  push  >vt  once  into  it  on  germinating,  it 
would  get  an  early  start  on  its  vital  course,  which 
would  establish  it  firmly  against  any  future  draw- 
backs. 

In  the  second  place  few  persons  have  any  idea  how 
manure  operates  in  making  roots.  If  we  bury  a 
shovclfull  of  manure  some  distance  from  a  thrifty 
tree  in  early  spring,  and  examine  it  again  the  ensu- 
ing fall,  we  fiud  the  lump  of  dung  a  complete  mass 
of  roats,  while  the  earth  in  other  parts   contiguous 


has  but  a  few  struggling  ones.  Some  people  think 
that  the  roots  are  attracted  to  the  spot  by  the  ma- 
nure ;  but  it  is  not  so.  They  are  actually  created  by 
the  manure.  A  leading  root  sucks  into  the  rich 
mass,  and  finding  plenty  to  eat,  at  once  sets  to  work 
to  increase  and  multiply.  Contact  with  the  manure, 
therefore  makes  roots  ;  and  the  principle  in  success- 
ful wheat  culture  should  place  the  grain  and  the 
food  as  close  together  as  possible,  if  we  would  en- 
courage it  to  root  out  well  and  get  a  good  start.  We 
all  know  very  well  how  this  is  done  with  corn. 
Manuring  in  the  hill  is  quite  a  universal  practice  ; 
but  where  it  is  not,  the  result  is  well  known.  We 
repeat,  therefore,  give  the  crops  an  early  start.  It 
has  a  wonderful  influence  in  its  efforts  in  after  life  to 
come  out. 


An  Excellnt  Fertilizer. 

A  German  farmer  once  told  the  writer  that  every 
year  he  prepared  a  heap  of  manure  which,  when  ap 
plied  to  his  soil,  made  it  produce  marvelous  yields. 
His  mode  of  preparing  it  was  as  follows,  to  use  his 
own  language  .  "I  have  but  one  horse,  one  cow  and 
about  two  dozen  fowls.  I  save  every  particle  of  their 
droppings  and  place  them  under  a  shed  which  has 
a  cemented  floor  ;  upon  this  I  spread  a  layer  of  forest 
mold,  and  in  order  to  p"eserve  the  ammonia  in  it  I 
cover  the  dung  with  another  layer  of  mold,  taken 
from  the  woods  close  to  my  house.  I  continue  this 
system  of  layering  each  time  the  stable,  cow  and  hen 
houses  are  cleaned  out.  I  also  save  the  urine  of  the 
animals  and  that  from  my  house,  and  pour  it  upon 
the  heap;  sometimes  I  also  add  a  small  quantitj  of 
litter  from  the  stable,  and,  when  not  too  busy  to 
collect  them,  a  lot  of  leaves.  By  attending  to  the 
heap  in  person,  and  seeing  that  all  the  manure  is 
rigidly  saved,  I  find  on  hand  by  the  early  spring 
a  large  quantity  of  the  richest  fertilizer  I  have  ever 
used.  During  the  few  winter  months  it  has  thorough- 
ly rotted,  and  when  needed  to  spread  upou  my  gar- 
den it  resembles  a  heap  of  ashes,  so  completely  is  it 
pulverized.  My  garden  consists  of  five  acres  of 
ground,  which  receives  this  valuable  manure.  On  a 
farm  where  twenty  or  thirty  horses,  mules  and  cattle 
are  kept,  and  a  flock  of  sheep  and  a  fair  number  of 
fowls,  besides  their  combined  dropiJings,  if  treated 
as  above,  enough  of  this  excellent  fertilizer  could  be 
saved  each  year  to  thoroughly  manure  fifteen  or 
twenty  acres  of  land,  and  no  farmer  should  be  at  a 
loss  to  have  what  manure  he  requires,  for  this  is  the 
foundation  of  successfnl  farming," 


How  to  Remove  Stumps. 
The  f^cientific  American  gives  the  following  receipe 
for  getting  rid  of  stumps  :  "In  the  autumn  of  every 
winter  bore  a  hole  one  or  two  inches  in  diameter,  ac- 
cording to  the  girth  of  the  stump,  and  about  eighteen 
inches  deep.  Put  into  it  one  or  two  onces  of  salt- 
peter, fill  the  bole  with  water  and  plug  it  close.  In 
the  ensuing  spring  take  out  the  plug  and  ignite  it. 
The  stump  will  moulder  away  without  blazing,  to 
the  very  extremity  of  the  roots,  leaving  nothing  but 
the  ashes  " 


The  Telephone  on  the  Farm. 

A  French  farmer  uses  a  portable  telephone  to  carry 
on  the  work  of  his  farm  without  going  away  from 
his  house.  His  plan  is  simply  to  have  a  tripod  car- 
rying a  movable  roller,  on  which  is  wound  a  con- 
ducting cable  composed  of  two  insulated  wires. 
Below  this  on  a  movable  board  is  a  small  box,  in 
which  is  placed  a  telephone  and  bell.  The  system 
allows  the  current  to  pass  from  the  bell  to  the  tele- 
phone without  using  a  commutator.  Thus,  the  tele- 
phone being  at  rest,  the  bell  is  in  connection  with 
the  line,  and  when  the  telephone  is  in  use  the  bell  is 
cut  out  of  the  circuit.  Another  telephone  and  bell 
are  fixed  in  the  house  of  the  farmer,  with  a  com 
mutator. 

-^ 

Octagonal  Barns. 

If  a  barn  is  wanted  to  accomodate  a  certain  num- 
ber of  animals,  the  proper  space  is  better  and  more 
cheaply   obtained   in   the  octagonal   form,   for  this 


i882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


157 


gives  an  equal  space  in  every  direction,  and  requires 
the  least  outside  wall.  It  would  ri quire  a  lid-fool 
octagon  to  aceomodate  forty  liead  of  cattle  and  give 
six  box  stalls  (9x10  feet,)  with  plenty  of  room  for 
calves  besides.  This  form  of  barn  niif,'lii;  also  be 
enlarged  by  buiidiuir  a  wins  on  when  wanted.  Kour 
wings  would  look  well  on  such  a  barn,  and  might 
be  built  wide  enough  for  two  rows  of  cattle.  On  a 
larger  octagonal  centre  eight  wings  might  be  built, 
increasing  the  room  to  almost  any  extent.  On  the 
size  above  given,  two  wings,  (,n  the  direction  to  ex- 
tend the  feeding  floor,  and  the  rows  of  cattle  in  the 
octagon,  might  be  built  without  injuring  the  appear- 
ance of  the  barn — the  octagonal  centre  relieving  the 
long  line  by  the  appearance  of  the  elevated  dome. 
And  when  wanted,  two  more  wings  could  be  added, 
still  im|)roving  its  appearance.  This  form  of  barn  is 
certainly  the  most  convenient,  and  is  least  expensive 
according  to  space  inclosed.  The  octi.gon  gives  a 
wider  space,  which  can  be  laid  out  more  convenient- 
y  than  in  a  long  narrow  barn,  and  all  parts  being 
equidistant  from  a  centre,  such  a  barn  requires  less 
travel  in  doing  the  daily  work. 


danger  of  the  fruit  not  keeping  through  the  winter 
and  late  into  the  spriug.  Indeed,  we  have  known  it 
to  keep  until  June. 


HORT2CL    .rURE. 


York  Imperi.ll  Apple. 

If  ever  a  fruit  did  better  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania 
than  the  Yorl;  Imperial  apple  In  the  few  years  it  has 
been  tested,  then  it  must  be  as  near  perfect  as  we 
can  expect.  It  is  as  regular  in  bearing  as  the  return 
of  the  seasons  ;  as  large  as  the  favorite  old  Pennock, 
and  as  handsome  in  color  as  was  the  variety  in  "  the 
good  old  limes  "  of  our  fathers  ;  has  no  Imperfections 
to  speak  of  mar  its  glossy  red  surface  ;  and  in  quality 
just  that  uice  commingling  of  acid  and  sugar  sure 
to  please  the  majority  of  judges  of  good  fruit.  It  is 
not  so  rich  as  the  Smokehouse,  and  yet  it  is  by  no 
means  deficient  in  flavor  ;  nor  so  spicy  as  the  'New- 
towTi  Pipin,  although  it  possesses  a  fragrance  peculi- 
arly ils  own.  In  the  orchard  the  outline  of  the  tree 
is  not  to  be  commended,  and  yet  it  is  a  remarkably 
healthy  and  vigorous  grower,  with  rich  dark  green 
foliate.  It  will  nut  produce  so  many  apples  as 
Smith's  cider,  but  there  will  be  more  bushels  per 
tree ;  and  as  regards  value,  the  York  Imperial  is  im- 
measurably its  superior,  and  always  commands  much 
better  prices. 


Keeping  Apples. 

As  the  time  is  at  hand  when  the  work  of  picking 
and  putting  up  the  apple  crop  for  the  winter  and 
spring  will  have  to  be  attended  to,  it  is  well  that  the 
methods  of  preserving  this  valuable  fruit  should  be 
considered.  We  have  hitherto  on  frequent  occasions 
discussed  them,  and  pointed  out  what  we  conceived 
to  be  the  best  method  to  pursue.  In  brief,  we  would, 
therefore,  repeat  in  substance,  as  follows  :  1st.  The 
apples  must  be  good  keepers,  free  from  bruises  or 
blemish.  L'd.  They  must  be  spread  out  on  shelves 
or  packed  in  barrels,  and  kept  in  au  atmosphere  of 
from  forty  to  fifty  degrees,  better  from  forty  to  forty- 
five,  and  at  a  temperature  as  equable  as  possible. 
Some  cellars  are  just  the  thing  and  preserve  them 
beautifully.  Others  are  loo  moist.  Where  this  is 
the  case  a  few  bushels  of  stone  lime  should  be  used. 
Sliding  shelves,  six  inches  apart,  latticed  bottom 
with  a  single  layer  of  fruit,  are  extremely  conveni- 
ent, as  they  allow  of  constant  examination  without 
disturbing  the  fruit.  A  friend  informed  us  some 
years  ago  that  with  a  large  stand  of  these  shelves  in 
his  cellar,  with  a  few  inches  of  lime  on  the  bottom 
of  the  cellar,  he  kept  his  apples  into  May  in  perfect 
condition  and  good  flavor. 

A  vault  in  the  cellar,  kept  closed,  but  with  some 
ventilation,  frequently  answers  admirably,  as  we 
know  from  personal  experience.  If  carefully  packed 
in  clean,  naked  barrels,  the  head  forced  down  in 
order  that  the  fruit  may  be  quite  solid,  and  the  bar- 
rels placed  under  an  open  shed  until  late  in  Novem- 
ber, but  before  hard  freezing  comes  on,  ami  then  be 
removed  to  a  dry  cellar,  where  the  temperature  will 
ange  about  what  is  slated  above,  there  will  be  lilll 


Apple  Notes. 

Apple  exhibitors  at  the  Southern  Illinois  fair  report 
the  Nickajaek  as  worthless  for  this  latitude  and  the 
Lawyer  as  a  very  shy  bearer.  There  were  some  mon- 
strous specimens  of  the  Buckingham  show,  and  all 
growers  united  in  declaring  this  variety  to  be  one  of 
the  very  best  for  Southern  Illinois,  as  a  late  summer 
and  fall  apple.  Wincsaps  are  reported  as  falling  ofl', 
and  some  growers  have  already  begun  to  harvest 
them.  The  St.  Lawrence  was  reported  as  one  of  the 
very  best  table  and  market  summer  apples.  It  is  a 
great  bearer  of  beautifnl  red  6lri|)ed,  good  flavored 
fruit.  Growers  united  In  commending  the  Benonl  as 
the  voiy  l)est  and  flrst  good  apple  in  the  market.  It 
is  of  Hue  color  and  flavor,  an  enormous  bearer,  early 
in  coming  into  bearing,  and  brings  more  money  than 
any  other  early  apple.  It  is  said  to  be  a  far  better 
variety  every  way  than  the  Ked  .lune.  The  Ked 
June  is  apt.  to  run  small  and  badly  shaped,  whereas 
the  Benonl  is  uniformly  |)erfeet  in  lorm  and  increases 
in  size  as  the  crop  is  thinned.  Its  one  fault  is  that 
of  occasionally  being  water  cored. 

Root  Pruning. 

The  experiments  were  made  on  the  apple  and 
pear.  A  vigorous  apple  tree,  eight  or  ten  yearj  old, 
which  had  scarcely  made  any  fruit  buds,  h.is  done 
best  when  about  half  the  roots  were  cut  in  one  sea- 
son and  half  three  years  later,  by  going  half  way 
round  on  opposite  sides  in  one  year  and  fluishing  at 
the  next  pruning,  working  two  feet  underneath  to 
sever  downward  roots.  It  has  always  answered  well 
also  to  cut  from  such  trees  all  the  larger  and  longer 
roots  about  two  and  a  half  feet  from  the  stem,  leav- 
ing the  small  and  weaker  ones  longer,  and  going 
half  way  round,  as  already  stated.  The  operation 
was  repeated  three  or  four  years  later  by  extending 
the  cut  circle  a  foot  or  two  further  away  from  the 
tree.  By  this  operation  unproductive  fruit  trees  be 
come  thickly  studded  with  fruit  spurs,  and  after- 
ward bore  profusely.  This  shortening  of  the  roots 
has  been  continued  in  these  experiments  for  twenty 
years  witli  Jmuch  success,  the  circle  of  roots  re- 
maining greatly  circumscribed.  The  best  time  for 
the  work  has  been  found  to  be  in  the  latter  part  of 
August  and  beginning  of  September,  when  growth 
has  nearly  ceased,  and  while  the  leaves  are  yet  on 
the  trees,  causing  Jgreater  increase  of  bloom  buds 
the  following  year  than  when  performed  after  the 
leaves  had  fallen.— io/irfo«  Garden. 


The  Cherry  and  Apple. 

S.  F.  Larkan,  of  Delaware  county,  contributes  the 
following  to  the  Oermantowa  Telegraph  ; 

Various  letters  of  inquiry  as  to  the  profitableness 
of  the  cherry  as  a  market  fruit,  having  reached  me 
at  various  times,  and  not  having  been  as  fully  an- 
swered as  their  importance  demands,  I  appeal  to  the 
reliable  old  Telegraph  for  a  more  complete  answer  to 
all.  We  are  cultivating  the  cherry,  the  apple,  the 
pear,  the  grape,  and  several  berries  for  market — hav- 
ing abandoned  the  plum  long  since,  and  lately  the 
peach,  as  being  impractical.  About  throe  acres  in 
all  may  be  occupied  by  the  cherry,  and  fully  seven 
by  the  apple.  I  will  first  compare  these.  Taking  an 
average  of  seasons  we  can  receive  annually  six  hun- 
dred dollars  for  cherries  to  three  hundred  for  apples. 
We  can  raise  twice  as  much  other  produce  from  a 
cherry  orchard  as  we  can  from  an  apple  orchard. 
The  cherry  harvest  lasts  about  a  month  ;  the  apple 
six. 

Tou,  Mr.  Editor,  can  speak  from  experience  that 
we  can  make  a  cider  from  the  apple  that  is  equal  to 
three-fourths  of  the  famous  champagne  sold,  and  it 
is  really  superior  for  invalids.  We  have  never  at 
tempted  to  make  wine  from  the  cherry,  profitable  as 
It  might  be.  Then,  again,  the  apple  is  not  subject 
to  the  losses  occasioned  by  the  gambling  middle- 
men, the  cherry  market  is.  Yet,  with  all,  the  cherry 
beats  the  apple  in  profit  two  to  one.    1  think  this  ex- 


perience ought  to  satisfy  any  one  that  there  is  no 
risk  in  plantini;  the  cherry  as  a  profitable  market 
fiuit.  Our  canned  cherries  take  premiums,  and  the 
dried  fruit  is  unsurpassed  by  any  other  dried  fruit  in 
the  markets.  The  cherry  tree  requires  less  care  to 
(iropagate  than  the  apple,  though  neither  should 
ever  be  set  in  what  is  known  as  an  *'  orchard,"  which 
is  too  much  of  a  good  thing  together. 


Pine-Apples. 
Pine  ap|ile  culture  will  in  a  short  time  become  one 
of  the  best  paying  businesses  in  South  Florida.  The 
success  that  has  attended  it  the  past  two  years  has 
encouraged  a  number  of  people  to  turn  their  atten- 
tion to  this  fruit.  The  Indlan-rlvcr  country  as  low 
down  as  Lake  Worth  is  admirably  adapted  to  it  and 
large  sums  of  money  are  being  made.  Around  this 
settlement  almost  every  one  has  his  patch,  and  pine- 
apples have  been  selling  In  town  all  the  summer. 
Dr.  Voorhis,  Messrs.  0.  P.  Terry,  W.  B.  Wood,  F. 
Norris,  H.  B.  Austin,  and  others  have  done  well. 
The  apples  grown  here  range  In  size  from  (>  to  .S 
pounds,  and  are  well-fiavorcd;  the  Ked  Spanish  and 
Sugar  Loaf  have  been  those  hitherto  cultivated, 
but  finer  varieties  are  now  receiving  attention,  those 
sold  here  have  brought  10  to  3.5  cents  each. — Florida 
AgrlculturUt. 

Household  Recipes. 


Chow  Chow. — Two  quarts  of  tomatoes,  two 
white  onions,  half  dozen  green  peppers,  one  dozen 
cucumbers,  two  heads  of  cabbage,  all  chopped  flue  ; 
let  this  stand  over  night;  sprinkle  a  teacup  of  salt 
in  it.  In  the  morning  drain  otf  the  brine  and  season 
wi'h  one  tablespoonful  of  celery  seed,  one  ounce  of 
turmeric,  half  teasiwonful  of  cayenne  pepper,  one 
cup  of  brown  sugai",  one  ounce  (jf  cinnamon,  one 
ounce  of  allspice,  one  ounce  of  black  pepper,  one 
quarter  ounce  cloves,  vinegar  enough  to  cover,  and 
boil  two  hours. 

Stuffed  Tomatoes. — Take  six  large,  well-shaped 
toiiiatoes;  cut  a  slice  otf  the  stem  end  and  take  out 
all  the  pulp  and  juice,  being  careful  not  to  break  the 
tomatoes;  then  sprinkle  them  inside  with  a  little 
salt  and  pepper  ;  have  a  pound  of  cold  cooked  veal, 
beef  or  chicken,  a  slice  of  boiled  hum  or  fried  bacon, 
chop  very  fine,  and  add  the  pulp  and  juice  of  the  to- 
matoes ;  chop  fine  and  fry  to  a  lisjlit  brown,  half  an 
onion,  and  mix  with  the  meat  a  leacupful  of  fine 
bread  crumbs,  two  eggs,  a  tcaspoouful  of  salt,  a  salt- 
siioonful  of  white  pepper,  and  a  pinch  of  cayenne ; 
fill  the  tomatoes  with  the  force-meat,  piling  it  quite 
high,  and  bake  for  an  hour. 

Pancakes. — Beat  up  three  eg;;s  and  a  quart  of 
milk ;  make  it  up  into  a  batter  with  flour,  a  little 
salt,  a  spoonful  of  ground  ginger,  and  a  little  grated 
lemon  peel ;  let  it  be  of  a  fine  thickness  and  perfect- 
ly smooth.  Clean  your  frying  pan  thoroughly,  and 
put  into  it  a  good  lump  of  dripping  or  butter;  when 
it  is  hot  pour  in  a  cuptui  of  batter,  and  let  it/  run  all 
over  of  an  equal  thickness,  shake  the  pan  frequently 
that  the  batter  may  not  stick,  and  when  you  think  it 
is  done-on  one  side  toss  it  over;  if  you  cannot,  turn 
it  with  a  slice,  and  when  both  are  of  a  nice  light 
brown,  lay  it  on  a  dish  before  the  fire  ;  strew  sugar 
over  it,  and  so  do  the  rest.  They  should  be  eaten 
directly,  or  they  will  become  heavy. 

KissoLE  SotJP. — Take  the  fat  from  the  top  of  your 
cold  slock.  Pick  out  some  of  the  best  pieces  of 
meat — about  a  cupful — and  set  aside.  Add  a  pint 
of  boiling  water  to  the  stock,  and  boil  slowly,  with 
the  bones  and  the  rest  of  the  meat,  for  nearly  an 
hour.  Chop  the  meat  reserved  from  the  stock ; 
make  into  force-meat  with  fine  crumbs,  seasoning 
with  onion,  parsley,  pepper,  nutmeg,  and  binding 
with  beaten  egg.  Flour  your  hands  and  make  this 
into  round  balls.  Koll  them  iu  Hour;  set  in  a  floured 
pie-dish,  not  touching  each  other,  and  leave  in  a 
quick  oven  until  crusted  over.  Let  them  cool. 
Strain  your  soup  ;  add  such  seasoning  as  you  desire  ; 
heal  to  a  boil ;  drop  in  the  force  meat  rissoles,  and 
heal  without  boiling  three  minutes. 

Lamu  Cuops. — Trim  otf  fat  and  skin  it,  leaving  a 
bare  bit  of  bone  at  the  end  of  each.  Broil  quickly 
over  a  clear  fire  ;  butter,  salt,  and  pepper  each,  and 
stand  ihem  on  the  larger  ends,  just  touching  each 
other,  around  your  mound  of  potato. 

Potato  Mound. — Mash  smooth,  with  batter, 
milk,  salt,  and  pepper ;  make  into  a  smooth  mound 
upon  a  hot  dish,  and  arrange  the  chops  around  It. 

Ladies'  CAimACE. — Boil  a  firm  cabbage  in  two 
waters.  When  done,  (|uarter  it  and  let  it  get  per- 
fectly cold.  Chop  fine  ;  add  two  beaten  eggs,  a 
tablespoonful  of  butter,  pepper,  salt,  and  three 
tablespooufulls  of  milk.  Stir  all  well ;  pour  Into  a 
buttered  pudding-dish,  and  bake,  covered,  until  very 


158 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[October, 


liot ;  then  brown.  If  your  dish  has  been  well-but- 
tered, turn  the  cabbage  upon  a  hot  dish,  and  pour 
over  it  a  cupful  of  drawn  butter. 

Damson  Tart.— Fill  a  pie-dish,  lined  with  good 
paste,  with  ripe,  sound  damsons;  sweeten  very  plenti- 
fully •  cover  with  crust  and  bake,  brush  with 
beaten  egg  when  done,  and  return  to  the  oven  one 
moment,  to  glaze. 

PoTAT(J  PoRHiDOE.— Twelve  potatoes,  peeled  and 
Bliced  •  1  latge  onion,  also  pared  and  sliced  ;  2  quarts 
of  boiling  water  ;  1  cup  of  hot  milk  ;  3  beaten  eggs ;  -i 
tablespoonfuls  of  buUer  rolled  in  Hour  :  salt,  pepper, 
and  1  teaspoonful  celery  essence  ;  chopped  parsley. 

Fry  potatoes  and  onions  light  brown  in  a  little 
butter  Put  into  a  soup  pot  with  the  boiling  water, 
and  cook  gently  until  soft.  Kub  through  a  colander 
to  a  smooth  puree.  Add  the  water  in  which  they 
were  boiled,  and  return  to  the  fire.  When  the  jmree 
begins  to  bubble,  stir  in  the  buttered  flour,  pepper, 
salt,  and  chopped  parsley,  and  simmer  five  minutes. 
Heat  the  milk  in  anothei  vessel ;  pour  upon  the 
eggs ;  cook  one  minnte,  and  pour  into  the  tureen. 
Add  the  puree ;  stir  in  the  celery  essence,  and  it  is 
ready. 

Roasted  Sweetbreads.  —  Three  fine  sweet- 
breads ;  1  cup  of  gravy— a  cup  of  your  soup  will  do  ; 
1  beaten  eg";  cracker-dust:  1  teaspoonful  mush- 
room catsup;  1  small  glass  wine;  a  very  little 
minced  onion  put  into  the  gravy;  2  tablespoonfuls 
melted  butter;  Iried  bread. 

Boil  and  Blanch  tue  Sweetbreads.— Wipe  per- 
fectly dry,  roll  in  egg,  then  in  the  pounded  cracker. 
Lay  in  a  baking-pan  ;  pour  in  the  melted  butter  slowly 
over  them,  that  it  may  soak  into  the  crumbs.  Set 
In  the  oven,  cover  and  hake  45  minutes,  basting 
freely,  from  the  time  they  begin  to  brown,  with;the 
gravy.  Dish  upon  crustless  slices  of  fried  bread 
Strain  the  gravy ;  add  catsup  and  wine  ;  boil  up,  and 
pour  over  the  sweetbreads. 

Potato  Croquettes.- Mash  the  potatoes,  and 
beat  In  a  raw  egg,  butter,  milk,  nutmeg,  a  little 
grated  lemon-peel,  with  pepper  and  salt.  Heat  in  a 
Baucepan,  stirring  constantly,  for  three  minutes. 
The  saucepan  should  be  buttered  first.  When  cool 
enough  to  handle  with  comfort,  make  into  cro- 
quettes, roll  in  flour,  or  dip  in  egg  and  cracker- 
crumbs,  and  fry— not  putting  too  many  into  the  pan 
at  once- in  boiling  lard,  or  dripping.  Drain  in  a  hot 
colander,  and  serve. 

Rice  Podding  Cold.— Two  quarts  of  milk,  one 
gill  of  rice,  one  teacup  brown  sugar,  one  stick  of 
cinnamon  about  three  inches  long  ;  wash  the  nee  m 
a  colander  to  remove  the  floury  particles,  which  are 
so  much  loose  starch  and  spoil  the  pudding  ;  put  it 
in  the  baking  dish ,  scattering  in  a  quarter  of  a  pound 
of  rasins  ;  cook  very  slowly  for  two  hours.  Keep  a 
cover  over  the  dish  until  the  last  half  hour,  when  the 
upper  skin  may  be  allowed  to  brown  ;  do  not  stir  it, 
as  this  breaks  up  the  rice  ;  it  ought  to  look  like  rich 
yellow  cream  when  done.  A  large  piece  of  thick 
paper  or  a  large  plate  can  be  used  to  cover  up  the 
pudding  dish. 

Breakfast  Cakes.— To  make  warm  weather 
breakfast  cakes  take  one  cup  of  brown  sugar,  nearly 
one  cup  of  butter,  or  lard  and  butter  mixed,  one  cup 
of  sour  milk,  four  cups  of  flour,  four  teaspoonfuls  of 
soda  (not  heaping,  but  even  full),  one  teaspoonful 
each  of  cinnamon,  salt  and  ginger,  one  egg ;  bake 
In  gem  tins.    These  will  keep  well  for  a  week. 

Cream  Nectar.— Two  pounds  of  lump  or  granu- 
lated sugar,  two  ounces  of  tartaric  acid,  juice  of  one 
lemon,  half  a  cup  of  flour  mixed  smooth  in  a  little 
water  and  three  pints  of  water.  Boil  five  minutes. 
When  cold  stir  in  the  whites  of  three  eggs  beaten  to 
a  still'  froth  and  a  half  onee  of  wintergreen  or  any 
other  flavoring  one  may  fancy.  Bottle  and  keep  in 
a  cool  place.  When  wanted  put  a  fourth  teaspoon- 
ful of  soda  into  a  glass  of  ice  water,  and  then  add 
two  tablespoonful  of  this  syrup. 

Potatoes  AO  Maitke  d'Hotel. — Slicecold  boiled 
potatoes  rather  thick.  Have  ready  in  a  saucepan 
four  or  five  tablespoonfuls  of  milk,  a  good  lump  of 
bntter,  with  salt,  pepper  and  minced  parsley.  Heat 
quickly  ;  put  in  the  potatoes  ;  and  stir  until  almost 
boiling.  Stir  In  a  little  flour,  wet  with  cold  milk  ; 
cook  a  moment  to  thicken  it ;  add  the  juice  of  half 
a  lemon,  and  pour  out  into  a  deep  dish. 

Stewed  Tomatoes  and  Onion. — Peel,  slice  and 
stew  a  dozen  tomatoes  ten  minutes.  Then  add  a 
small  parboiled  onion,  cut  up  small ;  stir  In  sugar, 
salt  and  pepper,  with  a  good  spoonful  of  butter  rolled 
in  flour.    Simmer  five  minutes  and  pour  out. 

Stewed  Pears  with  Rice. — Pare  and  halve  eight 
large  pears.  Put  into  a  saucepan  with  eight  table- 
spoonfuls of  sugar  and  a  cup  of  claret — or  if  you  pre- 
fer, clear  water".  Stew  slowly  until  tender  and  clear. 
Take  out  the  pears  and  boil  down  the  syrup  to  one- 
half,  flavoring,  then,  with  essence  of  bitter  almond. 
Have  ready  two  cupfulls  of  boiled  rice,  cooked  in 
milk  and  sweetened.  Spread  out  upon  a  flat  dish; 
lay  the  pears  upon  it,  and  pour  on  the  syrup  eat  very 
cold. 


Ox-Cheek  Soup.— Two  ox  cheeks,  three  onions, 
two  carrots,  two  turnips,  twelve  whole  black  pep- 
pers, six  cloves,  salt,  five  quarts  of  water,  one  half 
cup  of  German  sago.  Break  the  bones  of  the  cheeks, 
and  wash  well  with  salt  and  water.  Cover  with 
cold  water :  bring  to  a  boil,  and  throw  ofl'  the  water. 
Fry  the  sliced  onions,  and  put  into  the  pot  with  the 
meat,  also  the  sliced  carrots,  onions,  and  spice. 
Cover  with  a  gallon  and  a  quarter  of  water.  Bring 
to  a  slow  boil,  and  keep  this  up,  skimming  often,  for 
(bur  hours.  Strain  ofi'  the  liquor;  pick  out  the 
meat  and  bones,  salt  highly,  put  into  your  stock- 
pot  with  nearly  half  the  broth.  Set  in  a  cold  place 
for  to-morrow.  Pulp  the  vegetables  into  that  meant 
for  to-day;  let  it  cool;  take  olT  the  fat,  and  put 
back  over  the  fire.  Season  to  your  liking  ;  add  the 
sago,  which  should  have  been  soaking  tor  two  hours 
in  a  little  water,  and  simmer  until  it  is  clear. 

Stewed  Calfs'  Hearts.— Wash  two  fresh  call's 
hearts;  stuff  with  a  force-meat  of  crumbs,  chopped 
salt  pork,  a  little  thyme,  sage,  and  onion.  Tie  up 
snugly  in  clean  mosquito  netting  ;  put  into  broad 
saucepan;  half  cover  with  broth  from  your  soup 
from  yesterday  or  to-day.  Cover  and  stew  an  hour 
and  three-quarters  gently,  turning  several  times. 
Take  out  the  hearts,  and  keep  them  hot,  while  you 
thicken  the  gravy  with  a  tablespoonful  of  butter  cut 
up  in  flour.  Boil  up,  add  pepper,  salt,  a  little 
grated  lenionpcel,  and  the  juice  of  half  a  lemon, 
with  a  small  glass  of  wine.    Pour  over  the  hearts. 

Apple  Souffle  Puddino.— Seven  or  eight  juicy 
apples  ;  four  eggs ;  one  cup  flue  crumbo  ;  one  cup  of 
sugar  ;  two  tablespoonfuls  of  butter;  nutmeg  and  a 
litlde  grated  lemon-peel.  Pare,  core  and  slice  the 
apples,  and  cook  tender  in  a  covered  farina-kettle 
without  adding  water  to  them.  Beat  to  a  smooth 
pulp,  and  stir  in  butter,  sugar,  and  seasoning.  When 
cold  whip  in  the  yolks  of  the  eggs  ;  then  the  frothed 
whites,  alternately  with  the  crumbs.  Beat  to  a 
creamy  batter  ;  put  into  a  buttered  pudding  dish, 
and  bake,  covered,  fifty  minutes.  Then  brown 
quickly.  Eat  hot  with  custard  sauce,  or  cold,  with 
cream  and  sugar. 

Live  Stock. 


Raising  a  Colt. 
A  colt  is  regarded  as  an  incumbrauce,  because  he 
is  useless  until  he  arrives  at  a  suitable  age  for  work, 
but  it  really  costs  very  little,  compared  with  his 
value,  to  raise  a  colt.  When  the  period  arrives  at 
which  the  colt  can  do  service,  the  balance  sheet  will 
show  in  his  favor,  for  young  horses  always  command 
good  prices  if  they  are  sound  and  well  broken.  One 
of  the  diflicullies  in  the  way  is  the  incumbrance 
placed  on  the  dam,  which  interferes  with  her  use- 
fulness on  the  farm,  especially  if  th2  colt  is  foaled 
during  the  early  part  of  the  spring.  Some  farmers 
have  their  colts  foaled  in  the  fall,  but  this  is  open  to 
two  objections.  In  the  first  place,  spring  is  the 
natural  time,  for  then  the  grass  is  beginning  to  grow, 
and  nature  seems  to  have  provided  that  most  ani- 
mals should  bring  forth  their  young  in  a  season  be- 
yond the  reach  of  severe  cold,  and  with  sufficient 
time  to  grow  and  be  prepared  for  the  following 
winter. 

Again,  when  a  colt  is  foaled  in  the  fall  he  must 
pass'  through  a  period  of  several  months'  confine- 
ment in  the  stable,  without  exercise,  or  else  be  more 
or  less  chilled  with  cold  from  time  to  time.  Should 
this  happen,  the  efl"ect  of  any  bad  treatment  will  be 
afterward  manifested,  and  no  amount  of  attention 
can  again  elevate  the  colt  to  that  degree  of  hardi- 
ness and  soundness  of  body  that  naturally  belong  to 
a  spring  colt.  Besides  a  colt  foaled  in  the  spring  will 
o.itgrow  one  foaled  in  the  fall.  An  objection  to  spring 
colts  may  be  partially  overcome  by  plowing  in  the 
fall,  or  keeping  the  brood  mares  for  very  light  work, 
with  the  colts  at  liberty  to  accompany  them  always. 
A  colt  needs  but  very  little  feeding  if  the  pasture  is 
good,  and  there  is  water  running  through  it.  He 
needs  then  only  a  small  feed  of  oats  at  night — no 
corn— and  if  he  is  given  hay  it  is  not  necessary  to 
give  him  a  full  ration.  What  he  will  consume  from 
the  barn  will  not  be  one-third  his  value  when  he  is 
three  years  old,  and  if  he  is  well  bred  the  gain  is 
greater. 

When  a  farmer  raises  his  horses  he  knows  their 
disposition,  constitution,  and  capacity.  It  is  the 
f  roper  way  to  get  good,  sound,  serviceable  horses  on 
the  farm.  It  should  not  be  overlooked  that  a  colt 
must  be  tenderly  treated  from  birth,  and  must  be 
fondled  and  handled  as  much  as  possible.  He 
should  never  hear  a  harsh  word,  but  should  be 
taught  to  have  confidence  in  everybody  he  sees  or 
knows.  This  is  an  easy  matter  if  his  training  begins 
from  the  time  he  is  a  day  old.  He  can  be  thus 
gradually  broken  without  difhculty,  and  will  never 
be  troublesome.  No  such  thing  as  a  whip  should 
he  allowed  in  a  stable  that  contains  a  colt.  Colts 
should  not  be  worked  until  three  years  old,  and  then 
lightly  at  first,  as  they  do  not  fully  mature  until 
they  are  six  years  old,  and  with  some  breeds  of 
horses  even  later.  Mares  with  foals  at  their  side 
should  be  feed  ou  the  richest  and  most  nourishing 
food. — Dixon,  III.,  Western  Farmer. 


Hints  on  Raising  Stock. 

Every  farmer  who  raises  his  own  cows  knows  full 
well  that  their  future  value  depends  largely  upon 
their  first  year's  growth  when  calves.  If  the  calf  is 
stunted,  half-starved  and  ill-used  there  is  not  one 
chance  in  ten  of  its  ever  becoming  a  good  cow  on 
reaching  the  jiroper  age.  The  calf  must  be  supplied 
with  an  abundance  of  the  proper  food  for  securing 
the  best  conditions  of  growth.  In  fact,  the  same 
attention  is  necessary  with  yearlings  and  two-year 
olds. 

Among  the  most  desirable  foods  are  good  hay,  lin- 
Bccd  meal  and  cotton-seed  meal.  Shorts  are  also  ex- 
cellent for  growing  animals.  The  highest  farm 
economy  demands  tlie  rapid  and  early  fattening  of 
all  steers,  as  well  also  as  such  heifers  as  are  not 
wanted  for  breeding  puriioses.  When  an  animal  is 
grown  it  has  taken  up  all  the  phosphate  and  nitrogen 
it  is  likely  to  require,  which  elements  are  the  most 
expensive  to  supply.  On  the  other  hand,  the  fatten- 
ing animal  abstracts  from  its  food  nothing  except  fat , 
starch  and  sugar,  the  nitrogen,  phosphate  and  pot- 
ash contained  therein  being  returned  to  the  soil 
through  the  manure  heap. 

While  the  farm  of  the  breeder  is  likely  to  grow 
poorer  without  the  extensive  use  of  commercial  fer- 
tilizers or  purchased  farmyard  manure,  yet  the  lauds 
of  the  feeder  are  always  gaining  and  growing  richer. 
The  farmer  who  sells  lean  stock  is  robbing  his  farm 
of  its  vital  and  most  valuable  elements,  while  he 
who  purchases  lean  stock  for  fattening  on  his  own 
lands  will  prove  a  successful  cultivator.  Progressive 
farmers  should  always  strive  to  produce  ouly  good 
stock,  thus  insuring  remunerative  rewards  as  well 
as  maintaining  the  value  and  fertility  of  their  farms. 
— American  Vultivator. 


Swine  Raising— A  Different  System  Desirable. 
Pure  air  helps  to  make  pure  blood,  which,  in  the 
the  course  of  nature,  builds  up  healthful  bodies. 
Out-of-door  pigs  would  not  show  as  well  at  the 
fairs,  and  would  probably  be  passed  over  by  judges 
and  people  who  have  been  taught  to  admire  only  the 
fat  and  helpless  things  which  get  the  prizes.  Such 
pigs  are  well  adapted  to  fill  lard  kegs,  whereas  the 
standard  of  perfection  should  be  a  pig  which  will 
make  the  most  ham  with  the  least  waste  of  fat,  the 
longest  and  deepest  sides,  with  the  most  lean 
meat;  it  should  have  bone  enough  to  allow  it 
to  stand  up  and  help  itself  to  food,  and  carry 
with  it  the  evidence  of  health  and  natural  de- 
velopment in  all  its  parts.  Pigs  which  run  in  a  range 
or  pasture  have  good  appetites — the  fresh  air  and  ex- 
ercise give  them  this— hence  they  will  eat  a  great 
variety  of  food  and  much  coarser  than  when  con- 
fined in  pens.  Nalhing  need  go  to  waste  on  the  farm 
for  lack  of  a  market.  They  will  consume  all  the  re- 
fuse fruit,  roots,  pumpkins,  and  all  kinds  of  vegeta- 
bles, which  will  make  them  grow.  By  extending  the 
root  patch,  and  planting  the  fodder  corn  thinner,  so 
that  nubbins  will  form  on  it,  and  by  putting  in  a 
sweet  variety,  the  number  of  pigs  may  be  increased  in 
prooportion.  A  few  bushels  of  corn  at  the  end  of 
the  season  will  finish  off  the  pig.  Tlie  pig  pasture 
will  be  ready  the  next  year  for  any  crop,  and  ten 
times  the  advantage  accrue  to  the  farm  than  if  the 
pigs  are  confined  in  close  pens,  for,  as  pigs  are  usu- 
aUy  managed  on  the  farm  only  little  manure  is  ever 
made  from  them. 


More  Frequently  Milking, 
Mr.  L.  T.  llawley,  of  the  Onondaga  Farmers' 
Club,  lately  reported  "an  experiment  in  more  frequent 
milking,  which  we  quote  from  the  Syracuse  ■loiirn.ul: 
"The  cow  with  which  he  experimented  dropped 
the  calf  when  twenty  two  months  old,  in  February, 
1881,  and  gave  thirty-two  pounds  of  milk  per  day 
with  two  milkings,  ten  days  alter  the  calf  was  born. 
A  change  to  three  milkings  a  day  was  made,  with  an 
increase  in  ten  days  to  forty-two  pounds.  The  milk 
was  set  by  itself  for  fourteen  days,  and  from  the 
cream  twenty  one  pounds  of  well  worked  butter  was 
obtained.  The  feed  was  corn  stalks  from  which  the 
ears  had  been  taken  and  green  cut  hay,  timothy  and 
clover  well  cured  in  the  cock,  cut  and  mixed  to- 
gether and  fed  three  times  a  day,  together  with  one 
pound  of  linseed  meal  and  four  pounds  of  Indian 
meal.  Water  tempered  to  Go  degrees  was  given  three 
times  a  day.  He  added  that  Professor  Arnold  has 
stated  that  increasing  the  milkings  from  two  to  three 
times  !ier  day  will  increase  the  percentage  of  cream 
from  l^ij'  to  ISij'." 

^ ^ — 

Jersey  Cows  and  their  Records. 
In  view  of  the  heavy  prices  paid  at  various  public 
sales  of  Jersey  cattle,' the  Live  Stock  Journal  com- 
ments as  follows  :  If  anybody  had  predicted  ten 
years  ago  that-  the  mild  eyed  little  Jerseys  would 
h.ave  their  §i,()00  boom  on  their  butter  records,  he 
would  have  been  considered  on  the  borders  of  lunacy. 
The  breeders  of  fancy  Short-horns  have  seldom  con- 
sidered the  butter  or  milk  record  as  worthy  of  note. 
They  ignored  the  niosi  valuable  characteristic  of  any 
breed  of  cattle  for  use  in  a  highly  civilized  country 
— their   milk   and   butter  production.     These   yield 


1S82,] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


159 


more  annual  iirolit  tlian  beef  pioiluction;  and  every 
breed  that  maintains  a  permanent  roollinlil  in  the 
United  States  must  meiit  tbis  lest  or  etnnnd  aside. 
Happily,  the  Short-born  with  its  mas;nilieent  beef 
form,  can  also  point  promily  to  its  aebievemcnts 
in  the  dairy.  Its  temi«irary  ecli|isp  in  this  line, 
throuL'h  some  of  its  noblest  slraines  has  resulted 
from  the  fault  of  the  breeder,  and  not  from  the  ea- 
p;icity  of  the  breed.  Hut  the  little  Jersey  is  bavluir 
ber  boom  upon  her  honest  merit  in  produein:;-  very 
large  yields  of  ijolden-colored  and  nutty-llavored 
butter.  I'erhaps  her  admirers  are  soniewbat  extrav- 
agant in  their  valuation  of  these  reeords.  They  may 
not  always  sean  them  as  closely  as  they  should.  As 
these  extreme  priees  must  be  based  u|)OU  a  confi- 
dence in  the  truth  of  these  reeords,  the  reeords 
themselves  should  be  well  attested.  Tests  for  a  year 
must  also  be  a  safer  reliance  tlian  for  a  shorter  time. 
The  tests  of  milk  and  b\itter  yield  for  a  few  days 
are  open  to  so  many  errors,  that  they  cannot  form  a 
basis  for  ealeulatii'i;;  tlie  annual  yield.  The  varia- 
bility in  the  yield  of  some  cows  in  dillerenl  parts  of 
the  season  of  lactation  is  very  great,  while  other 
cows  are  very  uniform  through  three-fourths  of  the 
season,  only' decreasing  gradually  during  the  last 
two  or  three  months.  The  cireumstanees,  then— all 
being  favorable— may  produce  a  very  large  yield  lor 
a  lew  days,  when  the  annual  yield  would  be  oidy  re- 
spectable. If  the  short  test  is  given,  several  im 
portant  points  should  also  be  given  to  assist  in  form- 
ing a  correct  estimate— such  as  the  length  of  time 
from  calving,  the  season  of  the  year,  tlie  food  be- 
fore and  at  the  time  of  trial — all  these  are  necessary 
elements  for  determinating  the  value  of  a  test. 


consequently  tliat  loss  has  been  endured  on  account 
of  it.  Bnt  when  such  a  course  of  feeding  has  ex- 
isted, and  a  change  is  to  be  made  to  a  betterone,  loss 
from  over-eatinir  may  be  prevented  by  adniitlins;  the 
herd  gradually  to  the  new  fceil  ami  supplyintr  them 
with  all  the  salt  and  water  they  desire.  The  in- 
crease in  the  new  ration  should  never  be  so  great  as 
to  change  the  flavor  of  the  milU. 


Facts  About  Horses. 


The  horse's  stomacli  has  a  capacityof  only  sixteen 
quarts,  while  that  of  an  ox  has  2.50.     In  the  intes- 
tines this  proportion  is  reversed,  the  horse  having  a 
ciHJacity  of  WO  quarts  auainst  100  of  the  ox.     The 
ox  and  most  other  animals  have   a  gall  bladder  for 
the  retention  of  a  part  of  the   bile  secreted  during 
digestion.    The  horse  has  none,  and   the  bile  flows 
directly  into  the  intestines  as  fast  as  secreted.     This 
construction   of   the   digestive    apparatus   indicates 
that  the  horse  was  formed  to  eat  slowly  and  digest 
continually  bulky  and  innutritions  food.     When  fed 
on  hay  it  passes  rapidly  through  the  stomach   into 
the  intestine.    The  horse  can  eat  but  five  pounds  of 
bay  in  an  hour,  which  is  charged  during  nuistica- 
tion  with  four  times  its  weight  of  saliva.     Now  the 
stomach,  to  digest  it  well,  will  contain  but  aliout  ten 
quarts,  and  when  the  animal  eats  one-third  of  bis 
daily  ration,  or  seven  pounds,  in  one  and  one  half 
hours,  he  has  swallowed  at  least  two  stoniaebfuls  of 
liay  and  saliva,  one  of  these  having  passed  to  the 
intestines.     Observation  has  shown  that  the  food  is 
passed  to  the  intestine  by  the  stomach  in  the  order 
in  which  it  is  received.     If  we  feed   a  horse  with  six 
quarts  of  oats  it  will  just  fill  his  stomach  ;  and,  if  as 
soon  as  he  finishes  this,  we  feed   him  with  the  above 
ration  of  seven  pounds  of  hay,  be  will  eat  sufficient 
in  three  quarters  of  an  hour  to  have  forced  the  oats 
entirely  out  of  his  stomach  into  the  intestine.     As  it 
is  the  office  of  the  stomacli  to  digest  the  nitrogeueous 
parts  of  the  feed,  and  as  a  stomachful  of  oats  con- 
tains four  or   five  times   as  mucli  of  these  as  the 
same   amount  of  hay,  it  is  certain  that  either  the 
stomach  must  secrete  the  gastric  juice  five  limes  as 
fast,  which  is  hardly  possible,  or  it  must  retain  this 
food   five  times  as  long.     By  feeding  with  the  oats 
first,  it  can  only  be  retained   long  enough  for  the 
proper   digestion  of  hay  ;    conseciuently,   it    seems 
logical,  when  feeding,  a  concentrated  food  like  oats 
with  a  bulky  one  like   hay,  to  feed  the  latter  first, 
giving  the  grain  the  whole  time  between  the  repasts 
to  be  digested.    The  digestion  of  a  liorse  is  governed 
by  the  same  laws  as  that  of  a  man  ;  and  as  we  know 
that  it  is  not  best  for  a  man  to  go  at  hard  work  the 
moment  a   hearty  meal  is  eaten,  so  we  should  re- 
member that  a  horse  ought  to  have  a  rest  after  his 
meal,  while  the  stomach  is  inost  active  in  the  pro- 
cesses of  digestion. — Anicriaiii  C'uUivator. 


Overloading  Cows*  Stomschs. 
When  cows  are  changed  from  scanty  to  flush  feed 
it  often  happens  that  the  beuetit  of  the  more  liberal 
supply  is  neutralized  for  some  time  by  allowing  them 
to  gorge  themselves  to  the  extent  of  ^mcomfortable 
fullness.  An  excessive  distension  of  the  stomach 
produces  inflammatory  action  and  impedes  digestion, 
and  tends  to  diminish  the  flow  of  milk  and  to  impair 
its  quality.  Overloading  a  cow's  stomach  invariably 
gives  a  strong  and  disagreeable  (Xlor  to  her  milk  that 
injures  it  for'butter  or  for  cheese-niiiking,  and  also 
its  hcalthfuluess  for  food.  Such  an  overluading  is 
always  indicative  of  a  double  loss— a  loss  from  fail- 
ing to  utilize  as  fully  as  might  the  flush  feed,  and  a 
previous  loss  from  a  supply  of  food  insufficient  to 
enable  the  cows  to  give  as  much  milk  as  they  are 
capable  of  giving.  When  cows  arc  fed  with  a  liber- 
ality that  develops  a  full  flow  of  milk,  they  will  not 
overload  with  a  food  so  little  concentrated  as  green 
grass.  The  fact  that  they  do  overload  is  an  evidence 
that  their  preyious  food  was  too  scanty  for  profit,and 


Quarantined  Cattte. 

The  Governor  of  Illinois  Issued  a  proclamation 
prohibiting  the  importation  of  cattle  into  the  State 
from  Philadelphia  and  adjacent  localities,  unless  the 
shipment  is  accompanied  by  a  eertilicate  of  health 
signed  tiy  a  duly-autborizeil  veterinary  inspector. 
The  proclamation'  states  that  Iberc  is  good  reason  to 
believe  that  the  pleuro  |ineuinonia  exists  as  an  iqii- 
demic  among  the  cattle  in  the  eastern  part  of  this 
State,  as  well  as  in  Maryland,  Delaware,  New  York 
and  Connecticut,  rcnderinL'  such  action  necessary. 
This  action  on  the  part  of  the  State  of  Illinois  docs 
not  cause  alarm  to  the  Philadelphia  beef-cattle  deal- 
ers, tiut  is  considered  a  wise  measure. 

City  Treasurer  Marttn,  who  is  President  of  the 
Philadelphia  Stoc"k  Yanl  Comjiany,  says  tbis  estab- 
lishment of  a  cattle  i|narantino  by  the  State  of  Illi- 
nois cannot  all'ect  the  regular  trade.  He  says  that 
the  disease  is  caused  l)y  the  importation  of  fancy 
stock  from  England,  atid  is,  in  bis  opinion,  confined 
to  dairy  cows  exclusively.  Mr.  Martin  also  stated 
that  the  inspection  of  cattle  in  tbis  vicinity  is  very 
rigid.  Dr.. I.  W.  Gadsden,  United  States  Cattle  In- 
spector for  Pennsylvania,  cotisiders  that  tliis  measure 
on  the  part  of  Illinois  is  one  that  should  have  been 
taken  long  ago.  He  says,  however,  that  in  his  opin 
ion  the  proclamation  is  too  sweeping.  The  Doctm- 
thinks  that  tbis  proclamation  will  have  tbe.efl'ect  of 
causing  the  passage  of  a  bill  to  eradicate  pleuro- 
pneumonia in  this  country.  The  disease  has  been 
stamped  out  in  Englatid  and  in  Massachusetts,  and 
it  -an  be  done  everywhere.  Several  other  physicians, 
whose  opinion  of  the  proclamation  was  asked,  con- 
curred m  the  judgment  of  Dr.  Gadsden,  that  it  is  a 
wise  measure  and  that  it  will  have  a  beneficial  eflfect. 


APIARY. 


^>.  That  you  ought  never  to  cut  moldy  combs  out 
of  the  hives,  for  the  reason  that  you  should  never 
allow  it  to  become  moldy. 

0.  That  you  ought  never  to  double  swarms  or 
stocks  of  bees  in  the  fall,  tjecausc  you  ought  to  at- 
tend lo  that  and  make  them  strong  during  the  sum- 
mer by  takini;  the  brood  from  the  strong  stocks  and 
giving  it  to  the  weaker. 

7.  That  a  drone  laying  queen  should  he  taken 
away  and  one  |>rfiducing  workers  be  put  in  her  place, 
else  the  colony  will  soon  come  to  naught. 

8.  That  as  a  rule,  as  soon  as  an  Italian  queen 
shows  signs  of  old  age  or  feebleness,  the  bees  them- 
selves will  supersede  her. 

9  That  all  coloines  should  be  kept  strong  in  order 
to  be  sticcessful. 

10.  That  every  hive  should  contain  about  two 
thousand  cubic  inches  In  the  breeding  department. 

11.  The  beginners  in  liee  keeping  shoulil  be  very 
cautious  about  increasinir  tlu"  number  of  their  swarms 
or  slock  rapidly  until  they  thotoughly  understand 
the  business. 

12.  That  the  hive  Itself,  if  well  constructed,  is  all 
the  bee  house  you  need. — Bee-Keeperg'  Jievicw. 


Some  Information  about  the  Queen  Bee. 

There  is  an  impression  prevailing  among  the  un 
initiated  that  the  queen  of  a  hive  leads  otf  the 
swarm,  but  this  is  by  no  means  the  case  with  first 
issues,  for,  as  a  rule,  the  queen  does  not  come  forth 
from  the  hive  until  the  greater  part  of  the  bees  arc 
on  the  wing.  Another  erroneous  idea  in  existence 
is  that  the  queen  bee  is  the  first  to  alight  upon  a 
branch  or  a  bush,  and  that  the  bees  congregate 
about  her,  but  the  reverse  of  tbis  is  the  fact.  When 
a  swarm  begins  to  issue,  if  the  bee-keeper  will  place 
himself  on  the  shady  side  of  the  hive  and  watch  the 
stream  of  bees  which  pour  forth  like  an  army 
through  a  gateway,  he  Tnay  see  the  queen  come  out, 
and,  if  inclined  to  prove  our  assertions,  he  may  cap- 
ture and  cage  her,  and  put  ber  in  his  pocket  while 
he  watches  the  proceedings  of  the  bees.  When  the 
throng  is  circling  in  the  air  he  may  imagine  that  the 
bees  are  searching  for  her,  and  will  perhaps  con 
elude  that,  as  they  cannot  find  her,  they  will  return 
at  once  to  the  hive  ;  but  no,  they  will  first  congre- 
gate near  a  convenient  tree  or  bush,  and  make  a 
great  noise  sufficient  to  attract  the  attention  of  her 
majesty,  if  she  were  abroad,  and  then  they  will 
alight  and  form  a  cluster,  and  wait  for  some  minutes 
to  give  her  an  opportunity  of  joining  them.  If  now  she 
be  taken  to  them,  she  will  join  the  mass  and  all  will 
he  well ;  if  not,  the  bees  after  a  short  lime  will  dis- 
perse and  return  to  the  hive.  Now  tbis  kind  of  ex- 
periment has  been  so  often  proved  that  it  may  be 
taken  for  granted  when  a  swarm  of  bees  lias  alighted, 
and  afterwards  returned  to  the  hive,  that  the  queen 
was  not  able  to  join  them,  or  she  would  assuredly 
have  done  so. — British  Bee  Journal. 


Twelve  Facts  for  Beginners. 

Mk.  Editor:  I  will  offer  for  publication  a  few 
facts  which  every  beekeeper  ought  to  know  : 

1  That  the  life  of  a  worker  bee,  during  the  work- 
ing seasim,  is  only  from  six  to  eight  weeks'  duratien, 
and  ihat  a  lar^e  piajority  of  them  never  live  to  see 
seven  weeks. 

2.  That  a  worker  is  from  five  to  six  days  old  be 
fore  it  conies  out  of  the  hive  for  the  first  lime  totake 
an  airing,  and  that  it  is  from  fourteen  to  sixteen 
days  old^^before  it  begins  to  gather  either  pollen  or 
honey. 

3.  That  all  swarms  engaged  in  building  comb, 
when  they  have  not  a  fertile  queen,  build  only  drone 
comb,  and  that  all  the  comb  in  the  lower  or  breeding 
apartment  should  be  worker  or  brood  comb,  except 
a  very  small  quantity  of  drone  comb,  four  inches 
square  being  amply  sufficient. 

4.  That  the  more  prolific  the  queen  is  the  more 
young  bees  you  have,  and  the  more  surplus  honey  will 
be  gathered,  other  things  being  equal. 


A  System  for  Wintering. 

We  have  long  thought  that  there  is  as  much  need 
of  a  system  for  the  management  of  bees  as  there  is 
for  a  system  of  penrnansliip,  and  it  is  quite  likely 
that  wiiboul  the  principles  and  forms  in  writing  lo 
day,  there  would  lie  confusion  in  peninauslilp  equal 
to  the  confusion  which  exists  among  bee-keepers. 
Our  operations  and  extensive  experiments  give  us 
the  impression  that  a  system  of  wintering  on  sum- 
mer stands  might  be  based  on  the  following  direc- 
tions which  involve  principles  : 

1st.  It  must  be  determined  by  weighing  that  each 
hive  contains  twenty  pounds  or  more  of  honey, 
November  Ist. 

2d.  The  hive  must  be  perfectly  tight,  Bo  that,  If 
inverted  and  filled  with  water,  there  will  be  no 
leakage. 

.3d.  The  bottom-board  on  which  the  hive  is  placed 
must  have  an  opening  through  it  of  filly  square 
inches,  covered  with  wire  cloth,  and  elevated  from 
the  ground  about  six  inches. 

4tb.  The  hive  must  be  protected  on  all  sides  with 
dry  saw  dust  or  clover-cbaflT,  six  inches  thick.  When 
double-walled  hives  are  used  four  inches  of  packing 
will  do. 

5th.  When  the  thermometer  indicates  zero  or  below, 
bank  the  hires  with  snow.  If  there  is  no  snow,  use 
straw.  When  the  thermometer  indicates  30°  above 
zero,  and  there  are  prospects  of  a  thaw,  remove  the 
snow  or  straw  from  around  the  hives,  and  allow  the 
sun  lo  shine  under  the  bottom  board,  if  possible. 

fith.  Colonies  arranged  along  the  south  side  of  a 
tight-board  fence,  running  east  and  west,  are  more 
secure  than  if  set  in  an  open  yard. 

7th.  Examine  all  stocks  on  the  first  warm  day  in 
April,  and,  if  any  arc  wanting  in  stores,  feed  enough 
at  once  to  suffice  until  fruit  blossoms  appear.  Ke- 
movc  winter  protection  the  first  ilay  of  .May. 


Preparing  for  Winter. 

When  the  month  of  October  has  arrived  in  this 
latitude  the  fall  honey  yield  ceases,  and  during  the 
month  all  the  brood  hatches  and  the  queen  lays  but 
sparingly.  This  is  the  desirable  condition  for  the 
hive  to  be  in  when  weighing  and  feeding  is  done. 
That  winter  preparations  should  not  be  delayed  after 
the  first  of  November,  we  have  had  strong  Intlma 
tions  from  the  weather  of  previous  seasons.  Colo- 
nies could  not  be  fed  to  any  advantage  after  the  last 
day  of  November,  ISSO,  to  pass  through  the  coming 
severe  winter.  Kor  the  first  six  years  no  colony  in 
our  apiary  has  consumed  over  twenty  pounds  of 
stores  from  November  1st  to  April  Ist,  and  we  are 
satisfied  that  this  amount  makes  all  colonies  safe.  A 
hive  with  its  combs  aud  bees  weighs  about 
twenty  pounds,  so  that  forty  pounds  is  the  standard 
weight  of  a  colony  with  plenty  of  stores  to  winter 
on,  and  it  is  our  practice  to  make  every  colony  reach 
this  weight.  We  make  up  all  the  deficiencies  by  feed- 
ing extracted  honey,  and  when  the  supply  is  ex- 
hausted standard  A.  sugar  is  used.  The  feeding 
should  be  done  as  rapidly  as  possible.  There  is  no 
gain  in  weight  if  only  a  pound  or  two  is  fed  each  day, 
but  if  ten  pounds  be  fed  to  one  stock  in  a  day  there 
will  be  a  gain  in  weight  of  eight  or  nine  pounds. 
Now  is  the  time  for  all  Northern  apiarists  to  make 
their  reports,  which  should  include  every  stock  in 
their  apiaries.  We  are  confident  that  a  lack  of  sys- 
tem results  in  many  disasters.  We  would  be  glad  to 
publish  a  large  number  of  these  reports.  Last  fall 
wc  hail  a  larger  amount  of  work  on  hand  than  usual, 
and  help  was  scarce.  Had  it  not  been  for  our  habit 
of  making  a  report  each  year  on  a  certain  day,  and 
our  extra  etfort  just  at  that  time  to  keep  the  report 
unbroken,  we  vyould  have  lost  heavily. 

A  badly  worn  or  broken  down  farm  Implement  of 
any  kind  is  a  bad  investment.  The  loss  of  time  from 
stoppage  when  work  should  be  hurried  is  usually 
more  expensive  than  the  money  cost  of  repairs. 


160 


THELANCASTER  FARMER. 


[October,  1882 


Poultry. 


Guinea   Hens. 

Objection  Is  made  to  the  guinea  fowl  in  domestic 
quarters  because  its  voice  is  liavdly  less  musical  than 
"the  controversy  of  two  ripsaws;"  because  it  bullies 
less  pugnacious  poultry  and  because  its  lays  are  in 
stolen  nests.  Still  its  eggs  are  of  what  an  English 
man  call  a  "a  trood  flavor  "  and  its  flesh  "most  de- 
licious, resembling  that  of  the  pheasant."  He  tells  in 
The  Illnstraled  Book'of  rmiUnj  how  to  ameliorate  the 
birds  by  kind  acquaintance  above  :  "  By  setting  eggs 
under  common  hens,  and  roaring  them  at  home,  they 
grew  up  much  lamer,  and  will  flock  round  the  person 
who  feeds  them,  and  even  allow  themselves  to  be 
taken  up  petted,  like  other  poultry.  When  reared 
thus  kindly,  and  secluded  nests  a;e  provided,  they 
will  generally  lay  in  the  house  ;  and  if  i)erches  are 
placed  high  for  them.and  they  are  regularly  fed  every 
night,  will  roost  at  home  also.  So  far  domesticated, 
they  will  pay  to  rear  in  places  where  they  can  have 
ample  range." 

^ 

Care  of  Fowls. 

Frost-bitten  combs  and  wattles  not  only  injure  the 
looks  of  line  fowls,  but  affect  the  health  asvfell.  To 
guard  against  this,  warm  houses  must  be  furnished. 
A  house  that  is  partially  underground  is  well  adapt- 
ed in  onr  climate  for  a  winter  habitation.  The  north- 
ern portion,  particularly,  should  be  sheltered,  while 
thesouthernshould  have  an  exposure  of  glass.  Often- 
times the  fowls  will  pass  through  the  winter  un- 
harmed, and  become  frosted  in  March.  Fowls  suffer 
much  from  the  cola  if  not  fretted,  and  should  have  a 
generous  protection  from  severe  weather.  Fowls 
should  never  be  removed  or  changed  in  the  spring 
until  the  weather  is  warm  inl  settled. 

The  diflerenec  in  flavor  of  the  eggs  of  the  different 
breeds  of  hens  is  a  matter  of  fact  which  few-  people 
appreciate,  although  it  is  as  distinct  as  the  ditterence 
iu  flavor  of  the  different  kinds  in  potatoes, 
and  may  be  varied  to  some  extent  by  the  kind  of 
food— although  the  dark  color  of  the  shells  almost 
invariably  indicates  the  rank  egg  flavor  while  the 
most  delicate  ffavor  is  found  with  white  or  slight- 
ly tinted  shells.  The  every-day  layers  seldom 
produce  as  rich  eggs  as  those  which  lay  every 
second  day;  and',for  hatching  the  latter  are  by  far 
the  best  in  point  of  strong  shells,  fertility  and 
strength  of  chickens.  These  advantages  can  also 
be  varied  by  feeding  and  other  influences;  the  most 
natural  conditions  of  feed,  exercise  to.,  producing 
the  best  results.  It  is  the  whites  of  the  eggs  that 
generally  determine  their  richness  (although  the 
pastry  cook  tells  us  the  "light  yellow  yolks  do  not 
color  cakes  and  custards  sufficiently  to  make  them 
look  rich,")  and  the  kinds  of  feed  which  stimulate 
hens  to  produce  the  greatest  number  of  eggs  are  the 
most  dcfficient  in  the  albumen  which  constitutes 
their  richness,  not  only  making  the  polks  light  yel- 
low, but  the  whites  watery. 

The  food  value  of  an  egg  can  be  easily  tested  by 
breaking  it  into  water  just  before  boiling  heat.  If 
the  white  draws  up  around  the  yolk,  and  covers  it 
thickly  the  egg  is  rich  in  albumen  ;  but  if  the  white 
spreads  through  the  water  in  stringy  liees,  leaving 
the  yolk  uncovered,  or  slightly  covered,  the  egg  is 
proportionately  poor,  though  the  yolk  be  ever  so 
dark  in  color.  Feeding  hens  broken  boiled-lobster 
ghells,  will  make  the  yolks  of  their  eggs  dark  color, 
at  any  season,  and  there  is  no  kind  of  shell-forming 
substance  which  they  more  crave  or  more  eagerly 
eat. 


Ducks. 

We  are  occasionally  led  into  wondering  why  more 
ducks  are  not  bred  and  marketed  among  our  poultry- 
breeders  in  America.  We  have  now  in  this  country 
three  or  four  a  varieties  of  imported  ducks,  at  the 
head  of  which  the  Pekius  stand  to  day,  without  ques 
tiou,  for  size,  early  maturity,  hardiness,  and  thrift. 
The  Aylesbury  (pure  white,  like  the  I'eUin),  the 
Kouen  (brown  or  particolored),  and  the  Cayuga 
(black)  are  notable,  and  of  good  quality.  Each  of 
these  varieties,  within  our  knowledge,  has  been  sue 
cessfully  bred  in  New  England,  upon  a  country 
place  where  there  was  neither  pond  nor  rivulet  for 
their  amusement  on  the  farm. 

The  ducklings  were  hatched  under  hens,  and  the 
ducks  were  raised  with  the  other  poultry  and  fowls 
on  the  estate,  with  similar  feed  and  care,  the  owner 
claiming  that  lor  marketing  purposes  ducks  can  be 
reared,  like  any  other  fowls,  upon  dry  laud  ;  and  he 
has  found  no  perceptible  diUerence  in  their  propor 
tionate  thrift  during  the  season,  though  in  his  ex 
periments,  in  the  last  two  years,  his  ducks  never  had 
access  to  any  body  of  water.  A  pleaeanter  kind  of 
poultry  we  do  not  know  of. 

Which  is  the  More  Profitable? 

"  Do  we  derive  a  better  profit  from  the  non  sitter 
than  from  the  sitter  V  is  as  yet  an  unsettled  question. 
Poulterers  are  prone  to  give  more  credit  for  the  time 
being  rather  than  to  enter  into  a  closer  examinaiion 
of  facts.  The  best  of  the  non-sitters  do  not 
average  over  18u  eggs  during  the  year;  but  the  sitter 


is  equally  as  sure  for  132  or  more.  This  is  a  difference 
of  four  dozen  eggs,  and  as  the  non-sitters  lay  more 
eggs  in  the  summer  season  than  in  winter  the  mone- 
tary value  will  not  exceed  seventy-five  cents  as  the 
measure  of  ditrcreuce.  Using  the  Leghorn  as  a 
sample  of  the  non-silting  breeds  and  the  Brahma  to 
represent  the  sitters,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  lat 
ter,  being  better  winter  layers,  are  nearly  if  not  quite 
equal  to  the  Leghorns  in  monetary  product,  even  if 
the  number  of  eggs  laid  is  smaller,  owing  to  the 
enhanced  price  of  eggs  during  the  cold  terms.  But 
the  young  chicks  should  be  taken  into  account  ;  and 
on  an  average  of  only  five  to  the  brood,  after  deduct- 
ing loss  aud  the  low  price  of  30  cents  per  pound,  at 
two  pounds  each,  the  .account  will  be  §-•  Estimating 
yet  lower  in  the  price,  making  it  123^  cents  per  pound, 
and  we  still  have  an  advantage  in  favor  of  the  sitter. 
The  expense  will  correspond  with  the  ratio  of  sale, 
and  the  gain  cannot  be  ofi'set.  The  Leghorn  matures 
earlier  tiian  the  Brahma,  and  gains  time  in  that  re- 
spect. Tliey  take  resting  spells,  however,  from  lay 
lug,  and  if  they  are  not  at  work  bringing  forth  chicks 
the  time  is  lost.  With  all  that  may  be  said  in  favor 
of  the  non-sitter,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
young  chicks  count  in  value  as  well  as  eggs. 


Fattening  Turkeys. 

An  old  turkey  raiser  gives  an  account  of  an  ex- 
periment in  fattening  turkeys  as  follows  :  Four  tur- 
keys are  fed  on  meal,  boiled  potatoes  aud  oats.  Four 
othei's  of  the  same  brood  were  also  at  the  same 
time  confined  in  another  pen  and  fed  daily  on  the 
same  articles,  but  with  one  pint  of  very  finely  pul- 
verized charcoal  mixed  with  their  food — mixed  meal 
and  boiled  potatoes.  They  had  also  a  plentiful  sup- 
ply of  charcoal  in  their  pen.  The  eight  were  killed 
on  the  same  day,  and  there  was  a  difference  of  one 
aud  one-half  pounds  each  in  favor  of  the  fowls  which 
had  been  supplied  with  charcoal,  they  being  much 
the  fatter,  and  the  meat  being  greatly  superior  in 
point  of  tenderness  and  flavor. 


FARM    AND    WORKSHOP   NOTES. 

There  is  more  smut  in  corn  this  season  than 
usual. 

The  Bermuda  onion  always  does  best  from  im- 
ported seed. 

A  M,aryland  farmer  produced  a  26  pound  canta 
lope  this  season. 

It  is  said  that  sheep  in  orchards  will  annihilate  the 
codling  moth. 

Hogs  in  the  neighborhood  of  Reading  are  dying  of 
some  unknown  disease. 

At  a  recent  cattle  show  the  Polled  Angus  bulls 
captured  the  premiutns  over  the  Short-horns. 

It  is  conceded  that  cros.'sing  breeds  of  poultry  pro- 
motes laying,  and  gives  better  results  in  hatching. 

At  an  Indiana  Fair  the  Ilolsteins  won  the  sweep- 
stakes ou  bulls,  the  Shorthorns  on  cows  and  the 
Hereiords  ou  steers. 

.Mr.  II.  G.  Mumma,  of  Washington  county,  Md., 
raised  152  bushels  from  9%  acres  of  land,  or  about 
4t)  bushels  to  the  acre. 

Farmers  should, be  cautious  in  destroying  unknown 
insects,  as  they  often  turn  out  to  be  kinds  that  prey 
on  those  that  injure  crops. 

The  Boston  Cnltivutor  says  that  new  varieties  of 
corn  are  produced  from  the  small  nubbins  that  grow 
on  the  end  of  the  tassel. 

J.  A.  Dodge,  in  the  Journal  of  Agriealture,  says  he 
cures  hog  cholera  by  giving  half  a  teaspoonful  of 
carbolic  acid  in  a  gill  of  milk  It  is  administered 
from  a  long-necked  bottle. 

Samuel  T.  Earle's  cow,  Valma  Hoffman,  of  Queen 
Anne's  county.  Aid.,  has  produced  in  thirty  days 
over  eighty  seven  pounds  of  butter,  or  nearly  three 
pounds  a  day.     She  is  valued  at  S.5,tlOU. 

Celery  will  be  much  better  if  allowed  to  grow  until 
checked  by  cool  weather  at  the  end  of  the  season, 
and  then  placed  in  boxes  of  trenches  and  blanched 
for  future  use. 


Literary  and  Personal. 


The  Pottltrt  and  Stock  Journal. — A  chroni 
cle  for  country  gentlemen,  breeders  and  fanciers. 
Published  at  the  National  Capital  on  the  1.5th  of 
each  month,  at  one  dollar  a  year,  (irant  Parrish, 
editor  and  proprietor.  Address,  Capital  Hill  P.  0., 
Washington,  D.  C.  This  is  a  first-class  illustrated 
quarto,  printed  in  clear  type  on  heavy  calendered 
paper,  aud  in  embellished  tinted  covers.  Although 
largely  devoted  to  poultry,  in  its  pet  and  fancy 
phases,  ft  also  includes  a  general  view  of  stock  and 
literature  appertainining  thereto,  and  discusses  the 
various  subjects  with  ability.  To  a  person  desiring 
variety  in  his  literary  repast  we  can  recommend 
nothing  better  than  this  I'uuUry  licviiin'. 

Appeal  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Thompson  to  the 
American  people,  on  the  subjects  of  "  lutemperauce 
and  Ignorance,"  together  with  the  poem,  "What 
Right?"  as  a  preface  to  14  pages  of  the  "  Congres- 


sional Record,"  containing  the  speeches  of  Hon. 
Henry  W.  Blair,  of  New  Hampshire,  on  the  "  Manu- 
facture and  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  ;"  and  on 
"Aid  to  Common  Schools."  Time  and  perseverance 
may  render  the  last  named  measure  possible,  if  not 
probable,  because  it  belongs  to  the  intellectual  in 
man  ;  and,  (^s  the  intellect  becomes  enlarged  and 
elevated,  he  maybe  enabled  to  see  and  acknowledge 
the  wisdom  of  the  measure,  and  finally  yield  his  as- 
sent. But  the  first  named  seems  to  be  moi-e 
nearly  related  to  the  alfectioual  in  man.  It  strikes 
at  his  animal  nature  and  its  loves  :  a  domain  in 
which  it  is  dilflcult  to  get  him  to  see  what  is  best  for 
his  moral  and  physical  welfare,  oreven  toacknowlege 
it,  and  bring  himself  under  its  reforming  influences, 
when  he  docs  see  it.  Mrs.  Thompson's  ai)peal  is 
but  a  reiteration  of  similar  appeals  which  we  have 
been  hearing  and  reading  these  fifty  years  or  more. 
The  task  is  a  herculean  one,  and  it  is  not  at  all  sur- 
prising she  should  be  pained  at  the  little  advance 
that  has  been  made.  So  far  .as  prohibitory  laws  per 
se  are  concerned  it  would  make  little  difference  to  us, 
pei>onally,  what  the  punishment  for  their  violation 
might  be — whether  fine,  disqualification  or  imprison- 
ment— if  the  prohiliition  was  accompanied  by  a 
rational  discrimination  ;  and  until  all  men  take  a 
similar  view  of  the  subject  ic  would  be  vain  to  look 
for  an  honest  execution  of  such  a  law,  even  if  it 
were  enacted. 

Silos  and  Ensilage,  a  Record  of  Practical  Tests 
in  several  States  and  Canada.  .Special  Report  No. 
48  of  the  Deparment  of  Agriculture.  The  Commis- 
sion of  Agriculture  sent  out  a  schedule  of  questions 
to  the  number  of  2f>,  and  received  statements  from 
92  persons  who  had  built  silos  and  tested  ensilage.  In 
reply  from  difi'ereut  parts  of  the  United  States,  and 
the  Dominion  of  Canada,  and  in  their  details  they 
are  generally  very  favorable  to  ensilaire.  On  the 
profitableness  of  ensilage  "there  is  hardly  a  doubt 
expressed — certainly  not  a  di.>isenting  opinion."  "The 
general  use  of  ensilage  must  depend  largely  on  its 
cheapness.  Costly  silos  and  expensive  machinery 
must  always  be  insurmountable  obstacles  to  a  ma- 
jority of  farmers.  For  this  reason,  experience  tend- 
ing lo  show  what  is  cHtienfial  to  the  preservation  of 
fodder  in  silos,  is  of  the  first  importance." 

Two  Leghndart  Poems  :  "  The  Botanist  cheek- 
mated.      By  A.  G.  P.  and    "  The   Plague  of  Flies." 

By  T.  G.  P.,  from   the   annals  of  the  P Family. 

Printed  for  private  distribution.  Express  Publish- 
ing CO.,  Easton,  Pa.,  1883.  ^8  pp.  12  mo.  A  clever 
satire,  written  in  the  Hiawatha  mea-sui'e. 

Free  Trade  Bulletin,  issued  monthly  at  .50  cts. 
per  annum.  G.  U.  Wing,  Publisher,  Nos.  37  aud  29 
West  23d  street.  New  York. 

This  is  a  demi-folio,  and  is  a  zealous,  and  able  ad- 
vocate of  the  views  of  Freetraders,  a  subject  which, 
we  must  confess,  has  never  occupied  much  of  our  at- 
tention, and  even  those  who  have  made  commercial 
intercourse  a  specialty  do  not  seem  to  have  come  to 
a  harmonious  eonclusion.  It  would  perhaps  require 
some  self-concession  to  arrange  a  system  of  duties  on 
merchandize,  that  would  be  acceptable  to  people  in 
general.  There  are  people  who  dtmand  the  very 
highest  prices  for  their  own  manufactures,  especially 
when  they  know  they  can  get  it,  but  when  they  are 
in  need  of  the  manufacture  of  others  they  go  where 
they  ean  obtain  them  at  the  very  lowest  price.  The 
former  position  may  be  regarded  as  high  (ari(t\  and 
the  latter,  low  tafifl'.  These  individualities  carried 
into  the  enactment  of  general  laws  give  them  a  simi- 
lar taint. 

The  Agents'  Hekald.— L.  Lum  Smith,  editor, 
publisher  and  proprietor  ;  50  cents  a  year,  monthly  ; 
a  demi-folio  ol  16  pp.  In  the  interest  of  legitimate 
agents  and  agencies,  and  the  exposure  of  frauds.  It 
is  wonderful  what  a  power  agents  have  become  in 
the  world  of  business.  Where  there  was  one  twenty 
or  thirty  years  ago  there  seems  to  be  a  Ihouxaad 
now  ;  therefore  ii  is  not  surprising  they  should  need 
a  representative  organ.  This  journal  has  a  very 
characleristieally  embellished  "  title  head."  On  the 
right  hand  an  agent,  with  his  traps  under  his  arm, 
is  sitting  ou  the  "cow-catcher"  of  a  locomotive, 
with  a  bright  expectant  look  towards  the  station  the 
train  is  approaching.  On  the  left  hand  an  agent  is 
standing  as  far  forward  as  he  possibly  can  get  on  the 
bow  of  a  boat  approaching  a  wharf,  and 
straining  his  gaze  over  a  town  ;  whilst  just  below 
them  in  the  foreground  an  agent  with  a  long  (gum- 
elastic)  arm  is  presenting  his  card  to  a  victim  on  the 
right,  who  is  receiving  it  with  a  similarly  elongated 
member.  The  countenance  of  the  former  illustrates 
a  dogged,  yet  blanil,  importunity,  whilst  the  latter 
exhibits  a  jaded  atl'ability,  such  as  business  meu 
sometimes  manifest  when  they  wish  their  pertinacious 
imp(n'luners  at  the  devil. 

Since  the  times  and  the  fashions  are  such  as  cha- 
racterize the  period  iu  which  we  live,  it  is,  perhaps, 
essential  that  all  parts  of  human  industry,  energy 
and  enterprise  should  assume  au  organized  form,  in 
order  to  effect  their  successful  progress.  "  Times 
ain't  as  they  used  to  was  ;"  and  "  we  can't  do  as  we 
used  to  did.''  Hence,  provision  must  be  made  to  sus 
tainaclas&  that,  iu  our,  earlier  days,  had  not  "a 
local  habitation  and  a  name,"  but  now  is  becoming 
"a  power  in  the  land." 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER 


III 


EvERV  lad  J'  sliuuld  send  25  cents  to  Strawbridge  & 
Clothier,  Pliiladelpliia,  and  receive  tlieir  Fashion 
Quarterly  for  (imoi.  1,10U  illustratibus  and  4  pages 
new  music  each  issue. 


A  Manual  of  Klocction  and  KKADiNG,cm- 
bracinj;  the  Princiiiles  and  I'ractice  of  Elocutiou.  By 
Edward  Brooks,  I'h.  O.,  I'rincipal  of  llie  State  Nor- 
mal School,  Millersville,  I'a.  I'liiladelphia:  Eldridge 
ife  Bro.  Price,  1.50.  To  teachers,  for  examination, 
gl.OO. 

PHILIP  SCHUM.  SON  Si.  CO., 

38  and  40  West  King  Street. 

We  keep  on  hand  ol"  our  owu  inuiiufjicturo, 

QUILTS,  COVEKLETS. 

COUNTERPANES,  CARPETS, 

Bureau  and  Tidv  CoverB.  Liidies'  Furumbing  Goods,  No- 
tions, etc. 

Particular  attpution  jiaid  to  customer  Rag  Carpet,  and 
ecowering  and  dyeiuu  of  all  kinds. 

PHILIP  SCHUM.  SON  &;  CO.. 

Nov-ly  Lancaster,  Pa. 


DISSOLUTION  OF  PARTNERSHIP-- 
The  fO-pnrtnt*r>liii)  in  tin-  niir<'haiit  liiilnrint;  IjumI- 
hereloforc  existing  iimlor  tlic  flrin  of  Iialli\(>n  A:  ]''inhcr, 
iH  this  day  di«-solvfii  by  iinUuiil  ron-sent  All  personw  in 
nny  nniuner  indt-hteil  to  Muid  linn,  iiro  rt'specttnlly  '^o- 
lii'ilod  to  maki'  iinnicdiutc  piiyinent  to  S.  S.  Uutlivon. 
wlni  is  hereby  luUhorized  to  ret-eivc  t  c  mimh.-,  and  tho-c 
liaviiiK  elaiins  ui^ainst  slid  firm,  will  plojusc  i»resent  them 
f  r  settlement. 

.S.  S.  IJATHVON. 
M.  FJSiWCK, 
101  North  Queen  Street,  Lnneiister,  Pn. 


Until  further  announcement,  the  hiiRsinosH,  witliout 
interruption,  \vil  lie  condnct<'d  by  the  nnd-  rwicfned,  who 
sf>li<it.s  a  c'ontinnanee  of  the  putronase  lu-retofox-  be- 
stowed iijion  the  lirm,  and  which  is  hereby  ^^reatfully 
aeknowledf^t'd. 

S   S.  RATH  VON. 

PRACTIOAL  TAILOlt, 

No.  101  North  Queen  Street, 

LANCA.STEU,  PA. 


THE  FE 


HARROW 

BEST  IN  THE  WORID 

IT  HAS  NO  EQUAL 


PateDted  April  13, 


The  above  cut  rGi>resenU  the  Penn  Harrow 
conirleto,  ^\ith  nil  itw  cnmbi nations  of  Five  Har- 
rows nnil  n  .nled  for  eiieli  llai-row;  and  each 
puc'.-t'ediii^'cbanu't'i>J  made  ImmtliiK  Harrow  without 
the  l.Uf^t  additinual  exjpiisi-.  By  liootiny  the  toam 
to  either  point,  B  or  C,  the  center  revolves  and  privoe 
the  prouud  Two  Strokes  and  Two  Cros^sinps  in 
lia-^Jsing-  over  it  once,  niaking'  it  the  mofst  ellective 
pulverizer  in  the  market,  -'-j 
THIS  IIAKKOW  HAS  ONT.Y  TO  BE 
i:SEI)  TO  IJE  APPRECIATED. 
See  it  before  purchasing-  and  you  will  buy  no  other. 


The  Penn  Harrow 

■CHANGED  TO   A    THREE-CORNER  ROTARY 
HARROW. 


TndJBpensablo  for  Orchards,  as  tho  revoU-inf?  whM 
harrows  ri^lit  up  to  and  all  around  the  treea  with 
out  barking  theui. 


The  Penn  Harrow 

CHANGED   TO   SINGLE    "A"    HARROW. 


By  removiuK  tho  wuk-  and  wheel  from  the  original 
you  have  a  complete  one-horse  "A"'  Harrow. 


The  Penn  Harrow 

CHANGED  TO  DOUBUi;  "A"  HARROW. 


Remove  the  wheel  from  the  original,  reverse  th^ 
■wiufi',  and  it  makes  the  mot^t  complete  Double  "A'l 
Harrow  iu  the  market. 


The  Penn  Harrow 


.CHANGED  TO  A  SQUAKE  HARROW. 


By  removing  tho  whoc-1  fv^nx  the  original  you  have 
a  Harrow  with  tbreo  jioint-^  to  bnok  to.  By  booking 
to  B  or  C  you  can  harrow  in  a  furrow,  and  harrow 
the  bottom  and  both  tside-^,  or  over  a  nd;-'"c  nntl  liar- 
row  the  top  and  both  eides,  or  you  can  lift  <-ither 
point  and  ha\G  three  point*  on  the  pTound—s<»me- 
fliinc:  thnb  cannot  be  cloue  with  any  •tli«' 
Harrow. 


The  Penn  Harrow 


ON    ITS  SLED. 


It  hiw  always  been  a  tn-cnt  inconvenience  to  get  the 
Harrow  to  and  from  th'-  Jul  1.  'Jh>^  iVmi  Harrow 
ob\iate.'*  thiti,  as  no  inattrr  \.lii'  ii  Harr'iw  y**\\  \\i--li 
to  u.se  in  the  eombiuatiou,  it  bas  its  uwu  sled 
Co  haul  it  on. 


The  Penn  Harrow 

la  made  oiT  tho  liest  ivliito  onk,  with  Bt»*el 
teeth, well  nnintod,  in  fvery  wnv  riri^r-elnsN. 
Formerly  a  narrow  was  tho  most  nidiandy  imple- 
inent  on  the  farm;  wiVa  oxm  improvement  it  is  tho 
most  convenient,  will  do  «lotihlo  Ibr  work  of 
any  other  karvow  nnd  savr  Ihc  (armor  half 
lii!4  labor,  and  in  wnrranted  lo  «1<*  cill  we 
reprenent  or  uionoy  refunded.  OHDEU.  AT 
ONCE  ANI>  HE  COINVINCEO. 

Price  of  the  hghf  draft  Comhinadon  Penn  JJarroir, 
830>     Send  for  a  Catalogue  anii  see  tchat  J'arviera  say. 

AGENTS   WANTED   IN   EVERY   COUNTY. 

PEM  HARROW  MAHDFACTDRING  CO. 


9e  p-  .3 


CAMDEN,  N.  J. 


Fruit,  Shade  and  Ornamental  Trees. 

Plant  Trees  raised  m  this  coiiiilyand  nuilc-d  to  tliie  elimittc. 
Write  for  prices  to 

LOUIS  CLYTE 

Bird-in-Hand  P.  O.,  Lancaster  co.,  Pa. 

Nurflfrv  iit  Siiiokelown,  Hix  mlk-H  euBt  of  LuucuKltr. 
7'J-1~12 

WIDMYER  &  RICKSECKER, 
UPHOLSTERERS, 

.•\nd  Mamifactiircrs  ot 

FURNITURE  i^ND  CHAIRS, 

\VAKi:it<>«»HK: 

102  East  King  St.,  Cor.  of  Duke  St. 

LANCASTER,  PA. 

79-1-12] 

Special  Inducements  at  the 
NEW  FURNITURE   STORE 

W.  A.  HEINITSH, 

IVo.     IS    X-3    -Bi.    XCXKTO     STaEtmiT 

(over  Bursk'8  CiiOf^cry  .SLuret,  Laiit;;:Btrr,  Pa. 
A  generul  as8or*ineut  of  iuriiiturcof  atl  kinds  couBtantly 
on  baud.    ))on't  forget  the  iniiuber. 

IS  X-2  'JElEk.tst-t  XSllxis  IStr-eot, 


Nov-lv] 


(<>\t-r  linrsK' 


For  Good  and  Cheap  Work  go  to 

F.  VOLLMER'S 

FURNITURH  WAR):   ROOMS, 

No.  309  NORTH  QUEEN  ST.. 

(OppoBite  Northern  Market), 
Also,  all  kinds  of  lucture  f  ramcH.  nov-ly 

GREAT  BARGAINS. 

A  large  assortment  of  all  kinds  of  Carpets  are  still  sold  at 
h)wer  rates  th::n  ever  ai  Ibe 

CARPET  HALL  OF  H.  S.  SHIRK, 

No.  '^02   West  Khif/  St. 

Call  and  examine  our  stock  and  satisfy  yourself  that  we 
c.Tu  show  the  largest  aasortmeut  of  these  Brussels,  three 
pliea  and  ingrain  at  all  pricea — at  the  lowest  Philadelphia 
prices. 

Also  on  hand  a  large  and  complete  aseortmeut  of  Rag 
Carpet. 

Satisfaction  guaranteed  bath  as  to  price  and  quality. 

You  are  invited  to  caU  and  see  my  goods.  No  trouble  in 
showing  tbem  even  if  you  do  not  want  to  jnirchaee. 

Don't  forget  this  notice.  You  can  save  money  here  if  you 
want  to  buy. 

Particular  attention  given  to  customer  'cork. 

Also  on  hand  a  full  assortment  of  Counterpanes,  Oil 
Clolbs  and  Blankets  of  every  variety.  fnov-Iyr. 

C.  R.  KLINE 

^TTOF^NEY-AT- J:iAW, 

OFFICE:    15  NORTH  DUKE  STREET, 

LANCASTKR,    FA.. 

Nov-ly 

SILK-WORM  EGGS. 

Amateur  Silk-Growers  can  be  supplied  \\  itb  suj>crior 
silk-worm  eggrs,  on.reasoiiable  ternia,  by  ui)p]ying  imme- 
diately to 

GEO.  O.  HENNEl., 

may-3m]  No.  'J.'JH  East  Oran(.;e  Slict-l.  Kanea.sler,  Pa. 


LIGHT  BRAHMA  EGGS 

For  Imtcliing,  now  ready— from  tlie  best  strain  in  the 
county — at  the  moderate  price  of 

^l.SO  for  a  setting  of  3.3  XISSO. 

L.  EATHVO.V, 

Nc.  9  North  (iiiccn  st.,  Examiner  Office,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

WANTED.— CAN  VAS8ER.S  for  the 
LANCASTER  WEEKLY  EXAMINER 
In  Kvcry  Township  in  the  County,    Good  Wages  can  be 
made.     Inquire  at 

THE  EXAMINER  OFFICE, 


No.  9  North  Queen  Street,  Lancaster,  P» 


IV. 


THE  LANCASTER    FARMER 


[Ostober  1.882. 


WHE  RE  TO  BUY  GOOD 

LANCASTER. 


BOOTS  AND   SHOES. 


MARSH  Ai.r  A  «<►>'.  Xo.  12  Centre  Square,  Lan- 
(MsttT,  Dealers  in  lioots,  Shoes  and  Rubbers.    Re- 
pairin^c  promptly  alteiidecl  to. 

MX.rVY.  No.   3   East  K'liK  sin-t-l.     For  the   bes 
•     Dollar  JShoes  in  Lancuftter  go  to  JM.  J>evy,   Xo.  3 

East  Kiny  s.n-ft. 

BOOKS  AND~STATIONERY. 

JOIIX  K.\KlfS  SOX'S,  Nos.  Isanti  17  Xortb  Queen 
Stit'pt.  have  tbe  lar;,'t'>.l  and  bet^L  a>-.sorU-t.l  15ook  and 
Paper  Store  in  Ibo  City. ___^^_^^__ 


FURNITURE. 


Hf-'IVI'I'SII*S,  No.  15V,  East  King  St.,    (over  China 
Ilall)  is  the  dicapcsi"  place  iu  Laneiisler  to   buy 
Furniture.     Picture  Frames  a  sj)ec)aliy. 

CHINA  AND  GLASSWARE. 

Hl<;lfl  A-  .>a.\KTI\.  Xo.  ir,   ]-:.isf   King-  St.,   dealers 
in  f'liin.i.  (JInss  and  (iueensware,    Fancy   Goods, 
Lamp!-,  Burners,  Chimneys,  eic. 


CLOTHING. 


M%  fr.ltS  *V  KATIIF<>.\-  Centre  Hall,  Xo.  12  Kast 
King  St.    I^ar^est  C]othiny,House  in  Pennsylvania 
oiitsi'Ip  of  i'hiladelphia  


DRUGS  AND   MEDICINES. 

GW.  HI'IjL.,  Dealer  in  Pui-eDrugsand  Medicines 
a    Cheuiieals,   Patent  IMedieines,  Trusses,  Shoulde 
Braces,  Supporters,  «S;e.,  15  West  King  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa 

J«HX   K.   L«X<;  A-  SOX,  DrugRists,  Xo.  12  Xorth 
Queen  St.    I>rn;^s,   IMedieines,   Perfumery,    Spices, 
Dye  Sturts,  Kte.     Prescriptions  carefully  compounded. 


DRY  GOODS. 


CI  IVI.fcK,  UoM'KX.S  A-  lIVKS'r,  Xo.  25  E.  King 
JT    St.,  Lano-ii-ster,  Pa.,  Dealers  in  Dry  Goods,  Carpeis 
and  Merchant  Tailoritig.    Prices  as  low  as  the  lowest. 


HATS  AND   CAPS. 


CII     AMKK.  Xo.   30   West   King   Street,    Dealer  in 
•     Hats,  Caps,  Furs,  Robes,  etc.     Assortment  Large. 
Prices  Low. 


JEWELRY  AND   WATCHES. 

HZ.  niiOAOS  A-  Biieo.,    Xo.  4  West  King  St. 
•     Watches,   Cloelc  and   Musical   Boxes.      Watches 
and  Jewelry  Manufactured  to  order. 


PRINTING. 


JOliX    A.    lilKSTAXn,   9   Xorih  Queen   St.,  Sale 
Bills,    Circulars,  Posicis,  Cards,    Jnvuaiions,    Leuer 
and  Bill  Hciidsand  Envelopes  neatly  printed.    Prices  low. 


FARMING  FOR  PROFIT. 

It  is  conceded  that  this  large  and  comprehensive  book, 
(advertised  in  another  column  by  .T.  C.  McCurdy  ic  Co., 
of  Phiiufk-lphia,  the  well-known  publishers  of  Standard 
works,)  is  not  only  the  newest  and  handsomest,  but  alto- 
gether the  l^KST  work  of  the  kind  wliieh  has  ever  been 
published.  Thoroughly  treating  the  great  subjects  of 
general  Agriculture,  Live-Stoek,  Fruit-Growing,  Busi- 
ness l*rinciples,  and  Home  Life;  lelHnjj  just  wliat  the 
farmer  and  the  farmer's  boys  want  to  know,  combining 
Science  and  Practice,  stimulating  thought,  awakening 
inquiry,  and  interesting  every  member  of  the  family, 
this  book  must  exeit  a  mighty  inlhienee  for  good.  It  Is 
highly  rccoinuicnded  by  the  best  agricultural  writers 
and  the  leading  papers,  and  is  destined  to  have  an  ex- 
tensive sale.     Agents  are  wanted  everywhere.  jan-lt 


GLOVES,  SHIRTS,  UNDERWEAR. 
SHIRTS  MADE~TO  ORDER, 

AND  WAERAXTED  TO  IIT.  - 

E.  J.  BRISMAH, 
56  North  Queen  St.,  Liancaster,  Pa. 

-[-1-2] 


A  HOME  ORGAN  FOR  FARMERS. 


Tllirly-Six  Varieties  of  <;;il.l):i^e;  2G  of  Corn;  28  of  Cu- 
uniber;  41  of  Melon;  Jo  of  Peas;  28  of  Beans;  17  of 
Squash;  2.3  of  Beel  and  40  of  Tomato,  with  other  varieties 
in  projjorlion.  a  hirgc  portion  of  wliich  were  grown  on 
my  five  seed  farms,  will  be  found  iu  my  Vejfetable 
aiKl  Flower  NectJ  ('HlHlogue  for  IH»2.  Sent  free 
to  all  who  apply.  Ciistomei-s  of  last  Setson  need  not 
write  for  it.  All  .Seed  sold  from  my  establishment  war- 
ranted to  be  fresh  and  true  to  name,  so  far.  that  .should 
it  prove  otherwise,  I  will  ]-eflll  the  order  gr-itis.  The 
original  iiitroilncer  of  Early  Ohio  and 
ISlirbauk  I'otaloes.  initrbSellead.  Earl.y  Corn, 
the  Uiibbaril  S<|u.>si..  .ilarbSelie.^cl  <\-ibbng'e' 
fliinm-.T's  Melon,  and  a  score  of  other  New  Vegeta- 
bles, I  invite  the  patronage  of  the  public.  New  Vegeta- 
bles a  speeialtv. 

.1 ASJES  J.  H.  OREOORY, 

Marblehead,  Mass 
~Nov-6mo] 

EVAPORATE  YOUR  FRUIT. 

ILLUSTRATED    CATALOGUH: 

FREE  TO  ALL. 

AMERICAN  DRIER  COMPANY, 

<iia.iubor«bBirs:,  t»a 

Apl-if 


Under  this  name  we  offer  to  Mercltants  and  Farmers  a 

of  superior  excellence.  Not  till  this  year  had  the  stot:k  increased  siifficipiitly  to  offer  it  for  sale 
—the  ^train  all  beiiii:  derived  from  nup  stool  selerted  live  years  aijo.  We  i:niitrol  every  hu.shel 
and  expect  to  distribine  it  widely,  l.-eliuL'  snre  that  it  is  an  acqnisition  of  val.,e  being  Hardy, 
Vigorous,  Eiulj,  Stiff  in  Straw,  very  Prolific,  CDtirely  from  Rii.st,  and  iiiakiii'g  Flour  of  the 
Hlglim  (jHUlity.  This  Wheat  is  hir  superior  lo  ilie  (JIawson,  and  those  who  sow  it  this  Au- 
tumn wdl  he  able  to  sell  to  their  neishbors  for  .Seed  all  the  resulting  crop  at  good  prices.  We 
do  liot  expect  any  will  be  sent  to  mill. 

We  apnend  a  few  sworn  testimonials  showing  the  estimation  in  which  it  is  held  by  well 
known  millers  m  the  State  -if  New  York. 

PBICE.S,  includ  ng  bags:  $l.,=iO  per  Peck,  $5.50  per  Busiiel,  $10.00  2  Bushels. 

DAVID  LANDRETH  &  SONS, 

SEED   GROWERS,  Philadelphia. 


OVln  STEAM  MILLS, 
George  \V.  Jones  &  Bro.,  Projis. 

Having  ground  and  baked  .some  of  tlie  Hour  made 
from  the  "  Lnndreth  "  White  Wheat,  w.-  Hiid  the  Wheat 
to  be  A  Xo.  1  White,  and  a  lirst-ela.ss  wheat  for  grinding. 
The  flour  being  very  white,  the  bran  tlnn  and  light.  We 
regard  the  "Landreth"  Wheat  mueh  superior  to  the 
Clawson  variety.  We  saw  it  before  it  was  harvesteti, 
the  heads  were  very  large,  the  straw  bright  and  stif}',  and 
think  it  wil!;becomc  one  of  the  leading  wheats. 

August  11, 1S82.  GEO.  W.  JONES  &  URO., 

STATE  OK  NEW  YORK,  (  '   '''^''' 

COUNTY   OK  ONTARIO,)'**- 

Kiehard  II.  Widing,  of  i'helps,  in  said  eounty,  bemg 
duly  sworn  deposes  and  says,  1  lun-te  used  itie  flour 
made  from  the  New  M'llite  Wheat  known  a.  "Lan- 
dreth," from  the  grist  I  ground  for  H.  S.  Bonnel  ,  and  1 
have  no  hcsitalio>i  in  .saying  that  in  my  long  e.vperienee 
m  milling  I  have  never  seefi  or  bad  such  nice  sweet  and 
epongy  bread.  R.  U.  WILLING,  Miller. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  I 
me  August  .5.  1882.  J 

LYSANDER  REDKIELU, 

A  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  and 

ario  N.  Y. 


OVID,  August  U. 
I  have  ground  trial  samples  of  the  New  Wheat  "  Lan- 
dreth," and  find  it  e.\eelling  the  Clawson  and  equ-l  to 
any  variety  1  have  ever  seen.  The  berry  is  large,  white, 
with  thin  skin  and  light  bran.  The  flour  makes  unusu- 
ally white  bread.  M.  MAXWELI,. 

Miller. 

STATE  OK  NEW  YORK,  I 
COUNTY    OF   ONTARIO,  f '^'*- 

Ezra  A.  Hibbard,  and  Fanny  Hibbard.  his  wife,  ef  the 
town  of  I'heips,  in  thesaid  county,  being  duly  sworn, 
depose  auil  say  ;  We  have  used  in  our  familv  flour  made 
frcim  the  "  Landreth  white  Wheat,"  grown  by  H.  S 
Bonnell,  and  we  can  say  that  it  makes  the  sweetest  and 
best  bread  and  pastry  that  we  have  ever  had  or  used. 

E.  A.  HIBBARD, 
„   ,^       .,      ,  FANNY  HIBBaED. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me,  1 
Augu.st  5th.  1882.  J 

LYSANDER  REDFIELD, 
Justice  of  the  Peace  in  and  for  Ontario  cc,  N.  Y. 


sep-lt 


T 


m  Fiii, 


Lai 

A  MONTHLY  JOUENAL, 


Devofed  to  Agnculfure,  Hodiculfure,  Do- 
mestic Economy  and  Miscellany. 


Founded  Under  the  Auspices  of  the   Lancas 
ter  County  Agricultural  and  Horti- 
cultural Society. 


EDITED  BY  DR.  S.  S.  RATHVON. 


TERMS  OF  SUBSCRIPTION  : 


ONE  DOLip  PER  km^, 

POSTAGE  PREPAID  BY  THE  PROPRIETOR. 

All    subscriptions    will    commence    with    the 
January  number,  unless  otherwise  ordered. 


Dr.  S,  S.  Rathvon,  who  bas  so  ably  managed  the  editorial 
departmeut  in  the  past, -will  continue  iu  the  poaltiou  of 
editor.  HiB  contributions  on  subjects  connected  with  the 
science  of  farming,  and  particularly  that  specialty  of  which 
he  is  80  thorouhly  a  master — entomological  science — some 
knowledge  of  which  has  become  a  necessity  to  the  success- 
ful farmer,  are  alone  worth  much  more  than  the  price  of 
this  publication.  He  Is  determiued  to  make  "The  Farmer' 
a  necessity  to  all  households. 

A  county  that  has  so  wide  a  reputation  as  Lancaster 
county  for  its  agricultural  products  should  certainly  be 
able  to  support  an  agricultural  paper  of  its  own,  for  the 
exchange  of  the  opinions  of  farmers  interested  in  this  mat- 
oter.  We  ask  the  co-oporation  of  all  farmers  iuieresteclln 
this  matter.  Work  among  your  friends.  The  "Farmer''  i 
only  one  dollar  per  year.  Show  them  your  copy.  Try  and 
induce  them  to  subscribe.  It  is  not  much  for  each  sub- 
scriber to  do  but  it  will  greatly  assist  us. 

All  communications  in  regard  to  the  editorial  management 
should  be  addressed  to  Dr.  S.  S.  Rathvon,  Lancaster,  Pa., 
and  all  business  letters  in  regard  to  subscriptions  and  ad- 
vertising should  be  addressed  to  the  publisher.  Rates  of 
advertising  can  be  had  on  application  at  the  ofBce. 


lOHN  A  HIESTAND. 

No.  9  North  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

OVn  A  WEEK.    $12  a  day  at  home  easily  made.    Costly 
^1  b  Outfit  free.  Address  Tbub  It  Co.,  Augusta,  Maine. 


ONE  DOLLAR  PER  ANNUM.-SINSLE  COPIES  10  CENTS. 


Entered  txl  the    PonI  4»flice  at  Vjaucaster  nn 
Sei'oiKl  4'laHM  Matter. 

CONTENTS  O^HIS  NUMBER. 

EDITORIAL. 

The  History  i>l  Uie  Toiiialo 161 

"  Leaves  " 161 

Kitcbeu-Gaiden  for  November 161 

Insects  Injurious  to  t'orests  and  Shade-treee 161 

A  Plea  for  Trees : 162 

The  Farmer's  Creed 162 

Excerpts 163 

CONTRIBUTIONS. 

Balance  of  Trade 164 

SELECTIONS. 

Trees,  Climate  and  Soil 164 

Relation  of  Forests  to  Kainfall. 

Heavy  Manuring,  and  How? 165 

Artilicial  Incubation 166 

Indian  Corn  in  Kansas — Its  Value  and  Import- 
ance  166 

The  Effect  of  a  Good  Silo 167 

Agricultural     Prosperity    Should     Benefit     the 

Farmer 107 

Tree-Planting  in  Streets  and  Grounds 168 

The  Fair  Season 168 

Italian  Bees  and  How  to  Italianize  the  Common 

Black  Bees 16S 

Preventable  Losses  on  the  Farm 169 

Yield  and  Condition  of  Crops 169 

OUR  LOCAL  ORGANIZATIONS. 
Lancaster  County  Agricultural  and  Horticultural 

Society  170 

The  Poultry  Association 171 

Linnxan  Society 171 

Fulton  Farmers'  Club 171 

Exhibits — iiuestions  and  Answers. 

AGRICULTURE. 

The  Use  of  the  Roller 172 

Progressive  Farmers 172 

Effect  of  Draining 172 

Fall  Plowing 173 

HORTICULTURE. 

Pear  Raising 178 

The  Effect  of  Dry  Weather  on  Apples 172 

Saving  Cabbage  till  Spring 173 

The  Fruit  Supply 173 

Bananas  and  Plantains 17„ 

HOUSEHOLD    RECIPES. 

Graham  Bread 173 

Indian  Cake 173 

Crullers .*.! 173 

Doughnuts - 173 

Buns 173 

Roast  Mutton 173 

Mashed  Potatoes 173 

Mashed  Turnips 173 

Baked  Potatoes 173 

Apple  Pudding 173 

Spanish  Cream 173 


Boiled  Flank  of  Beef ^'^'■^ 

Meat  Hash  ^''^ 

Veal  Loaf. 1''^ 

Tomato  Sauce ^'^^ 

Steamed  Beef  Steak  Pudding.... '^'^'^ 

Stewed  Lobster ''* 

Boiled   Rice 1~* 

Boiled  Cider '"* 

Steamed  Pudding 1''^* 

Nice  Griddle  Cakes 174 

Cottage  Puddius l'''* 

Griddle  and  Indian  Cakes 174 

Escalloped  Mutton 174 

Mock  Oyster  Soup 174 

Excellent  Gold  Cake 174 

Lemon  Cake 11'4 

Fried  Chicken 174 

Plain  Fruit  Cake 174 

Boiled  Rice  Pudding 174 

Okra  Soup  Equal  to  Turtle  Soup 174 

Steamed  Brown  Bread 174 

Rhubarb  Pies 174 

LIVE  STOCK. 

Cattle-Raising  in  Montana 174 

To  Utilize  Jersey  Bulls 174 

The  Shropshire  Sheep 174 

Rearing  Sheep  for  Their  Milk 174 

Making  Good  Pork 175 

The  Coming  Sheep 175 

POULTRY. 

Moulting 175 

How  to  Be  Kid  ofThem 175 

A  Poultry  House  175 

Literary  and  Personal 176 


Qui 

U      -1 


eeiiTHE 


Sontt 

FARM  MILLS 

For  Stuck  Feed  or  Meal  Tor 
Family  use. 
10,000   TXT  .trsE. 

Write  for  Pamrhli-t. 

Simpson  &  Gaalt  U'fg  Co. 

SucceBBors  to  Straub  A1ill*C0. 
OU^CINNATI.  0. 


nov:3t 


NONPAREIL 

FARM  Sl  feed  MILLS 

The  Cheapest  and  Best* 

Will  Crush  and  Grind  Any  thing. 
Ulastrated  Catalogne  FKEK. 
iddreu  L  J.MILLER,  CmcmDali,0. 


Ascnts  Wanted.    The  Calinino.linR  Triumph. 

HOW  TO  LIVE! 

A  complpt«  Cyclopfdia  of  h'.nwhulil  knowled(te  forthe 
masnes  ;  now  ready.  NolhinKliUril.  <iOin^lnNt.  I^'w 
rriced.  ilhistrMU-d.  unrtiualt'd  m  auttmnilnp.  Send  for 
Press  notices  and  full  parliciilarHndW.  Oultit  und  instruc- 
tions how  to  Bell,  frer  to  actual  SKents.  KuL-c*-B8(ruftr«n. 
t«ed  faithful  workers.  State  experience,  if  any,  and  t«fm- 
lorjdeeired,  W.U.THOMPSON.Pob..404  ArcU  St.Phila. 

oct-lt 


I.ANl)><ETirs  FIKI  J>  SICI.DS. 
L.VNJJKKTIi'S   1  r<M>\KK   SKICI)-". 

AKriciiKu'iiI  Impk'meiits  in  Krent  variety. 

Jlorticu  liiral   Tool-s  in  ki*-   I  varioty. 

K<(juisil('s  lor  (iu  dc  ■  and  (iruen  House. 

Red  and  White  CMovt^r,  ALsike  C'lovur.  hueerne. 

Blue  (irasH  (iree  .  Gr-iss,  Orchard  Cirust*.  Herdft  Grass. 
Perennial  hycGnu'-.s. 

Mixed  I.avn  (Jra-»  Seed,  very  fiueb'  quality. 

Pla-  t  Food  lor    i    use  Plants 

Bone  Meal  of  the  purest  (iuality. 

Peruviiin  Guano,  I^and  Plaster. 

Farm  Sail,  Flaxseed  Meal  . 

Carbolic  "-o»ps.  I*aris  Green. 

London  Pm'p  e,    ►'aris  Purple. 

Insect  I'o"  tier,  Tobacco  l>usl. 
IIJ.USTftATKD      CA 1  ALOGTPS     FHKK.  PRICES 

-LOW,     CAU-  FtL  AITKNTIUX  (il'All  \NTEK1>. 

Founded    1784.      1500  acres  under  cultivation 
growing  Landieth's  Garden  Seeds. 

D.  LANDREI-H  &  SONS, 
Nos-  21  tixu\  2.3  South  Sixth  Street, 

Between   Mauket  and  Ciiestmt  Sts., 

AND  S.    W.  COUNEIt    DkLAWAKE   AVKNVK.  AND  AKCIIST., 

oct-6m  PHII,.'\DF.I.PHI,'V. 


Garmore'sE=r^'S?!.ii. 

A"  Invented  and  worn  l»y  him 
pfrffCtly  tcst'jriiij;  th- licariiit,-,  .Uti. 
tircly  deafforihirty  years,  hs  hears  with 
them  evt-n  whispers,  distinctly.  Ar« 
nut  obni>rvnble«  and  reniain  in  posi- 
tion witlmut  aid.  Descriptive  Circular 
Free.  CAUTION  :  Do  not  t>c  deceived 
by  l>ot,'usc.ir  drums.  Mine  is  the  only 
siicce<^sUil  artificial  Ear  Drum    maau* 

'""jOHN    GARMORE, 

Tilth  Si.  Race  Sli.,  CiiKinnati,  O. 


;Fon  1882 


Will  be  m&ilcd  rasi  to  all  appllcKnti,  and  t/>  cntti^meri  wlthoai 
ordcrloc  It,  It  coQtAint  five  colored  pUtci,  '  "U  engrkvicict, 
MboutSuOpfteei,  and  full  detcripilAQt,  price i  KtrJ  dir^ctloDi  for 
rl&DtEne  l&OO  Tuietie*  of  Vi-^cublo  uid  Flow«r  Sredt,  PIkdU. 
Fruit Trvei,  etc.     Invuluable  to  nil.     Send  fitr  U.     Addreu. 


D.  M.  FERB7  &  CO..  Detroit.  Micb. 


.Tnn-4ni 


(I>/?C;<  wtiek  in  your  own  town.    Terni8  and  $5  outfit  free 
vpOUAddreBB  H.  Hallktt  &  Co..  Portland,  Maine. 

juM-lyr* 

\\V.  \VA.\T  OI.lt   KOOUS. 

Wk  Want  (iKKMAN  Books. 

WE  WANT  BOOKS   PIUNTED  IN  LANCASTER  CO. 

Wc  Want  All  Kinds  of  Old  Books. 

LIBRARIES,  ENGLISH  OK  GERMAN    BOUGHT. 

CiL^h  i^aid  for  Books  in  any  quantity.    Send  your  a.ddress 

and  we  will  call. 

RKKS  WfcLKH  &  CO., 

23  Soutli  Ninth  Street,  Philadelphia. 


THE  LANCASTER   FARMER 


►ENXSYI.VANIA  KAII.ROAO  SrHEDri,E. 

Trains  leave  the  Depot  !u  :bit»  city,  an  follows  : 


TVE   TWABD. 

Pacific  Express' 

Wa y  Passeugert   

Niagai-a  Express 

Hanover  Aceoiutuodatiou.. 

Mail  train  via  Mt.  Joy 

No.  2  via  Colurabia 

Sunday  Mail 

Fast  Line' 

Frederick  Accommodation. 

Harnsburg  Accom 

Columbia  -\ccojnmodatiou.. 

Harrisburg  Kxpress 

Pittsburg  Express 

Cincinnati  Express* 

EASTWARD. 

Cincinnati  Exprejw 

Fast  Line  ' 

Harrisliurg  Ex].res8 

Columbia  .^ccommodaliou.. 

Pacific  Kxpress* 

Sunday  Mail 

Johnstown  Express 

Day  Express' 


I  eavi 
Lancaster. 

2:40  a.  m. 

5:110  a.  m. 
11:IKI  a.  m. 
ll:(J5p.  m. 
10:21)  a.  m. 
11.2-5  a.  to. 
10:.")0  a.  m. 

2;30p.  m. 

2:.'i5p.  m. 

5:4.5  p.  m. 

7:20  p.  m. 

7:30  p.m. 

S:5U  p.  m. 
11:30  p.  m. 

Lnucaster. 
2.5.5  a.  m. 
.5:0S  a.  m. 
8:05  a.  m. 
9.10  p.  m. 
:40  p  m. 
2:00  p.  m. 
.'5:0.5  p.  m. 
5:35  p  m . 


Arrive 

Harrisburg. 

4:05  a.  m. 

7:50  a.  ra. 

11:20  a.m. 

Col.  10:40  a.  m. 

12:40  p.  m. 

12:5.5  ]».  m. 

12:40  )i.  m. 

.S:25  ]'.  m. 

Col.  2:45  p.  m. 

7:40  p.  m. 

Col.  s:20  p.  m. 

8:40^.  m. 

10:10  p.  m. 

12:45  a.  m. 

Philadelphia 

:^:00  a.  m. 

7:40  a.  m. 
10:00  a.  m. 
12:0   p.  m. 

3:40  |i.m. 

5:00  p.m. 

5:30  p.  in. 

7:20  p.m. 

9:30  p.  m. 


Harrisburg  .\ccom 0:25  p.m. 

The  Hanover  .\ccommodatiou,  west,  connects  at  Lancaster 
with  Niagara  Express,  west,  at  9:35  a.  ui.,  and  will  run 
through  to  Hanover. 

The  Frederick  Accommodation,  west,  counectsat  Lancas- 
ter with  Faiit  Line,  west,  at  2:I'I  p.  m..  and  runs  to  Frederick. 

The  Pacilic  Express,  east,  ou  Suuday,  when  flagged,  will 
stop  at  M-ddletown,  Elizjbethtowu,  Mount  Joy  and  Laudis- 
ville. 

•The  only  trains  which  run  daily. 

tRuus  da'ily,  except  Monday. 

NORBECK&iMILEY, 


PRACTICAL 


Garriage  Builders, 

cox  &  CO'S  OIB  STA^I), 

Coffier  of  Duke  and  Vine  Streets, 

LANCASTER,  PA. 

THE  LATEST  IMPROVED 

SIDE-BAR  BUGGIES. 

PHyETONS, 

Carriages,  Etc. 


JTIM' 


Prices  to  Suit  the  Times. 

KEPAIRIXG  promptly  attendej  to.     All  work 
guaranteed. 

79-2- 

s.  :o.  ooixi, 

^Manufacturer  of 

C  images,  Buggies,  Phaetons,  etc. 

CHURCH  ST.,  NEAR  DUKE,      LANCASTER,  PA. 

Large  Stock  uf  New  and  Secou-hand  Work  on  hand 
very  cheaji.  Carriages  Made  to  Order  Work  Warranted 
or  Que  year.  [7(-9-l'i 


EDW.  I.  ZAHM, 


DEALKK    iN 


AMERICAN  AND   FOREIGN 

WATCHES, 

SOLID  SILVER  &  SILVER  PLATED  WARE, 
GT.OCKS. 

JEWELRY  I  TABLE  CUTLERY. 

Sole  Agent  for  the  Anmdi-I  Viiited 

SPECTACLES. 

Reiiiiirin^,'  strictly  attended  to. 

North  Queen-st,  and  Centre  Square,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

79-l-Ii 

.4T  LrOWUsT  P<>SSIBL,B  FKICKS, 

Fully  guaranteed. 
No.   106  EAST   KING  STREET, 

79-1-12]  OppitaUf  J.popntd  Hoti't. 

ESTABLISHED  1832. 


G.  SENER  &  SONS, 

Mauufacturers  and  dealers  in  all  kinds  of  rongli  and 

finished 

The  beat  Sawed  SHI^GI.<ES  iu  the  country.     Also  Sash, 
Poors.  Blinds,  MoTikimgs,  &c. 

PATENT  0.  G.  WEATHERBOARDING 

and  PATENT  BLIND.S,  which  are  far  superior  to  any 
other.     Also  beat  1-0.%I>  constantly  ou  hand. 

OFFICE  AND  YARD  : 

Northeast  Corner  of  Prince  and  Walnnt-sts., 

TjANCA-STER,  PA..1 

79-1-12] 


PRACTICAL  ESSAYS  ON  ENTOMOLOGY, 

Embracing  the  history  and  habits  of 

NOXIOUS  AND  INNOXIOUS 

INSECTS, 

and  the  best  remedies  for  their  expiilaiou  or  extermluatiou. 

By  S.  S.  RATHVON,  Ph.  D. 

LANCASTER,  PA. 

This  work  will  be  Highly  Illustrated,  and  will  be  put  iu 
press  (as  soon  after  a  sufficient  uumber  of  subscribers  can 
be  obtained  to  cover  the  cost)  as  the  work  can  poBsibly  be 
accomplished. 
19-2- 


Cfi   \r\    Con  I**^^ '^^y  ""^^  ^"'"^-   Samples  worth  85  free^ 
4>J    LU   4)iSv  Address  Stinson  Sl  Co.,  Portlaad.  Maine 


SEND  FOR 

On  Concord  Grapevines,  Transplanted  Kvergreeus.  Tulip, 
Poplar,  Linden  Maple,  etc.  Tree  Seedlings  aud  Trees  for 
timber  plantations  by  the  10n,0iiii 

J.  JEXUiNS^  XV'RSEKY, 

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LANCASTER,  PA.,  NOVEMBER,  1882. 


Vol.  XIV.  No.  11. 


Editorial. 


THE  HISTORY    OF   THE   TOMATO 

It  is  just  (ifty-fivi^  years  siiicn  the  lirst  to- 
mato was  f;rown  in  this  county.  In  the 
sjiriiis;  of  1827  a  traveler  who  tarried  over  the 
niglit  at  a  village  inn  at  l''r,inUatowii,  I'a., 
presented  tlie  lamllord'.s  little  daaij;ht.er  with 
a  few  seeds,  which  she  carefidly  |ilanled  and 
from  which  the  lirst  ripe  tomatoes  ever  fjrovvn 
in  this  c  lunty  were  pnjdnced.  The  lilth!  airl 
was  so  proud  of  her  little  tree  full  of  liriirht 
red  "love  apples"  that  she  carried  it  aromid 
every  house  in  the  village,  and  as  the  fruit 
was  supiiosed  to  be  poisonous  the  children 
were  cautioned  not  to  touch  or  handle  it.  The 
following  year  the  little  girl's  mother,  against 
the  protest  of  all  the  otlicr  members  of  the 
family,  prepared,  cooked  and  ate  some  of  the 
fruit.  As  she  pronounced  it  good  and  i)alata- 
V)le  and  did  not  sicken,  the  tomato  soon  be- 
came a  favorite  dish  in  the  family.  The 
young  girl,  whose  name  was  Matilda  Brother- 
line,  is  still  li\ing,  the  vyifcof  Mr.  .lohn  Barr, 
of  East  Ilolidaysburg,  and  mother  of  S.  B. 
Barr,  of  Hays  City,  Kansas. — AHoona  Tri- 
bune. 

The  foregoing  historical  item  is  interesting, 
and  the  more  so  because  it  allows  other  peo- 
ple, and  other  places,  to  put  in  their  claims  iu 
regard  to  the  introduction,  and  culinary  pre- 
paration! of  the  tomato  by  claiming  to  ac- 
count for  its  introduction  only  in  '■this  coun- 
ty." Some  months  ago  a  similar  paragraph 
was  going  the  rounds  of  the  press  to  the  ef- 
fect, that  about  half  a  century  ago,  a  prisoner, 
discharged  from  the  York  jail,  had  presented 
some  seeds  to  the  wife  or  daughter  of  the 
jailor,  who  had  planted  them  in  an  enclosure 
attached  to  the  jail,  and  had  grown  the  beau- 
tiful red  "love-apples",  which  were  also 
deemed  poisonous,  but  which  were  subse- 
quently discovered  to  be  edible,  and  this  was 
claimed  as  the  first  introduction  of  the  tomato 
into  York  county.  There  is  no  reason  why 
both  accounts  should  not  be  true  ;  and,  if  the 
lohole  truth  were  known,  perhaps  a  dozen 
other  places  might  establish  a  similar  claim. 
It  is  certain,  from  a  record  made  by  Thomas 
Jefferson  in  his  domestic  diary,  while  he  was 
President  of  the  United  States,  that  tomatoes 
were  sold  iif  Washington  market  for  edible 
purposes.  Their  cultivation  and  sale  may 
have  been  limited,  but  they  were  used  as  a 
culinary  preparation  on  the  table  of  the  Presi- 
dent, at  least.  We,  ourself,  saw  the  tomato 
and  the  white  egg-plant,  nnder  ornamental 
cultivation,  more  than  sixty  years  ago,  and, 
overshadowed,  coincidcntally,  by  the  same 
notion  that  it  was  poisonous,  which  was 
readily  impressed  by  its  peculiar  odor.  About 
the  summer  of  1831  or  1832,  we  very  dubious- 
ly tasted  the  first  stewed  tcsmatoes,  and  we 
were  by  no  means  preposessed  in  their  favor  ; 
we  learned  to  appropriate  bull-frogs  and  lob- 
sters in  a  shorter  time,  and  with  far  less  rc- 
pnlsion.  Philip  Miller,  in  his  Gardener^s 
Dictionary,  published  about  the  year  1731, 
speaks  of  tomatoes  being  introduced  into 
England  from  Spain,  where  they  long  had 
been  cultivated  for  edible  purposes,  but  were 
chiefly  used  as  a  condiment.    Miller,  himself, 


spoke  disparagiuirly  of  them — considered 
them  too  "  watery"  ever  to  come  into  general 
use.  This  objection  obtains  to  some  of  the 
varieties  cultivated  at  the  present  day.  But, 
a  wonderful  improvement  has  buCn  made, 
both  in  the  ipiality  and  quantity  of  this  fruit. 
The  best  we  have  ever  ealen  were  supplied 
abundantly  in  our  markets  the  present  season, 
large,  solid  all  tho\igh,  comparatively  dry, 
granular,  and  finely  flavored.  They  have  be- 
come a  culinary  necessity. 


'LEAVES." 

We  regret  that  through  an  oversight,  dis- 
covered too  late,  we  failed  to  respond  in  any- 
wise to  the  queries  of  J.  r  W.,  in  his  con- 
tribution published  in  the  October  number  of 
the  F.vitiiKU  on  the  subject  of  "Leaves." 
He  is  physiologically  correct  that  the  func- 
tion of  leaves  in  plants  is  analogous  to  the 
function  of  the  lungs  in  the  animal  body ; 
and  that  the  premature  destruction  of  the 
leaves  will  mar,  or  totally  prevent  the  de- 
velopment of  the  fruit. 

The  "  little  dy "  that  infested  his  grape- 
vines was  doubtless  the  "  Grape-leaf  Hopper  " 
{Teltiijonio  vitis),  an  insect  belonging  to  the 
order  IIojiopteua  ;  but,  we  do  not  think 
that  "drenching  the  vines  from  beneath 
with  abundance  of  water  from  the  hydrrant  " 
would  have  had  any  permanent  effect.  It 
might  have  driven  them  off  for  an  indefmite 
time,  but  as  soon  as  the  operation  would  have 
ceased,  aud  the  water  had  evaporated,  they 
would  have  been  all  back  again.  A  few  of 
them  might  have  been  washed  down  and  have 
perished,  but  the  larger  number  would  only 
have  hopped  off  to  safer  quarters,  aud  there 
awaited  the  first  opportunity  to  return.  In 
consequence  of  this  peculiar  characteristic, 
they  are  ditticult  of  access  with  a  drench  of 
any  kind,  although  if  applied  when  the  in- 
sects are  quite  young  (June  and  July)  and  be- 
fore the  development  of  their  wings,  even 
water  would  prove  more  or  less  destructive, 
especially  if  applied  with  force,  and  from  be- 
neath. But,  if  a  saponaceous  solution,  an 
alkalinous  dilution,  or  a  tobacco,  capsicum, 
or  pyrethrum  infusion,  vfere  applied  with  a 
garden  syringe,  every  morning  early,  or  late 
in  the  evening  when  they  are  in  repose  on  the 
undersides  of  the  leaves,  the  remedy  woulci  be 
very  effectual.  The  transformation  of  these 
insects,  like  that  of  the  Orthoplera  (grass- 
hoppers, etc.,)  and  the  Hemiptera  (bugs)  is 
what  is  termed  "incomplete" — indeed  rather 
a  transition  through  successive  stages  of  de- 
velopment, in  whicli  there  is  very  little  differ- 
ence between  the  young  and  the  adult,  save 
in  the  development  of  the  wings  and  colora- 
tion. In  their  earlier  stages  they  are  feeble, 
and  when  disturbed  merely  shift  their  posi- 
tions from  the  lower  to  the  upper  sides  of  the 
leaves,  or  vice  versa,  but  as  they  advance  in 
life  they  are  given  to  flying  or  hopping,  hence 
called  "Leaf-hoppers." 


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KITCHEN-GARDEN    FOR    NOVEIVIBER. 

In  the  Middle  States,  the  season  for  gar- 
dening is  drawing  to  a  clo.se;  indeed,  it  is 
liTnited  to  the  preservation  of  rootf,  and  the 
hardier  vegetaliles  for  winter  nse,  and  such 
operations  as  may  be  prejiaratory  to  another 
sea.son.  Now  is  a  good  time  to  transplant 
fruit  and  ornamental  liee.s,  shrubbery,  &c. 
On  loamy  and  light  lan<l  we  prefer,  decidedly, 
fall  planting;  on  heavy  soil,  or  where  the  sub- 
.soil  is  clay,  thus  retaining  the  moisture  near 
the  surface,  spring  may  l)e  a  more  favorable 
season  ;  and  it  i.s  also  generally  esteemed  the 
the  best  for  evergreens.  Asparagus  beds 
winter  dress.  Beets  dig  and  store.  (Jabbageg 
lilace  in  safe  quaiters.  Carrots  dig  iind  store. 
Celery  earth  up  finally.  Drain  vacant  ground 
if  needful.  Ilorse-radish  dig  and  store  for. 
convenience.  Onions,  in  store,  examine. 
Parsnips  dig  for  c(jnvenient  access.  .Salsify 
ditto  &c.  From  1st  to  20tli  of  this  month, 
according  to  locality,  the  winter  supply  of 
turnii)s  should  be  cared  for. — Landreth''s 
liural  Jicijister. 

The  proper  time  for  transplanting  fruit, 
ornamental,  and  other  trees — that  is,  whether 
the  spring  or  autumn  of  the  year  is  best — is  a 
question  of  very  long  standing ;  indeed,  we 
can  remember  it  from  an  early  boyhood,  at 
least  sixty  years  ago.  Both  periods  had  their 
stauuch  friends  and  advocates  then,  as  they 
have  now,  and  both  could  point  to  numerous 
cases,  by  way  of  illustration,  where  the  one 
had  succeeded  and  the  other  had  failed,  and 
neither  party  would  plant  out  of  their  favorite 
season,  "hit  or  mi.ss. "  Perhaps  it  never 
occurred  to  either  party  that  "circumstances 
alter  cases."  Soil  and  meteorological  condi- 
tions have  certainly  much  to  do  in  determin- 
ing the  question. 

We  recall  a  circumstance  that  occurred 
fully  fifty  years  ago,  wheu  an  extraordinary 
drought  [irevailed  from  the  middle  to  the  end 
of  summer,  when  nearly  all  the  late  potato 
vines  were  burnt  brown  and  crisp,  aud  the 
tubers  were  about  the  size  of  marrowfat  peas. 
One  cultivator,  either  through  indolence  or 
indlll'erence,  failed  to  weed  his  "  patch,"  feel- 
ing that  there  would  be  no  potatoes  anyhow. 
Well,  it  transpired  that  he  had  the  best  crop  of 
potatoes  in  the  district — indeed  a  fair  crop. 
The  weeds  shaded  the  vines  and  kept  them 
green,  and  matured  the  tubers.  This,  how- 
ever, would  not  have  been  successful  as  a 
rule — circwnslances  alter  cases.  Both  periods 
of  transplanting  have  their  advantages  and 
disadvantages,  according  to  the  conditions 
above  stated. 


INSECTS      INJURIOUS      TO      FORESTS 
AND    SHADE-TREES. 

Kaltenbach,  in  his  work  entitled  "  Die 
Pjlanzenficnde  aus  dir  Klasse  der  Insekten," 
has  enumerated,  in  a  closely-printed  volume 
of  848  pages,  the  species  of  insects  preying 
upon  the  different  tress  and  plants  of  all  sorts 
in  Central  Europe.  The  number  of  insects 
found  upon  some  kinds  of  forest-trees  is  as- 
tonishing, though  it  is  to  be  remembered  that 
all  kinds  are  not  equally  destructive,  the  most 
injurious  and  deadly  forms  being  compara- 
tively few. 


162 


THE  LANCASTER    FARMER. 


[November, 


The  above  named  author  etuiraerated  537 
species  of  insects  injurious  to  the  oal<,  and 
107  obnoxious  to  tlie  elm.  (Some  of  these 
species,  however,  may  number  millions  of  in- 
dividuals.) The  poplars  afford  a  livelihood 
to  264  kinds  of  insects;  the  willows  yield  food 
to  390  species  ;  the  birches  harbor  270  species  ; 
the  alder,  119;  the  beech,  154  ;  the  hazelnut, 
97;  and  the  thorubcam,  or  "iron-wood,"  88. 
The  junipers  supply  33  species,  while  upon 
the  pines,  larch,  spruce,  and  lirs,  collectively, 
prey  299  species  of  insects.  In  France,  Ferris 
has  observed  over  one  hundred  species,  either 
injurious  to,  or  living  upon,  without  being  es- 
pecially injurious  to,  the  maritime  pine  ;  these 
he  describes  in  an  octavo  volume  of  532  pages 
with  numeious  plates."  On  this  same  sub- 
ject, Ratzeburg,  of  Germany,  published  three 
beautifully -illustrated  quarto  volumes,  of 
about  500  pages  each,  over  thirty  years  ago, 
and  it  is  a  standing  regret  to  us  that  we 
did  not  secure  the  work  when  we  could  have 
done  so  on  the  most  liberal  conditions. 

Dr.  A.  S.  Packard,  Jr.,  of  the  Entomo- 
logical Commission,  has  written  a  work, 
noticed  in  our  Literary  and  Personal  columns, 
in  which  ho  brings  together  a  large  number  of 
American  species  destructive  to  forest  and 
shade  trees,  and,  although  little  more  than 
the  technical  names  of  many  of  them  are 
given,  and  extended  descriptions  to  only  a 
few,  still  the  work  is  a  needful  one,  and 
comes  before  the  public  as  the  ^probable  fore- 
runner of  a  more  ample  work  on  the  subject 
on  some  future  occasion,  when  the  subject  of 
forestry,  and  the  preservation  of  trees  of  all 
kinds  shall  have  taken  a  deeper  hold  upon  the 
minds  and  the  hearts  of  those  who  are  mate- 
rially interested  therein.  Indeed,  it  is  a  sub- 
ject in  which  all  are  more  or  less  interested, 
whether  they  possess  large  landed  estates,  or 
an  acre,  or  nothing. 

Of  course  Dr.  Packard  does  not  profess  to 
have  enumerated  all  the  destructive  species  of 
insects  that  infest  fruit,  shade  and  forest 
trees,  but  even  the  few  he  does  describe  is  sug- 
gestive of  what  remains  to  be  described.  The 
Oak  is  infested  by  214  species,  only  59  of 
which  have  appended  descriptions.  Although 
all  these  insect  species  live  upon  the  sub- 
stances of  the  various  oaks,  yet,  it  is  not  man- 
ifest that  the  larger  number  are  injurious — 
indeed,  it  is  possible  that  some  of  them  may 
in  some  way  be  even  beneficial.  Still,  there 
are  so  many  of  such  a  decidedly  injurious 
character,  that  it  would  not  be  wise  to  permit 
any  of  them  to  increase,  if  it  can  possibly  be 
prevented  ;  insect  injury  is  a  matter  that 
depends  much  on  numbers.  A  little  blood 
taken  from  an  animal  being  may  do  no  harm, 
or  even  be  beneficial,  but  the  result  would  be 
qvite  different  if  all  the  blood  were  tapped. 
The  Elm  supports  43  species  of  insect  feeders, 
21  of  which  have  accompanying  descriptions. 
Oa  the  hickory,  in  various  ways,  87  species 
"make  their  living."  The  Black  Walnut 
supports  11  species,  and  the  butternut,  18; 
but  singular  enough,  Ceratocampa  regalis, 
and  Dafana  niinistra,  so  destructive  to  the 
foliage  of  these  trees  in  Lancaster  county,  are 
not  mentioned  at  all ;  and  Samia  cecropiais 
most  frequently  found  on  the  apple,  in  this 
county.  The  (Jheatnut  supports  18  species,  and 
the  Lociist  20  species.  The  Maple,  37  species; 
the  Cottonivoud  16,  and  this  is  the  more  to  be 


regretted  because  this  tree  has  been  largely 
relied  on  to  furnish  a  forestry  for  the  Western 
prairies.  The  I'ojjlar  is  infested  by  30  spe- 
cies, and  the  Linden,  23;  the  Birch,  19  ; 
the  Beech,  15,  and  the  Ttdq)  tree,  7.  The 
Wild  Cherry,  22  ;  the  Choke-clierrij,  4  ;  the 
BtcZ  Wild  Plum,  0 ;  the  June  Berry,  4  ;  tlie 
Mountain  Aih,  19  ;  the  Sweet  Gum,  5  ;  the 
Persimmnn,  3  ;  Gum,  1  ;  the  Laurel,  19  ; 
Sa.-isafras,  6  ;  Syca^nore,  9  ;  Hazel,  8  ;  Horn- 
beam, 12  ;  Water  Beach,  2,  and  the  Alder, 
19.  The  willow  has  99  species  to  feed  ;  the 
the  Pine,  102  ;  the  Sjmice,  24,  and  the  Fir, 
19.  The  Hemlock,  10 ;  the  Juniper,  12 ; 
Larch,  fe  ;  the  Cedar,  3  ;  the  Sequoia  yiyan- 
tea — the  great  California  mammoth,  3,  and 
the  Cypress,  1. 

Of  course,  it  is  not  to  be  understood  that  all 
these  insects  confine  themselves  to  the  particu- 
la.i  kind  of  tree  mentioned  in  connection  with 
them,  for  many  of  them  are  either  indiscrimi- 
nate, or  readily  adapt  themselves  to  ditt'erent 
kinds.  Notwithstanding  this,  there  are  one 
thousand  species  of  insects  enumerated  that 
are  injurious,  or  may  become  injurious  to  for- 
est and  shade  trees  in  the  United  States,  and 
known  to  be  such  at  the  present  day;  and 
this  does  not  include,  the  many  that  infest 
fruit  and  other  species  of  vegetation.  This 
little  work  makes  no  attempt  to  deal  in  insect 
remedies  ;  that  is  not  its  object ;  it  is  merely 
a  synoptic  compilation  of  the  knowledge  ac- 
cessible 10  the  author  in  a  special  department 
of  practical  entomology,  and  partially  illus- 
trates the  immensity  of  the  labor  yet  to  be 
performed  in  this  rapidly  developing  field. 
We  have  hardly  more  than  entered  the  vesti- 
bule of  practical  entomology,  and  yet  it  is 
possible  the  government  may  eventually 
relax  its  aid,  simply  because  it  may  be  unable 
to  appreciate  the  progress  that  has  been 
made,  and  what  yet  remains  to  be  accom- 
plished. 


A  PLEA   FOR  TREES. 

The  High  Commissioner  of  Cyprus  attri- 
butes its  chief  curses,  droughts  and  locusts,  to 
the  reckless  destruction  of  the  forests.  As 
the  woods  disappeared,  so  did  the  soil  that 
covered  the  hills  ;  that  soil  was  washed  down 
to  the  plains,  choked  the  rivers,  and  formed 
marvelous  swamps,  the  hills  became  bare 
rocks,  incapable  of  growing  a  blade  of  vege- 
tation, and  the  locust  at  once  took  possession 
of  the  barren  ground,  while  the  absence  of 
trees  deprived  the  earth  of  its  annually  fertili- 
zing agent — leaf  mould.  The  same  process  is 
going  on  upon  the  higher  hills,  and  Sir  R. 
Biddulph  believes  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say 
that  Cyprus  is  in  a  critical  state  on  this  ac- 
count, from  which,  however,  there  is  reason 
to  hope  that  it  may  yet  be  recovered.  There 
are  districts  of  this  country,  too,  where  these 
remarks  may  be  pondered  over  with  advan- 
tage. 

How  often  do  we  meet  with  paragraphs 
like  the  foregoing  on  this  subjeet,  which 
threatens  to  become  threadbare  or  monoto- 
nous in  the  multiplicity  of  its  repetition.  It 
seems  to  be  a  sort  of  cause  with  which  we 
find  it  convenient  to  explain  a  multitude  of 
effects.  That  the  presence  or  absence  of  trees 
exercises  a  more  than  ordinary  influence 
over  rainfalls,  general  moisture  and  produc- 
tiveness of  the  soil,  has  many  advocates,  and 
some  of  them  of  large  experience  and  observ- 
ing ability.  Indeed,  the  arguments  adduced 
are  so  many,  and  the  authority  apparently  so 
unexceptionable,  that  the  wonder  has  been 


that  any  one  whose  opinion  is  entitled  to 
respect,  should  gainsay  thorn.  The  theory 
itself  constitutes  a  convenient  little  species  of 
"  thunder,"  wielded  by  agricultural  writers 
and  speakers,  from  the  township  club  up  to 
the  halls  of  Congress,  or  vice  versa,  if  that 
form  of  expression  would  be  putting  the  mat- 
ter more  correctly.  In  our  lifetime  of  seventy 
years  we  have  been  cognizant  of  several  local 
changes  on  the  earth's  surface,  which,  if  not 
caused  by  the  removal  of  the  trees  that  once 
occupied  places  made  bare  and  arid  appar- 
ently by  their  removal,  then  the  phenomena 
seem  absolutely  inexplicable  ;  and  yet  Prof. 
Isaac  Bassett  Choat,  of  Cambridge,  Mass.,  in 
a  communication  to  the  editor  of  the  New 
York  Tribune,  under  date  of  September  30, 
1882,  goes  very  far  towards  exploding  the 
theory,  the  arguments  it  relies  on,  and  the 
presumed  results.  As  the  subjects  of  forests, 
rain-falls,  droughts  and  floods  seem  now  to  be 
eliciting  more  thanordiirary  attention,  it  may 
subserve  a  useful  end  to  to  place  both  sides  of 
the  question  before  the  thoughtful  reader, 
and,  if  be  can,  enable  him  to  make  up  his 
mind  thereon  ;  hence,  in  another  column  we 
insert  Prof.  Choat's  paper,  for  the  edification 
of  our  interested  readers.  It  is  not  to  be 
inferred,  however,  that  it  expresses  our  senti- 
ments, or  that  we  unqualifiedly  endorse  it 
simply  because  we  re-publish  it.  "It  mought 
be  so,  but  then  again  it  moughtn't."  It  is 
just  as  likely  that  the  con  side  of  the  question 
may  be  influenced  by  appearances  as  much  as 
the  pro  side  is.  It  would  require  twenty 
years  of  thorough  observation  and  experience, 
perhai»s,  to  afiirm  or  overthrow  the  theory 
effectually,  and  our  time  seems  a  little  too 
short  to  begin  such  a  labor  now.  We  will 
have  to  view  it  from  other  stand-points  for 
the  present. 


THE   FARMER'S   CREED. 

"  Let  this  be  lield  the  farmer's  creed  : 
For  stock,  seek  out  the  choicest  breed  ; 
In  peace  and  plenty  let  them  feed  ; 
Your  land  sow  with  the  best  of  seed  ; 
Let  it  not  dung  nor  dressing  need  ; 
Inclose,  plough,  reap  with  care  and  speed  ; 
And  jou-will  soon  be  rich  indeed." 


THE    FAKMER  S    FIEND. 

A  tender  young  potato  bug 

Sat  swinging  on  a  vine, 
And  sighed  unto  a  maiden  fcug  : 

"  I  pray  you  will  be  mine." 
Then  softly  spake  the  maiden  bug  ; 

"I  love  you  fond  and  true, 
But  oh  my  cruel-hearted  pa 

Won't  let  me  marry  you  I  " 
With  scorn  upon  his  buggy  brow, 

With  glances  cold  and  keen, 
That  haughty  lover  answered  her  : 

"I  think  yoar par  is-green  !" 


THE    FAKMEB'S  warning. 

"  At  ten  a  child,  at  twenty  wild, 
At  thirty  strong,  if  ever ; 

At  forty  rich,  at  fifty  wies, 
At  sixty  good,  or  never." 


THE    farmer's   friend. 

"  How  much  to  be  prized 
And  esteemed  Is  a  friend, 

On  whom  we  can  always 
With  safety  depend. 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


163 


Our  joys,  when  exlendeil, 
Will  always  iiuTcase  ; 

Our  griefs,  w  hen  divided, 
Are  hushed  into  peace." 


THE    PAHMEK'S    IIOPK. 

"  Hope  springs  eternal  in  the  human  hreast ; 
Man  never  is,  but  always  to  lie,  blest ; 
The  soul,  uneasy  and  eontined  from  home, 
Hests  and  expatiates  on  a  life  to  come." 


THE    FAHMEU'S   I'BOVI  DENOE. 

"  All  nature  is  but  art,  unknown  to  thee  ; 

All  chance,  direction,  which  thou  canst  not  see, 

AD  discord,  harmony  not  understood. 

All  partial  evil,  universal  good  ; 

And,  spite  of  pride,  ii\  erring  rtuxon's  spite. 

One  thing  is  clear— whatever  is,  is  right." 


EXCERPTS. 

TiiK  rye  crop  will  probably  roach  20,000,- 
000  biishcls. 

Of  buckwheat,  Pennsylvauia  produces 
nearly  oiie-hiilftlie  entire  crop.  The  total 
yield  will  be  over  11,000  000  bushels. 

The  potato  crop  covers  an  area  approach- 
ins;  2,000,000  acres,  with  a  yield  of  about  80 
bushels  per  acre.  A  short  crop  is  foreshad- 
owed in  Xew  York  .State. 

Returns  to  the  Department  of  Agricul 
ture  from  all  the  1700  counties  of  the  United 
States  indicate  a  wheat  product  slisthtly  ex- 
ceeding .500,000,000  Imshels,   or  an  average 
yield  per  acre  of  about  13..5  bushels. 

In  cotton,  an  unusual  size  and  vigor  of 
plant,  with  capacity  for  a  large  production, 
is  reported.  The  general  average  of  condi- 
tion is  higher  than  in  any  October  for  ten 
years,  with  the  e.xception  of  187.5  and  1878. 

More  than  one-half  of  all  the  barley  pro^- 
duced  in  the  United  States  is  raised  in  New 
York,  California,  and  Wisconsin.  The  aver- 
age yield  is  2:{.5  busliels  per  acre,  and  the 
total  product  will  reach  45,000,000  bushels. 

Oats  are  an  immense  crop.  The  average 
yield  is  higher  than  that  of  last  year,  Kan- 
sas ranks  among  the  highest,  as  it  does  in 
wheat.  The  total  product  in  oats  of  all  the 
States  will  probably  be  480,000,000  bushels. 

The  six  principal  winter  wheat  States  will 
aggregate  244,000,000  bushels.  There  is  a  re- 
duction in  tlie  acreage  of  the  spring  wheat 
area  ot  the  Northwest,  but  the  yield  may 
reach  11,3,000,000  bushels.  The  Pacific 
coast  will  probably  yield  45,000,000  bushels, 
the  Middle  States  40,000,000  bushels,  and 
the  Southern  States  a  tritie  more  than  50,000,- 
000  bushels. 

Kansas  holds  its  reputation  for  large  re- 
ttirns  to  the  toiler,  with  the  extraordinary 
average  yield  of  19.5.  The  country  north  of 
the  Ohio  river,  in  the  great  wheat  belt,  aver- 
ages nearly  10  bushels.  Kentucky  and  Mis- 
aouri  promise  about  14  bushels,  and  California 
13  bushels. 

The  average  yield  of  wheat  the  country 
over  has  never  fallen  quite  to  10  bushels,  and 
it  has  never  quite  reached  14  bushels  in  years 
of  greatest  abundance.  This  season  it  is  un- 
usually high  in  New  York — 18.7  bushels.  In 
the  New  England  States,  except  Vermont,  it 
runs  as  low  as  14  bushels.  ■  In  nearly  all  the 
Southern  States  the  average  is  low,  ranging 


from  7  to  It)  bushels.     Texas  and   Arkansas 
are  exceptions. 

The  yield  of  corn  cannot  yet  be  accurately 
estimated.  Mucli  of  it  is  still  standing  in 
stock  in  the.  liel<ls.  It  is  believed,  however, 
that  there  will  be  at  least  1,080,000,1100  bush- 
els, or  an  average  yield  of  25  bushels,  or  an 
average  yield  of  25  bushels  to  the  acre, 
agi.inst  28  in  1870,  and  18  in  1881.  Of  this 
totid  the  States  north  of  Tennessee  and  west 
of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  produciMl  1,2,")0,- 
000,000;  the  Southern  States,  .'540,000,000; 
Middle  States,  82,000,000,  and  liew  England 
over  7,000,000.  Tlie  total  product  will  be 
more  tlian  four  huiulred  millions  greater  tiian 
last  year. 

Indigestion  in  Hogs.— VVhen  pigs  do  not 
thrive  and  try  to  eat  gravel  or  earth  it  is  a 
symptom  of  indigestion.  They  are  probably 
overfed.  Reduce  their  food  one-half.  Give 
the  two  pigs  half  a  pint  of  sweet-oil  or  linseed- 
oil  in  the  food  daily  for  two  or  three  days, 
and  as  they  recover  gradually  give  them  a 
liltle  dry  corn  in  addition  to  their  other  food. 
Some  charcoal  would  be  of  service  and  may 
be  given  frequently. 

DiAuitiicEA  IN  A  Mare. — When  a  horse  is 
in  good  health  and  condition  while  feeding 
upon  grass,  and  when  changed  to  hay  is 
affected  by  diarrha-a,  it  is  doubtless  some- 
thing in  the  hay  that  causes  it.  Give  the 
mare  half  a  pint  of  linseed  oil  once  a  day 
for  a  few  dtiys  ;  cut  the  hay  and  wet  it,  and 
add  to  it  a  quart  of  bran  and  linseed-oil  cake 
meal  in  equal  parts,  and  add  little  salt  to  it. 
This  will  probably  remove  the  trouble. 

Remedy  for  Flies. — As  a  remedy  for 
flies  of  all  kinds  in  houses,  stables,  and 
greenhouses,  it  has  been  recommended  to 
boil  tobacco  in  water  until  the  juice  has  been 
nearly  all  evaporated.  As  it  is  the  es.sential 
oils  of  the  tobacco  which  are  effective  for 
this  purpose  when  it  is  burned  and  these  are. 
evaporated  with  the  steam  in  the  boiling,  all 
the  eO'ect  is  produced  without  the  disagreea- 
ble smoke  of  the  burning. 

The  Cabbage-'worm.— There  is  no  doubt 
the  cabbage-worm  can  be  destroyed  by  using 
some  very  soluble  substance  that  is  poisonous 
to  it,  but  not  hurtful  to  persons  if  it  is  wholly 
washed  off— but  that  may  easily  be  done. 
Nitrate  of  soda,  glauber  salts,  and  muriate  of 
potash  have  each  been  tried  the  past  season, 
and  each  one  killed  the  worms.  The  dill'er- 
ent  salts  were  dissolved  in  water,  half  an 
ounce  to  a  quart,  and  sprinkled  over  the  cab- 
bages. 

Reducing  Bones  with  Popasii. — The 
waste  potash  from  the  muriatic  acid  makers 
can  be  used  to  soften  bones  in  the  following 
manner  :  Pack  the  bones  in  a  tank  or  pit  or 
heap,  with  the  potash  and  quicklime  in  pro- 
portion of  25  pounds  of  each  to  100  pounds  of 
bone,  or  even  double  that  quantity,  as  they 
are  of  value  for  the  fertilizer.  When  the 
heap  is  complete  wet  it  until  the  lime  begins 
to  slake  ;  then  cover  it  with  earth  and  leave 
it  exposed  to  the  rain  during  the  winter.  In 
the  spring  it  may  be  shoveled  out  and  mixed. 

Three  and  one-tenth  pounds  of  corn  will 
produce,  when  fed  to  a  hen,  five-sixths  of  a 
pound  of  eggs  ;  but  live-sixths  of  a  pound  of 
pork  requires  about  live  pounds  of  corn  for  its 
production.     Taking  into  account  the  nutri- 


ment in  eacli  and  the  comparative  prices  of 
the  two  on  an  average,  the  pork  is  about  three 
times  as  costly  a  food  as  the  eggs,  while  it  is 
certainly  less  healthful. — Hartford  (Conn.) 
Fanner. 

A  SALMON  was  caught  in  the  Penobscot, 
near  liucksport.  Me.,  the  other  day,  that  was 
34i  inches  long  and  weighed  10}  pounds.  It 
was  "tagged"  as  follows:  "Salmon  No. 
1,135.  This  was  a  female  tagged  Oct.  28, 
1880,  and  dismissed  a  few  days  later,  weigh- 
7}  pounds  and  measuring  .'iO  inches  in  length. 
She  had  just  yielded  1  pound  15  ounces  of 
spawn,  which  would  make  her  weight  before 
spawning  9  pounds  7  ounces."  Another,  re- 
cently caught,  was  marked  Nov.  13,  1880, 
and  then  weighed  8}  pounds.  Recaptured 
June  23,  1882,  it  weiglied  14}  pounds,  and 
was  in  good  condition. 

One  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds  of 
wool  were  purchased  by  one  firm  in  Washing- 
ton county.  Pa.,  in  one  week. 

Cows  cannot  be  cheated  into  giving  liberal 
quantities  of  milk.  That  which  they  give  ia 
in  proportion  to  what  they  receive. 

A  GOOD  farmer  is  better  than  a  poor  doc- 
tor, and  a  good  horse-shoer  is  better  than  a 
bishop  who  preaches  sermons  nobody  wants 
to  hear. 

Always  have  a  place  where  your  chickens 
can  bo  sheltered  from  the  storms,  and  be 
kept  comfortable.  It  is  the  lack  of  this  that 
kills  so  many  chickens. 

There  are  two  things  that  every  farmer 
must  have— things  that  subserve  like  pur- 
poses and  are  of  equal  importance — a  grind- 
stone and  a  newspaper. 

A  VERY  successful  farmer  once  remarked 
that  "he  fed  his  land  before  it  was  hungry, 
rested  it  before  it  was  weary,  and  weeded  it 
before  it  was  foul." 

CoTTON-8EE»  FOR  FowLS. — We  do  not 
know  if  fowls  would  eat  cotton-seed  ;  it  is 
hardly  probable,  unless  the  husk  were  free 
from  lint.  The  writer  has  fed  the  meal  to 
fowls  mixed  in  equal  portions  with  ground 
corn  and  oats  and  wet  with  hot  water,  or 
mixed  with  sour  milk,  and  they  thrived  ex- 
ceedingly well  upon  it.  There  is  no  doubt 
the  meal  will  be  a  very  useful  feed  for  poul- 
try, but  as  regards  the  whole  seed  it  is  doubt- 
ful. If  some  of  our  Southern  readers  would 
try  it  and  report  we  should  be  glad  to  publish 
the  facts. 

Give  the  steers  about  two  quarts  of  grain 
every  day. 

Stable  the  horses  at  night,  if  they  are 
worked.  In  rainy  weather,  work  them  as 
little  as  possible,  and  rub  dry.  '* 

Plenty  of  night  feed  for  the  milch  cows. 
Soft  corn,  corn  meal,  corn  fodder,  hay,  bran, 
beet  tops,  cabbage  leaves  and  pumpkins,  are 
what  they  ought  to  have. 

Pens  for  farrowing  sows  should  have  a  rail 
round  the  interior,  about  a  foot  high  and  six 
inches  from  the  sides.  Feed  warm  slops 
after  farrowing,  and  increase  the  quality  of 
the  food  as  the  pigs  grow.  After  three  weeks' 
growth,  feed'  the  little  pigs  in  a  separate 
trough.  Don't  delay  shutting  up  the  pigs  in- 
tended for  fattening. 

For  early  lambing,  choose  the  best  ordi- 
nary Merino  ewes  and  a  ram  of  pure  breed. 


164 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[Novenber 


About  half  a  pound  of  grain  daily,  and  your 
best  pasturage  for  a  few  days,  and  they  will 
take  the  ram  readily.  Sheep  intended  for 
winter-fattening  should  be  well  fed  now. 
Don't  attempt  to  winter-fatten  Meriuoes 
until  they  have  had  three  years'  growth. 
Keep  the  lambs  in  a  separate  flock.  Use  car- 
boHc  soap  as  a  wash  for  ticks.  Shelter  the 
lambs— and  indeed  all  sheep— well  in  severs 
weather.  Be  on  the  alert  for  dogs  that  kill 
sheep. 

Feed  the  poultry  well.  Don't  let  tliem  get 
the  habit  of  roosting  on  trees  or  utensils.  The 
greater  the  number  of  eggs  produced  by  a 
fowl,  the  less  vitality  there  will  be  in  each  ; 
therefore,  the  lirst  only  of  a  laying  should  be 
set.  Karly  chickens  are  the  most  certain  to 
live,  because  force  is  stored  up  in  the  parent, 
before  laying  commences,  sufficient  to  endow 
the  first  eggs  or  chickens  with  plenty  of  vigor. 
The  chickens  being  hatched  and  assigned 
quarters,  see  that  animal  food  is  artificially 
provided  for  them,  for  they  cannot  thrive 
upon  grain  and  vegetables  alone. 

CONTRIBUTIONS. 

For  The  Lancaster  Faemee. 
BALANCE  OF  TRADE. 
Mr.  Editor: — I  have  been  considerably  in- 
terested in  the  discus.'sion  that  has  been  going 
on  for  some  time  in  Tjie  Farjier  on  "The 
Balance  of  Trade."  The  articles  over  the 
signature  "J.  P."  seem  to  me  so  unreason- 
able in  argument  and  so  false  in  statistics 
that  I  would  like  to  make  some  reply.  The 
idea  that  a  nation,  any  more  than  an  in- 
dividual, can  grow  rich  by  buying  and  con- 
suming more  than  it  produces  and  sells  would 
seem  only  to  need  statement  to  meet  with 
ridicule.  I  suppose  it  to  be  axiomatic  that  all 
production  is  gain  and  all  consumption  is 
loss  ;  and  as  our  imports  are  for  consumption, 
and  are  actually  consumed  in  our  country, 
they  measure  our  consumption  over  our  pro- 
duction, and  our  exports  measure  our  produc- 
tion over  our  consumption,  and  therefore  the 
excess  of  imports  (consumption)  over  exports 
(production)  must  necessarily  be  loss,  and 
lice  rersa.  It  is  very  plain  when  we  apply  it 
to  a  farmer  or  manufacturer  :  what  he  pro- 
duces and  sells  in  the  market  are  his  exports ; 
what  he  Iniys  and  consumes  are  his  imports. 
If  the  former  exceed  tlie  latter,  he  gains ;  if 
the  latter  the  former,  he  loses.  It  cannot  be 
different  with  a  nation.  If  we  import  only 
necessary  articles,  of  course  the  more  we  get 
lor  a  given  amount  of  exports  the  better  ;  for, 
being  necessary,  we  have  to  have  them,  and 
the  cheaper  we  get  them  the  better.  But  we 
import  and  consume  hundreds  of  millions  of 
dollars  worth  of  luxuries  every  year,  that, 
so  far  as  increasing  the  material  wealth 
of  our  country  is  concerned,  amount  to 
nothing  whatever.  Take  the  single  article  of 
wine.  We  import  and  consume  about  $12,- 
000,000  worth  of  foreign  wines,  champagnes, 
etc.  annually.  Would  any  one  but  J.  P.  say 
that  this  $12,000,000  worth  of  liquor  that  is 
used  almost  entirely  as  a  beverage,  enriches 
our  nation  as  much  as  though  we  had  brought 
back,  for  our  exports  bills  of  exchange  or  gold 
coin,  that  would  stand  as  solid,  reserved 
■wealth  in  our  country,  to  be  used  in  time  of 
need,  and  not  vanish,  leaving  us  poorer  than 


before,  as  the  liquor  does.  Gold  coin  being 
transmitted  to  pay  the  balance  of  trade,  and 
not  to  be  counted  as  imports  or  exports  in 
this  argument.  Necessaries  we  must  have; 
or  fail  in  our  production,  and  of  course  it  is 
best  to  get  them  where  they  can  be  obtained 
the  cheapest;  but  J.  P. 's  argument  rests  on 
the  fallacy  tliat  all  imports  that  have  the 
same  money  value  are  of  equal  worth,  to  the 
nation  that  consumes  them.  No  one  would 
think  of  applying  this  reasoning  to  an  indi- 
vidual, and  say  that  a  farmer  who  sells 
(exports)  his  wheat  crop  for  $100  and  brings 
back  (imports)  its  value  in  whisky,  and 
drinks  up,  or  rather  down,  would  be  just  as 
well  off  at  the  end  of  the  year  when  the  liquor 
is  all  gone  as  though  he  had  invested  the  $100 
in  State  or  Government  bonds. 

Take  the  case  that  .J.  P.  supposes,  of  a 
miller  exporting  $.50  worth  of  dour,  and  im- 
porting for  it  salt  worth  here  .$75.  Salt  being 
a  necessary  article,  the  country  may  have 
gained  as  the  miller  did  ;  but  suppose  he  had 
imported  the  same  value  in  rum  and  drank  it, 
how  would  the  country  have  been  benefited, 
and  how  would  it  have  helped  the  matter  if  he 
had  sold  it  to  his  neighbor  for  consumption. 
J.  P.  seems  to  think  that  if  the  importer 
makes  a  profit,  our  country  is  that  much  richer. 
As  well  say  that  all  the  lottery  dealers,  stock- 
jobbers and  gamblers,  who  grow  rich  by  fllcli- 
ing  from  the  pockets  of  others,  are  adding 
wealth  to  the  country.  The  supposition 
about  the  salt  being  lost  at  sea  and  hence  not 
being  set  down  at  the  custom  house  as  im- 
ports is  only  trifling,  as  it  is  the  purchase  of 
the  imports,  and  not  their  actual  passage  over 
the  water,  of  which  we  complain.  We  might 
as  well  suppose  the  salt  spilled  or  destroyed  in 
the  street  on  its  way  from  the  ship  to  the 
warehouse  after  it  had  passed  the  books  of 
the  collector's  oHice.  Then  the  imports  would 
exceed  the  exports,  and  according  to  J.  P. 
there  should  be  a  gain,  but  neither  the  im- 
porter nor  the  country  could  be  easily  con- 
vinced of  it.  Or  suppose  the  salt  should  prove 
worthless  and  would  bring  nothing  in  the 
market;  here  again  the  imports  would  ex- 
ceed the  exports,  for  is  is  the  cost  of  the 
merchandise  abroad  that  is  put  down  at 
the  custom  house  as  the  value  of  our  imports, 
as  it  sliould  be,  and  not  what  they  may  sell 
for  here.  Where  would  be  the  gain  in  this 
case  y  Or,  how  much  richer  would  our  coun- 
try become  by  consuming  .seventy-five  dollars 
worth  of  good  rum  than  thirty  sacks  of  worth- 
less salt.  If  our  prosperity  is  to  be  measured 
by  the  excess  of  imports  over  exports,  all  we 
have  to  do  to  get  rich  is  to  trade  our  goods 
abroad  for  merchandise  at  enormous  prices  ; 
for,  the  higher  the  price  ,we  pay  the  more 
would  our  imports  exceed  our  exports.  If 
this  theory  is  correct,  why  is  it  that  all  our 
stocks  and  securities  go  up  in  the  market 
when  our  exports  are  in  excess  of  our  imports 
and  gold  is  coming  into  the  country,  and  go 
down  when  it  is  going  out,  to  pay  the  balance 
of  trade  againsr  ns  ¥ 

But  it  is  J.  P.'s  statistics  that  I  wish 
more  particularly  to  correct,  his  arguments 
not  being  very  dangerous.  One  would  suppose 
that  a  theory  so  false  could  hardly  have  many 
facts  to  support  it ;  but  quite  a  row  of  figures 
is  presented.  Without  pretending  to  follow 
him  through   "England,  Denmark,  Austria 


and  Hungary,"  the  prosperity  or  adversity  of 
which  countries  few  of  us  know  much  about, 
let  us  see  how  near  he  comes  to  the  truth  iu 
our  own  country,  at  a  time  that  most  of  us 
can  remember  to  our  sorrow.  I  mean  the 
period  through  our  late  civil  war  and  the  ex- 
travagance of  our  nation  for  nearly  a  decade 
after  its  close  ;  namely,  from  1861  to  1873. 
J.  P.  is  compelled  to  acknowledge  this  to  be 
a  period  of  great  depression  and  loss,  and  to 
make  his  theory  hold  good  he  has  the  exports 
during  these  years  of  great  and  extravagant 
consumption  and  comparatively  small  pro- 
duction, exceeding  the  imports  by  nearly  a 
billion  of  dollars.  I  was  astounded  on  seeing 
these  figures,  for  if  they  were  correct  all  my 
ideas  of  political  economy  must  be  given  up. 
We  all  know  our  nation  was  a  losing  one 
from  1801  to  1873,  through  that  terriljly  de- 
structive and  unijroductive  period  of  our  civil 
war,  and  the  extravagantly  consumptive 
period  since,  till  our  financial  panic  in  1873 
compelled  us  to  stop  in  our  ruining  course.  If 
our  exports  during  this  time  were  exceeding 
our  imports,  wliy,  black  was  white,  and  white 
black,  and  all  the  old  rules  about  industry 
and  econemy  hading  to  wealth,  were  false. 

I  got  the  American  Almanac,  compiled  by 
Mr.  Spofford,  the  Congressional  librarian, 
who  is  the  very  best  autliority  on  these  sub- 
jects. It  puts  the  imports  in  excess  of  the  ex- 
ports in  every  year  of  these  12  except  1862, 
and  the  excess  of  imports  in  the  whole  12 
years  was  $1,196,103,171.  Not  satisfied  with 
this,  I  wrote  to  Joseph  Nimmo,  Jr.,  Chief  of 
Bureau  of  Statistics  at  Washington,  and  got 
his  reports  from  18G1  to  1879.  His  figures 
agree  almost  precisely  with  Mr.  Spofford's, 
making  our  imports  exceed  our  exports  from 
1861  to  1873  by  over  a  billion  of  dollars.  It 
thus  appears  that  J.  P.'s  statistics  are  exact- 
ly reversed.  He  had  the  right  figures  but  got 
them  on  precisely  the  wrong  sides  of  the  ac- 
count. 

After  our  extravagantly  inflated  balloon 
burst  iu  ;  873,  and  let  us  down  so  hard  that 
some  of  our  bones  are  aching  yet,  and  we 
were  taught  by  severe  adversity,  that  we  must 
go  to  work  and  practice  economy,  our  exports 
began  to  exceed  our  imports,  and  from  1874:  to 
1879,ourexports,according  to  the  authority  just 
quoted,  exceeded  our  imports  by  .$657,206,961, 
or  about  130  million  dollars  annually.  Does 
any  one  pretend  to  say  we  were  not  gaining 
during  these  latter  years  ?  or,  that  we  could 
have  resumed  specie  payments,  as  we  did  in 
1879,  if  our  imports  had  exceeded  our  exports, 
as  they  had  done,  during  the  previous  de- 
structive decade  ¥  According  to  .J.  P.  our 
country  must  have  been  losing  at  a  terrible 
rate  from  1871  to  1879,  when  our  exports 
were  exceeding  our  imports  130  millions  annu- 
ally, and  gold  was  pouring  into  our  country. 
John  Sherman  didn't  think  so. — S.  P.,  Lin- 
coln, Del,  Oct.  23,  1882. 

Selections. 

TREES,  CLIMATE  AND    SOIL. 

Relation  of  Forests  to  Rainfall. 
Sir  :  The  idea  has  long  prevailed  that  the 
removal  of  forests  is  accompanied  with  a  di- 
minished rainfall.  As  a  matter  of  course  the 
converse  of  this  would  be  held  as  widely  and 
with  equal  confidence.     Such,   no  doubt,    is 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMEK. 


165 


the  popular  lielief  at  this  time.  Wliile  in  the 
Eastern  Statrs  diuliig  the  cxccs.sive  ilrmiglit 
of  tho  past  siiiniuer  men  wore  constantly  at- 
tributing the  failure  of  rain  to  the  removal  of 
the  forests  from  our  older  States;  we  read  in 
the  pnlilic  journals  that  Nebraska  was  favored 
with  a  iiioie  copious  and  more  equably  dis- 
tributed supply  of  rain  than  in  any  former 
year  within  the  history  of  that  State.  It  was 
claimed  that  the  increased  amount  of  moist- 
ure was  due  to  the  planting  of  trees,  and  that 
a  sullicient  breadth  of  forest  growth  was  now 
jilanted  to  secure  the  State  against  drou;;ht  for 
all  coming  time.  This  tradition  is  that  the 
growth  of  trees  favors  tlie  increase  of  rain, 
and  that  their  removal  is  followc^d  by  drought. 
It  is  only  within  the  present  year  that  this 
theory  has  been  combated  by  Professor  .T.  D. 
Whitney,  in  his  recently  published  mono- 
giaph  on  "  Climatic  Changes."  The  views 
therein  set  forth  have  not  as  yet  been  widely 
disseminated.  They  are  so  radically  opposed 
to  the  oi)inions  commonly  held  that  even  if 
made  familiar  through  the  public  prints,  they 
are  not  likely  soon  to  gain  general  acceptance. 

Against  the  popular  notion  that  the  certain 
drying-up  of  the  lands  is  the  result  of  remov- 
ing the  forests,  the  Professor  claims  that 
"  the  question  of  desiccation  is  one  essential- 
ly removed  from  the  domain  of  man's  in- 
fluence." He  would  prove  this  to  be  the  case 
by  showing  that  the  process  began  in  geologi- 
cal epochs,  long  before  man  was  on  the  earth 
to  interfere  with  any  of  the  operations  of 
nature,  that  it  has  been  continued  down  into 
historic  times,  and  that  it  is  now  going  on  in 
the  same  general  way,  neither  hastened  nor 
retarded  by  the  intervention  of  human  agency. 
He  believes  that  "the  human  race  is  no  way  re- 
sponsible for  the  changes  which  have  brought 
and  are  bringing  ruin  upon  those  countries 
which,  once  prosperous,  have  novf  sunk  into 
comparative  decay."  Egypt  and  the  coun- 
tries north  of  the  Mediterranean  are  in- 
stanced as  showing  decay  from  a  drying-np  of 
the  land  and  an  increasing  absence  of  mois- 
ture from  the  atmosphere.  "  As  a  rule,  these 
nations  have  reached  a  stage  of  decadence 
from  which  they  can  never  rise  to  occupy 
again  the  position  which  they  have  lo.st." 
No  eftbrts  of  man  are  of  the  slightest  avail  to 
restore  the  former  conditions  of  climate  by 
planting  forests  or  by  any  other  means.  There 
has  been  a  lo.ss  rather  than  a  gain  in  the  quanti- 
ty and  frequency  of  rain  in  Egypt  since  the  be- 
ginning of  this  century,  despite  the  vigorous 
measures  of  the  Government  in  planting 
forest  trees. 

Professor  Whitney  shows  from  many  in- 
stances observed  in  our  own  land  that  the  re- 
moval of  forests  has  nothing  to  do  with  tiie 
falling-ofl'  in  the  amount  or  the  frequency  of 
rain,  neither  docs  the  planting  of  trees  occa- 
sion any  increase  in  this,  for  wliile  the  Great 
Salt  Lake  has  lieen  ri.sing  for  some  years 
since  the  Mormons  began  planting  trees  u-  on 
its  shores,  in  neighboring  States,  the  Winne- 
mucca  and  the  Pyramid  lakes  have  been  ris- 
ing in  an  equally  rapid  ratio  although  their 
shores  "were  being  stripped  of  their  trees 
with  the  greatest  rapidity."  "  There  is  just 
as  much  reason  for  inferring  that  the  rise  of 
these  latter  was  produced  by  disforesting  the 
country  as  that  the  similar  increase  of  Great 
Salt  Lake  was  the  result  of  tree-planting  by 


the  Mormons  ;  in  other  words,  there  is  no 
truth  in  eitherstatcment."  So  plainly  and  so 
boldly  are  set  forth  these  scientific  principles  ! 
It  is  not  the  wasteful  destruction  of  forests 
bylnan  in  a  wholesale  slaughter  and  burning 
which  has  brouiiht  the  desolation  of  dryness 
upon  so  many  desert  regions  of  the  globe,  but 
rather  the  failure  of  rain  from  wholly  natural 
causes  which  has  led  to  the  <lisappearauce  of 
the  woods.  There  is  left  no  ground  to  hope 
that  civilization  will  ever  reaiipear  in  lands  it 
has  once  forsaken  if  the  operations  of  nature 
continue  constant.  The  loss  of  forests  and 
the  deterioration  of  soils  are  but  examples  of 
the  dithculties  which  man  meets  in  his  strug- 
gles against  unfavorable  physical  conditions, 
and  are  proofs  of  liis  inability  to  overcome 
them.  Doctrines  like  these  seem  tinged  wiih 
the  despairing  thought  of  fatalism. 

All  that  Profes.sor  Whitney  has  to  say  upon 
the  cultivation  of  forests  comes  in  incidental- 
ly to  help  out  tlie  discussion  of  "Climatic 
Changes."  Since  that  work  was  published  in 
the  spring  some  statistics  representing  for- 
estry have  been  published  by  the  Census  Piu- 
reau.  affording  much  interesting  and  timely 
information.  These  statistics  were  collected 
by  Professor  Sargent,  who  has  made  this 
matter  a  subject  of  special  study.  In  his  con- 
tribution to  The  North  American  Bevieio  for 
October,  on  "The  Protection  of  Forests,"  he 
presents  views  identical  with  those  of  Profes- 
sor Whitney,  and  is  no  less  clear  and  em- 
phatic iu  expressing  them.  "The  popular 
belief  that  forests  affect  the  rainfall  has  too 
long,"  he  says,  "confused  the  diseu.ssion  of 
the  forest  question,  and  carried  it  far  beyond 
its  legitimate  limits."  He  is  positive  that 
trees  have  no  power  to  increase  the  quantity 
of  rain.  lie  manifests  not  the  slightest  faith 
in  the  endeavors  of  Government  and  of  indi- 
viduals to  overcome  the  natural  dryness  of 
soils  and  of  climate  by  planting  forests.  On 
the  contrary,  he  looks  upon  this  dryness  as 
the  cause  and  not  the  effect  of  the  lack  of 
trees.  Rain  he  regards  as  the  agency  which 
will  clothe  the  treeless  regions  of  the  interior 
with  woods.  Indeed,  he  declares  that  "  the 
position  of  the  forests  and  plains  of  North 
America  can  be  explained  upon  no  other 
theory."  From  this  it  will  naturally  be  in- 
ferred that  the  density  of  the  on'ginal  forests 
varies  directly  with  the  rainfall. 

Here  is  a  point  which  seems  not  well  estab- 
lished. To  the  unscientilic  observer  rain 
does  not  seem  to  be  the  one  sole  thing  essen- 
tial to  the  growth  of  forests  on  the  plains  in 
the  Mississippi  Valley.  Iih'eu  the  casual 
visitor  to  that  section  must  have  noticed  pe- 
culiarities in  the  growth  of  timber  wliicli 
climatic  conditions  will  not  account  for.  The 
character  of  the  soil  seems  to  have  much  to 
do  with  the  kind  of  growth  that  covers  it. 
Let  the  peculiar  soil  of  the  Illinois  prairies  be 
met  witii  in  the  timber  region  of  Wisconsin, 
as  it  will  at  times  be  met  with  even  north  of 
the  Fox  River,  and  it  will  be  found  covered 
with  luxuriant  grass  Just  as  would  be  the 
case  with  a  similar  piece  of  ground  located  in 
southern  Illinois.  On  the  other  hand,  a  de- 
posit of  drift,  coarse  iu  texture,  and  mineral 
in  its  comixisitiou,  occuiring  a^  it  sometimes 
does  iu  Illinois,  will  be  found  covered  with  a 
growth  of  trees  which  not  even  the  assaults 
of   fire  from   the  surrounding   prairies   have 


been  able  to  exterminate.  And  yet  these 
wooded  gravel-beds  are  often  higher  than  the 
grassy  lands  about  thetn,  and  their  loose 
texture  lets  the  rains  run  through  much 
faster  than  the  water-drains  olT  the  level 
lands  around. 

Again,  in  those  regions  which  are  desig- 
nated on  the  majjS  as  treeless,  wherever  the 
ledge  crops  out  along  llie  borders  of  ravines, 
many  varieties  of  trees,  as  cedars  and  crab- 
apples,  take  root  in  the  crevices  of  the  rock 
and  flourish  there.  It  may  be  said  that  these 
owe  their  existence  to  the  water  oozing  from 
the  ledge  or  trickling  down  its  sides.  That 
this  is  not  the  case,  liowever,  will  be  seen 
from  the  fact  that  where  the  debris — piles  ot 
loose  chips  and  fragments  of  the  rock  lying 
heaped  against  the  basi^ — becomes  suthciently 
imlverized  to  support  trees  under  our  New- 
England  climate,  it  bears  them  just  as  natur- 
ally there  ;  and  in  general,  wherever  in  the 
West  the  soil  is  formed  from  the  underlaying 
ledge,  whether  that  be  lime  or  sandstone, 
slate  or  granite,  there  its  natural  covering 
will  be  a  luxuriant  growth  of  forest  trees. 
We  are  indebted  for  the  extensive  pineries  of 
northern  Wisconsin  and  Michigan  to  the  cir- 
cumstances that  all  that  region  is  overspread 
with  drift  similar  in  its  character  to  the  drift 
which  abounds  in  those  parts  of  Maine 
where  pine  is  the  native  growth.  Condi- 
tions of  soil  appear  to  have  as  much  to  do 
with  determining  the  kind  of  growth  upon 
it,  whether  trees  or  grass,  as  do  conditions  of 
climate.  That  trees  are  not  born  of  the  co- 
piousness and  frequency  of  rains  is  evident 
from  this,  that  when  it  became  desirable 
some  generations  ago  to  convert  old  fields 
and  pasture  lands  in  the  west  of  Scotland 
into  timber,  it  was  found  necessary  to  plant 
young  trees,  since  these  did  not  spriug  up  on 
the  abandoned  farms  as  they  would  do  under 
similar  circumstances  on  the  hillsides  of  New 
England.  And  yet  Scotland  has  a  climate 
proverbially  moist.  Agaiu,  here  is  our  own 
coiinti7,  of  all  the  lands  once  covered  with 
trees,  none  are  slower  to  renew  their  forest 
growth  than  some  of  the  rocky  pastures  about 
Cape  Ann,  where  excessive  drought  is  much 
less  frequent  and  less  severe  than  in  the  well- 
wooded  interior.  May  it  not  be  the  case  that 
on  lands  long  kept  in  grass  and  where  the 
dampness  of  the  sea-air  maintains  a  well- 
matted  sod,  the  seeds  of  trees  fail  to  germi- 
nate, or,  if  they  do,  have  the  young  life  choked 
out  of  them  by  the  all-engrossing  grasses  ? 
And  may  it  not  with  good  reason  be  sup- 
posed that  the  treeless  condition  of  the  prai- 
ries of  the  West  is  largely  owing  to  the  fact 
that  there,  too,  the  grasses  have  assumed  and 
maintained  the  right  of  eminent  domain  V — 
Isaac  liassctt  Choate,  Camhridge,  Mass.,  ISejA. 
30,  1882,  in  New  York  Tribune. 


HEAVY  MANURING,  AND  HOW.> 
Probably  very  few  men  iu  the  West  spend 
so  much  for  fertilizers  upon  an  equal  area  of 
land  as  I  do.  I  am  cultivating  about  forty- 
five  acres,  and,  although  I  get  fertilizers  at  a 
small  cost  as  ccunpared  with  prices  about 
Eastern  cities^  yet  their  cost  upon  that  sur- 
face this  season  will  not  be  less  than  .$2,000, 
A  large  share  of  this  amount  has  already 
been  returned  to  me,  and  unless  the  final 
result  this  season   belies  all   present  iudica- 


i«6 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[November, 


tions  tlie  whole  amount  will  corae  back  with 
at  least  50  per  cent,  added  to  it.  My  main 
reliance  is  uiion  the  compost  heap,  stable 
and  barnyard  manures  and  wood  ashes.  How 
shall  they  be  used  to  be  of  the  gieatest  advan- 
tage to  us  ?  My  early  teachings  were  all  in 
favor  of  plowing  them  under,  and  I  remember 
some  of  the  teachers  saying  the  deeper  the 
better. 

Nearly  twenty  years  ago  I  bad  occasion  to 
break  up  a  piece  of  very  heavy  sod.  Believing 
ni  deep  plowing,  as  well  as  heavy  manuring, 
two  yoke  of  oxen  were  put  to  the  plow,  and 
it  was  turned  over  not  less  than  eight,  and 
most  of  it  ten  inches  deep.  Upon  a  portion 
of  it  I  put  some  very  rich  manure,  putting  it 
in  the  bottom  of  the  furrows.  It  was  of 
course  buried  very  deep  ;  but  if  my  theory  of 
deeply  covering  the  manure  was  correct  it 
would  be  all  right,  and  I  should  in  due  time 
receive  my  reward.  I  watched  and  waited 
with  a  good  deal  of  interest  for  the  result.  I 
am  waiting  yet,  but  not  watching  with  any 
great  amount  of  interest  any  longer.  So  far 
as  any  benefit  to  the  subsequent  crops  was 
concerned  I  believe  the  manure  might  as  well 
been  buried  under  the  Pyramid  of  Cheops  as 
to  have  been  put  where  it  was. 

Tliis  set  me  to  thinking  as  well  as  to  study- 
ing and  experimenting  in  other  directions. 
The  result  has  been  that  my  system  of  fer- 
tilizing ray  land  has  been  almost  completely 
revolutionized  within  the  last  ten  or  twelve 
years.  At  present  my  rule  is  to  have  my 
compost  heaps  (which,  by  the  way,  are  my 
main  reliance)  as  fine  and  thoroughly  rotted 
as  possible,  and  then  spread  upon  the  top  of 
the  ground  after  plowing  and  harrowing  it.  I 
still  plow  under  some  manure,  but  never  so 
deep  as  I  did  years  ago.  I  will  not  pretend 
that  my  jjresent  plan  is  the  best  for  others 
and  under  all  circumstances,  or  that  1  have 
reached  perfection  as  regards  my  own  land  ; 
but  I  am  certainly  receiving  mucli  better  re- 
turns for  my  manures  than  1  did  years  ago 
when  they  were  buried  much  deeper.  When 
I  can  find  a  better  method  than  my  present 
one  I  shall  not  hesitate  to  adopt  it. — /.  Jl/. 
Smith,  N.  Y.  Tribune. 

ARTIFICIAL  INCUBATION. 

Tliere  is  not  the  slightest  reason  to  believe 
that  when  the  ancient  Egyptians  invented  a 
method  of  artificially  hatching  eggs  they  were 
inrtuenced  by  any  desire  to  lessen  the  labor  of 
hens.  Tlieir  sole  object  was  to  produce  more 
chickens  than  the  hens  produced.  Although 
we  may  give  a  setting  hen  credit  for  the  best 
possible  intentions,  it  must  be  admitted  that 
she  is  a'very "clumsy  bird.  iSlie  will  tread  on 
her  eggs  and  will  leave  more  or  less  of  them 
out  in  the  cold,  liisides,  her  capacity  to 
hatch  eggs  is  limited  by  her  size.  There  are 
very  few  hens  who  can  hatch  out  more  than  a 
dozen  chickens,  and,  of  course,  if  a  man 
wishes  to  raise  chickens  on  a  large  scale  he 
must  supply  liiniself  with  an  immense  nnm- 
lier  of  bens.  Artificial  incubation  obviates 
all  these  difficulties.  As  invented  )iy  the 
Egyptians,  and  extensively  practi(e<l  in  our 
own  day,  a  thousand  eggs  can  be  hatched  at 
one  time  in  a  single  iuoubalor,  and  not  one  of 
these  runs  any  risk  of  being  broken  or  cIiIIUkI. 

The  nnnieuse  success  which  has  attended 
the  artificial  incubation  of  cliickensin  France 


recently  attracted  the  attention  of  Dr.  Taver- 
nier.  a  learned  and  ingenious  physician.  He 
was  attached  to  a  hospital  ior  foundlings, 
and  although  the  position  gave  him  an  ad- 
mirable opportunity  for  experimenting  with 
new  medicines,  he  was  a  humane  man,  and 
he  was  annoyed  at  the  large  nnmber  of 
foundlings  who  died  within  the  first  six 
months  of  their  life.  The  majority  of  those 
admitted  to  the  hospital  were  weak  and  sick- 
ly, but  in  that  respect  they  did  not  difter 
from  the  majority  of  all  sorts  of  French  in- 
fants. Dr.  Tavernier  felt  that  it  was  a  re- 
proach to  medical  science  that  French  infants 
cotdd  not  be  cultivated  with  as  much  success 
as  French  chickens,  and  he  resolved  to  try 
what  artificial  incubation— if  it  may  be  so 
called— would  accomplish  if  applied  to  in- 
fants. 

The  doctor  constructed  a  child  incubator 
on  precisely  the  model  of  the  ordinary 
chicken  incubator.  It  was  a  box  covered 
with  a  glass  side  furnished  with  a  soft 
woolen  bed  and  kept  at  the  temperature  of 
86°  Fahrenheit  by  the  aid  of  hot  water.  He 
selected  as  the  subject  of  his  first  experiment 
a  miserably  made  infant,  one,  in  fact,  that 
had  rashly  insisted  upon  beginning  the  world 
at  an  injudiciously  early  period.  This  infant 
was  placed  in  the  incubator,  provided  with  a 
nursing  bottle,  and  kept  in  a  dark  room.  To 
the  surprise  of  the  doctor  it  ceased  to  cry  on 
the  second  day  after  it  was  placed  in  the  in- 
cubator, and  although  it  had  been  a  preter- 
naturally  sleepless  child,  it  sank  into  a  deep 
and  quiet  sleep.  The  child  remained  in  the 
cubator  for  about  eight  weeks,  during  which 
time  it  never  once  cried,  and  never  remained 
awake  except  while  taking  nourishment.  It 
grew  rapidly,  and  when,  at  the  ex])iratiou  of 
sixty  days,  it  was  removed  fi-om  the  incuba- 
tor it  presented  the  appearance  of  a  healthy 
infant  of  at  least  a  year  old. 

Delighted  with  tlie  success  of  this  experi- 
ment. Dr.  Tavernier  next  selected  an  ordinary 
six-months-old  infant  addicted  to  the  usual 
pins  and  colic,  and  exhibiting  the  usual  fret- 
fulness  of  French  infants.  This  child  eon- 
ducted  itself  while  in  the  incubator  precisely 
us  its  predecessor  had  done.  It  never  cried  ; 
it  spent  its  whole  time  in  sleep,  and  it  grew 
as  if  it  had  made  up  its  caind  to  embrace  the 
career  of  a  professional  giant.  After  a  six 
weeks'  stay  in  the  incubator  it  was  removed 
and  weighed.  During  this  brief  period  it 
had  doubled  its  weight.  It  had  become  so 
strong  and  healthy  that  it  resembled  a  child 
of  three  years  old,  and  it  could  actually  walk 
when  holding  on  to  a  convenient  piece  of  fur- 
niture. 

Tliese  two  experiments  satisfied  Dr.  Taver- 
nier of  the  vast  advantages  of  artificial  child 
incubation.  He  immediately  ])roceeded — witli 
the  permission  of  the  authorities  of  the  hos- 
pital— to  construct  an  incubator  of  the  ca- 
pacity ot  four  hundred  infants,  and  in  this  he 
jilaced  every  one  of  the  three  hundred  and 
sixty  infants  who  were  in  the  hospital  on  the 
loth  day  of  February  last.  AVitb  the  excep- 
tion of  one  who  died  of  congenital  hydro- 
cephalus and  another  who  was  claimed  by  its 
rei)entant  parents,  the  infants  were  ke])t  con- 
tiiniously  in  tlie  incubator  for  si.x  mouths, 
when  they  were  removed  in  consequence  of 
having  outgrown  their  narrow  beds.     The  re- 


sult will  seem  almost  incredible  to  persons 
who  are  unfamiliar  with  the  reputation  of 
Dr.  Tavernier,  and  have  not  sien  the  rei)nit 
made  to  the  French  government  on  the  sul> 
ject  by  a  select  committee  of  twelve.  The 
average  age  of  the  infants  last  February  was 
3  months  and  3  days— the  youngest  being 
less  than  12  hours  old  and  the  eldest  not  more 
than  11  months.  Their  average  weight  was 
16  pounds,  only  one  of  the  entire  360  having 
attained  a  weight  of  32  pounds.  At  the  end 
of  six  months  of  artificial  incubation  the 
average  weight  of  each  infant  was  84  pounds, 
and  there  was  not  one  who  would  not  have 
been  supposed  by  a  casual  observer  to  be  at 
least  eight  years  old. 

In  other  words,  six  months  of  artificial  in- 
cubation did  as  much  in  the  way  of  develop- 
ing Dr.  Tavernier's  foundlings  as  eight  years 
of  ordinary  life  would  have  done.  The  in- 
fants were  strong  and  healthy,  as  well  as  big  ; 
they  walked  within  a  week  after  leaving  the 
incubator,  and  most  of  them  have  since 
learned  to  talk.  These  results  surpassed  Dr. 
Tavernier's  most  enthusiastic  expectations, 
and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  his  system  of 
artificial  child  incubation  will  be^doirted  not 
only  in  every  child's  hospital  in  France,  but 
in  every  private  family  throughout  the  civil- 
ized world. — N.  Y.  Timea. 


INDIAN     CORN     IN      KANSAS— ITS 
VALUE  AND   IMPORTANCE. 

The  crop  of  Indian  corn  is  one  of  the  most 
important  and  valuable  in  the  United  States. 
Tlie  crop  of  1880  was  estimated  at  1,717,- 
000,000  bushels ;  the  wheat  crop  ,of  the  same 
year  was  estimated  at  498,000,000  bushels. 
It  must  be  considered  as  being  the  staple  crop 
of  the  Western  and  Southwestern  States.  In 
1880,  Illinois  produced  240,000,000  bushels,  as 
against  60,000,000  bushels  of  wheat.  The 
acreage  of  corn  in  Kansas  the  same  year  was 
2,995,070  acres,  and  the  product  108,704,927 
bushels,  against  an  acreage  of  1,. 520,659  acres 
of  winter  wlieat,  with  a  ))roduct  of  17,560,259 
bushels. 

On  land  as  well  adapted  to  cultivation  and 
production  of  corn  as  the  prairie  and  bottom 
lands  of  the  West,  it  has  the  advantage  of  any 
other  crop  of  grain. 

The  cost  of  an  acre  of  corn,  put  in  the  crib, 
is  as  follows : 

Plowing ?t.00 

Planting  and  seed  35 

Harrowing  twice    25 

Flowing  three  times  tOO 

Husking  110 

Total  *3-C0 

The  average  yield  of  corn  feu-  20  years  is  35 
bushels  per  acre,  and  the  price  has  averaged, 
for  the  same  time  timi',  :'.U  cents  i)er  bushel, 
giving  a  product  per  acre  of  .flO.50,  at  a  cost 
of  $3.00. 

But  the  great  advantage  of  the  corn  crop 
is,  that  it  can  lie  fed  out  at  home,  and  taken 
to  the  market  in  the  shape  of  beef  and  pork. 
Where  this  is  done,  there  is  hardly  a  year  in 
Kansas  that  will  not  return  more  than  30 
cents  per  bushel.  With  a  good  stock  of  hogs, 
and  pork  at  S3..50  per  100  iwiinds  gross,  40 
cents  i>er  bushel  can  lie  realized  for  corn,  or 
when  fed  to  good  grade  steers,  at  14.25 per  100 
pounds,  will  make  40  cents  per  bushel,  besides 


882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


167 


the  waste  i)i(.k«l  up  by  the  liocs  followuig 
thorn. 

(.'oru  is  not  as  exliauHliiig  to  the  soil  as 
wliuat  or  oats.  Tliiri'  is  l)iit  a  very  small  per- 
centage of  our  prairie  laml  that  will  not  pro- 
duce corn  successfully  from  10  to  15  years  in 
succession.  1  am  not  in  favor  of  raising  the 
same  crop  on  the  .same  land  year  after  year, 
and  would  consider  such  a  course  poor 
farming. 

There  is  crop  that  feels  the  elTect  of  good 
land  more  than  corn.  The  aj)plication  of  2U 
loads  of  manure  to  the  acre  on  land  planted 
to  corn  will  increase  its  yield  from  8  to  10 
bushsls  for  three  years,  anddits  etkct  will  he 
seen  after  that  time. 

We  do  not,  at  the  best,  make  the  most  that 
can  be  made  out  of  our  corn  crop.  It  pays 
well  to  grind  corn  for  horses,  beef-cattle, 
milk-cows,  and  partly  for  hogs.  By  grinding 
corn  there  is  a  saving  of  one-third.  The 
farmer  who  feeds  from  1,.')00  to  2,(100  bushels 
per  year  can  well  attbrd  to  invest  $200  in  a 
mill  and  horse-power. 

We  do  not  fully  utilize  the  crop  of  corn- 
fodder.  The  fodder  on  an  acre  of  corn  yield- 
ing 40  or  .")0  bushels  is  worth  as  much  for  feed 
as  a  ton  of  timothy  hay,  w'hicli  is  about  an 
average  yield  of  timothy  on  prairie  land.  The 
cost  of  cutting  up  an  acre  of  corn  is  $1.25.  Of 
course  there  is  some  value  to  the  food  left 
standing  in  the  field  until  the  corn  is  gathered 
and  stock  turned  in  upon  it,  but  10  acres  of 
corn-fodder  cut  in  good  season  is  worth  as 
much  as  50  acres  left  standing. 

We  need  to  say  but  little  about  the  cultiva- 
tion of  corn.  The  means  for  planting  and  cul- 
tivation of  corn  have  greatly  improved  during 
the  last  20  j'ears.  Witli  the  implements  of  to- 
day, two  men  with  good  teams  can  plant  and 
well  cultivate  from  80  to  100  acres  of  corn. 
The  lister  is  of  modern  invention,  but  there 
is  a  question  whether  it  is  really  an  improve- 
ment. No  better  corn  can  be  raised  by  its 
use  than  is  raised  where  the  ground  is  well 
plowed,  and  planted  with  a  horse-planter  with 
check-row  attachment.  In  very  wet  springs 
there  are  many  objections  to  the  use  of  the 
lister.  This  spring,  corn  phuited  with  the  lister 
is  not  as  good  as  that  planted  wilh  a  planter. 
The  heavy  rains  have  done  much  dama'je  to 
listed  corn ;  some  ti'jlds  washed  out  en- 
tirely. If  a  little  saving  of  labor  is  effected 
by  the  'ise  of  the  lister  tor  three  or  four  years, 
damage  may  be  done  the  lifth  year  by  heavy 
rains  to  more  than  overbalance  the  gain.  If 
we  wish  to  grow  corn  with  success  in  Kansas, 
we  had  better  settle  down  on  good  plowing, 
thorough  culture,  and  keep  our  lands  in  good 
heart  by  application  of  manure,  turn- 
ing under  clover  and  other  grasses,  feed  our 
corn  at  home,  and  in  this  way  every  farmer 
will  make  a  success  of  raising  corn. — Hon. 
Joshua  Wlieeler,  Atchison  county,  Kansas. 


THE  EFFECT  OF  A  GOOD  SILO. 
Last  year  I  built  a  silo  of  2J0  tons  capacity, 
wholly  of  stone  and  Kosendale  cement,  with 
a  flame  and  roof  for  cover.  It  is  a  good  one 
(I  believe  in  no  other),  no  vi'ater  cau  get  in  ; 
no  sap  from  the  corn  can  get  out,  as  so  many 
complain  of  when  their  silos  are  not  half 
\iuilt,  or  madi-  from  stale  cement,  or  any  poor 
material.  On  account  of  the  long-extended 
drouth  in  this  part  of  New  .Jersey,  I  was  able 


to  scrape  together  of  good,  bad  and  indiffer- 
ent, half-dried,  wilted,  grown  and  half-grown 
corn,  some  :iO  tons  of  ensilage  after  cured. 
This,  however,  was  enough  to  satisfy  my 
miiul  on  this  subject,  if  there  had  over  been  j 
any  doubts.  I  used  it  as  food  for  cows  110 
days  continuously,  until  all  was  fed  o..t. 
Within  a  week  from  the  time  we  began  feed-  [ 
ing  hay,  and  though  with  an  addition  of 
grain,  the  cows  lost  at  least  25  per  cent,  of 
milk  ;  the  cream  did  not  make  as  much  but- 
ter, and  the  butter  was  not  of  as  good  color  or 
flavor.  During  the  time  of  feeding  ensilage 
we  were  unable  to  discover  any  other  than  the 
most  satisfactory  taste  to  milk,  cream  or  but- 
ter. The  cows  were  in  the  most  perfect  state 
of  health,  and  kei)t  in  line  condition. 

I  raised  a  Jersey  calf  droi)ped  iu  September, 
which  had  all  it  wanted  of  ensilage,  and  I  will 
show  it  any  day  beside  any  man's  calf  six 
months  older.  1  fed  for  !«l  days  eight  West- 
ern steers,  which  averaged  a  gain  of  over  li 
pounds  per  day.  The  ration  for  cows  and 
oxen  was  22  pounds  of  ensilage  morning  and 
night,  and  15  pounds  of  cut  cornstalks  at 
noon.  The  cows  had  three  quarts  of  corn- 
meal  and  two  (juarts  of  wheat  bran  per  day, 
and  the  steers  had  four  quarts  of  corumeal 
for  45  days,  and  live  quarts  for  the  last  45 
days.  Our  success  with  the  steers  quite  as- 
tonished my  neighbors,  who  feed  in  the  old 
way.  The  butcher  says  the  cattle  slaughtered 
well,  and  the  meat  was  remarkably  fine,  and 
gave  him  every  satisfaction.  The  use  of  poor 
eusilage,  made  from  corn  half  ripe,  or  frost- 
bitten, I  have  reason  for  believing,  would  not 
give  such  satisfactory  results. '  I  am  one  who 
believes  that  to  make  good  ensilage  the  corn 
should  be  cut  at  the  right  time,  cut  the  right 
length,  put  away  iu  a  good  silo,  and  covered 
over  nicely,  and  then  well  and  thoroughly 
weighted  down.— IF.  JI'.  M.,  in  VouMry  Gcn- 
thnian. 

AGRICULTUEAL     PROSPERITY 
SHOULD  BENEFIT  THE  FARMER. 

The  future  of  farming  iu  the  United  States 
has  never,  in  the  history  of  the  country,  been 
so  propitious  as  this  season.  Two  of  the  great 
staple  products  of  American   agriculture,  the 
two  which  are  most  to   be  relied  upon  tor  the 
general  prosperity,  to   wit,    hay  ami   wheat, 
have  naver  been  so  abundant.      It  is  not  un- 
likely that  the  corn  crop  also  may  exceed  that 
of  any  year  that  has  preceded  this.      The  av- 
erage of  all  other  staple  crops  is  good.  Already 
these  facts  of  great  power  are  beginning  to  be 
felt.     "  This  is  the  tide  in  the  allairs  of  men 
— farmers— which  taken  at  its  flood  will  lead 
to  fortune."    The  farmer,  living  in  his  retire- 
ments little   knows  the   inlluences  which   his 
general  prosperity  exerts  over  the  commercial 
relations  of  the  country.      The  maiuifacturer 
knows,  the  importer  and  exporter  knows,  the 
railroad  king    knows,  the    iiolitician   knows, 
and  all  appreciate   this   inlliience.      Unfortu- 
uiilely  for   the   fanner  there  are,   among  all 
classes  of  men,  ambitious  speculators  who  use 
their  knowledge  of  the  above  facts  not  only  to 
increase  their  legitimate  operations,   but  to 
study  how  they  can   best  take  advantage  of 
the  ignorance  of  farmers   to   appropriate   the 
prosperity  of  the   latter  to   their  own  advan- 
tage.      To  this   end    there    are    "stock  ex- 
changes,"' "corn  exchanges,"  "bankers'  and 


brokers' boards,"  "boards  of  trade,"  "rail- 
road syndicates,"  etc.,  etc.,  the  business  of 
which  i.s,  by  organization,  to  control  the 
transportation,  purchase  and  sale  of  farm  pro- 
ducts, not  fiU'  the  benelit  of  the  farmer  at 
home,  nor  for  the  benelit  of  the  consumer  of 
such  products,  but  for  the  sole  benefit  of  the 
jobbers  and  traflickers  in  these  commodities, 
and  lh((  farmer  in  the  country  home,  without 
organization,  is  the  victim  of  these  combina- 
tions and  ma<'hinations. 

It  is  a  serious  problem  how  farmers  can  so 
unite  and  combine  as  to  protect  their  own  in- 
terests against  the  organized  outrage  and  ex- 
tortion of  these  other  comliinations. 

Running  through  most  of  the  grain  and 
grass-growing  jiortions  of  the  country  there 
are  net-works  of  railroads,  the  original  stock 
of  which  was  largely  subscribed  by  farmers,  in 
the  belief  that  lu-oximily  to  railroad  transpor- 
tation would  a<lvance  the  profits  of  farming, 
but  unforlunately  railroad  corporations  and 
syndicates  so  completely  monopolize  the  ope- 
rations of  railroads  that  the  farmer  never 
sees  the  benefits  of  the  roads,  nor  the  color  of 
the  money  he  invested  in  them. 

Farmers  generally  know  these  facts  and  de- 
plore their  inability  to  remedy  the  evils. 

The  organization  of  "  Patrons  of  Ilusban 
dry"  was  conceived  by  and  created  in  the  be- 
lief that  a  .solid  combination  of  farmers  with 
their  individual  intelligence  and  combined 
strength,  could  control  legislation,  and 
through  it  regulate  transportation  and  pur- 
chase and  sale,  so  that  the  producers  would, 
at  least,  be  able  to  divide  with  the  operators 
in  the  profits  of  farm  products. 

But  this  orsranization,  in  its  extreme  cau- 
tion to  keep  out  of  it  "  politics  and  religion," 
and  avoid  dangers  within  itself,  carried  it,s 
caution  to  the  extent  of  inability  to  guard 
against  danger  from  without,  and  after  years 
of  labor  finds  its  organization  outgeneraled  by 
combined  corporations,  and  out-witted  by 
wily  politicians,  until  its  very  power  is  turned 
against  itself,  and  made  the  instrument  of 
those  outside  combinations  which  it  was  de- 
signed to  protect  the  farmer  against. 

If  the  founders  of  the  Patrons  of  Hus- 
bandry, instead  of  excluding  politics  from  its 
deliberations  had  made  it  a  political,  not 
Iiartisau  organization,  the  purpose  of  which 
was  to  protect  the  interests  of  the  farmer  by 
electing  legislators  who  would  enact  laws  in 
the  interest  of  agriculture,  and  by  electing  exe- 
cutive c^flicers  who  would  jireserve  tho.se  inter- 
ests, that  organization  might,  to-day,  instead  of 
being  managed  and  manipulated  in  the  inter- 
ests of  capital  and  monopolies,  be  the  dictat- 
ing power  in  State  and  National  Legislative 
bodies.  Capital  in  the  United  States  to-day 
controls  legislation,  and  legislators  control 
the  industries  of  the  country,  more  especially 
the  agricultural  industry.  This  order  of 
things  should  be  and  can  be  reversed,  so  that 
farmers,  being  in  the  majority  over  any  other 
class  of  men,  should  control  legislation- 
State  and  national— and  honest  legislation 
should  control  capital.  In  a  Bepublican 
form  of  government  majorities  should  rule. 
The  farmer  is  the  majority.  Forewarned  is 
to  be  forearmed.  Farmers  should  and  can 
IM-otect  their  industry,  and  reap  the  fortune 
from  this  tiilal  wave  of  prosperity. 


168 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[November, 


TREE-PLANTING  IN  STREETS  AND 
GROUNDS. 
The  whole  of  good  farming  aud  gardening 
does  not  consist  alone  in  raising  good  stock 
and  growing  crops  ;  the  farm  and  home  need 
ornament  and  pleasant  appearances. 

Trees  and  shrubbery,  well  chosen  and  prop- 
erly arranged,  constitute;  the  means  to  give 
charm  to  the  homstead,  as  also  to  give  beauty 
to  the  town  and  park  ;  their  shade  is  also  a 
comfort. 

Taste,  knowledge,  and  skill  are  as  necessary 
to  secure  highest  satisfaction  in  tree  and 
shrubbery  planting,  as  in  drawing  fine  land- 
scapes and  designing  elegant  buildings  ;  being 
simply  a  good  civil  and  topographical  en- 
gineer does  not  qualify  a  person  to  be  a  suc- 
cessful and  tasteful  landscape  gardener  ;  land- 
scape gardening,  in  its  completeness,  is  a 
high  order  of  profession  in  itself,  requiring 
talent  and  experience  to  attain  high  efficiency. 
True,  a  thorough  study  of  surveying  and  en- 
gineering is  considerable  help  in  that  direc- 
tion. It  takes  fine  talent  and  varied  expe- 
rience to  make  such  a  happy  landscape  gar- 
dener as  Wm.  Saunders  has  proved  himself 
to  be. 

Besides  knowing  the  character  and  habits 
of  trees,  their  climatic  requirements,  the  best 
mode  of  planting,  and  the  right  adaptation 
of  soil  for  their  successful  growth,  an  eye  and 
judgment  for  pleasant  effects  are  equally  re- 
quisite ;  in  fact,  both  taste  and  experience  are 
indispensable  in  producing  the  most  delight- 
ful results  in  lawn,  park,  and  street  planting 
of  trees  and  shrubbery. 

In  addition  to  various  evergreens  —  as 
cedars,  firs,  pines,  arborvitKs,  and  the  like — 
the  ashes,  catalpa,  elms,  lindens,  maples, 
oaks,  and  some  others  are  both  useful  and 
handsome,  and  are  adapted  to  a  wide  range 
of  climate  and  diversity  of  soils. 

Tlie  best  experience  proves  that  the  plant- 
ing of  young  trees  should  not  be  too  deep  ;  in 
tliis,  as  in  most  operations  with  plant-growing, 
the  methods  or  habits  of  nature  are  safe 
guides  to  tree-planters. 

An  experienced  writer  in  this  matter  says: 
"  Large,  round  holes  for  tree-planting  are 
better  tlian  square  ones  ;  tlie  bottom  of  the 
liole  should  be  elevated  towards  the  center, 
with  rich,  pulverized  soil,  upon  which  the 
tree  should  be  placed  in  planting  ;  then  the 
roots  should  be  carefully  spread  out  in  all  di- 
rections toward  the  circumference  of  the 
hole,  and  carefully  covered  with  rich,  fiue 
soil,  the  tree  to  be  gently  shaken  and  slightly 
lifted  while  this  is  being  done  in  order  that 
soil  will  settle  around  all  the  roots." 

Full  and  complete  guide  and  instructions 
cannot  be  given  nor  expected  in  a  single 
short  article,  on  this  beautiful  aTid  too  much 
neglected  subject ;  but  only  a  few  sugges- 
tions are  thrown  out  on  the  kinds  of  trees  to 
be  chosen  and  the  rudiments  of  planting.  In 
future  articles  I  will  give  more  specific  details, 
in  regard  to  tlie  natures  and  necessities  of 
various  tioes  and  shrubs,  as  also  in  regard  to 
the  natures  and  necessities  of  various  trees 
aud  shrubs,  as  also  in  regard  to  adapting 
dill'erent  ones  to  various  locasions  and  soils. 
This  is  to  awaken  interest  only. 

The  planting  of  various  fruit-trees,  as  well 
as  their  adaptation  to   soil   and  locality,  will 


also  be  considered  in  these  plain  and  brief 
articles,  with  the  aim  of  being  perfectly 
practical  rather  than  fanciful. 

Some  varieties  of  fruit-trees  are  decidedly 
ornamental  as  well  as  useful  for  fruits,  espe- 
cially when  interspersed  among  cedars  and 
pines,  and  in  many  cases  drawing  among 
evergreens,  particularly  cedars,  is  known  to 
prevent,  to  a  good  degree,  the  ravages  of 
many  insects  upon  the  fruit-trees. 

The  pear  tree,  the  apple  and  the  cherry  are 
many  of  them  very  fine  and  graceful  in  their 
habits  and  forms.  We  have  known  plum- 
trees  growing  among  walnut  and  hickory 
trees  to  be  preserved  from  insects. — D.  8. 
Curtiss. 


THE  FAIR   SEASON. 

We  are  in  the  midst  of  the  season  for  fairs 
and  expositions.  Whoever  has  produced  any- 
thing of  more  than  usual  excellence  in  his 
own  estimation  and  that  of  his  friends, 
whether  in  the  farming,  mechanical  or  art 
line,  brings  it  forth  for  public  examination 
and  approval.  Mankind  thus  puts  its  best 
foot  forward.  The  scope  of  the  agricultural 
fairs  has  enlarged  of  late  years,  until  they 
have  become  comprehensive  industrial  sympo- 
siums, with  a  little  extraneous  entertainment 
included  in  the  shape  of  horse-racing  and  oc- 
casional other  diversions.  In  many  localities 
there  is  a  department  of  art,  and  where  cir- 
cumstances will  not  permit  of  that  dignity  in 
its  high  sense,  there  are  exhibitions  of  fancy 
needlework  and  what  not  from  fair  fingers, 
that  help  to  give  an  agreeable  coloring  to  the 
whole  and  widen  the  field  of  interest.  The 
motto  seems  to  be,  "  something  of  everything 
for  everybody,"  and  it  is  a  very  good  one. 

The  animating  principle  of  fairs  is  compe- 
tition, and  the  benefits  they  bestow  come  in 
the  shape  of  the  advertisement  of  new  and 
practical  ideas,  comparisons,  and  a  relaxation 
of  the  humdrum  round  of  daily  life.  The 
farmer  and  the  mechanic  are  brought  together 
in  a  mutually  profitable  way.  If  the  latter 
has  an  improvement  in  the  way  of  saving 
agricultural  labor,  and  is  interested  in  finding 
customers  for  it,  the  former  is  equally  inter- 
ested in  finding  it  out.  Tests  between  the 
different  machines  are  frequently  made  before 
discriminating  witnesses,  and,  by  a  process  of 
natural  selection,  the  good  are  established  in 
the  market,  while  the  inferior  are  numbered 
with  the  infinity  of  human  failures  upon 
which  progress  is  built.  The  results  of  differ- 
ent methods  of  cultivation  are  brought  to- 
gether and  discussed.  The  merits  of  various 
kinds  of  slock  are  illustrated,  and  that  species 
of  intelligence  is  dissenuuated  among  faamers 
which  is  of  the  greatest  se.ivice  to  them. 

The  aggregate  infiuence  of  fairs  upon  the 
advancement  of  the  agricultural  interests 
must  be  very  great.  Formerly  they  were  main- 
ly places  of  bargain  aud  sale  ;  now  they  have 
a  more  direct  educational  infiuence,  and  they 
are  developing  in  accordance  with  the  de- 
mands of  the  age,  nntil  something  like  a  uni- 
versal system  has  been  evolved. 

The  county  fairs  su^iply  tlie  want  of  local 
interchange  of  ideas  and  comparisons;  then 
come  fairs,  representing  larger  sections;  then 
State  fairs,  and  so  on  up  to  the  world's  fairs, 
which  have  now,  it  may  be  said,  become  es- 
tablished institutions  held  at  a  comparatively 


regular  intervals  every  few  years,  and  in  the 
sustentation  of  which  the  civilized  nations 
have  spontaneously  and,  in  a  manner,  instinc- 
tively united. 

These  fairs,  large  and  small,  are  great  lev- 
elers,  but  they  level  up.  Their  effect  is  to 
raise  the  low  places,  not  to  cut  down  the  sub- 
stantial heights.  They  do  not  strike  an  ave- 
rage, but  push  the  inferior  out  of  existence 
altogether,  and  when  all  the  world's  excel- 
lence and  advances  are  to  choose  troin,  tlie 
eflect  is  a  compact  partnership  of  civilized 
forces  in  the  work  of  progress.  In  thus  re- 
garding the  world's  fairs,  the  smaller  ones  are 
not  to  be  despised.  They  are  as  important  in 
their  sphere  as  the  larger  ones  are  in  theirs. 
It  is  through  local  endeavor  and  the  inspira- 
tion of  local  competition  that  the  marvels  of 
ingenuity  and  of  careful  labor  are  produced. 
Usually  each  separate  locality  possesses  ad- 
vantages in  some  particular  direction  that 
others  are  deficient  in.  The  local  competition 
they  all  repre.sent  is  not  only  an  incentive  to 
the  best  effort,  but  it  is  instructive.  Many 
heads  can  furnish  more  valuable  hints  than 
one  can.  The  more  the  general  subject  is  re- 
garded the  more  it  will  appear  that  the  fair 
system  is  a  very  important  one,  and  bears  a 
little  short  of  vital  relation  to  the  various  in- 
dustries. It  supplies  them  with  a  nervous 
circulation  that  they  would  advance  very 
sluggishly  and  unevenly  without. 


ITALIAN    BEES     AND    HOW  TO  ITAL- 
IANIZE THE  COMMON  BLACK  BEES 

After  having  tested  the  Italian  bees  for  ten 
years  we  can  say  very  truly  that  they  are  far 
superior  to  the  black  or  native  bees.  First, 
they  are  more  energetic  and  resist  the  attack 
of  robbers  and  the  bee-moth  ;  never  had  a 
strong  colony  of  Italian  robbed  or  destroyed 
by  the  bee-moth.  Second,  they  are  better 
honey  gatherers  and  can  gather  honey  from 
flowers  that  the  black  bees  cannot.  Our 
Italians,  during  a  dry  spell,  the  fall  of  1881, 
were  busy  working  on  red  clover  while  there 
could  not  be  a  black  bee  seen.  Third,  they 
will  gather  at  least  one-third  more  honey 
than  the  black  bees,  to  take  one  year  with  an- 
other. Fourth,  and  last,  they  are  more  quiet 
and  better  to  handle,  the  bees  stick  close  to 
the  combs. 

A  pure  Italian  should  have  three  distinct, 
yellow  bands  or  rings  across  the  lower  part  of 
the  abdomen,  and  a  bright  yellow  hair  over 
the  body.  The  so-called  Albino  bees  are  a 
strain  of  Italians,  having  white  bands  and 
hair  ;  they  are  the  finest  workers  of  the  two 
and  very  nice  to  handle  ;  they  are  of  Ameri- 
can origin,  and  are  distinguished  in  scientific 
bee  culture  as  (-4j3is  JL»ie?-ica.)  We  got  our 
first  (lueen  of  Mils  strain  of  Italians,  October, 
1879.  The  next  year,  188',1,  this  colony  gave 
us  two  swarms  and  110  pounds  of  o"e-pound 
sections  of  honey,  and  last  year  the  same 
(picen's  colony  gave  us  (33  pounds  of  one- 
pound  sections  of  honey.  The  honey  of  1880 
brought  us  $lti.50,  while  that  of  1881  brought 
us  »12.G0. 

Our  average   last   year  was    i2  pounds    per 
colony  (Italians,)  when  the  average  per  colony 
black  bets,  last  year,  fell  below  par. 
How    to   Italianize. 

First,  procure  a  good  queen  from  a  reliable 
breeder,    and  when    the  queen  arrives,  if  in 


1882,] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


^69 


movable  frame  liiv  >,  commence  on  one  side  of 
liivc  and  take  out  one  or  two  frames  and 
sliake  oil' the  bees  so  as  to  be  sure  that  the 
lilack  queen  is  not  on  them.  Now  have  a  new 
hive  ;  put  the  two  frames  in  and  set  in  place 
of  the  old  hive,  and  carry  the  old  hive  and  re- 
maining bees  some  six  or  eight  rods  away, 
then  examine  each  frame  carefully  until  the 
black  (lueen  is  found,  tlicn  kill  her  or  mak<>  a 
new  colony.by  giving  her  about  half  of  the 
frames,  and  set  it  some  distance  from  where 
it  lirst  stood.  Queens  are  mostly  sent  in  a 
cage  one  inch  thick  and  two  inches  s(iuare. 
Take  this  cage  and  lay  it  on  a  frame  of 
brood,  near  the  top  bar,  and  with  a  sharp 
knife  cut  out  a  piece  of  comb,  just  as  large  as 
the  cage  and  no  larger.  Now  remove  the 
two  tacks  that  hold  the  tin  gate,  but  do  not 
lei  the  gate  slip  out  of  place,  slip  the  cage  in 
the  hole  cut  in  the  comb  with  the  gate  down, 
be  sure  the  gate  is  in  the  right  place  so  it  will 
be  impossihle  for  the  queen,to  get  out,  place 
the  frames  in  the  hives,  just  as  they  were, 
and  leave  it  for  3(5  to  48  hours,  then  remove 
the  tin  gate,  but  leave  the  cage  in  position, 
and  with  a  sharp,  thin  knife  give  Ivvo  or  three 
cuts  just  below  the  opening,  but  do  not  re- 
move any  comb  ;  now  close  the  hive  and  the 
bees  will  know  their  way  out,  but  before 
closing  the  hive  be  careful  to  destroy  all  queen 
cells.  In  about  live  days  open  the  hive  and 
see  if  all  is  right  ami  remove  the  cage.  The 
above  plan  is  intended  for  those  who  have  had 
but  little  experience  at  the  business,  and  not 
for  the  practical  apiarian. — Maryland  Farmer. 


ON 


THE 


PREVENTABLE     LOSSES 
FARM. 

It  is  a  "penny  wise  and  pound  foolish"  sys- 
tem, to  breed  from  scrub  stock.  There  is  not 
a  farmer  in  this  region  who  has  not  access  to 
a  pedigreed  Shorthorn  bidl,  by  a  payment  of 
a  small  fee  of  two  to  live  dollars,  and  yet  we 
(ind  only  one  animal  in  ten  with  Shorthorn 
blood.  It  is  a  common  practice  to  breed  to  a 
yearling,  and  as  he  is  almost  sure  to  become 
breechj',  to  sell  him  for  what  he  will  bring 
the  second  summer.  Many  farmers  neglect 
castrating  their  calves  until  they  are  a  year 
old.  I  think  ten  per  cent,  are  thus  perma- 
nently injured — must  be  classed  as  stags,  and 
sold  at  a  reduced  price.  Fully  half  the 
calves  so  stunted  never  recover. 

With  many,  the  starving  process  continues 
through  the  entire  year.  They  are  lirst  fed 
an  insullicient  quantity  of  skim  milk;  then  in 
July  or  August,  just  at  the  season  when  flies 
are  at  their  worst,  and  pastures  driest,  they 
are  weaned,  and  turned  out  to  shift  for  them- 
selves, and  left  on  the  p.istures  until  snow 
fall,  long  after  the  fields  yield  them  a  good 
support.  They  are  wintered  without  grain, 
spring  tind  them  poor  and  hide-bound, 
and  the  be  st  grazing  season  is  over  be- 
fore they  are  fairly  thrifty. 

The  keeping  of  old  cows  long  past  their 
lirinie  is  another  thing  which  largely  reduces 
the  profits  of  the  farniei-.  We  have  found 
quite  a  large  per  cent,  of  cows,  whose 
wrinkled  horns  and  generally  run-down  con- 
dition, show  that  they  have  long  since  passed 
the  point  of  profit.  A  few  years  ago,  these 
cows  would  have  sold  at  full  prices  for  beef, 
now  they  will  only  do  for  bologna  at  2  cents  per 
pound.     Thus    cows  have,   in  a  majority  of 


cases,  been  kept,  not  because  they  were  fa- 
vorites, or  even  because  they  were  jirofitable, 
but  from  sheer  carelessness  and  want  of  fore- 
thought. Another  fruitful  cause  of  loss  to 
the  farmer,  is  attempting  to  winter  more 
stock  than  he  has  feed  for.  Instead  of  esti- 
mating his  resources  in  the  fall,  and  knowing 
that  he  has  enough  feed  even  fur  a  hard  win- 
ter, he  gives  the  matter  no  thought,  and 
March  linds  him  with  the  choice  of  two  evils, 
either  to  sell"  stock,  or  buy  feed.  If  he 
chooses  the  former,  he  will  often  sell  for  much 
less  than  the  animals  would  have  brought 
four  months  earlier,  and  if  the  latter,  will 
usually  i)ay  a  mu('h  higher  price  for  feed  than 
if  it  had  been  bought  in  autumn.  Too  often 
he  scrimps  the  feed,  hoping  for  an  early 
spring,  and  so  soon  as  he  can  see  the  grass 
showing  a  shade  of  green  around  the  fence 
rows,  or  in  some  sheltered  ravine,  turns  his 
stock  out  to  make  their  own  living.  This 
brings  one  of  the  most  potent  causes  of  un- 
prolitable  cattle  raising  ;  namely,  short  pas- 
tures. The  farmer  who  is  overstocked  in 
winter,  is  almost  sure  to  turn  his  cattle  on 
his  pastures  too  early  in  the  spring,  and  this 
generally  results  in  short  pasture  all  summer, 
and  consequently  the  stock  do  not  thrive  as 
they  ought,  and  in  addition,  the  laud  which 
should  be  greatly  benefited  and  enriched,  is 
injured,  for  the  develoinnent  of  the  roots  in 
the  soil  must  correspond  to  that  of  the  tops, 
and  if  the  latter  are  constantly  cropped  short, 
the  roots  must  be  small.  The  heuefit  of  shade 
is  lost,  and  the  land  is  trampled  by  the  cattle 
in  their  wanderings  to  till  themselves,  so  that 
it  is  in  a  worse  condition  than  if  a  crop  of 
grain  had  been  grown  on  it.  From  all  these 
causes  combined,  there  is  a  large  aggregate  of 
loss,  and  it  is  the  exception  to  find  a  farm  on 
which  one  or  more  of  thiiin  does  not  exist, 
and  yet  without  exception,  they  may  be 
classed  as  "preventable,"  if  thought  and 
liractical  common  sense  are  brought  to  bear 
in  the  management. — Amcrkan  Ayricultnritit. 


YIELD   AND    CONDITION   OK   CROPS. 

The  October  returns  include  the  entire 
area  of  nearly  seventeen  hundred  counties  of 
the  United  .States,  representing  nearly  all  of 
the  breadth  in  cereals,  potatoes,  cotton,  to- 
bacco, and  sorghum.  They  give  direct  esti- 
mates of  the  yield  per  acre  of  the  small  grains, 
all  of  which  are  harvested,  based  on  thrashers' 
records  as  far  as  obtainable.  Errors  have 
been  carefully  eliiuinated,  and  unreasonable 
estimates  examined  for  coj-rectioii.  The  re- 
sult of  this  test  of  production  gives  the  largest 
figures  of  the  ollicial  series  of  tests,  from  the 
involuntary  impulse  of  farmers  to  think  and 
speak  well  of  their  acres;  so  that,  on  com- 
pleting the  direct  comparison,  by  counties, 
with  the  product  of  last  year,  and  the  adjust- 
ment of  possible  discrepancies  by  furthur  in- 
vestigation, the  outcome  may  pnssilily  be 
lower  than  is  indicated  by  the  figures  of  yield 
per  acre. 

The  crops  not  yet  generally  harvested,  corn, 
potatoes,   and   buckwheat,  and  cotton  also, 
make  a  final  report  of  condition,  the  rate  of 
yield  to  fellow  in  November. 
WHEAT. 

The  October  returns  of  yield  per  acre  of 
wheat,  estimated  from  results  of  thrashing, 
foreshadows    a    product    slightly    exceeding 


r)0(),(lOO,(l(i()  Inishels.  The  average  yield  per 
acre  will  not  much  exceed  an  average  of  1.3.5 
bushels,  on  an  acreage  slightly  under  .37,- 
UOi),UOO.  There  is  a  reduction  of  area  in  the 
spring-wheat  region,  and  a  largo  yield  in  the 
great  vvinter-wheat-growing  belt  of  the  West. 
The  six  jiriiicipal  winter-wheat  States  will 
aggregate  about  aH.IMlO.ljlJO  bushels,  or  nearly 
half  the  crop  of  the  United  Slates.  The 
spring  wheat  of  the  Northwest  may  make 
113,0U0,U00  bushels.  The  Pacific-coast  crop, 
which  has  been  piTsisteiitly  exaggerated  in 
commercial  estimates,  may  pessibly  reach 
4r),OUO,IIO()  bushels.  The  Middle  States  have 
produced  about  40,000,000  bushels,  and  the 
Southern  States  slightly  in  excess  of  50,- 
000,000.  Slight  modifications  may  come  from 
further  investigation  as  the  results  of  the 
harvest  are  more  closely  tested  ;  but  the  total 
i-annot  be  much  changed,  and  certainly  can- 
not be  expected  to  enlarge  the  aggregate 
above,  which  requires  nearly  as  large  a  yield 
per  acre  as  has  ever  been  reported  in  this 
country  by  census  or  ollicial  estimate.  '  The 
average  yield  has  never  fallen  quite  to  10 
bushels  (though  very  near  .it  last  year),  and 
never  has  quite  touched  14  bushels  in  years  of 
greatest  abundance.  It  was  12.0  in  the  census 
year,  and  the  croi)  of  1880  was  estimated 
at  13.1. 

The  yield  in  New  England  varies  from  14 
bushels  in  Maine  to  18.7  in  Vermont.  It  is 
unusually  high  in  New  York,  18.7  bushels;  in 
Pennsylvania  not  quite  so  high,  15.5  bushels. 
Delaware  and  Maryland  secure  good  yields  ; 
but  the  South,  from  Virginio  to  the  MLssiss- 
ippi  Eiver,  though  yielding  better  than  usual, 
ranges  7  to  10  bushels  ;  Arkansas  and  Texas 
do  better. 

Coming  to  the  winter  wheat  belt  of  the 
Ohio  Valley,  the  country  north  of  that  river 
averages  nearly  sixteen  bushels.  Michigan 
and  Illinois  stand  highe.'-l  in  this  belt.  Ken- 
tucky and  Missouri  promise  about  14  bushels; 
Kansas  reports  the  extraordinary  yield  of 
10.5,  a  crop  of  about  34,000,000  bushels.  The 
yield  of  California  is  apparently  about  13 
bushels,  while  Oregon  and  Washington  are 
higher  and  more  unifi)rm  in  local  areas. 

The  quality  of  wheat  is  generally  good  ; 
high  in  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States  and 
approximating  100  in  the  South.  In  Illinois 
the  average  is  09;  in  Indiana.  07  ;  in  Ohio, 
0(5.  Some  loss  of  quality  in  Jlichigan  from 
heating  in  the  stack,  reducing  the  as'erase  to 
90.  In  West  Virginia  it  fails  to  reach  per- 
feelion  by  nine  points.  Iowa,  in  the  spring 
wheat  belt,  makes  lowest  returns,  averaging 
07.  Further  west,  and  on  the  Pacific  coast, 
quality  is  reported  uiiiforinly  good. 

().\TS. 

The  average  yield  of  oats  will  be  somewhat 
higher  than  last  year  or  1879,  and  the  product 
wdl  be  nearly  as  large  as  that  of  wheat,  pro- 
bably about  480,000,0(10  bushels.  Illinois, 
Iowa,  New  Vork,  Wisconsin,  Missouri,  Penn- 
sylvania, Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Kansas  are 
Slates  of  highest  rank. 
KYi:. 

The  indicated  average  yield  of  rye  is  14.7, 
making  a  crop  of  20,000,000  bushels,  or  nearly 
the  same  as  that  reported  by  the  last  census. 
The  quality  ranges,  with  few  exceptions, 
from  95  to  100. 


170 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER- 


[November, 


BAKLEY. 

Thu  indicated  average  yield  of  barley  is  23.5 
I)Us1ip1s  per  acre,  aggregating  45,0(10,000 
bushels.  California,  New  York  and  Wiscon- 
sin, together  iiroduce  more  than  one-half,  or 
27,000,0(10  bushels.  The  product  in  1879  was 
44,000,000. 

BUCKW1IJ;.\T. 

The  prospect  for  buckwheat  is  good  for 
a  nearly  average  product,  eleven  to  twelve 
million  bushels.  I'ennsylvaiiia  jiroduces  nearly 
half  of  the  crop,  and  reports  0.">  as  the  average 
of  condition,  100  representing  a  full  normal 
yield,  and  not  an  average  of  good  and  bad 
seasons.  Xew  York  makes  an  average  of  0.5. 
No  other  States  produce  half  a  million  bush- 
els. 

COHN. 

The  yield  per  acre  of  corn  will  be  reported 
iu  November.  Condition  averages  81,  being 
very  high  in  the  South,  and  comparatively 
low  in  .states  of  largest  production.  In  Illi- 
nois, witli  8  per  cent,  decrease  of  area,  condi- 
tion is  only  72 ;  it  is  70  iu  Iowa,  and  87  in 
Ohio ;  these  States  produced  40  per  cent,  of 
the  crop  of  1879.  A  careful  comparison  of 
changes  in  area  and  condition  indicates  an 
average  yield  of  2.5  bushels  per  acre,  against 
28  in  1879,  and  18  in  1881.  The  average  of  a 
series  of  years  is  between  26  and  27  bushels. 
New  England  will  produce,  according  to  these 
returns,  seven  to  eight  millions  ;  the  Middle 
States,  82,000,000  ;  the  Southern  States,  340,- 
000,000  ;  those  north  of  Tennessee  and  west 
of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania,  1, 2.50, 0(j0, 000  ; 
an  aggregate  of  1,080,000,000.  Later  returns 
of  product  may  slightly  reduce,  but  cannot 
materially  increase  this  result.  The  1,800,- 
0(JO,000  product  predicted  by  the  corn  buyers 
is  a  myth,  which  has  been  so  persistently  a.s- 
sunied  that  tlie  public  may  be  misled.  Tiie 
increase  in  the  South,  where  ten  to  fifteen 
bushels  may  be  considered  a  large  yield,  can- 
not make  good  the  reduction  in  Illinois  alone. 
It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  the  product  is 
more  than  four  hundred  millions  greater  than 
last  year,  and  ample  for  a  liberal  supply  for 
domestic  wants  and  exportation  ;  a  supply 
never  exceeded,  with  two  exceptions,  1879 
and  1880,  notwithstanding  a  later  and  more 
unpropitious  planting  season  than  has  oc- 
curred in  many  years. 

The  injury  to  corn  in  New  England,  by 
drought,  was  somewhat  .serious.  The  desired 
rains  did  not  fall  anywhere  out  of  Vermont, 
excei)t  locally.  Oxford  county,  Maine,  "has 
the  largest  and  best  crop  for  ten  years." 

Bin-lington  and  Gloucester  counties,  New 
.Jersey,  repoi  t  falling  off  in  condition  during 
.September,  but  the  reverse  is  true  of  the 
State. 

Much  "soft"  corn  is  mentioned  in  Penn- 
sylvania, but  no  fears  of  injury  by  frost  had 
yet  been  realized,  and  the  fair  weather  has 
taken  much  of  the  crop  out  of  danger. 

While  corn  in  Hiclnnond  county,  Virginia, 
was  "seriously  inlured  by  drought,"  and  in 
Botetourt  "sulTered  materially  from  too  much 
rain,"  in  Oraig  "some  fields  will  yield  70 
bushels  per  acre,"  and  Fau(piier  reports  "25 
per  cent,  above  an  average."  The  general 
report  from  the  ^tate  is  not  unsatisfactory. 

In  the  South  the  large  promise  of  the  season 
fails  but  slightly  by  reason  of  severe  storms  of 
wind  and  rain  in  September.     Damage  from 


these  causes  are  mentioned  in  Tran.slyvania, 
Stanley,  Davie,  Cabarrus,  Davidson,  Hender- 
son, Beaufort,  Camden,  Gaston,  Iredell,  Mc- 
Dowell, Bowan  counties,  North  Carolina ; 
Union,  Chester,  Edgefield,  South  Carolina  ; 
Decatur,  Harris,  Banks,  Gordon,  Talbot, 
Carroll,  Floyd.  Wilkes,  Baldwin,  Putnam, 
Early,  Dawson,  Wilcox,  and  Habersham,  in 
Georgia. 

In  Alabama  and  Mississippi  rain  and  Hoods 
are  mentioned  in  some  localities,  but  an 
abundant  crop  is  harve.sted  in  both  States. 

But  little  discontent  with  the  harvest  is 
evinced  in  Texas.  Hardeman  county  men- 
tions chinch  buizs,  and  more  rains  would 
have  been  acceptable  in  limited  portions  of 
the  State. 

West  Virginia  made  no  improveuK-nt  dur- 
ing the  last  thiity  days.  Several  counties 
suffered  too  much  rain. 

No  complaint  comes  from  any  section  of 
Kentucky.  Returns  indicate  an  abundant 
crop  in  Hickman.  Best  yield  in  twenty  years 
in  Kenton. 

September's  considerate  weather  did  all 
that  could  be  done  for  corn  in  Ohio,  and  "out 
of  danger  "  is  the  report  from  all  parts  of  the 
State.  Cutting  is  in  progress,  and  frost  did 
not  injure  even  the  latest  fields. 

The  danger  from  frost  has  passed  in  In- 
diana ;  there  is  but  slight  local  variation  in 
coudition,  and  the  improvement  by  reason  of 
fair  weather  in  September  is  general.    ' 

Frost  caught  some  fields  iu  Illinois,  and  its 
damage  is  mentioned  in  Kankakee,  Edgar, 
Kendall,  Henry,  Fulton,  Winnebago,  Boone, 
De  Kalb,  Grundy,  and  Livingston  counties, 
yet  the  late  grain  received  most  of  the  in- 
jury, and  the  condition  improved  wonder- 
fully during  September. 

Wisconsin  corn  suffered  from  frost  in  a  few 
counties.  In  Dodge  it  was  cut  prematurely 
for  its  protection,  and  the  quality  was  lowered. 
Many  couivtiea  report  an  average  crop  of  good 
quality— among  them,  Waushara,  Milwaukee, 
\Vau|iaca,  and  .Juneau. 

In  Watonwan  county,  Minnesota,  corn  was 
"badly  injured"  by  frost.  Other  counties 
mention  it,  while  many  escape  wholly. 

POTATOES. 

The  average  condition  of  the  potato  crop  is 
81,  indicating  a  yield  of  about  80  bushels  per 
sere  on  an  area  approaching  2,000,000  acres. 
In  New  York  the  average  is  70,  forshadowing 
a  short  crop  iu  a  .State  of  large  production.  In 
Maine,  85 ;  Vermont,  84  ;  and  less  in  other 
parts  of  New  England.  In  Michigan  the 
prospect  is  very  flattering,  and  throughout 
the  Ohio  Valley,  Missouri,  and  Kansas,  and 
in  the  Southern  States  condition  is  unusually 
high.  Iu  the  northwest  it  is  somewhat  re- 
duced. 

Potatoes  in  New  England  shared  in  the 
disastrous  influences  of  the  drought.  In  New 
York  and  New  Jersey  a  poor  condition 
exists.  Penn.sylvania  reports  large  crops  in 
many  counties,  and  rot  in  others.  August 
rains  did  good  in  Delaware. 

Large  croiis  are  mentioned  in  Williams, 
Allen,  Franklin,  Knox,  and  Geauga  coun- 
ties, Ohio,  and  little  complaint  comes  from 
any  part  of  the  State.  Hot  is  mentioned 
ill  Monroe,  Delta,  and  Houghton  counties, 
Michigan.     A  fine  croi)  is  reported  in  Indi- 


ana. In  Illinois,  rot  is  mentioned  in  Du 
Page,  Kendall,  Jo  Daviess,  Carroll,  and 
Boone.  Shelby  has  an  immense  crop.  The 
Wisconsin  product  is  large,  but  rotting  in 
Kewance,  Washington,  Pierce,  Fond  Du 
Lac,  Racine,  and  Dodge.  Local  variations 
occur  in  Iowa.  A  fair  yield  is  reported  in 
Missouri  and  Kansas,  esi)ecially  of  the  early 
planted. 

COTrON. 

The  cotton  returns  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  for  October  indicate  unusual 
size  and  vigor  of  plant,  and  a  capacity  for  a 
large  production.  The  late  development  of 
fruitago,  and  the  reported  indications  of  a 
small  top  crop,  limit  the  otherwise  extraor- 
dinary prospect.  The  coincidence  appears  of 
the  same  general  average  of  condition  in  1881 
and  1882  for  June,  July  and  August,  89,  92, 
and  94,  respectively.  During  August  and 
September,  iu  1881,  condition  fell  from  94  to 
66,  but  in  the  same  period  of  this  season  to 
88  only.  This  is  higher  than  in  any  October 
for  ten  years  with  two  exceptions,  1875  and 
1878. 

Compared  with  the  August  returns,  there 
is  a  loss  of  one  point  in  Florida  and  Texas  ; 
two  in  Alabama ;  three  in  North  Carolina 
and  Georgia  ;  four  in  Virginia,  Mississippi, 
and  Arkansas  ;  five  in  Tennessee,  and  six  in 
South  Carolina.  The  figures  for  Virginia  are 
86  ;  Nfirth  Carolina,  85  ;  South  Carolina,  89  ; 
Georgia,  86 ;  Florida,  82 ;  Alabama,  88 ; 
Mississippi,  82  ;  Louisiana,  82  ;  Texas,  100; 
Arkansas.  96  ;  Tennessee,  84. 

Rains  have  been  abundant  throughout  the 
belt,  with  a  few  local  exceptions  in  the  south- 
west. Severe  storms  are  reiJorted  generally, 
with  occasional  injurious  consequences,  while 
some  correspondents  claim  a  benefit  in  partial 
breaking  of  roots,  stopping  growth,  and  hast- 
ening maturity. 

Ru.st  is  slight  and  not  injurious. 

The  caterpillar  is  present  in  the  Gulf  States, 
but  no  appreciable  damage  is  reported  east  of 
Mississippi.  The  partial  loss  of  leaves  where 
the  worm  exists  is  favorable  to  developmant 
of  the  boil,  Slight  damage  is  reported  in 
Madison  and  Caddo,  in  Louisiana,  and  iu  a 
few  Texas  counties. 

The  boll  worm  is  doing  some  injury  in  bot- 
tom lands  of  Russell  county,  Alabama ;  in 
Dallas,  Denton,  Eastland,  and  Stephens, 
Texas  ;  in  Pope,  Arkonsas,  and  in  Fayette, 
Tennessee.  This  pest  has  perhaps  done  more 
injury  than  the  caterpillar,  but  the  lo.sses  from 
all  insects  will  be  insignificant. 

The  range  of  possibilities  between  early 
frost  and  a  long  and  favorable  season  for  ma- 
turing and  picking  is  much  wider  this  season 
than  usual,  owing  to  the  present  rank  growth 
and  greenness  of  the  weed,  and  later  ripening. 

Our  Local  Organizations. 

LANCASTERCOUNTY  AGRICULTURAL 
AND  HORTICULTURAL  SOCIETY. 

The  Lanciister  County  Agricultural  and  Horticul- 
tural Society  met  stateiily  in  their  room,  Monday 
afternoon,  Nov.  6,  with  tlie  following  members 
present  :  Joseph  F.  VVitmer,  Paradise;  H.  M.  Engle, 
Marietta;  John  C.  binville,  Salisbury  ;  M.  D.  Ken- 
dig,  Manor;  John  H.  Landis,  Manor;  VV.  H.Bol- 
linger, Warwick  ;  C.  A.  Gast,  city  ;  H.  G.  Kesh 
Pequea;  F.  R.  DiffeuderlTer,  city;  M.  Hereliey,  Sa- 


1882.  J 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


171 


lunca  ;  Ciilviu  Cooper,  Birfl  in-Hitml  ;.C.  L.  Hun- 
sc'uliLT,  Maiilicim  ;  E.  8.  IIoovpi-,  Manlieitn  ;  E.  W. 
Kslilcnian,  Manlieini ;  S.  P.  El)y,eity. 

On  motion  tlie  reailinir  of  tlie  minutes  of  tlie  last 
niec'tiiiir  were  fliepcnsed  with. 

Mr.  M.  D.  Kendig,  wlio  was  one  of  tlie  eomriiiltee 
to  visit  the  York  County  Fair,  reporleil  tliat  lie 
found  a  large  exliitiit.  The  atlendanee  was  also 
larfie,  and  the  display  of  cattle,  horses,  sheep,  ele., 
was  ttood.  The  fruit  display,  however,  was  not  so 
good, and  what  was  on  e.xhibition  was  of  a  very  poor 
quality. 

J.  C.  Liuville  stated  that  it,  had  been  understood 
that  Mr.  V.t\gc  had  apreed  to  address  the  society  at 
its  Octolier  mcetins;,  but  on  account  of  illness  he 
was  unable  to  do  so.  He  was  unable  lo  promise 
when  he  would  be  allowed  to  do  so,  on  account  of 
ill-lieaUh  and  a  fjreal  amount  of  other  work  on 
hand. 

Mr.  Linvillc,  of  Salisbury,  reported  an  unusual 
prowlh  of  grass  this  fall.  The  stubble  fields  have 
an  extraoidinarj  growth  of  clover.  The  wheal  sown 
in  October  looks  well.  The  corn  crop  is  about  an 
average.  lie  never  knew  the  corn  to  be  put  iu  the  crib 
so  green  as  it  was  tliis  (all,  and  he  was  afraid  this 
would  prove  a  disadvantage. 

n.  M.Engle,  of  Marietta,  said  young  clover  was 
doing  remarkably  well.  He  bad  made  young  hay 
from  it,  something  he  had  never  done  before.  It 
was  a  little  coarse,  but  the  cattle  appeared  to  like  it. 
The  rainfall  for  last  month  w.as  one  inch. 

M.  D.  Kendig  reported  tlie  ■.■aiiifall  in  his  section 
to  be  1  1  ■')  inches. 

These  reports  were  corroborated  by  other  mem- 
bers of  the  society. 

Mr.  Kendig  inquired  as  to  the  probable  tendency 
of  the  wheat  market. 

.Mr.  Ditlenderffer  said  he  was  of  the  opinion  that 
the  price  of  wheat  would  remain  about  as  it  is  at 
present.  He  said  there  could  not  be  any  argument 
which  would  lead  him  to  beliere  that  it  would  ad 
vance  in  price,  for  the  reason  that  the  late  crop  was 
larger  than  it  was  for  some  years.  The  Chicago 
Board  of  Trade  put  the  crop  much  higher  than  it 
ever  was. 

Mr.  Engle  asked  when  it  was  most  advisable  to 
[low  clover  sod  for  corn,  fall  or  spring?  He  said  he 
was  of  the  opinion  that  fall  was  the  best  time,  es- 
pecially if  the  season  was  dry.  It  should  then  be 
thoroughly  cultivated  in  the  spring. 

Mr.  Bollinger's  practice  was  fall  plowing.  Mis 
reasons  for  fall  plowing  were  because  he  had  more 
lime  ;  another  was  because  in  spring  the  ground  was 
loo  wet,  as  a  general  rule  ;  the  corn  should  be  thor- 
oughly cultivated  in  tlie  spring;  this  year  he  was 
expecting  fi.T  or  70  bushels  per  acre,  although  it  was 
planted  in  May. 

Mr.  Resli  advised  manuring  heavily  in  the  fall, 
and  then  plowing  it  thoroughly  in  the  spring.  He 
had  bad  tried  this  plan  and  always  found  it  to  work 
well,  especially  if  there  was  a  good  set  of  clover. 

Mr.  Hoocer  said  he  held  the  same  idea,  to  a  great 
extent,  as  that  held  by  the  gentleman  who  had  pre- 
ceded bim  If  he  had  level  ground  he  thought  the 
lilan  would  work  well,  but  if  the  land  was  sloping 
he  would  not  advise  it.  He  was  in  lavor  of  fall 
plowing  as  a  rule,  but  he  was  of  the  opinion  that  in 
the  fall  there  would  be  a  scarcity  of  manure,  and 
then  some  of  the  land  would  not  get  any  manure  at 
all.  He,  therefore,  advocated  doing  it  by  degrees, 
just  as  he  secured  his  manure. 

Mr.  Engle  was  of  the  opinion  the  plan  of  exposing 
the  plowed  surface,  during  the  winter,  would  prove 
benetii'ial.  The  L'cneral  ^elllimcnt  throughout  the 
country  tended  towards  surface  manuring.  He  did 
not,  however,  like  to  leave  his  manure  exposed  lo 
the  elements  during  the  summer  season.  He  was 
in  favor  of  having  his  manure  in  good  condition, 
then  be  would  have  a  good  eullivalor  and  properly 
apply  it. 

Mr.  Bollinger  said  the  only  objection  he  had  to  top 
dressing  in  the  fall  was  that  then  the  manure  would 
Lot  as  a  rule  be  in  proper  condition.    He  thought  we 


would  destroy  the  insects,  especially  the  cut-worm, 
if  we  would  plow  in  the  fall. 

Mr.  Eby  instanced  a  case  where  the  cut  worms 
were  most  numerous  in  a  tobacco  patch  which  had 
been  plowed  in  the  fall,  but  Mr.  Engle  thought  this 
ase  was  an  except  ion. 

Mr.  Linvile  plowed  in  the  spring,  because  he  then 
could  have  his  manure  in  proper  condition.  He  was 
of  the  opinion  that  land  plowed  in  the  winter  and 
exposed  to  tlic  elements,  would  become  very  poor. 
It  may  kill  the  cut-worm,  but  be  thought  it  did  not 
pay  in  the  end. 

Mr.  Engle  stated  that  J.  B.  Oarber  contributed 
several  specimens  of  the  KieflVr  hibrid  pear,  and  he 
moved  that  a  eommitlee  be  appointed  to  examine 
the  fruit. 

The  motion  was  carried,  and  Messrs.  Engle 
Cooper  and  Eby  were  appointed. 

The  following  questions  were  referred:  At  what 
age  should  stock  cattle  be  put  up  for  feeders?  to  E. 
S.  Hoover.  At  the  present  prices  of  corn  and  bran, 
what  constitutes  a  profitable  ration  for  beef  cattle  ? 
to  n.  Ci.  Kesh.  What  is  a  profitable  ration  for  milk 
cows?  J.  H.  Landis.  Is  there  any  truth  in  the  oft 
repeated  assertion  that  farmers  cat  too  much  1  F.  K. 
Diirendcrffer.     Adjourned. 

POULTRY   ASSOCIATION. 

The  Lancaster  County  Poultry  Society  met  stateillj 
in  their  room  in  the  City  Hall  building,  Monday 
morning,  Nov.  0,  with  the  following  members  pres- 
ent:  Geo.  A.  Geyer,  Spring  Garden;  .1.  B.  Lichty, 
city;  Dr.  E.  H.  Witmer,  Neflsville  ;  S.  G.  Engle, 
Marietta;  W.  A.  Schoenberger,  city;  S.  P.  Eaby, 
Esq.,  city;  F.  R.  Dill'enderffer,  city;  C.  A.  Gast, 
city  ;  Edward  Brackbill,  Strasburg  ;  Peter  Bruner, 
.Mount  Joy. 

The  minutes  of  the  previous  meeting  were  read 
and  approved. 

Philip  Borngresser,  city,  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  society. 

The  Secretary,  Mr.  Lichty,  staled  that  he  had 
written  lo  Mr.  J.  W.  Bicknell,  of  Buffalo,  and 
Charles  Becker,  c^  Baltimore,  to  act  as  judges,  the 
former  on  poultry  and  the  latter  on  pigeons,  at  the 
coming  exhiliition  of  the  society.  These  men  are 
said  to  be  among  the  best  judgesin  the  country.  As 
it  is  the  intention  of  the  managers  of  the  show  to 
keep  the  man  selected  to  judge  the  poultry  exhibit 
at  the  show  during  tha  entire  time,  one  person,  it 
was  thought,  would  be  sufflcient. 

The  question  of  a  suitable  room  for  the  exhibition 
was  then  brought  up,  and  the  Executive  Committee 
was  instructed  to  secure,  if  , possible.  Excelsior  Hall. 

The  present  season  was  reported  to  have  been  a 
profitable  one  for  poultrymen,  as  eggs  and  chickens 
have  been  unusually  high 

The  Secretary  said  he  had  received  up  to  the 
present  time  nearly  §50  for  advertising  space  in  the 
catalogue,  and  he  had  no  doubt  a  great  deal  more 
would  be  paid  for  advertisements  than  would  be 
necessary  to  pay  for  the  printing  and  mailing  of  the 
catalogue. 

After  an  informal  talk  on  the  subject  of  "gaps" 
iu  chickens  and  the  various  remedies  for  the  same, 
the  socicly'adjourned. 


LINN.«;AN     SOCIETY. 

The  regular  monthly  meeting  of  the  Linnitan  So- 
ciety was  held  in  Dr.  Knight's  olliee  on  Thursday 
eveningj  October  2(1,  at  7;^  P.M.  The  following 
members  were  In  attendance  :  Dr.  Dubbs,  Dr.  M. 
L.  Davis,  Dr.  Knight,  Prof.  Kathvon,  S.  M.  Sener, 
W.  L.  Gill,  Mrs.  Zell  and  Miss  Lefcvic.  Dr.  J.  R. 
Dubbs,  the  Vice  President  occupied  the  chair  in  ab- 
sence of  the  President  Dr.  S.  T.  Davis  donated  to 
the  uinsenin  a  fine  specimen  of  opalizcd  wood  oh 
tained  by  bim  in  Dakota,  while  on  a  visit  there  re- 
cently. Dr.  H.  B.  Knight  donated  a  specimen  of 
the  hermit  crab,  occupying  his  stolen  habitation, 
which  was  procured  on  Long  Island.  The  Patent 
Oflice  Qazette,  Nos.  ll,  15  and  16,  and  yearly  index 
of  the  same  were  donated  to  the  library.    Prof.  R. 


K.  Buehrle  was  unanimously   elected  a   member  of 
the  society.     After    jiassing    an    hour    in    scientific 
gossip    of  an   interesting  character    the   society  ad 
journed  to  meet  on  Saturday,  November  25th,  at  21, 
P.M.,  in  the  museum  room. 


Thi 


FULTON   FARMERS'  CLUB. 

Fulton  Fanners'  Club  met  statedly  on  the  4th 


intt.,  at  the  residence  of  Christopher  C.  CautTman, 
at  Wakefield.  There  was  a  full  attendance  of  mem- 
bers and  their  families,  together  with  a  large  num- 
ber of  visitors. 

Exhibits. 

S.  L.  (iregg  exhibited  an  apple  to  be  named,  and 
it  was  •  pronounced  to  be  a  Tewkesbury  Winter 
Blush.  Day  Wood  exhibited  a  Spanish  chestnut. 
C.  C.  Cauffman,  who  had  recently  been  on  a  West- 
ern trip,  exhibited  some  Odessa  wheat  from  Iowa, 
some  Icwa  soil,  and  a  specimen  of  paper  manufac- 
tured from  poplar  wood .  The  wheat  was  the  pro- 
duet  of  l.«81,  and  was  said  lo  be  belter  than  the 
wheal  of  the  present  year ;  but  here  such  wheat 
would  be  considered  of  extremely  poor  quality,  and 
it  speaks  but  poorly  for  Iowa  as  a  wheat  producing 
Slate.  Wm.  King  exhibited  Pomegrise,  Nottlng- 
ham  Brown,  and  an  unknown  variety  of  apples. 

E.H.  Haines  reported  having  received  from  John 
H.  Landis  ten  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Slate  Agri- 
cultural Society  for  distribution  among  the  members 
of  the  club,  but  said  be  was  unable  lo  have  Ibem 
present . 

Qui  stions  and  Answers. 

Montillion  Brown — How  is  the  corn  yielding  the 
present  season  ?  Most  of  those  present  could  only 
gmssat  the  number  of  bushels  per  acre.  One  or 
two  had  made  an  estimate  by  the  number  of  wagon 
loads,  and  the  whole  seemed  to  indicate  an  average 
of  from  GO  lo  Ci.5  bushels  per  acre.  The  lowest  being 
4(1  and  the  highest  7.5  bushels  per  acre. 

Day  Wood — Does  it  pay  to  shell  corn  lo  grind  for 
feed?  Nearly  all  preferred  to  have  it  ground  in  the 
ear  until  toward  spring,  when  the  cobs  get  hard  and 
then  they  shell  it. 

Montillion  Brown  feeds  his  without  grinding  as 
lodg  as  the  cobs  are  soft  and  after  that  he  shells  it 
before  grinding.  He  cuts  the  ears  into  small  pieces 
before  fe.  ding  them. 

Josiah  Brown— Does  it  pay  lo  buy  bran  lo  mix 
with  corn  for  cows?  Day  Wood  said  he  believed  a 
portion  of  cow's  feed  should  he  bran  ;  he  had  known 
it  lo  increase  the  amonnt  of  butter  when  there  was 
no  perceptible  increase  in  the  amount  of  milk. 
Lindley  King  also  prefers  lo  feed  bran.  Montillion 
Brown  thinks  that  the  principal  benefit  to  be  de- 
rived i;rom  feeding  bran  is  in  the  health  of  the  anl- 
mals.  He  had  known  serious  results  from  confining 
animals  to  corn  alone. 

After  dinner  the  men  inspected  the  buildings, 
farm  and  stock,  and  after  reassembling  at  the  house 
all  expressed  Ihemelvcs  well  pleased  with  what 
they  had  seen. 

Montillion  Brown  read  from  the  Lancaster 
FAK.Miin  an  article  on  "Gapes  in  Chickens."  This 
started  quite  a  discussion  on  the  cause  of  the  gapes. 
Edwin  Stnbbs  said  that  at  three  different  places 
where  he  had  lived  he  found  that  when  the  chickens 
were  allowed  to  drink  from  the  dileh  that  carried 
the  slops  and  water  from  the  kitchen  they  were, 
always  affected  with  the  gapes,  and  that  when  they 
were  not  allowed  access  to  this  ditch,  or  when  It 
it  was  cleaned  out  every  few  days,  the  chickens 
were  free  from  this  disease.  His  experience  con- 
firms him  in  the  belief  that  if  the  co<i|)6  are  kept  in 
dry,  warm  places,  and  the  vessels  out  of  w  hich  the 
young  chickens  drink  are  kept  scrupulously  clean 
there  will  be  no  trouble  with  the  gapes. 

Robt.  Gilison  dissented  from  this  view  of  the  mat- 
ter, and  said  that  at  his  place  the  chickens  had  the 
gapes  much  WKirse  than  at  some  of  his  neighbors, 
where  there  was  much  more  impure  water  standing 
about. 

Montillion  Brown  said  the  gapes  were  worse  In 
some  locations  than  others.    He  had  on  several  ocea- 


172 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[November, 


tioiis  divided  broods  of  cliickens,  takinir  a  part  each 
time  to  a  tenant  bouse  of  his,  where  Jthey  inva- 
riably escaped  the  gapes,  while  those  left  at  home 
were  badly  affected  wi)h  the  disease,  and  yet  at  the 
tenement  there  was  no  aparent  advantage  either  in 
regard  to  pure  water  or  healthy  location. 

S.  L.  Gregg  said  that  at  his  place  the  waste  water 
was  all  conducted  away  under  ground  to  a  sinck,and 
chickens  were  regularly  supplied  with  clean  water 
and  that  during  a  residence  of  ten  years  at  his  present 
place  the  chickens  had  never  suffered  from  the 
gapes. 

After  some  unimportant  discussion  on  the  compa 
rative  value  of  one's  own  experience,  and  agricultu- 
ral reading,  the  club  adjourned  to  meet  at  the  resi- 
tdence  of  E.  Henry  Haines,  on  the  second  Friday  in 
December,  and  there  discuss  the  question  of  the  ad- 
vantage of  keeping  up  inside  fences  on  farms  on  this 
section. 


AGRICULTURE, 


The  Use  of  the  Roller. 

The  Xeiv  Eiif/land  Farmer  has  a  timely  article  on 
this  subject.  Indeed  it  is  almost  always  timely  to 
talk  abort  the  good  effect  of  rolling  land.  The  roller 
will  not  make  moisture,  but  it  will  tend  to  retain 
some  of  it  that  is  already  in  the  soil,  and  its  use  may 
make  the  difference  between  a  crop  and  no  crop  on 
land  that  is  to  be  seeded  down  during  a  dry  period. 
In  a  soil  made  compact  by  the  roller,  a  light  shower 
may  afford  sullicient  moisture  to  the  surface  to  germ- 
inate the  seeds  and  give  them  a  healthy  start,  while 
in  an  ever-mellow  soil  they  would  lie  dormant  or 
merely  sprout  and  then  dry  up  and  die.  The  iron 
roller  is  far  better  than  a  wooden  one  in  every  re- 
spect. Is  turns  easily,  being  made  in  short  sections ; 
It  is  heavy  according  to  its  size,  and  bears  harder  on 
the  soil  it  covers.  The  weight  of  a  large  wooden 
roller  is  distributed  over  too  much  surface  at  once. 
The  roller  is  often  useful  in  the  spring  for  compact- 
ing the  surface  of  newly-seeded  mowing  or  grass 
fields,  sown  the  previous  autumn,  and  which  the 
frosts  of  winter  have  loosened  up  or  torn  to  pieces. 
If  cloverseed  be  sown  on  such  land  the  roller  be- 
comes almost  indispensable,  and  some  farmers  prac 
tlce  covering  their  grasG  seed  with  a  roller  in  place  of 
a  harrow  or  brush,  which  is  an  excellent  method 
where  the  soil  is  sufficiently  moist.  Another  good 
use  of  the  iron  roller  is  upon  mowing  lands  recently 
lop  dressed  with  stable  manure.  The  weight  is 
needed  to  press  the  manure  down  close  to  the  sur- 
face, where  it  will  keep  moist,  and  all  the  sooner 
help  start  the  new  growth,  at  the  same  time  leaving 
the  surface  smooth  for  the  scythe  or  mowing  ma- 
chine. It  is  also  used  by  gardeners  to  bieak  up 
lumpy  soil,  and  with  alternate  harrowings  to  render 
it  fit  for  receiving  the  seeds  of  tender  garden  vege- 
tables. 


Progressive  Farmers. 

The  true  farmer  does  not  stop  to  count  the  cost  of 
Improvement,  for  his  reason  prompts  him  to  believe 
that  he  cannot  go  wrong  by  endeavoring  to  improve. 
Every  acre  of  his  farm  is  cultivated  to  its  highest 
capacity,  and  his  soil  never  deteriorates  in  quality. 
lie  rotates  his  crops  with  a  view  to  increased  fer- 
tility, and  he  estimates  his  prollts  by  the  amount  of 
expense  entailed  in  securing  that  profit.  The  fail- 
ure to  realize  immediate  results  does  not  discourage 
him,  for  he  knows  that,  through  his  judicious  sys 
tein  of  cultivation,  the  realization  is  but  deferred  for 
a  little  while  longer.  He  farms  for  profit  and  he 
spends  for  profit.  He  knows  nothing  of  stinted 
economy,  which  saves  to-day  and  robs  to  morrow. 
The  farm  Is  his  bank,  his  workshop  and  his  occupa- 
tion, no  stone  being  left  unturned,  and  no  portion 
slighted  at  the  cost  of  another  part. 

A  good  farm  means  good  stock.  The  squealing 
hog  has  no  place  on  it,  but  must  be  superseded  by 
the  quiet  thoroughbreds.  The  tangle-Heeced,  small- 
carcassed  sheep  cannot  be  allowed  where  only  the 
.Merino,  the  Cotswold  and  the  Oxford  Down  are 
adapted.    The  scraggy  bovines  of  the  past   are  seen 


no  more,  for  the  deep  milking  Holst.ein,  the  cream- 
giving  Jersey  and  the  beef-producing  Hereford  have 
occupied  their  places.  The  thoroughbred  and  the 
Clydesdale  plow  the  fields  that  formerly  yielded  to 
the  wind  broken  plugs,  and  the  wagons  and  imple 
ments  are  of  the  most  approved  labor-savinir  pat- 
terns. All  this  means  capital  and  is  expensive;  but 
when  we  consider  the  fact  that  it  costs  no  more  to 
keep  the  best  than  the  bad,  and  that  expense  means 
profit  in  the  end,  the  cost  is  not  so  formidable  as  it 
seems. 

But  th  ■  manure  heap  is  the  most  important  of  all. 
A  good  farmer  can  be  selected  by  the  manner  in 
which  he  keeps  his  manure.  The  manure  is  the 
wealth — the  bank  on  which  the  check  is  drawn— and 
it  is  imprudent  to  neglect  it.  Drenching  rains  and 
scorching  suns  carry  upward  and  downward  the 
soluble  and  volatile  constituents  of  the  unprotected 
heap,  and  often  great  ditches  are  dug  to  allow  the 
black  liquid  riches  to  pass  off  and  away  forever.  But 
the  good  farmer  works  differently.  He  makes  his 
manure  fine,  attends  personally  to  the  process  of 
decomposition,  protects  it  from  the  weather  and  en- 
deavors to  make  it  a  ready  food  for  the  crops  when 
hauled  to  the  fields.  Farming  pays  well— to  good 
farmers. 

^ 

Effect  of  Draining. 

First.  It  removes  the  surplus  water  and  prevents 
ponding  in  the  soil.  It  should  be  noted  that  if  the 
drains  are  used,  tliey  should  be  of  sufficient  size  to 
remove  the  surplus  water  in  twenty-four  hours. 
Second.  Il  prevents  the  accumulation  of  poisons  in 
the  soil  which  result  from  stagnant  water,  either 
above  or  under  the  suface.  Third.  The  ammonia  is 
carried  down  into  the  soil  by  the  descending  rain, 
stored  for  the  plant  food  instead  of  stopping  on  the 
surface  and  passing  off  by  evaporation,  or  borne 
away  with  the  surface  waste.  Fourth.  It  deepens 
and  enriches  the  soil  by  opening  the  ground,  allow 
ing  the  roots  of  the  plant  to  go  deeper  into  the  earth  ; 
decaying  after  harvest,  they  form  this  subsoil  into 
surface  soil,  providing  resources  lor  the  pli.nt  more 
reliable,  and  making  the  same  greund  better  for 
cultivation  for  a  greater  length  of  time.  Fifth.  It 
avoids  drought,  by  enabling  |the  plant  to  thrust  its 
roots  deeper  into  the  soil.  Sixth.  The  drainage  in- 
creases the  temperature  of  the  soil.  In  some  cases 
the  average  has  been  increased  as  much  as  ten  de- 
grees. Seventh.  By  securing  the  uniformity  of  con 
dition  for  plant  growth,  it  hastens  the  maturing  of 
the  crop  from  ten  days  to  two  weeks.  Eighth.  It 
enables  the  farmer  to  work  his  land  in  wet  or  dry 
seasons,  and  insures  a  return  for  the  labor  bestowed. 
With  our  land  thoroughly  drained  we  can  carry  on 
the  operation  of  farming  with  as  great  success  and 
as  little  effect  from  bad  weather  as  any  bus.ness 
which  depends  on  such  a  variety  of  circumstances. 
We  shall  have  substituted  certainty  for  chance,  as 
far  as  it  is  in  our  power  to  do  so,  and  make  farming 
an  art  rather  than  a  venture. — Prairie  Farmer. 


Fall  Plowing. 
Any  one  who  has  seen  the  best  European  farming 
knows  how  important  it  is  to  thoroughly  prepare  the 
soil  for  the  seed.  The  working  of  the  soil  adds 
nothing,  but  it  helps  in  changing  the  form  of  the 
plant  food  compounds,  and  thus  plowing  and  har- 
rowing becomes  indirectly  a  source  of  nourishment. 
The  soil  is  a  vast  storehouse  of  plant  food,  which  it 
holds  by  virtue  of  its  insolubility.  Furthermore,  it  is 
only  through  the  action  of  the  .lir  and  all  those  pro- 
cesses, chemical  and  otherwise,  which  are  covered 
by  such  terms  as  weathering,  nitrification,  etc.,  that 
these  essential  elemenls  are  brought  into  a  soluble 
form  and  made  available  for  the  use  of  the  growing 
plant.  The  chemistry  of  the  soil,  as  it  becomes 
better  understood,  teaches  in  every  line  the  import- 
ance of  a  frequent  stirring  of  the  surface  of  the 
cropped  field.  With  this  in  mind  it  is  to  the  pur- 
pose to  urge  the  importance  of  fall  plowing.  For 
other  than  chemical  reasons  tlie  stubble  or  sod  may 
be  turned  under  this  fall.  Not  only  will  the  air  cir- 
culate  more  freely,  and  the   processes  of  reducing 


the  insoluble  substance  go  on  more  rapidly,  but  the 
mechanical  texture  of  the  heavy  soil  especially  will 
be  improved.  Should  insects  or  their  larvse,  or 
"  worms  "  abound  in  the  earth  they  will  be  turned 
out  of  their'winter  quarters  and  destroyed.  Aside 
from  these  advantages  there  is  a  luUin  the  farm 
work  at  this  season,  and  any  plowing  or  other  labor 
with  the  soil  will  help  materially  to  lessen  the  rush 
and  hurry  that  otherwise  eomes  with  the  busy 
months  of  spring.  The  thoughtful  and  successful 
farmer  so  plans  his  farming  operations  that  one 
season  helps  the  next  in  more  ways  than  one. — Anur- 
ican  Agric'dturiat. 

HORT2CL     rURE. 


Pear  Raising. 

It  has  often  been  said  by  those  in  a  position  to 
know,  that  more  money  can  be  made  from  an  acre  of 
ground  planted  in  choice  fruit  trees  than  out  of  any 
other  crop,  and  after  seeing  what  Mr.  William 
Weidle,  of  No.  542  East  Orange  street,  has  cropped 
from  his  comparatively  small  lot,  we  are  ready  to 
believe  it.  His  small  fruits,  such  as  plums,  grapes 
and  raspberries,  are  over,  but  his  pears  are  still  in 
his  cellar  and  show  what  his  product  has  been  in 
that  line.  He  has  no  fewer  than  thirty-six  varieties 
of  this  fruit,  beginning  with  the  earliest,  the  Giffard 
and  Bloodgood,  and  closing  with  the  Glout  .Morceau 
and  Winter  Nellis,  which  come  into  season  any  time 
from  December  until  April.  Between  these  early 
and  late  kinds  come  the  Bartlett,  Seckel,  Beurre 
Bose,  Buffum,  Louise  Bon  dclersej',  Flemish  Beauty, 
Lawrence,  Sheldon, Beurre  Did,  Vicar  of  Winkfield, 
Utbaniste  and  many  others,  all  of  the  most  approved 
varieties.  Mr.  Weidle  put  into  his  cellar  about  one 
hnnilred  bushels  of  these  luscious  pears.  He  has 
several  plans  of  keeping  them.  Some  are  put  on 
trays  and  these  are  fixed  on  stands  specially  con- 
structed for  this  purpose.  Others  are  wrapped  in 
paper  and  put  into  boxes,  while  still  others  have 
strings  attached  to  their  stems  and  are  then  hung  to 
nails  driven  in  the  joists  of  the  floor  above,  where 
they  hang  in  huge  masses  from  end  to  end.  It  re- 
quires much  attention  to  look  after  this  fruit.  As 
some  of  it  is  ripening  daily,  the  boxes  must  be  ex- 
amined every  few  days  and  the  ripe  fruit  removed. 
In  warm  weather  it  ripens  much  faster  than  in  cold. 
There  is  a  market  for  all  he  has.  Not  only  do  hotels 
and  grocers  buy  them,  but  private  individuals  take 
more  or  less  every  day.  The  price  varies  with  the 
kind  and  quality  :  fine  fruit  now  sells  from  sixty  to 
seventy  cents  per  half  peck.  It  was  a  fine  sight  to 
see  all  these  pears  strung  along  the  joists,  in  the 
trays  and  in  the  numerous  boxes,  and  we  viae  not 
long  in  reaching  the  conclusion  that  next  to  being  a 
newspaper  reporter,  the  most  delightful  ocrupation 
in  the  world  was  growing  pears  and  eating  them. 

The  Effect  of  Dry  Weather  on  Apples. 

Tiie  effect  which  a  protracted  drought  has  on  the 
fruit  of  an  apple  orchard  depends  on  location,  condi 
tion  and  the  treatment  of  the  trees.  If  the  orchard 
he  on  high  laud,  and  is  kept  in  grass  cut  at  the 
usual  time,  even  a  short  drought  will  affect  the 
trees  and  the  fruit.  The  first  indication  of  injury 
will  be  the  turning  of  the  leaves  to  a  lighter  color, 
followed  by  the  shedding  of  a  considerable  portion  of 
them  ;  the  fruit  stops  growing,  or  grows  very  slowly, 
and  finally  a  considerable  portion  drops  off.  But  if 
the  laud  be  kept  well  cultivated,  no  ordinary  drought 
will  affect  either  the  trees  or  the  fruit,  though  tie 
land  be  quite  high  and  dry.  When  it  is  not  conveni- 
ent to  cultivate  the  land,  the  trees  can  be  protected 
by  mulching  quite  as  well,  if  not  better,  than  by  cul- 
tivation. An  orchard  should  never  beset  on  high 
land  unless  to  be  kept  cultivated  or  mulched. 

In  many  places  this  year  the  drought  has  been 
so  protracted  that  even  trees  on  what  is  usually  quite 
moist  land  have  suffered,  and  the  fruit  is  much 
below  the  usual  size,  and  within  the  past  week  or 
two  a  considerable  portion  has  fallen  off. 

A  season  like  this  leaches  us  how  important  it  is 
to  not  only  make  a  good   selection   of  land    upon 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


173 


which  to  set  an  orchard,  but  also  to  keep  the  trees  In 
tliat  hiijh  state  of  cultivation  that  will  insure  ^oocl 
fruit  when  the  weather  is  unfavorable,  thus  enabling 
the  grower  to  go  into  the  market  with  an  abunilance 
of  good  fruit  when  it  will  bring  good  prices.  The 
successful  fruit  grower  and  the  successful  fanner 
usually  Icarn  to  succeed  where  the  ordinary  cultiva- 
tor fails.  In  a  good  season  almost  any  one  can 
grow  fair  crops,  but  in  a  year  like  this,  it  is  only 
those  who  work  intelligently  that  arc  able  to  over- 
come the  unfavorable  conditions  of  the  natural 
clcmenis. 

When  the  farmer  becomes  tlioroughly  ac(piainted 
with  the  best  methods  of  protecting  crops  from  the 
dry  weather,  we  shall  fear  droughts  much;lcs6  than 
we  now  do,  and  our  losses  will  be  very  small  in  com- 
parison to  what  tljey  are  now. 


Saving  Cabbages  Till  Spring. 

We  know  no  belter  way  to  preserve  cabbages 
through  the  winter  than  that  which  we  liave  recom- 
mended for  a  number  ol  years.  It  is  to  plant  or  set 
them  up  in  rows  as  they  grow — that  is,  with  the 
roots  down  — fill  in  with  soil  pretty  freely,  than  make 
a  covering  by  planting  two  posts  where  tliere  is  a 
fence  to  rest  on,  or  four  wliere  there  is  not,  allowing 
for  a  pitch  to  carry  oCT  the  water  ;  lay  bean-poles  op- 
posite the  way  of  ibe  pitch,  and  cover  with  coru- 
fodder,  or  straw,  or  boards.  In  using  through  the 
winter,  avoid  as  much  as  possible  the  sun-side  and 
close  up  at:ain.  We  have  not  found  that  setting  the 
cabbage  upside-down  in  the  rows,  as  many  do,  of 
any  advantage,  as  we  have  kept  oursfor  more  than 
twenty  years  in  the  way  we  mention  in  a  sound,  per- 
fect condition,  through  the  winter  into  the  spring, 
and  could  even  up  to  the  first  of  May  if  desirable. 
We  see  other  methods  recommended,  and  they  may 
answer  just  as  well,  but  as  to  our  own  we  speak  from 
a  long  experience. — Oermantown  Telegraph. 


The  Fruit    Supply. 

In  all  of  the  principal  markets  of  the  Northern 
States  there  has  been  an  under  supply  of  home- 
grown fruit  this  season.  Last  year  it  was  better, 
but  for  three  or  four  years  it  has  been  evident  that 
the  demand  was  increasing  faster  than  the  supply. 
With  a  flourishing  state  of  horticulture  throughout 
the  country,  why  is  it  there  should  be  so  steady  an 
advance  in  the  price  of  these  products  ?  In  the  first 
place,  the  population  in  cities  and  large  villages  has 
been  rapidly  increasing,  causing  a  proportionately 
increased  consumption  of  fruit.  Then  the  principles 
of  diet  and  hygiene  that  have  for  many  years  been 
disseminated  among  the  people  through  the  press 
have  been  accepted  as  true,  and  practically  applied, 
until  every  one  considers  as  a  necessity  a  certain 
amount  of  fruit.  Again,  new  methods  of  preserving, 
such  a  canning,  bottling  and  drying,  have  been 
learned,  so  that  immense  quantities  are  used  for  this 
purpose,  keeping  a  supply  all  through  the  year  and 
foreign  markets  consume  increasing  quantities. 

Even  if  this  immense  increased  demand  could 
have  been  properly  appreciated  considerable  time 
must  elapse  before  it  could  be  met  by  fruits  liKe  the 
apple  and  the  pear.  The  cherry,  the  plum  and 
peach,  that  give  returns  quicker,  would  respond 
more  alertly,  but  these  fruits  can  be  raised  to  ad- 
vantage only  in  particular  sections,  and  probably 
only  a  few  ol  those  persons  who  may  Ije  favorably 
situated  to  raise  these  crops  will  avail  themselves  of 
the  opportunity,  since  their  attention  is  directed  to 
some  other  branch  of  industry.  The  small  fruits, 
strawberries,  etc.,  will  turn  sooner,  but  for  the 
reason  probably  that  they  are  most  available  for 
canning, the  proportionate  supply  of  them  diminishes 
apparently  more  than  that  of  the  large  fruits.  It  is 
then  quite  clear  that  it  is  safe  for  those  having  suita- 
able  soils  in  favorable  localities  to  plant  fruit  trees. 
With  proper  attention  they  will  be  sure  in  time  to 
yield  handsome  returns.  Again,  we  could  alTord  to 
give  our  orchards  and  fruit  grounds  more  attention 
than  has  been  the  custom.  ■  They. should  have  the 
best  care,  with  the  expectation  of  receiving  ample 


payment  for  it  in  return.  More  of  tlie  small  fruits 
can  be  cultivated,  and  a  ready  market  will  be  fouiid 
for  all  the  products. — Farmers'  Review. 

Bananas  and  Plantains. 

A  pound  of  bananas  contains  more  nutriment  than 
three  pounds  of  potatoes,  while  as  a  food  it  is  in 
every  sense  of  the  word  far  superior  to  the  best 
wheaten  bread.  An  acre  of  ground  planted  with 
bananas  will  return,  according  to  Humboldt,  as 
niucli  food  material  as  thirty-three  acres  of  wheat, 
or  over  a  hundred  acres  of  potatoes. 

TliC  banana  (it  should  be  called  plaintain,  for, 
until  lately,  there  was  no  such  word  as  banana)  is 
divided  into  several  varieties,  all  of  which  are  used 
for  food.  The  platino  mazinito  is  a  small,  delicate 
fruit,  neither  longer  nor  stouter  than  a  lady's  lorc- 
Uugcr.  It  is  the  most  delicious  and  prized  of  all  the 
varieties  of  tlie  plantain. 

El  plantiiw  guinto,  called  by  us  the  banana,  is  pro- 
bably more  in  demand  than  any  other  kind.  It  is 
sulidivided  into  dillcrent  varieties,  the  principal  of 
which  are  the  yellow  and  purple  bananas  that  we 
see  lor  sale  in  our  markets  ;  but  the  later  is  so  little 
esteemed  by  the  natives  of  the  tropics  that  it  Is  sel- 
dom eaten  by  thcni. 

JCl  iilantiiw  (jrande — known  to  us  as  simply  the 
plaintain — is  also  subdivided  into  varieties,  which 
are  known  by  their  savor  and  their  size.  The  kind 
that  reaches  our  market  is  almost  ten  iuches  long, 
yet  on  the  Isthmus  of  Darieu  there  are  plantains 
that  grow  from  18  to  .22  inches.  They  are  never 
eaten  raw,  but  are  either  boiled  or  roasted,  or  are 
prepared  as  preserves. 

Household  Recipes. 

Graham  Bread. — .Make  a  stiff  batter  of  half  a 
pint  of  warm  water  thickened  with  graham,  flour  and 
add  to  it  a  third  of  a  cupful  of  yeast.  Let  it  rise 
over  night,  and  in  the  morning  add  a  little  piece  of 
butter,  half  a  cupful  of  sugar,  and  wheat  flour 
enough  to  mould.  Let  the  bread  rise  in  pans,  and 
bake  an  hour. 

Indian  Cake.  One  pint  of  Indian  meal,  a  cupful 
of  flour,  half  a  cupful  of  sugar,  one-third  of  a  cupful 
of  butter,  a  teaspoonful  of  soda,  one  of  cream  of 
tartar,  an  egg,  and  some  salt.  Mix  in  enough  sweet 
milk  to  make  a  soft  batter. 

CituLLERS. — These  dainties  are  easily  and  quickly 
made.  A  piece  of  butter  about  the  size  ol  an  egg, 
a  nutmeg,  a  cupful  of  sugar,  and  three  eggs  are  to 
be  made  stiff  with  flour,  cut  in  _fancy  shapes,  and 
fried  in  boiling  lard. 

Doughnuts. — One  and  a  half  cupfuls  of  milk,  the 
same  quantity  of  sugar,  two  eggs,  a  scant  teaspoon- 
ful of  soda,  a  teaspoonful   of  salt,  and  half  a  nut 
meg.     Very  toothsome  doughnuts  are  made  by  this* 
rule. 

Buns. — Half  a  cupful  [each  of  yeast,  sugar  and 
butter,  one  and  a  half  cupfuls  of  milk,  half  a  nut- 
meg, and  a  little  salt.  Mix  together  at  night,  and 
in  the  morning  add  half  a  cupful  of  sugar,  and  some 
currants. 

KoAST  Mutton. — Wipe  the  mutton  with  a  damp 
cloth;  then  dredge  with  salt,  a  little  pepper,  and 
generously  with  flour.  Place  on  a  meat  rack  in  the 
baking  pan  before  dredging,  see  that  the  bottom  of 
the  pan  shall  be  covered  with  flour.  Place  in  a  hot 
oven,  and  as  soon  as  the  flour  in  the  pan  is  brown 
(which  will  be  in  about  five  minutes),  pour  in  hot 
wat(  r  enough  to  cover  the  bottom  of  the  pan.  Baste 
every  fifteen  minutes.  Cook  a  leg  weighing  six 
pounds,  one  hour  and  a  quarter,  and  give  ten  min- 
utes for  every  additional  pound.  This  cooks  it  rare. 
If  it  is  to  be  well  done,  roast  one  hour  and  a  half, 
with  fifteen  minutes  for  every  pound  over  six. 
When  the  meal  is  done,  pour  all  the  fat  from  the 
gravy  and  add  a  cupful  of  boiling  water  to  what  ri;- 
mains  in  the  pan.  Thickenlhis  with  a  smooth  paste 
made  of  a  tablespoonful  of  flour  and  a  little  cold 
water.  Stir  well,  and  boil  two  or  three  minutes. 
Season  with  salt  and  pepper.  Strain  and  serve.  All 
the  dishes  must  be  very  warm   for  a  mutton  dinner. 


Mashed  Potatoes.— Pare  and  l)oil  for  thirty 
minutes.  Mash  light  and  fine  with  a  wooden 
masher.  To  every  twelve  potatoes  add  one  teaspoon- 
ful of  butter,  half  a  cupful  of  boiling  milk,  and  salt 
to  taste. 

.Mashed  Turnips.— Pare,  and  cut  into  slices.  If 
the  white  turnips  be  used  and  they  are  fresh,  they 
will  cook  in  forty  minutes,  but  if  they  be  the  yellow 
kind  they  must  boil  for  two  hours  in  plenty  of  water. 
Mash  and  season  with  butter,  sail,  and  pepper. 

Baked  Potatoes. — Wash,  nip  good  sized  pota- 
toes and  bake  in  a  moderate  oven  forty-five  niiimtes. 
They  are  spoiled  by  being  over-cooked. 

Ai'iM.E  Podding. — Pare  and  chop  fine  six  large 
apples.  Put  in  a  pudding-dish  a  layer  of  grated 
bread  crumbs,  one  inch  deep,  then  a  layer  of  apple. 
On  this  put  bits  of  butter,  sugar,  and  a  slight  grat  ■ 
ing  of  nutmeg.  Continue  as  before,  and  Anally  pour 
on  a  teacupful  of  cold  water.  Bake  half  an  hour. 
Use  in  all  two  tablespoonfuls  of  butter  and  a  small 
cupful  of  sugar. 

Spanish  Crea.m.— One  quart  of  milk,  three  eggs, 
one  cupful  of  sugar,  one-third  of  a  box  of  gelatine, 
one  generous  teaspoonful  of  vanilla  flavor.  Put  the 
gelatine  in  a  howl  with  half  a  cupful  of  cold  water, 
and  when  it  has  stood  an  hour  add  it  to  a  pint  and  a 
half  of  the  milk,  and  then  place  the  sauce  pan  In 
which  it  is  to  be  cooked  (it  should  hold  two  quarts), 
into  another  of  boiling  water.  Beat  the  yolks  of  the 
eggs  with  the  sugar  and  one  fourth  of  a  teaspoonful 
of  salt.  Beat  the  whites  to  a  stifi  froth.  Add  the 
half  pint  of  cold  milk  reserved  from  the  quart  to  the 
yolks  and  sugar,  and  ttir  all  into  the  boiling  milk. 
Cook  five  minutes,  stirring  all  the  time ;  then  add 
the  whites  and  remove  from  the  fire.  Add  the 
vanilla,  and  pour  Into  moulds".  Place  on  ice  to 
harden. 

Boiled  Fi.ank  of  Beef. — Wash  the  flank,  and 
make  a  dressing  as  for  turkey,  with  spread  over  it, 
first  having  salted  and  peppered  it  well ;  then  roll 
up  and  tie.  Wind  the  twine  around  it  several  times, 
to  keep  it  in  place;  then  sew  into  a  cloth  kept  for 
that  purpose.  Put  a  small  plate  in  the  pot,  and  put 
in  the  meat ;  then  your  on  it  boiling  water  enough  to 
cover  and  boil  gently  six  hours.  When  done,  remove 
the  cloth,  but  not  the  twine  until  stone  cold;  then 
cut  in  thin  slices,  and  you  will  have  alternate  layers 
of  meat  and  dressing.  This  is  a  nice  dish  for  break- 
fast or  tea. 

Meat  Hash. — Dredge  with  salt  and  pepper  any 
kind  of  cold  meat,  and  chop  it  fine.  This  is  always 
the  be.«t  manner  of  seasoning  hash,  as  all  parts  will 
be  seasoned  alike.  If  you  have  cold  potatoes,  chop 
fine  and  mix  with  the  meat ;  if  they  are  hoi,  mash. 
Allow  one  pint  of  meat  to  two  of  potato.  Put  this 
mixture  in  the  frying  pan  (vith  a  little  water  or  soup 
stock  to  moisten  it,  and  stir  in  a  spoonful  of  butter; 
or  if  you  have  nice  beef  dripjnng,  use  that  instead  of 
butter.  Heat  slowly,  stirring  often,  and  when 
warmed  through,  cover  and  let  it  stand  on  a  moder- 
ately hot  part  of  the  stove  or  range  twenty  minutes. 
When  ready  to  serve,  Ibid  as  you  would  an  omelet. 

Veai,  Loaf. — Three  pounds  of  veal  or  fresh  beef, 
halfa  pound  of  salt  pork  chopped  fine,  two  beaten 
eggs,  one  teacupful  of  cracker  crumbs,  three  tea- 
spoonfuls  of  salt,  two  teaspoon  fuls  of  pepper.  Mix 
and  press  hard  into  a  tin.  Bake  one  and  a  half 
hours. 

Tomato  Sauce. — One  pint  of  stewed  tomato,  one 
tablespoonful  of  butter,  one  of  flour,  four  cloves,  a 
tiny  bit  of  onion.  Cook  the  tomato,  clove  and  onion 
together  ten  minutes.  Heat  the  butter  in  a  small 
pan  and  stir  the  flour  into  it.  Cook,  stirring  all  the 
lime,  until  smooth  and  a  light  brown  ;  then  stir  into 
the  tomato.  Cook  two  or  three  minutes  longer. 
Season  with  salt  and  pepper,  and  strain. 

Steamed  Beep  Steak  Pudding. — One  quart  of 
flour,  one  large  teaspoonful  of  lard,  two  teaspeon- 
fuls  of  cream  of  tartar,  one  teaspoonful  of  soda, 
two  cupfuls  of  milk  or  water,  a  little  salt,  one 
and  a  half  pounds  of  beef  steak.  Boll  out  the  crust 
and  line  a  deep  earthen  dish  ;  then  lay  in  part  of  the 


1'74 


THE  LANCASTER- FARMER. 


[November, 


6teak,  with  a  fen-  pieces  of  butter,  a  little  salt,  and  a 
few  whole  cloves  ;  then  lay  on  the  rest  of  the  steak, 
with  seasonins:  as  before.  Turn  the  crust  up  over 
the  whole.    Steam  two  hours. 

Stewed  Lobster. — Open  a  lobster  weighing  two 
and  a  half  pounds  and  cut  the  meat  into  little  dice. 
Heat  two  tablespoonfuls  of  butter,  and  add  the  dry 
flour,  stirring  until  perfectly  smooth  ;  then  gradu- 
ally add  the  water,  stirring  all  the  while.  Season  to 
taste.    Add  the  lobster,  and  heat  thoroughly. 

BoiLEU  Rice.— Wash  in  two  waters  one  cupful  of 
rice.  Put  it  to  boil  in  two  quarts  of  hoUiui/  water  and 
one  tablespoonful  of  salt.  Boil  rapidly,  with  the 
cover  off  the  sauce  pan,  for  twenty-five  minutes. 
Turn  into  a  colander  to  drain,  and  place  where  it 
will  keep  warm  while  the  steak  is  broiling.  The 
water  in  which  it  was  boiled  may  be  used  to  starch 
prints. 

Boiled  Cider. — Take  four  gallons  of  cider  and 
boil  it  to  one  gallon. 

Ste.\med  Puddixg. — One  cupful  of  molasses,  one 
of  sweet  milk,  one  of  raisins,  half  a  cupful  of  butter 
or  two-thirds  of  a  cupful  of  chopped  suet,  one  tea- 
spoonful  of  mi.ted  spice,  one  of  soda,  half  a  tea- 
spoonful  of  salt,  four  cupfuls  of  flour.  Dissolve  the 
sodd  in  the  milk.  .Mix  all  the  ingredients  thoroughly, 
and  steam  three  hours  in  a  buttered  mould.  To  be 
eaten  with  lemon  sauce. 

Nice  Griddle  C.iKES. — Two  quarts  of  flour,  a 
handful  of  Indian  meal,  two  eggs,  a  teaspoonful  of 
salt,  one  of  soda,  one  quart  of  milk. 

COTT.VOE  Pudding.— One  cupful  of  sugar,  two  of 
flour,  one  of  milk,  one  egg,  butter  the  size  of  an  egg, 
one  teaspoonful  of  soda,  two  of  cream  of  tartar. 
Beat  the  sugar  and  butter  together  :  then  add  the 
egg,  well  beaten, then  themdk,  and  finally  the  flour, 
in  which  the  soda  and  cream  of  tartar  have  first  been 
well  mixed.  Bake  in  a  pudding  dish  for  half  an  hour 
in  a  moderate  oven.  To  be  eaten  with  sauce.  The 
lemon  sauce  is  good  with  it. 

Gkiddle  axd  Indian  Cakes.— For  the  griddle 
cakes  use  two  coffee  cupfuls  of  sour  milk  or  butter- 
milk, one  teaspoonful  of  saleratus  dissolved  in  a 
little  hot  water,  and  flour  enough  to  pour.  Grease 
the  griddle  with  a  piece  of  fat  salt  pork,  and  fry  the 
cakes  a  light  brown.  Indian  cakes  are  made  in 
much  the  same  way,  save  that  half  flour  and  half 
Indian  meal  is  used,  and  also  a  teaspoonful  of  salt. 
They  require  a  somewhat  longer  time  to  fry. 

Escalloped  Mutton  —Chop  some  cold  mutton 
rather  coarse  and  season  with  salt  and  pepper.  For 
one  pint  of  meat  use  half  a  cupful  of  gravy  and  a 
heaping  cupful  of  grated  bread  crumbs.  Put  a  layer 
of  the  meat  into  an  escallop  dish,  then  some  gravy, 
then  a  thin  layer  of  crumbs.  Continue  in  this  way 
until  the  dish  is  full.  The  last  layer  must  be  a 
thick  one  of  crumbs.  Cook  fifteen  minutes  in  a  hot 
oven. 

Mock  Oyster  Soup.— Peel  twelve  good  sized 
tomatoes,  and  boil  in  a  little  water  until  quite  soft. 
Let  two  quarts  of  milk  come  to  a  boil,  and  thicken 
with  two  large  crackers  that  have  been  rolled  fine. 
Add  one  teaspoonful  of  soda  to  the  tomatoes.  When 
these  are  well  broken  up,  season  with  salt,  pepper 
and  three  taplespoonfuls  of  butter.  Add  to  the  milk 
and  serve  immediately.  The  tomato  may  be  strained 
If  you  prefer. 

Excellent  Gold  Cake.— A  cupful  of  sugar,  half 
as  much  butter,  half  a  cupful  of  milk,  one  and 
three-fourths  cupful  of  flour,  the  yolks  of  three  eggs 
and  one  whole  egg,  one-fourth  of  a  teaspoonful  each 
of  soda  and  cream  of  tartar,  half  a  teaspoonful  of 
lemon  flavor.  Mix  together  the  sugar  and  butter, 
and  add  the  eggs,  milk,  lemon  extract  and  Hour,  in 
this  order.  Bake  for  half  an  hour  in  a  moderate 
oven. 

Lemon  Cake. — The  rind  and  juice  of  a  lemon,  a 
teaspoonful  of  cream  of  tartar,  half  as  much  saler- 
atus, a  teacupful  of  butter,  one  of  sweet  milk,  three 
ot  sugar,  four  and  a-half  of  flour,  and  five  eggs — the 
yolks  and   whites  beaten  separately.     Bake    in   two 

avee  for  forly-five  minutes  in  a  rather  quick  oven. 


Fried  Chicken. — Cut  the  chicken  into  six  or 
eight  pieces,  and  season  well  with  salt  and  pepper. 
Dip  into  beaten  egg,  and  then  into  fine  bread  crumbs, 
in  which  there  is  a  teaspoonful  of  chopped  parsley 
for  every  cupful  of  crumbs.  Dip  once  more  in  the 
egg  and  crumbs,  and  fry  ten  minutes    in  boiling   fat. 

Plain  Fruit  Cake.— Half  a  cupful  each  of  milk 
and  butter,  one  and  a  half  cupfuls  .f  sugar,  two  and 
a  half  cupfuls  of  flour,  two  eggs,  half  a  teaspoonful 
of  soda,  spices  and  fruit. 

Boiled  Rice  Pudding. — Pick  and  wash  one 
cupful  of  rice  and  pour  in  one  quart  of  boiling  water 
for  fifteen  minutes;  then  drain  dry.  Wring  a  pud- 
ding-cloth out  of  boiling  water,!aud  spread  in  a  deep 
dish,  and  turn  the  rice  into  it.  Sprinkle  in  one  cupful 
of  raisins,  and  a  tablespoonful  of  salt ;  tie  the  cloth 
loosely,  that  tlie  rice  may  have  room  to  swell,  and 
boil  two  hours.  Serve  with  lemon  sance,  or  sugar 
and  cream.  Or,  apples  may  be  used  in  place  of  the 
raisins. 

Okra  Soup  Equal  to  Turtle  Soup.- One  leg  of 
beef,  quarter  of  a  package  of  okra,  two  carrots,  eight 
tomatoes,  two  onions,  cut  fine,  nine  quarts  of  water. 
Boil  six  and  a  half  hours.  Cut  the  meat  otT  the  bone 
in  small  pieces.  Take  the  most  glutinous  parts  of 
the  leg  and  a  little  of  the  flesh,  and  mix  with  the 
soup  when  it  is  made.  Cut  the  okra  in  small  pieces. 
Boil  steadily  but  not  hard. 

Steamed  Brown  Bread. — Two  cupfuls  of  new 
milk,  two  of  Indian  meal,  one  and  a  half  of  flour, 
one  of  molasses,  onfi  teaspoonful  of  soda.  Steam 
three  hours. 

Rhubarb  Pies.- Do  not  cut  the  rhubarb  until 
the  morning  it  is  to  be  used  ;  or,  if  you  have  to  buy 
it,  keep  it  in  a  cool  place.  Strip  oflT  the  skin  and  cut 
the  stalk  into  pieces  about  an  inch  long,  and  stew  in 
water  just  enough  to  prevent  burning.  When  cold, 
sweeten  to  taste.  Cover  the  pie-plates  and  roll  the 
upper  crust  about  half  an  inch  thick  ;  cut  into  strips, 
an  inch  wide,  and,  after  filling  the  plate  with  the 
rhubarb,  put  on  four  cross  pieces  and  the  rim.  Bake 
half  an  hour. 


Live  Stock. 


Cattle-Raising  in  Montana. 

To  assc-t  that  Montana  is  the  best  grazing  country 
in  the  world,  writes  a  correspondent  of  the  St.  Paul 
Pioneer  Press,  is  merely  to  report  the  deliberate  ver- 
dict of  hundreds  of  practical  stockraisers  who  of 
late  have  visited  this  region  and  made  it  the  subject 
of  cautious  investigation.  For  some  time  to  come 
the  eastern  half  of  the  Territory  is  likely  to  stand 
foremost  among  the  beef  and  wool  producing  sec 
tions  of  America.  It  is  now  known  that  .Vontaua 
cattle  make  better  beef  than  the  average  stock  of 
other  beef-producing  Territories  and  States,  and  this 
is  largely  due  to  the  uutritous  quality  of  the  native 
perennial  grasses. 

Unlike  cultivated  grasses,  these  prolific  wild  pro 
ducts  have  firm,  solid  stocks,  and  their  heads  are 
full  of  seeds,  a  combination  whose  merits  are  aptly 
described  in  the  assertion  that  "to  pasture  an  animal 
on  bunch  grass  is  like  giving  him  plenty  of  good  hay 
with  regular  and  liberal  feeds  of  grain."  Before  the 
frost  has  left  the  ground  the  grass  appears  above  the 
soil,  covering  the  face  of  nature  with  brilliant  eme- 
rald verdure.  At  this  time  of  year,  however,  its 
freshness  has  nearly  all  gone.  The  period  of  moist- 
ure has  passed,  and  the  plains  present  a  yellow  and 
withered  appearance  for  the  rest  of  the  year.  The 
fact  is  that  the  grass  has  been  converted,  on  the 
stock,  into  hay,  upon  which  the  sheep  and  cattle 
pasture  and  fatten  throughout  the  coldest  winters 
Sheep  require  greater  care  than  cattle,  but  if  suc- 
cessfully handled  the  profits  are  considerably  larger. 
The  average  increase  of  the  head  is  about  7.5  per 
cent.  The  production  is  the  measure  of  the  profit  in 
sheep-raising,  as  the  sale  of  wool,  which  is  always  in 
eager  demand,  defray  the  whole  expense  of  maintain- 
ing  the  herd,  and  sometimes  exceeds  It,  to  the  extent 
of  ?1  or  $1 .25  per  head. 


It  is  evident  that  Montana  stock-raising  rests  on  a 
solid  basis  as  a  legitimate  field  of  enterprise  widely 
separated  from  the  character  of  wild-cat  speculation 
in  which  many  Bcpitalists  regard  it.  It  should  be 
stated  that  Western  cattle-raisers  are  no  longer  the 
uncouth  half-civilized  beings  that  they  were  ten 
years  ago.  A  majority  of  them  are  men  of  education 
and  enterprise  from  the  older  states,  who  have  come 
out  here  and  invested  their  capital  in  cattle  and 
sheep  raising.  With  few  exceptions,  those  who  have 
realized  large  profits  or  are  in  a  sure  way  to  do  so. 
Such  men,  of  course,  do  not  pass  their  whole  time 
upon  the  ranches,  but  live  chiefly  in  towns.  Here, 
where  I  write  in  Billings,  a  number  of  them  are 
taking  np  their  residence.  I  have  met  many  of 
these  cattle-kings,  and  I  have  found  them  all,  with- 
out exception,  well-informed,  generous,  enthusias- 
tic, hospitable  men.  Many  of  them  have  planned 
great  improvements  for  Billings,  notably  the  case  in 
regard  to  the  construction  of  the  stock  yards. 

To    Utilize  Jersey  Bulls. 

A  correspondent  of  The  Rural  New  Yorker  sug- 
gests that  it  will  be  well  to  utilize  Jersey  bulls  as 
working  oxen  rather  than  nip  them  in  the  bud  for 
veal,  and  he  cites  this  illusti-ative  instance:  "A 
neighbor  has  a  pair  of  four-year-old  full  bred  Jersey 
steers  at  work  now  on  his  farm,  which  are  as  strong 
and  useful  as  a  pair  of  good  1.5-hand  horses.  Their 
natural  walk  is  at  least  four  miles  per  hour,  and 
they  are  fair  brothers,  reminding  me  in  all  their 
movements  and  work  of  the  admirable  Connecticut 
working  oxen.  They  are  also  very  hardy,  and  do 
not  mind  the  hot  sun  at  all.  Considering  the  small 
cost  of  their  harness — a  simple  yoke  and  a  pair  of 
bows — and  the  quickness  and  case  with  which  they 
can  be  attacli^d  to  and  detached  from  the  cart, 
plough  or  harrow,  these  cattle  are  more  economical 
than  either  of  the  three  pairs  of  work  horses  which 
are  kepton  the  same  farm  with  them." 


The   Shropshire   Sheep. 

The  development  of  great  industries  in  iron  and 
coal  in  the  districts  of  Shropshire,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  century,  gave  rise  to  a  large  and  increasingde- 
mand  for  mutton.  To  meet  this  demand,  the  far- 
mers of  that  part  of  the  country  turned  their  atteu 
tion  to  the  raising  of  mutton  sheep.  Breeding  ewes 
were  sought  for  from  the  midland  and  southern 
counties,  and  in  time  Shropshire  became  not  only  a 
leading  sheep  raising  region,  but  also  the  home  of  an 
important  breed,  the  parentage  of  which  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  state,  for  the  reason  that  it  is  derived  from 
and  combines  a  number  of  the  best  mutton  breeds. 
The  Shropshire  is  more  strictly  speaking  a  cross 
breed,  in  which  "natives"  of  the  districts,  the  Cots- 
wold,  and  later  the  Leicester  and  Southdown  have 
been  combined.  On  account  of  this  complex  ad- 
uiixture  of  blood,  the  Shropshire  is  one  that  varies 
somewhat  in  character.  The  original  sheep  was 
horned,  black  or  brown  faced,  hardy  and  free  from 
disease,  producing  44  to  .5(1  pounds  of  mutton  to  a 
carcass,  and  a  fleece  of  two  pounds  of  moderately 
fine  wool.  The  present  Shropshires  are  without 
horns,  the  legs  and  face  dark  or  spotted  with  gray, 
the  neck  thick,  the  head  well  shaped,  ears  neat, 
breast  broad,  back  straight,  barrel  round,  and  the 
legs  strong.  They  are  easy  keepers,  hardy,  fatten 
quickly,  and  at  the  age  of  two  years  give  100  to  120 
pounds  of  excellent  flesh.  She  fleece  is  longer, 
heavier,  averaging?  pounds,  and  more  glossy  than 
that  of  the  Southdown.  The  Shropshire  is  a  valu- 
able sheep  for  the  American  farmers. — Or.  Byron 
D.  Halntead,  in  American  AijricHlbiristfor  November. 


Rearing  Sheep  for  Their  Milk. 

In  the  south  of  France,  where  the  climate  is  hot  and 
the  country  mountainous,  rearing  sheep  for  their  milk 
to  produce  cheese  (Roquefort)  is  largely  extending. 
The  best  milking  ewes  ought  to  have  four  or  six 
teats,  the  udder  voluminous,  the  wool  rare  and 
secreting  much  grease,  ears  long,  head  small  and 
without  horns.  Sheep  with  four  teats  ought  to  be 
sought.    In  the  Agricultural  College  of  Montpelier 


1882.  J 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


-175 


there  is  a  ewo  with  two  Iambs  aiiJ  yiolillnii;  milk 
from  six  teats.  So  far  the  experiments  liuve  not 
siieeeeiled  in  obtaining  an  aniuMil  produeinij;  nuich 
mills  anil  a  !;ood  lieeoe  at  the  same  time.  Goiinlins 
mills,  lamti,  and  wool,  a  ewe  produees  net  about  48 
francs  yearly.  Six  quarts  of  milk  yield  one  ponTid  of 
eheeso.  The  Chilians,  to  obtain  special  skins  much 
sought  after,  cross  the  sheep  with  the  eoat.  Ex- 
periments are  being  conducted  to  the  end  of  similar 
crossing  for  improvini;  the  milking  capacities  of 
ewes.  Goat  farming  does  not  pay.  The  animal  is 
destructive,  its  llesh  held  In  little  repute,  and  its 
offal  of  uo  value. — New  England  Farm. 


Making  Good  Pork. 
The  first  thing  in  order  to  make  a  letter  A  pork 
product  is  to  secure  the  right  breed  of  porkers. 
Tastes  differ  on  this  point.  We  like  the  small  breeds, 
such  as  the  Suffolks,  Yorkshires,  and  Essex.  The 
old-fashioneil  ambition  to  make  a  hog  weigh  •'50(1 
pounds  at  Is  months  or  2  years  old  was  not  pro- 
fitable to  the  producer,  and  the  consumer  certainly 
had  "  too  much  pork  for  his  shillings."  If  a  pig  can 
be  made  to  weigh  250  or  :10(I  pounds  at  ,S  months,  as 
the  Suffolks  usually  do,  there  is  a  saving  of  a  year's 
keeping,  and  the  pork  is  of  a  much  belter  quality. 
We  have  eaten  none  other  than  pig  pork  for  four 
years,  and  desire  to  eat  no  more  of  the  big,  strong 
sort.  The  Western  producers  are  finding  the  best 
market  for  the  small  breeds,  the  spring  pigs  of 
which  are  fit  for  slaughter  before  Ohristmas, 
weighing,  when  dressed,  2.50  pounds  on  an  average, 
and  furnishing  hams  of  about  fifteen  pounds  weight. 
The  early  maturity  of  the  small  breeds  gives  them  a 
great  advantage  over  the  larger  kinds.  We  have 
known  Suffolk  pigs  to  weigh  .'iOO  pounds  at  seven 
months.  To  secure  this  result  they  must  be  fed 
with  skimmed  milk  when  first  weaned,  mixing 
with  it  a  little  bran  and  oat  meal,  and  gradually  in- 
creasing the  ration  of  oats  till  the  pigs  have  attained 
such  a  size  that  it  will  answer  to  put  on  fat,  when 
corn  meal  may  be  substituted  gradually  for  the  bran 
and  oi.ts.  There  is  nothing  equal  to  milk  for  young 
pigs,  but  for  inducing  the  growth  the  skimmed  is 
fully  as  good  as  the  pure  article. — Neti'  York  Timex. 


The  Coming  Sheep. 

The  philosophy  of  evolution  and  development 
appears  to  be  supported  by  the  history  of  our  live 
stock.  Those  who  have  traced  out  the  rise  and 
progress  have  also  had  to  record  the  decadence  and 
the  fall  of  races  of  cattle  and  sheep.  The  old  Long- 
horn,  brought  to  perfection  under  the  skillful  man- 
agement of  Bakewell,  waned  and  vanished  under 
the  superior  qualities  of  the  Short-horn.  It  would 
indeed  be  touching  upon  delicate  ground  so  hint  that 
this  pet  of  the  great  ones  of  the  earth  could  be  dis- 
placed from  her  temple.  All  things,  liowever,  must 
come  to  an  end,  and  exorbitant  sums  of  money 
given  by  individuals  for  no  special  excellence  except 
what  exists,  or  is  supposed  to  exist,  potentially  in 
the  mysterious  virtues  of  pedigree,  savours  of  that 
luxury  which  precedes  decay  and  dissolution. 

The  history  of  our  chief  breeds  of  sheep  affords 
more  than  one  instance  of  improvement  and  aban- 
donment. Take,  for  example,  the  Leicester.  Fifty 
years  ago  tliis  breed  might  appropriately  have  been 
eaid  to  "  rule  the  roost."  Now,  except  in  very  few 
counties  and  among  a  small  minority  of  farmers,  the 
Leicester  has  been  superseded.  The  Cotswold  sheep 
Is  eaid  to  be  going  out,  even  upon  his  own  hills,  and 
does  not  seem  to  t)e  spreaking  rapidly  in  any  other 
locality.  The  Southdown  was  to  the  shorlwooled 
races  as  the  Leicester  was  to  the  longwools.  Scarce- 
ly a  breed  was  net  improved  by  his  touch,  and  for 
this  reason  alone  the  southdown  will  always  hold  a 
high  position  In  the  history  of  British  fioeks.  Still, 
it  must  be  confessed  that  the  Southdown  has  ceased 
to  be  a  rival  for  popularity  with  larger  and  more 
profitable,  if  less  shapely,  breeds  of  sheep. 

One  of  the  greatest  advances  in  sheep  breeding 
was  made  by  Mr.  Druce,  of  Eynsham,  when  he  suc- 
cessfully crossed  the  Hampshire  Down  and  Cots- 
wold, and  thereby  produced  the  Oxford  Down.     The 


rise  of  this  remarkable  breed  has  been  rapid,  and  it 
seems  likely  to  extend  further  In  its  gei)gra(ihlcal 
distribution.  An  unfortunate  predisposition  to  fool 
lameness  is  one  of  the  weakest  points  in  the  favorite 
lireed  of  the  midlands,  and  a  slowness  in  coming  to 
maturity  nuiy  possil)ly  be  also  recorded  as  a  frequent 
mark  against  him. 

The  last  breed  we  have  to  mention  is  one  which  de- 
serves very  S|iceial  mention,  lie  has  not  as  yet  at- 
tracted a  large  share  of  public  notice.  Columns  of 
show  reports  have  been  lavished  upon  Leicesters  and 
Southdowns,  but  scant  notes  have  been  usually 
thought  enough  for  the  Ilampshires.  They  have 
not  been  pushed  up  by  the  great.  They  have,  how- 
ever, been  long  carefully  bred  by  a  large  number  of 
first  class  tenant  fanners  around  Salisbury,  and 
tended  by  a  good  and  faithful  race  of  shepherds. 
We  venture  to  assert  that  the  Hampshire  sheep  is 
not  sufliciently  known  and  appreciated.  There  is  no 
race  in  England,  or  in  the  world,  which  can  vie  with 
it  in  the  production  of  large  sized  lambs  of  from  six 
to  eight  months  old.  Shropshire  lambs  are  simply 
"nowhere"  to  them.  Let  any  unprejudiced  person 
attend  the  ram  sales  in  July,  near  Salisbury,  and 
if  he  has  never  before  seen  a  Hampshire 
lamb,  he  will  be  astontehed.  Then  he  will 
see  lambs  which  present  you,  with  a  pound  weight 
per  quarter  from  the  day  they  were  born.  No 
one  thinks  of  using  shearing  rams,  as  they  would  be 
too  heavy  and  unwiehlly  if  not  used  as  lambs.  As 
yet  the  Hampshire  breed  has  been  insufficiently 
represented  by  our  show-yards,  but  we  expect  soon 
to  see  a  change  in  this  particular.  Such  a  breed 
cannot  be  comparatively  hid  from  public  notice,  but 
must  come  out.  His  hardiliood,  size,  and  quality  of 
mutton  are  unsurpassed.  He  thrives  between  hur- 
dles and  never  asks  for  greater  liberty.  He  is  ex- 
traordinarily .docile  and  intelligent,  and  can  be 
brought  into  such  perfect  training  that  a  word  from 
the  shepherd  suffices  to  guide  and  control  his  move- 
ments. In  the  district  in  which  this  splendid 
race  of  sheep  are  found  in  greatest  perfection  it  is 
not  uncommon  to  realize  as  much  as  (iOs.  or  even 
nHs.  per  head  for  lambs  of  from  seven  to  eight 
months  old.  It  Is  in  those  parts  customary  to  sell 
off  the  wether  lambs  and  retain  the  ewe  lambs  and 
ewes  as  winter  stock.  If  instead  of  selling  the  lambs 
at  the  autumn  fairs  they  were  kept  on  through  the 
winter  and  sold  out,  as  is  the  case  with  most  other 
breeds  of  sheep  at  ten  or  thirteen  months  old,  they 
would  make  prices  which  we  are  confident  in  main- 
taining tliat  no  other  race  of  sheep  could  touch. 
These  are  strong  iioints  in  favor  of  the  Hampshii'e 
sheep,  insuring  him  a  brilliant  futui'e,  and,  in  a  cer- 
tain sense,  the  title  we  have  placed  at  the  head  of 
these  revnarks.—AgriaiUura!  Oazelte  {Enf/llxh). 


Poultry. 


Moulting. 

As  this  is  the  time  of  year  for  fowls  to  moult 
(cast  off  their  feathers  and  put  on  new  ones),  there 
must  be  greater  attention  given  to  them  than  usual. 
It  matters  not  how  well  a  bird  looks  when  com- 
mencing to  moult,  or  how  well  it  feels,  in  two  or 
three  days  there  is  so  much  change  in  its  system  and 
in  its  feelings  and  looks  that  one  would  not  recognize 
that  it  was  the  same  one.  The  bright  red  combs  be- 
come pale  and  wilt  down  to  quarter  their  usual  size  ; 
their  heads  ;  Jthat  were  carried  so  stately,  are  now 
dropped,  and  the  bird  walks  as  if  it  was  weary  ;  it 
appears  weak,  as  It  really  is,  and  if  ever  an  extra 
feed  is  given  to  fowls,  it  is  now  that  it  should  be 
given.  Quantity  is  not  the  only  requisite,  though  It 
Is  something,  but  quality  is  the  main  object — some- 
thing strong  and  in  good  proportion,  such  as  a  loaf 
of  baked  middlings  (or  rather  a  mixture  of  shorts, 
cornmeal,  or  buckwheat),  with  plenty  of  boiled  po- 
tatoes, and  a  good  seasoning  of  salt,  red  pipper  or 
ginger.  When  kneading  this  add  a  few  drops  of 
tincture  of  iron,  say  half  a  tcaepoonful  for  a  two- 
pound  loaf,  which  loaf  given  to  a  flock  of  twenty 
fowls  will  be  suflleieut  for  one  day,  and  whole  corn 
(old,  not  new)  v»heat  screenings,  peas,  boiled  oats  or 


boiled  barley,  may  be  given  In  such  quantities  as 
will  be  eaten  up  clean  without  wasting. 

In  England  many  poultry  breeders  confine  their 
fowls  in  small  apartments  and  give  a  teaspoonful  of 
camphor  to  each  fowl  In  its  drinking  water,  which 
assists  in  easting  off  tlie  feathers,  and  they  are  not 
allowed  to  get  any  other  water  to  prink  liut  this  for 
a  week. 

I  think  the  process  of  moulting  is  tlie  least  under- 
stood, has  the  least  care  bestowed,  and  is  tlie  most 
ncglecteil  of  anything  belonging  to  the  poultry-yard, 
whether  fancier  or  farmer.  During  September  and 
October— the  times  when  birds  are  at  their  most 
critical  period  of  health  during  the  year — farmers 
are  very  liusy  harvesting,  threshing,  putting  in  fall 
wheat  anil  attending  fairs  ;  they  are  so  busy  that  the 
fowls  generally  have  to  rough  it,  and  li'ile  or  no  at- 
tention is  given  them  ;  they  are  permitted  to  roost  Id 
wet  lofts,  or  exposed  to  draughts  of  wind  and  some- 
times in  apple  trees.  Now,  this  should  not  be  so  ; 
they  should  be  given  not  only  the  same  care  as  other 
farm  stock,  but  a  little  more  just  now,  and  when 
eggs  are  wanted  in  winter,  and  when  good  fat 
turkeys  are  wanted  for  that  time,  they  will  be  forth- 
coming in  plenty,  or  according  as  they  have  had 
attention.  Those  hensthat  have  been  kindly  treated, 
and  have  had  the  best  attention,  will  start  to  lay  the 
first  after  moulting,  as  a  hen  will  never  lay  while  In 
this  stagr  of  nature's  development. — li.  A.  Srowu,  in 
Fiir7iirr^it  Advocate. 

How  to  Be  Rid  of  Them 

is  a  question  which  is  very  apt  to  come  if  care  is  not 
constantly  exercised.  We  mean  the  mites,  jiggers 
or  hen  spiders,  call  them  whatever  name  you  please. 
They  are  the  little  lice  that  swarm  everywhere,  like 
the  frogs  of  Egypt,  unless  kept  out  of  the  fowl- 
house.  Don't  fear  to  use  plenty  of  whitewash  with 
a  little  carbolic  acid,  and  perhaps  a  solution  of  pot- 
ash. 

Stamp  them  out.  Clear  the  fowls  of  this  pest. 
Destroy  the  young  broods  of  Insects,  now  just  coming 
foi-th.  Keep  the  parasites  at  bay.  Fumigate  the 
closed  houses  with  a  pot  of  burning  sulptmr  and 
crude  rosin,  shut  the  smoke  in  five  or  six  hours. 
Then  ventilate  the  premises  thorouglily  before  roost- 
ing time.  Wash  the  perches  with  kerosene — all 
over,  underneath,  edges  and  top.  Destroy  these  an- 
noying depredators,  before  they  get  old  enough, 
strong  enough  and  numerous  enough  to  kill  your 
young  chickens,  and  devour  the  flesh  of  your  adult 
stock . 

We  can  not  too  often  impress  this  important  work 
upon  the  attention  of  good  breeders,  who  entertain  a 
disposition  to  render  their  domestic  fowls  comfort- 
able. Especially  is  this  advice  needful  to  be  ob- 
served in  the  hot  weather  we  are  at  present  in  the 
midst  of.  And  so  we  repeat  it,  if  you  would  have 
your  birds  healthy  and  happy,  drive  off  the  lice 
from  amongst  them. 

Last  winter  we  saw  a  pile  of  boards  lying  in  a 
farmer's  barnyard  which  looked  gray.  On  closer 
examination  the  gray  shade  proved  to  be  the  same 
"  little  insects"  of  which  we  are  8[)eakiug. 

The  owner  had  built  a  new  fowl-house  last  fall 
and  threw  these  old  boards  out  of  doors  to  notice  the 
efl'ects  on  the  lice.  By  taking  one  of  these  boards 
into  a  warm  room,  the  multitude  began  to  march, 
which  shows  pretty  fully  that  cold  will  not  kill,  al- 
though it  may  paralyze  them.  From  this  trial  we 
see  that  it  Is  not  safe  to  remit  the  washing  even  In 
winter.  Poison  these  parasites.  Suffocate  them. 
Do  anything  rather  than  lose  a  fowl  from  lack  of 
care. — Ifartford,  Conn.,  Ponllry  World. 

A  Poultry  House. 

"How,  when  ami  where  shall  we  go  to  work  to 
build  us  a  poultry  house  ?  "  is  ao  old  refrain  to  the 
sung,  "  We  want  to  keep  poultry  right  off."  And 
we  are  expected  to  be  able  to  stand  up  and  give  a 
satisfactory  reply  under  any  and  all  conditions.  A 
person  about  to  build  should,  if  possible,  observe  and 
Investigate  some  fowl  house  already  erected  that 
gives  Its  owner  satisfaction,  and  by  practical  consul- 


d76 


THELAiSICASTER  FARMER. 


[November,  1882. 


tation  with  some  one  near  at  hand  can  learn  much 
-more  than  one  wlio  knows  nothing  of  his   situation 
can  inform  him.     A  few  generai  hints,  however,  may 
also  be  given. 

For  aspect,  the  glazed  front  should  face  the  east 
and  south.  This  affords  you  the  sun's  rays  from  the 
earliest  morning,  to  late  afternoon,  as  a  rule,  and  it 
is  the  early  hours  of  sunlight  and  warmth  that  fowls 
mostly  covet  in  winter  and  chilly  spring  time. 
The  glazing  should  be  entire  upon  one  or  two  sides 
of  the  house,  whatever  may  be  its  size  or  length. 
If  the  sashes  are  tightly  placed,  it  is  amply  protec- 
tive as  a  wall  upon  these  two  warm  sides,  while  the 
cost  is  no  more  than  ceiling  or  battens,  and  clap 
boardins.  The  birds  will  enjoy  both  the  light  and 
the  warmlli  thus  aflbrded  them  ;  and  if  the  other 
two  walls  are  banked  up,  or  are  made  impervious  to 
wind  and  weather  by  a  double  boarding  (lour  inches 
between  the  inner  and  outer  walls),  packed  to  the 
eaves  with  straw  daubed  with  coal  tar  to  keep  off 
vermin,  you  may  thus  have  a  cheap,  comfortable 
house  that  your  early  spring  chickens  will  thrive 
in,  and  your  adult  birds  will  appreciate  from  De- 
cember to  April. 


Literary  and  Personal. 


Stock  and  Poultry  Index.— This  is  a  neat  lU 
page  octavo  monthly,  devoted  exclusively  to  the 
breeding  and  management  of  stock  and  poultry,  and 
filled  with  the  choicest  matter  for  every  one  inter- 
ested in  its  specialties.  It  is  not  merely  a  magazine 
ef  advertisements,  but  coutains  1.5  pages  of  good 
reading  matter  pertaining  to  slock  and  poultry.  As 
its  advertising  patronage  increases,  extra  pages  will 
be  added.  No.  3,  vol.  1,  of  this  spicy  little  journal 
has  found  its  way  to  our  table,  and  although  entirely 
unpretentious,  and  lacking  the  embelisbments  of 
more  pieteutious  publications,  we  find  it  solid  and 
sensible.  Only  50  cents  a  jear  with  clever  pre- 
miums. Address  Stock  and  Poultry  IndeXj  Waynes- 
burg,  Greene  county,  Pa.,  Lock  Box  16. —  TV.  E. 
Eobiiuon,  Publisher  and  Editor. 

Thoroughbred  Stock  Journal.— A  demifolio 
of  10  pages,  only  two  of  which  are  advertisements, 
Published  by  the  L.  S.  P.  Co.,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  U. 
S.  I.  Hunt,  proprietor  ;  W.  S.  Webster  and  Joseph 
Barbiere,  editors  ;  at  ?1. 50  per  annum;  single  copies 
15  cents.  Good  material,  good  print,  and  good  il- 
lustrations. This  is  an  entirely  new  enterprise  in 
Pennsylvania  stock  journalism,  the  copy  before  us 
being  vol.  1,  No.  1,  October,  18^2.  The  contents  of 
this  number,  although  in  the  main  able  and  appro- 
priate, yet  it  contains  three  lengthy  papers  on  sub- 
jects foreign  to  stock-breeJing,  or  any  other  subject 
relating  thereto,  which  perhaps  may  be  acceptable 
to  many  readers.  These  are  "Egypt — pas"  and 
present" — "The  Christian  Religion,"  by  Col.  Robert 
G.  Ingersoll,  and  a  "Reply,"  by  Hon.  Jeremiah  S. 
Black.  Ingersoll's  statements,  arguments  and  de- 
nials, are  only  a  rehash  of  the  "stufiT"  we  met  with 
and  read  lifty  years  ago,  only  they  do  not  seem  to 
possess  the  same  ability,  for  he  certainly  can  have 
but  a  limited  knowledge  of  the  contents  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments,  or  he  would  not  make  the  as- 
sertions he  does.  In  our  opinion,  if  be  does  not  live 
to  see  the  day  to  regret  these  utterances,  it  will  be 
for  want  of  opportunity. 

Of  course,  .Mr.  Black  had  to  meet  Col.  Ingersoll 
on  his  own  plane— the  merely  natural  plane— for  he 
does  not  recognize  the  Christian's  God,  the  inspira- 
tion of  the  Scriptures,  nor  the  existence  of  the  spir- 
itual world  ;  still,  in  our  view,  and  we^  think  in  any 
rational  or  common-sense  view,  Mr.  Black  utterly 
vautiuislied  him.  Mr.  B.  is  however,  not  a  theolo- 
gian, and  does  not  seem  to  possess  a  knowledge  of 
the  more  advanced  views  of  the  present  day  on  that 
subject,  or  he  might  have  made  some  things  more 
clear  upon  which  he  confessed  himself  uninformed. 
Dut  then  it  might  have  had  no  weight  at  all  with 
that  school  of  philosophy  which  acknowledges 
nothing  less  tangible  than  "  buckwheat  cakes  and 
sausages."    Poor    Col.    Ingersoll,    in     bis    tirade 


against  Christianity,  he  reminds  ub  of  the  "  crone" 
who  shook  her  fist  at  the  rear-guard  of  Bonaparte's 
army,  when  he  invaded  Italy.  "  Tell  your  General," 
said  she,  "I  have  a  mean  contemptible  opinion  of 
him."  The  soldier  replied,  "I  will  madam;  but 
only  think  bow  hard  he'll  take  it."  The  compara- 
tive relation  between  Robert  G.  Ingersoll  and  the 
Christian  religion  "  hath  this  extent,  no  more." 

CiTV  AND  Country.- An  illustrated  literary  and 
agricultural  journal,  20  pages,  monthly,  at  the  very 
low  price  of  50  cents  per  annum.  No  10,  Vol.  1.  of 
this  paper  is  before  us  :  it  is  the  same  in  size  as  the 
immediately  preceding,  but  has  about  ten  pages  of 
advertisements  :  but  is  more  exelusively  agricultural 
and  domestic,  with  a  moderate  sprinkling  of  general 
literature,  and  notices  of  the  general  topics  of  the 
day.  Published  by  the  City  and  Country  Co., 
Columbus,  Ohio.  Will  C.  Turner,  editor  and  gen- 
eral manager,  A.  W.  Lincoln,  associate.  We  don't 
know  another  similar  journal  in  the  country  that 
contains  so  much,  nor  of  a  better  quality,  at  so  low  a 
price.  We  notice  that  it  devotes  at  least  one  of  its 
large  pages  to  matters  relating  tolphysical  health, 
through  a  regular  physician  of  large  experience, 
which  we  deem  a  commendable  feature. 

Department  of  Agricdlture. — Special  report. 
No.  46,  on  the  condition  of  corn  and  cotton,  of 
spring  wheat,'fruit6,  etc.,  also  freight  rates  of 
transportation  companies,  August,  1.S82.  No.  47, 
climate,  soil  and  agricultural  capabilities  of  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia,  by  J.  C.  Hemphill,  Govern- 
ment office,  Washington,  D.  C,  comprising  jointly 
120  pages  octavo.  The  value  of  these  bulletins,  of 
course,  depends  upon  the  value  of  the  information 
communicated  to  the  Department  from  local  report- 
ers. The  means  are  commendable,  and  the  foun- 
tain will  be  more  and  more  useful  ae  the  stream 
flows  from  reliable  and  practical  sources.  The  se- 
verely criticised,  and  often  much  maligned  depart- 
ment, is  certainly  making  an  effort  to  impart  infor- 
mation to  the  agriculturists  of  the  country,  com 
mensurate  with  its  abilities. 

United  States  Eutomological  Commission. — 
Bulletin  No.  7,  Insects  injurious  to  Forest  and 
Shade  Trees,  hy  A.  L.  Packard,  Jr.,  M.  D.  Thl9 
bulletin  bears  the  imprint  18S1,  but  it  has  only  eome 
into  our  poasession    within    the    past  two  or    tnree 

,veeks too  late  to  notice  it  in  our  October  issue.     It 

is  an  octavo  of  275  pages,  uniform  in  size  with  pre- 
ceding bulletins,  and  contains  many  appropriate  il- 
lustrations. We  are  indebted  to  the  Department  of 
the  Interior  for  a  belated  copy  of  the  work  for 
which  we  are  exceeedingly  thankful.  To  protect 
our  forest  trees  from  insect  infestations  is  hardly 
second  in  mportance  to  protecting  them  from  the 
(fell)  destruction  of  the  woodman's  axe.  Of  course, 
such  a  work  cannot  fall  into  the  hands  of  everyone 
in  the  country,  who  has  an  interest  in  forest  and 
shade  trees,  but  it  is  safe  to  say  that  it  will  fall  into 
the  hands  of  as  many  as  are  likdyto  study  it  and 
make  a  practical  use  of  it.  The  insects  destructive 
to  forest  and  shade  trees  are ''legion,"  and  a  de- 
scription of  each  one  in  detail  would  involve  a  book 
or  books,  too  formidable  for  any  ordinary  man  to 
look  into  ;  hence,  in  many  instances  only  the  tech 
nical  name  is  given,  and  this  too,  only  because  they 
have  not  yet  received  a  specific  common  name,  and 
perhaps  never  will. 

Ladies'  Floral  Cabinet,  a  Monthly  Home  Com- 
panion. L.  F.  C.  Publishing  Co.,  22  Vesey  street. 
New  York.  A  beautifully  illustrated  quarto  of  SO 
pages,  with  embellished  tinted  covers.  The  October 
number  (Vol.  XI.,  No.  10.)  of  this  handsome  publi- 
cation has  been  laid  on  our  table,  and  in  addition  to 
first-class  material  and  superior  mechanical  execu- 
tion, it  contains  that  variety  in  its  able  literary  con- 
tents which  relieves  it  from  the  monotony  that  distin- 
guishes many  journals  devoted  to  a  single  specialty. 
Any  lady  at  all  interested  in  floriculture,  poetry,  gar- 
dening, horticulture,  domestic  economy,  and  general 
literature,  would  find  this  journal  an  appropriate 
vade  mecum. 

Annual  wholesale  and  retail  list  of  the  Ephrata 


Nursery  and  Green  House.  Fruit  and  ornamental 
trees,  grape  vines,  small  fruits,  etc.  S.  R.  Hess  and 
Son,  proprietors,  8  pp,  12  mo. 

Goodwin's  Imrpoved  B  ok-Keeping  and  Bus- 
iness Manual.  Synopsis  of  contents,  32  pp,  16mo. 
Premium  List  of  the  New  Mexico  Exposition  and 
driving  Park  Association.  Second  annual  fair  held 
at  the  city  of  Albuquerque,  September  18,  19,  20,  21, 
22  and  23,  lsS3.  48  pages,  demi-octavo.  This  cata- 
logue reached  us  too  late  to  receive  a  notice  either  in 
our  September  or  October  issues.  It  is  a  very 
liberal  one,  and  to  far  as  we  have  been  enabled  to 
learn,  the  fair  was  a  complete  success. 

Personal. — Notably  among  the  superintendents 
of  departments,  we  observe  the  name  of  Dr.  Wm. 
T.  Strachau,  a  natlv  of  Lancaster  county,  and  for- 
merly a  resident  of  Lancaster  city.  The  doctor  is  a 
resident  of  New  Albuquerque,  is  extensively  engaged 
in  mining,  and  it  was  appropriate  that  he  should 
have  been  appointed  superintendent  of  the  mining 
department. 

Farmer  and  Manufacturer. — A  journal  de- 
voted to  the  farming  and  mannfaeturing  interests  of 
the  country,  published  by  the  Farmer  and  Manufac- 
turing Company,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  at  .50  cents  a  year 
in  advance,  postage  included.  Tne  November  num- 
ber of  this  excellent  publication  has  reached  our 
table,  and  it  ought  to  be  welcome  anywhere  in  the 
world,  where  the  English  language  is  spoken,  and, 
"you  had  better  believe  it."  Among  the  multitudes 
of  "sorts  and  sizes"  of  journals  now  issued  from  the 
printing  press  of  the  country,  we  are  a  little  puzzled 
as  to  whether  we  should  style  this  a  royal  quarto  or 
a  demi-folio — it  is  10  by  20 — with  four  columns  to 
the  page.  In  addition  to  farming,  manufacturing, 
domestic  and  polite  literature,  it  also  includes  his- 
tory, philosophy,  poetry  and  fiction,  but  these  are  of 
the  most  practical  and  instructive  character,  pos- 
sessing just  that  brevity,  diversity,  and  moral 
quality,  which  go  to  make  up  the  most  interesting 
and  useful  daily  reading.  If  any  of  our  patrons  de 
sire  to  try  it,  "just  to  see,"  we  will  furnish  a  copy  of 
the  Lancaster  Farmer,  and  the  Farmer  and  Manu- 
facturer, 2il%\. 25  a  year,  in  advance,  and  have  no 
hesitation  in  assuring  our  readers  that  the  arrange- 
ment will  be  satisfactory  to  them.  The  material  and 
"make  up"  is  equal  to  the  average  of  our  very  best 
serial  publications. 

"  Seed-Time  and  Harvest,"  which  has  for  the 
past  three  years  been  pubiished  as  a  quarterly,  has 
now  entered  the  field  as  a  24-paged  monthly  maga- 
zine, and  is  filled  to  overflowing  with  notes  and  illus- 
trations of  the  most  popular  new  fruits,  flowers  and 
vegetables  of  American  origin.  It  has  among  its 
contributors  some  of  the  best  writers  of  the  day  upon 
horticultural  subjects.  Every  page  is  made  inter- 
esting and  instructive.  It  is  published  at  La  Plume, 
Lack'a  Co.,  Pa.,  by  Isaac  F.  Tillinghast,  at  the  low 
price  of  50  cents  per  year. 

Mr.  A.  G.  Tillinghast,  a  brother  of  its  editor,  re- 
cently started  on  a  trip  across  the  continent  to  Cali- 
fornia and  thence  up  the  coast  to  Washington  terri- 
tory. One  of  the  attractions  of  Seed-Time  and 
Harvest  for  the  next  few  months  will  be  the  publi- 
cation of  letters  giving  daily  reports  of  the  incidents 
of  this  journey,  which  will  prove  very  interesting  to 
every  one  who  is  interested  in  the  subject  of  emigra- 
tion, as  he  will  let  you  know  bow  an  emigrant  is 
treated,  how  fas^  he  travels,  what  he  sees  and  what 
it  costs  him  to  see  it. 

All  the  principal  agricultural  and  horticultural 
papers  in  the  country  are  taken  and  read  by  the  tH- 
tor  ot  Seed-Time  and  Harvest,  and  he  will  endeavor 
to  give  monthly  under  the  head  of  "  Notes  and 
Gleanings,"  all  the  new  ideas  of  interest  which  may 
spring  up  anywhere;  thus  its  readers  will  for  50 
cents  per  year  get  an  epitome  of  the  agricultural  and 
horticultural  worlds. 

A  noticeable  feature  of  Seed-Time  and  Harvest  is 
the  offer  of  its  editor  of  $50  in  gold  to  the  person 
who  sends  him  the  most  perfect  list  of  the  different 
words  to  be  found  in  one  number  of  the  magazine, 
having  eight  or  more  letters,  and  no  letters  repeated. 
This  exercise  will  be  repeated  in  the  January  num- 
ber and  competition  is  free  to  all  subscribers.  Full 
and  precise  rules  will  be  given  in  the  number  con- 
taining this  offer. 

This  excellent  and  most  practical  journal  and  the 
Lancaster  Farmer,  will  be  furnished  to  subscrib- 
ers at  $1.25  a  year. 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER 


Evert  lady  should  send  25  cents  to  Strawbridge  & 
Clothier,  Philadelphia,  and  receive  their  Fashion 
'Quarterly  (or  fimoi .  1,100  illustnilious  and  4  pages 
new  music  each  issue. 


A   Manual  of  Elocution  and  Heading,  em- 

bnicini;  the  Principles  and  Practice  of  Elocution.  By 
Edward  Brooks,  I'll.  D.,  Principal  of  the  .State  Nor- 
mal .School,  Millcrsville,  Pa.  Philadelphia:  Eldridge 
I'i:  Bro.  Price,  L.^O.  To  teachers,  for  examination, 
St  .0(1. 

PHILIP  SCHUM,  SON  &  CO.. 

38  and  40  "West  King  Street. 

We  keep  on  Itftiid  of  onv  own  muiuiiiicture, 

QUILTS,  COVERLETS, 

COUNTERPANES,  CARPETS, 

Bureau  and  Tidy  Covers,  hudics'  Furnisliing  Goods,  No- 
tions, titC. 

PuriioHlar  utteufion  paid  to  customer  Rug  Cari)et,  and 
acoweriug  uud  dyeincof  iill  kinds. 

PHILIP  SOHUM,  SON  &  CO.. 

Nov-ly  Lancaster,  Pa. 


THE  PENN 

HARROW 

BEST  IN  THE  WORLD 

IT  HAS  NO  EQUAL 


Patented  Aprikl3, 


Tlio  abnve  cut  represents  the  Penn  Harrow 
complete,  with  :iU  it«  combiuationB  of  Five  Iliir* 
ro«H  unci  a  sled  for  each  Harrow;  and  each 
8nLc.'..iiHirch:mu''e  is  jnade  f  ruin  this  Harrow  without 
tbe  lia-;t  aiiiiitinnyl  expeuee.  By  hooking- the  tejirn 
to  eithtT  jiouit,  li  or  C,  the  center  revrtlves  and  privea 
the  ^Touud  'I'wo  Strokes  and  Two  Crossintrs  in 
pa.'^piiiu'  over  it  once,  niakin?  it  the  most  cH'ective 
pulverizer  in  the  market. 
THIS  HARROW  HAS  ONI.Y  TO  BE 
ISEEJ  TO  BE  APPRECIATED. 
See  it  before  purchaBiug-  and  you  will  buy  no  other. 


The  Penn  Harrow 

CHANGED    TO    A     THREE  COKNEB   EOTARY 
HARROW. 


iDdifipenFablG  for  Orchards,  as  the  revoMnj?  whMl 
harrows  riKht  up  to  and  all  around  the  trees  w-itu. 
out  barkinK*  them. 


The  Penn  Harrow 

CHANGED   TO  SINGLE  "A"   HARROW. 


DISSOLUTION  OF  PARTNERSHIP- 
The  tO-p:irlnersbi|»  in  Hm-  nur<-hiuit  taili.iinii  bus)- 
Iicretoftirc  e.xi-tinj;  under  thi*  firm  <il  i;;ilh\on  t^c  l-'isher, 
i.s  this  day  di-snlv«-<l  Ity  mntnul  eonsent  All  per^(»ns  in 
any  niuinicr  indebted  to  said  IJrni,  :irc  rc.sj)cctfiilly  so- 
licited lo  niiikf  jinini'di;ile  paj'tnent  to  .'^,  S.  I{jttlivr>n, 
who  is  hereby  autbori/ed  lo  receive  t  e  .same,  and  tluwc 
^tl^^nK  eIniniH  a^iiinsl  h  lid  firm,  will  pleiisc  present  them 
f.  r  seltlemeiit. 

S.  S.  liATIIVOX. 
M.  KI>IIKl:. 
101  North  Queen  Street,  Lancaster,  Pn. 


Until  further  anuonnccuiont,  tin*  buH-siness,  without 
intcrruiition.  wil  l)c  condut-ti-d  by  the  uiub  rMJ^^ned,  who 
-SMlicitM  a  ronlinuancu  i>f  the  piitronag:e  Iieretofore  bc- 
Htowed  upon  the  firm,  anti  which  in  hereby  jcreatfully 
ncknowlcdK*'<'. 

S  S.  RATHVON. 

PRACTIOALTAlLOIt, 

No.  101  North  Queen  Street, 

LANCASTER,  PA. 


By  removing  the  \vin<  and  wheel  from  the  orli^DBl 
you  liuvo  u  complete  oue-horiso  "A"  Hurrow. 


The  Penn  Harrow 


CHANGED   TO   DOUBLE 


•A"   HARROW. 


Remove  the  -wheel  from  the  ori^nal,  reverse  th^ 
w'intr,  and  it  niiiKes  the  most  complete  Double  "A'f 
Harrow  iu  the  miirket. 


The  Penn  Harrow 


CHANGED    TO    A   SQUARE    HARROW, 


By  remo\-inf?  the  wheel  from  the  orif?inal  you  have 
a  Harrow  with  three  i>oints  to  hook  to.  By  hooking 
to  B  or  G  you  can  harrow  in  a  furrow,  and  harrow 
the  bottom  and  both  i^ides,  or  over  aridu'e  and  har- 
row the  top  aud  buth  sides,  or  you  can  lilt  cither 
point  and  have  three  polnt-^  on  the  grround— some- 
thine?  tha(  cannot  be  done  with  any  •thev 
Barro^v. 


The  Penn  Harrow 


ON   ITS  SLED. 


It  hM  always  been  a  prreat  Inconvenience  to  (ret  the 
Harrow  to  aud  from  the  licl  1.  The  Penn  Harrow 
obviates  thin,  as  no  matter  ^\lli^h  Harrow  you  wi^h 
to  use  in  the  combination,  it  liaj«  itti  own  bled 
to  haul  if  ou. 


The  Penn  Harrow 

Is  made  of  the  bc.Mt  white  oalt,  M-ilh  Htocl 
tccthfivell  paiiitedt  in  every  wav  firHt-riiiNH. 
Formerly  a  harrow  was  the  most  inihandy  in n  le- 
nient on  the  farm;  vith  our  improvement  it  is  the 
most  convenient,  will  do  doiihic  tho  work  of 
any  other  barrow  and  savi*  tlie  larnier  balf 
faJH  lalior^  nii^l  ■-*  warraiitcil  C(»  «|i»  nil  ^ve 
represent  or  uioncv  relunded.  ORDKR  AT 
0N<:E  and  be  t'ONVINC'ED. 

Price  of  thf  light  draft  Comtiinafion  P*^n  Warroie, 
830.     StTid/\traC<Uafoifuean'l  rn-e  tthal yamtrra  tay. 

AGENTS    WANTED   IN   EVERY   COUNTY. 

PENN  HARROW  MANDFACTDRING  CO. 


Fruit,  Shade  and  Ornamental  Trees. 

Plant  Trees  raised  in  tbis  coUuly  aud  Buited  to  this  chmate . 
Write  for  priecH  to 

LOUIS  C.LYTE 

Bird-in-Hand  P.  O.,  Lancaster  co.,  Pa. 

Nurserj'  ut  Smokelyowu,  nix  mllcB  euKtof  LancaBler 
70-1-12 

WIDMYER  &  RICKSECKER, 

UPHOLSTERERS. 

And  Manufacturers  ol 

FURNITURE  ^D  CHAIRS, 

102  East  King  St.,  Cor.  of  Duke  St. 

LANCASTER,  PA. 

79-1-12] 


Special  Inducemonts  at  the 

NEW  FURNITURE   STORE 

W.  A.  HEINITSH. 

rro.    XS    1—2    DE.    ZCXIVG^     SfTMSUT 

(over  BurKk'9  Giooery  stores  L:iiic:i*'ter,  Pji. 
A  general  aasor'inent  of  turuitilieof  ull    kiudH  coiiHtantly 
ou  haud.     ))ou't  forget  the  uuiiihcr. 

158  X-2  XiAist  X^ixis  Stroot, 

Nov-ly]  (ovt-r  HuThk'H  (Jioci-ry  Sloie.) 


For  Good  and  Cheap  Work  go  lo 

F.  VOLLMER'S 

FURNITURE  WARE   ROOMS, 

No.  309  NORTH  QUEEN  ST., 

(Opposite  Northern  M:irli.t), 

X^A'Xicci.stex-,  !»«,. 

Also,  all  kinds  of  p  ctnre  traluep,  nov-lv 


GREAT  BARGAINS. 

A  large  assortment  of  all   kinds  of  Carpels  are  still  sold  at 
lower  rates  than  ever  at  the 

CARPET  HALL  OF  H.  S.  SHIRK, 

NO.202   West  Khif/  St. 

Call  and  examine  our  stock  and  patisly  yourself  tbat  W6 
can  show  the  larpeet  assortment  of  theflc  Brussels,  three 
plies  and  ingrain  at  all  prices— at  the  loweat  Philadelphia 
prices. 

Also  on  band  a  large  and  complete  assortment  of  Raff 
Carpet. 

Satisfaction  guaranteed  bath  as  to  price  aud  quaHty. 

You  are  invited  to  call  and  see  my  goods.  No  trouble  IQ 
showing  them  even  if  you  do  not  want  to  purchase. 

Don't  forget  this  notice.  You  can  save  money  here  if  you 
want  to  buy. 

Particular  attention  given  to  customer  v  ork. 

Also  on  hand  a  full  assort  tuent  of  CounterpaneB,  OU 
Cloths  and  Blankets  of  everj- variety,  fuov-lyr. 


sep-3 


CAMDEN.   N.  J. 


C.  R.  KLINE 
5Attof(NEY-at-|:,AW, 

OFFICE :    15  NORTH  DUKE  STREET, 

L.A.NCA.STKR,    FA.. 

Nov-ly 

SILK-WORM  EGGS. 

Aiunteur  .Silk-Krowcra  cuii  be  siipiilieil  wilh  Kuperior 
silk-wcirni  eggs,  on^reii.sonable  terms,  by  a]>j)Iyjng  iinnio- 
diately  to 

ilT.O.  4>.  IIRXfil-:!.. 

inny-:)ml  No.  i^'^  Eii.xl  Oranue  .-^Ircel,  I,uniii»ler,  I'a. 

LIGHT  BRAHMA  EGGS 

For  hutching,    now    ready — from    the   best    strain  in  the 
county — !it  the  moderate  price  of 

$1«50  for  a  M'tting  of  3.3  Z3g;s^. 

L.  KATHVON, 

Ne.  9  North  Queen  st.,  E^xaniiner  Office,  Lancjister,  Pa. 


WANTED.— CANVAS.SKRS  for  the 
LANCASTER  WEEKLY  EXAMINER 
In  Every  Township  in  the  County.     Good  Wapen  caii  b« 
made.     Inquire  at 

THE  EXAMINER  OFFICE, 

No.  9  North  Queen  Street,  Lancaster,  P*. 


IV.' 


THE  LANCASTER   FARMER 


[November  1.8S2. 


WHERE    TO  BUY  GOOD 
LANCASTER. 


BOOTS  AND  SHOES. 


MARSHA  I.I.  A-  !*<»X,  Xo.  12  Centra  Sqiiiirc,  Lan- 
casler,  Duulcrs  in  Boots,  Shoes  anil  Rubbers.    Re- 
pairing promi)tly  atteiulerl  to.  

MI.KVY.  Xo.  3  East  KinE  street.     For  the  bes 
.     Dollar  Shoes  in  Lancaster  go  to  JI.  Levy,    Xo.   3 
East  King  slreft.  


BOOKS  AND   STATIONERY. 


J«HX  BAKRVS  SOWS,  Xos.  1.5  and  17  Xorth  Queen 
Street,  liave  the  hirgesl  and  best  a.'s^orted  Book  and 
Paper  Store  in  tlie  rity. 

FURNITURE. 


FARMING  FOR  PROFIT. 

It  is  conceded  tliat  tliis  large  and  conipreliensive  toot. 
(advertised  in  anotlier  colmun  by  J.  C.  JlcCurdy  &  Co., 
of  Pliiladelphia,  tlie  well-known  publishers  of  Standard 
■works,)  is  not  onlv  the  newest  and  handsomest,  but  alto- 
gether the  BEST  work  of  the  kind  which  has  ever  been 
published.  Thoroiighlv  treating  the  great  subjects  of 
general  AgTiculture,  Live-Stoek,  Fruit-Grownig,  Busi- 
ness Principles,  and  Home  Life;  telling  just  what  the 
farmer  and  the  farmer's  boys  want  to  know,  combining 
Science  and  Practice,  stimulating  thought,  awakemng 
inquiry,  and  interesting  every  member  of  the  family, 
this  book  must  exert  a  mighty  influence  for  good.  It  is 
highly  recommended  by  the  best  agricultural  writers 
and  tiie  leading  papers,  and  is  destined  to  have  an  ex- 
tensive sale.     .Agents  are  wanted  everywhere.  jan-lt 


TTKIM'rSH'S.  Xo.  Li',..  East  King  St.,   (over  China 

|~t     Ilallj  is  the  cheapest  place  in  Lancaster  to   buy 
Furniture.     Picture  Frames  a  specialty. 


CHINA  AND  GLASSWARE. 


HIGH  A-  MAKTISf,  Xo.  15  East  King  St.,  dealers 
in  China,  Glass  and  (iueensware.   Fancy  Goods, 
Lamps,  Burners,  Chimneys,  etc. 


CLOTHING. 


MVK.hS  A  K.\'I'HF«».\.  Centre  Hall,  Xo.  12  East 
King  St.    Largest  Clothing.Hou.se  in  Pennsylvania 
outsi<lc  of  Phihulclphia 

DRUGS  AND   MEDICINES. 


G\v.  Hl'LL,.  Dealer  in  Pure  Drugs  and  Medicines 
,     Clicmieals,    Patent  Jtcdicines,  Tru.sscs,  Shoukle 
Braces,  Supporters,  &c.,  15  West  King  St.,  Lancaster,  I'a 


JOIIX  V.  LOSiO  A-  S05i,  Druggists,  Xo.  12  Xorth 
Queen  St.    Drugs,  Medicines,   Perfumery,    Spices, 
Dye  Stufl's,  Etc.    Prescriptions  carefully  compounded. 


DRY  GOODS. 


GIVI.BK,  BOWERS  At  HCRS'l",  No.  25  E.King 
St.,  Lancaster,  Pa.,  Dealers  in  Dry  Goods,  Carpets 
mid  Merchant  Tailoring.     Prices  as  low  as  the  lowest. 

HATS  AND  CAPS. 

H    AMKR,  No.  3y  West  King  Street,  Dealer  in 
Hats,  Caps,  Furs,  Robes,  etc.    Assortment  Large. 


GLOVES,  SHIRTS,  UNDERWEAR. 
SHIETS  MADE"tO  ORDER, 

AND  WARRANTED  TO  IIT. 

E.  J.  -ERISMAN, 
56  North  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa 


c, 


Prices  J.o\\ 


JEWELRY  AND  WATCHES. 

HZ.  RHOAUS  A  BKO.,    No.  4  West  King  St. 
•    Wiilches,  Clock  and  Mii.sical  Boxes.     Watches 
anti  Jewelry  Mauufactured  to  order. 


PRINTING. 


J  OHM    A.    MIKSTANI*,  9  North  Queen  st.,  Sale 
Bills,   Circulars.  Posters,  Cards,   Invitations,   Letter 
and  Bill  Headaand  Envelopes  neatly  printed.    Prices  low. 


Thirty-Six  Varieties  of  Cabbage:  26  of  Corn;  28  of  Cu- 
umber;  41  of  Jlelon;  33  of  Peas;  28  of  Beans;  17  of 
Squash;  23  of  Beet  and  40  of  Tomato,  with  other  varieties 
in  proportion,  a  large  portion  of  which  were  grown  on 
my  five  seed  farms,  will  be  found  in  my  Ve^fetaUle 
ami  Floiver  Seed  t'»tHlo;fne  for  IHS2.  Sent  free 
to  all  who  apply.  Customers  of  last  Season  need  not 
write  for  it.  All  Seed  sold  from  my  establishment  war- 
ranted to  be  fresh  and  true  to  name,  so  far.  that  should 
it  prove  otherwise,  I  will  reilU  the  order  gratis.  The 
ori^iiiai  intrnilncei*  oT  Early  Ohio  and 
Burbaiik  Potatot'f4.  lUarbletieacl.  Early  Corn, 
the  Hubbard  Squash.  MarblelieAd  i'abbag-e, 
fhiiiiiey's  Melon,  and  a  score  of  other  New  Vegeta- 
bles, I  invite  the  patronage  of  the  public.  New  Vegeta- 
bles a  specialty. 

JAMES  J.  H.  OREGORT, 
Marblehead,  Mass. 
^Nov-6mo] 


EVAPORATE  YOUR  FRUIT. 

ILLUSTRATED    CATALOGUE 

FREE  TO  ALL. 

AMERICAN  DRIER  COMPANY, 

rbainbersburg;.  Pa. 

Apl-tf 


^fTHE  COOLEY  CREAMER 


Raises  all  the  cream  between  the  milkings.  Saves  two-thirds  the  labor. 
Increases  yield  of  butter.  Improves  the  quality.  Quadruples  the  value 
of  skim  milk.  Will  pay  for  itself  twice  or  more  every  season.  The 
Cooley  System  is  the  only  uniform  dairy  method  in  existence.  Requires 
no  spring  house,  or  milk  room.  May  be  placed  in  a  shed,  cellar,  or  any 
place  that  cold  water  is  handy. 


The  Best  Hired  Girl. 

In  the  fall  of  187'J  I  bought  a  Cooley  Creamer.  I  liave  used  it  ever  since  with  entire 
satisfaclion.  It  makes  more  butter,  of  better  quality,  without  ice,  and  half  the  labor,  than 
the  old  process.  A  lady  friend  who  has  used  one  for  about  six  months  says  it  is  "the  best 
hired  girl  "  she  ever  had.  I  have  also  used  the  Davis  Swing  Churn  for  the  last  16  months, 
and  am  highly  pleased  with  it.  It  churns  the  cream  at  a.higher  temperature  and  brings  the 
butter  in  a  better  condition  than  any  other  churn.  I  have  given  the  Eureka  Butter  Worker 
a  fair  trial,  and  am  happy  to  recommend  it  to  others.  I  can  work  twenty  pounds  of  butter 
with  it  in  five  minutes,  and  thus  save  a  half  hour's  work. 


Yours  truly, 

Mt.  Holley,  Burlington  County,  N.  J.,  August  22, 1881. 
^"Send  for  Circular  free  to 


SAMUEL  S.  OCLKITT. 


D.  LANDRETH  &  SONS, 

Sole  Agents,  Philadelphia  Pa. 


A  HOME  ORGAN  FOR  FARMERS. 


11  uicisii  mm 


A  MONTHLY  JOURNAL, 

Devoted  to  Agriculture,  Horticulture,  Do- 
mestic Economy  and  Miscellany. 


Founded  Under  the  Auspices  of  the   Lancas. 
ter  County  Agricultural  and  Horti- 
cultural Society. 


EDITED  BY  DR.  S.  S.  RATHVON. 


TERMS  OF  SUBSCRIPTION  : 


ONE  DOLip  PER  ANNUtJ, 

POSTAGE  PREPAID  BY  THE  PROPRIETOR. 


All    subscriptions    will    commence   with    the 
Januarynumber, unless  otherwise  ordered. 


Dr.  S.  S.  RathvoD.  who  has  eo  ably  mauaged  the  editorial 
department  in  the  past,  will  contiuue  in  the  posltioa  of 
editor.  Hie  contributionB  on  subjects  connected  with  the 
science  of  farming,  and  particularly  that  specialty  of  which 
he  ia  eo  thorouhJy  a  master — entomological  science — some 
knowledge  of  which  has  become  a  necessity  to  the  succesa- 
ful  farmer,  are  alone  worth  much  more  than  the  price  of 
thia  publication.  He  Is  determined  to  make  "The  Farmer' 
a  necessity  to  all  households. 

A  county  that  has  so  wide  a  reputation  as  Lancaster 
county  for  its  agricultural  products  should  certainly  be 
able  to  support  an  agricultural  paper  of  its  own,  for  the 
exchange  of  the  opinions  of  farmers  Interested  in  this  mat- 
oter.  We  ask  the  co-oporation  of  all  farmers  interested  in. 
this  matter.  Work  among  your  friends.  The  "Farmer"  i 
only  one  dollar  per  year.  Show  them  your  copy.  Try  and 
induce  them  to  subscribe.  It  is  not  much  for  each  sub- 
scriber to  do  but  it  will  greatly  assist  us. 

All  communications  in  regard  to  the  editorial  management 
should  be  addressed  to  Dr.  S.  S.  Rath  von,  Lancaster,  Pa., 
and  all  business  letters  in  regard  to  aubscriptiona  and  ad- 
vertising should  be  addressed  to  the  publisher.  Rates  of 
adveitisiug  can  be  had  on  application  at  the  office. 


JOHN  A.  HIESTAND, 

No.  9  North  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 


$72 


A  WEEK.    $12  a  day  at  home  easily  made.   Costly 
Outfit  free.  Address  Tkue  it  Co.,  Augusta*  Maiae, 


ONE  DOLLAR  PER  ANNUM-SINGLE  COPIES  10  CENTS. 


Dr.  S.  S.  RATHVON,  Editor. 


LANCASTER,  PA.  DECEMBER,  1882 


OHN  A.  HIESTAND,  PubliBher 


Kiitereil  »(  llir    l*o>it  Olllco  nt  Lancaster  an 
.Si'foiKl  t'luss  Matter. 

CONTENTS  OFJHIS  NUMBER. 

EDITORIAL. 

Volume  Fourteen 177 

Myriapoda 177 

The  Tariff  and  Free  Trade 178 

The  Turkey 179 

Kitchen  Garden  for  December 179 

Excerpts 180 

CONTRIBUTIONS. 

"The  Farmer's  Friend" 181 

A  Sure  Preventive  of  Chicken  Cholera 182 

The  Balance  of  Trade  delusion 182 

SELECTIONS. 

The  Virtues  of  Coffee 183 

Feeding  Stock  in  Winter 183 

The  Rational  Method  of  Tree-Pruning  184 

Lftter   from   the   Mother  of  Bayard   Taylor  to 

Prof.  E.  V.  Riley 18.5 

Soiling  Cattle  185 

Smoke  house  at  Small  Expense 186 

The  Sugar  Beet 18(J 

OUR  LOCAL  ORGANIZATIONS. 
Lancaster  County  Agricultural  and  Horticultural 

Society  187 

Crop  Reports— Experimenting  with    Fertilizers 
— Answering  Questions. 

The  Poultry  Association 1S7 

Linnsean   Society 188 

Donations  to  the  Museum. 

AGRICULTURE. 

Ivory  Wheat  and  Millo  Maize 188 

Economy  on  the  Farm 188 

Rule  Adopted  by  the  Hay  Trade 188 

Effects  of  Broom-Corn  on  the  Soil 188 

The  Agricultural  Interests  of  the  Country 188 

Small  Potatoes 189 

HORTICULTURE. 

Winter  Flowers  in  the  Window 189 

Preserving  Garden  Flowers 189 

HOUSEHOLD    RECIPES. 

Roast  Turkey  Garnished  with  Sausages 189 

Mashed  Turnips 189 

Canned  Corn  Pudding 189 

Cranberry  Sauce 189 

Orange  Snow  and  Snow  Drift  Cake  189 

Oyster  Soup 189 

Boiled  Chicken 189 

Browned  Potatoes  189 

Baked  Sweet  Potatoes 189 

Scalloped  Squash  189 

Baked  Custards.  .■. 189 

Simple  While  Soup  189 

Stewed  Fillet  of  Veil 190 

Spinach 190 

Boiled  Beans 190 

Mashed  Potatoes •. 190 

Queen's  Toast 190 


Brown  Giblet  Soup ^^° 

Minced  Turkey  and  Eggs ^^ 

Stewed  Potatoes '• ^^^ 

Celery ^^'^ 

A  Plain  Rice  Pudding  1^" 

LIVE  STOCK. 

Cotton-Seed  Meal  as  Stock  Feed 190 

Dry  Food  for  Hogs I'-"* 

Lincoln  Sheep 1^" 

Pasturing  and  Soiling  Hogs 1^0 

Growth  of  Colts 190 

Sheep 191 

Cattle  Range  of  Wyoming  191 

Training   Horns 191 

POULTRY. 

Poultry  Nonsense  191 

Poultry  191 

Women  as  Poultry  Raisers 191 

To  Fatten  Fowls  or   Chickens   in  Four  or  Five 

days 19j^ 

Winter  Rations  for  Hens I   9i 

Pekin  Ducks 192 

Literary  and   Personal 192 


We  continno  to 
actassoUcitorsfor 
patents,  caveats, 
trade-marks,  copyrights,  etc., for 
the  United  States,  and  to  obtain  pat- 
ents in  Canada,  Encland,  France, 
Germany,  and  all  other  countries. 

Tliirty-six  yrars' practice.    Nn 

ehargo  for  examination  of  models  or  draw- 
ings.   Advice  by  mail  free. 

Patents  obtained  thronpli  us  are  noticed  m 
the  SCIEXTIPIC  AMERICAN,  whicli  has 
the  largest  circulation,  and  is  the  most  infin- 
ential  iiowspaper  of  its  kind  published  in  the 
world.  The  advantages  of  such  a  notice  every 
patentee  understands. 

Thislargo  and  splendidly  illustrated  news- 
paperiapublisbed  WEEKl.Y  at$3.20ayear 
and  is  atlmitted  to  be  the  best  paper  devoted 
to  sci  enco.  mechanics,  inventions,  ensineering 
works,  and  other  departments  of  industrial 
progress,  published  in  any  coiuitry.  Single 
copies  by  mail,  10  cents.  Sold  by  all  news- 
dealers. " 

Address,  Munn  &  Co.,  publishers  of  Scien- 
tifie  American,  2fil  I'.roadway,  New  York. 
Handbook  about  patents  mailed  free. 


Que 


.eeiiTHESoutl 

FARM  MILLS 

For  SttK-k  Feed  or  Meal  Tor 
Family  use. 
aO,000    liT  .TTSE. 
Write  fiT  FamphlPt. 


Simpson  Si  Ganlt  M'fg  Co. 


Successors  to  Stradb  Mill'Co. 
CINCINNATI,  0. 


nov:3t 


WEBSTER'S 

UNABRIDGED. 

In  Sheep,  Russiaand  Turkey  Bindings. 


foiCTiom/fy/si/ppuMeurA 


"A  LIBRARY  IN  ITSELF." 

^  T^rri  t!i'>  liil -st  iMlii:,,]!    will.   i;.".,000 
OrfiX        Words,  (:s<««,  n.orc  Ihuii  auy 

^^       "th.T  Knifli^li  I>i'-tioniiry.) 

rilTTT'BiojjraphicallUctionai'y  which 
*    "  »   ■  rf      it  (-otituins  Lfivrs  liriettiicl;.  ciin- 

^^  ^^       ^^  r-crniiiK  9700  noted  jier^oris. 

^JipCirWl  in  Illustrations— 3i'(H)  ill  niim- 


Inr,  i;il".iit  ilirO' 


tni;i-H  fl..  n;:(nv 


HOLIDAY 


■  .tli.r  I'ii  I'rv .J 

C!FT= 


Mnst  Hcf-fptablc  to  Pastor,  Parent,  Toacli- 
er.CIiild.  Friend;  l..r  Huli.ii^y.liirtli.liiy,  W.-a- 
ding,  or  auy  other  (Kca.-^ifm. 

It  is  the  best  practical  Kn^lish  Dictionary 

extant. — Lmulitn  (^uarfufu  iiVrnc. 
It  is  an  ever-pr<>Keiit  itiid   reliable  scbool 

master  ti)  the  wliole  family.— .S.  S.  Hernld. 
G.  &  C.  MERRIAM  &  CO..  Pul.'r^Sprincfiel.i,  Mass. 


LAXDHETirS  FIELD  SEEDS. 
T.ANDRETH'S  FLOWER  SEEDS. 

At^ricuItHra]  Iiuplenients  in  great  variety, 

Ilorticu'lural   Tools  in  i^ieAt  variety. 

lii'quisiU's  for  <Tar(len  and  (irecii  House. 

Ked  and  White  Clover,  Alsike  Clover,  Lucerne. 

Blue  Grass,  (yreeii  Grass,  Orclmrd  Grass,  Herds  Grass, 
Perennial  Kye  Grass. 

IMixed  Lawn  Grass  Seed,  very  finest  quality. 

Plat,t  Food  for  h.jusc  Plants. 

Bone  Meal  of  the  purest  quality. 

Peruvian  Guano,  r.<nnd  Plaster. 

Farm  Salt.  Flaxseed  Meal  . 

Carbolic  Soaps,  Paris  Green. 

London  Purple,  Huris  Purple. 

Irsect  Pow  der,  Tobacco  Dust. 
ILT-I'STKATED     CATALOGUKS    FREE.         PRICES 
LOW.     CAKi-FUL  A'lTENTION  GUAKVNTEED. 

Founded    1784.      1500  acres  under  cultivation 
growing  Landreth's  Garden  Seeds. 

D.  LANDRETH  «&  SONS, 
Nos-  21  and  23  South  Sixth  Street, 

Between  Mahket  and  Chestnut  Sts., 

and  s,  av.  f'orser  delaware  aventk.  axd  arch  st., 

oct-6m PHILADKLPHIA. 

Garmore'SEa'^^'S^If.i. 

Am  InTcntod  and  worn  by  him 

pt-rfot'tly  rvvtiirint;  the  hearing,  tit. 
tircly  ilcilfdr  thirty  years,  he  hears  with 
thrni  even  whispeis.  clistinrtlj^.  Are 
not  ob"ervablf,  and  remain  in  poti* 
tion  wiilif'Ut  anl.  De^ripiive  Circular 
Free.  CAL'TION:  Do  rmtbc  deceived 
by  bogus  ear  drums.  Miiic  is  the  only 
successful  artificial  Ear  Uiuta  maau* 
facturcd. 

JOHN    GARMORE, 

Fiiih  &  Race  Sts.,  Cincinnati.  0« 


If. 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


^ENNSTLVANIA  RAIKROAI>  SCHEDITLE. 

Trains  leave  the  Depot  in  thia  city,  as  foUowB : 


WE  ^TWARD. 

Pacific  ExiireBs' , 

Way  PasHengert 

Niagara  Express 

Hanover  Accommodation,. 

Mail  train  via  Mt.  Joy 

No.  2  via  Columbia 

Sunday  Mail 

Fast  Line" 

Frederick  Accommodation. 

Harrisburg  Accom 

Columbia  Accommodation.. 

Harrisburg  Express 

Pittsburg  Express.     

Cincinnati  Express" 

EASTWARD. 

Cincimmti  Express 

Fast  Line» 

Harrisburg  Express 

Columbia  Accommodation.. 

Pacific  Express* 

Sunday  Mail 

Johnstown  Express 

Day  Express* 

Harrisburg  Accom , 


Leave 

Lancaster. 

2:40  a.  m. 

5:(i0a.  m. 
11:00  a.  m. 
11:05  p.  m, 
10:20  a.  m. 
11.25  a.  m. 
10:50  a,  m. 

2;30p.  m. 

2:a5p.  m. 

5:45  p.  m. 

7:20  p.  m. 

7::J0  p.  m. 

S:o0  p.  m. 
11:30  p.  m. 

Lancaster. 
2.55  a.  m. 
5:08  a.  m. 
8:05  a.  m. 
9.10  p.  m. 
:40  p  m. 
2:00  p.  m. 
3:05  p.  m. 
5:35  p  m. 
6:25  p.  m. 


Arrive 

Harrisburg. 

4:05  a.  m. 

7:511  a.  m. 

11:20  a.  m. 

Col.  10:40  a.  m. 

12:40  p.  m. 

12:55  p.  m. 

12:40  p.  m. 

3:25  p.  m. 

Col,  2:45  p.  m. 

7:40  p.  ni. 

Col.  8:20  p.  m. 

8:40  p.  m. 

10:10  p.m. 

12:45  a.  m. 

Philadelphia 

.3:00  a.  m. 

7:40  a,  m. 
10:00  a.  m. 
12;0    p.  m. 

3:40  p.m. 

5:00  p.  m. 

5:30  p.m. 

7:20  p.  m. 

9:30  p.  m. 


The  Hanover  Accommodation,  west,  connects  at  Lancaster 
with  Niagara  Express,  west,  at  9:35  a.  m.,  and  will  run 
through  to  Hanover, 

The  Frederick  Accommodation,  west,  connects  at  Lancas- 
ter with  Fast  Line,  west,  at  2:10  p.  m.,  and  runs  to  Frederick. 

The  Pacific  Express,  east,  on  Sunday,  when  flagged,  will 
stop  at  M'ddletown,  Elizabethtown,  Mount  Joy  and  Landis- 
ville. 

•The  only  trains  which  run  daily. 

tKune  daily,  except  Monday. 


NORBECK  &  MILEY, 


PRACTICAL 


Carriage  Builders, 

cox  &  CO'S  OIB  STA\D, 

Corner  of  Doke  and  Vine  Streets, 

LANCASTER,  PA. 


THE  LATEST  IMPROVED 

SIDE-BAR  BUGGIES, 

PHAETONS, 

Carriages,  Etc, 

THElEESIASSOffliraimClTI, 

Prices  to  Suit  the  Times. 

REPAIRING  promptly  attended  to.     All  work 
guaranteed. 


s. 


oox:. 


Manufacturer  of 


Cirriages,  Buggies,  Phaetons,  etc. 

CHURCH  ST.,  NEAR  DUKE,      LANCASTER,  PA. 

Large  Slock  uf  New  and  Secon-hand  Work  on  hand 
very  cUeap.  Carriages  Uade  to  Order  Work  Warranted 
l»r  one  year.  t7l-9-l« 


EDW.    I.    ZAHM, 


DHALBR   IN 


AMERICAN  AND   FOREIGN 

WATCHES, 

SOLID  SILVER  &  SILVER  PLATED  WARE, 
CLOCKS, 

JEWELRY! TABLE  CUTLERY. 

Sole  Agent  for  the  Arundel  Tinted 

SPECTACLES. 

Repairing  strictly  attended  to. 

Nortli  Queen-st.  and  Centre  Square,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

79-1-12 


AT  I,OWE!iT  POSSIBLE  PRICES, 

Fully  guaranteed. 

No.  106  EAST  KING  STREET, 

79-1-12]  Opposite  I^eopard  Hotel. 


ESTABLISHED  1832 


G.  SENER  &  SONS, 

Manufacturers  and  dealers  in  all  kinds  of  rough  and 
finished 

The  best  Sawed  SHINOIiES  iu  the  country.     Also  Sash, 
Doors.  Blinds,  Mouldings,  &c. 

PATENT  0.  G.  WEATHERBOARDING 

and  PATENT  BLINDS,  which  are  far  superior  to  any 
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OFFICE  AND  YARD  : 

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Embracing  the  history  aud  habits  of 

NOXIOUS  AND  INNOXIOUS 

INSECTS, 

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Bv  S.  S.  RATHVON,  Ph.  D. 

LANCASTER,  PA. 

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LANCASTER,  PA.,  DECEMBER,  1882. 


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Editorial. 


VOLUME  FOURTEEN 
Of  tlie  Laniasteu  Faumeu  is  completed 
by  the  issue  of  tliis  nuinbcr.  We  have  en- 
dured longer  tban  auy  of  the  French  Govern- 
ments since  the  Revolution  of  '93,  althouj^h  we 
may  not  have  made  as  great  a  noise  in  the 
world  as  the  worst  among  them.  We  believe, 
too,  that  our  mission  has  been  and  will  be  of 
as  permanent  benefit  to  mankind  as  the  mis- 
sion of  auy  of  the  heads  of  the  governments 
aforesaid,  or,  perhaps  any  other  merely  nomi- 
nal government.  We  believe  this,  because 
our  lot  has  been  cast  in  the  peaceful  walks  of 
of  life,  and  we  have  not  come  to  destroy,  but 
to  the  end  that  men  may  enjoy  physical  life, 
and  enjoy  it  more  ubundaidb/;  for  we  know 
that  men  cannot  be  spiritually  comfortable  so 
long  as  they  are  not  physically  so.  Want, 
stern  want,  whether  natural  or  morbid,  is 
the  parent  of  many  misdemeanors  and 
crimes  ;  and  we  have  for  fourteen  years  been 
gathering  and  distributing  such  items  of  in- 
formation as  are  calculated,  if  appropriated, 
to  elevate  men  above  the  plane  of  want  and 
crime. 

We  have  no  special  promises  to  make  here 
for  the  future,  nor  any  reproaches  to  offer 
for  the  past.  We  can  give  no  other  guarantee 
of  what  we  may  be  than  that  which  we  liave 
been  :  but  at  the  same  time,  whilst  manifest- 
ing oiu-  tlianks  to  our  old  patrons,  we  would 
admonish  them  to  reflect  whether  each  one  of 
them  ought  not  feel  it  his  duty  to  add  at  least 
one  additional  subscriber  to  the  list  of  the 
Fakmer. 

In  conclusion,  when  this  meets  your  eye, 
you  will  drjublless  be  absorbed  in  thoughts 
pertaining  to  the  approaching  Christmas  holi- 
days. Hence,  we  would  admonish  all  to  ra- 
tionally enjoy  themselves,  but  not  to  forget 
worthy  objects  apart  from  themselves ;  for 
there  are  situations  and  circumstances  under 
which  what  you  freely  yive  is  really  the  only 
thing  you  truly  /iwce  and  never  lose.  lu  this 
spirit  wc  commend  our  patrons  to  the  festal 
customs  of  the  season. 


MYRIAPODA. 

f  Ameffibata.) 

The  specimeus  of  "centipedes"  before  us 
suggest  some  remarks  upon  the  different 
orders  belonging  to  the  class  Myriiipoda,  and 
the  very  marked  distiuclion  in  their  ap- 
pearance, their  economies,  aud  their  charac- 
ters. 

The  term,  Myriapoda,  is  a  compound  of 
two  (Jreek  words,  namely,  murias,  ten  thou- 
sand ;  and  podus,  foot.  Of  course,  no  subject 
of  this  class  has  ten  thousand  feet,  although 
there  are  some  species  that  have  one  or  more 
hundreds.  Formerly  they  were  classed  with 
insects,  but  have  now  been  erected  into  a  dis- 
tinct class,  divided  conspicuously  into  three 
orders.  The  common  names  of  "  centipedes  " 
aud  "millipedes"  have  been  rather  indiscri- 
minately applied  to  them  ;  but  for  the  sake  of 


simplyfyiiig  their  study,  I  would  suggest 
that  these  names  be  applied  to  the  two  most 
prominent  orders  that  distinguish  the  class. 
These  animals  differ  from  insects,  in  that 
they  are  excluded  from  the  egg  with  two, 
tluee,  or  four  pairs  of  feet,  or  come  forth 
without  any  feet  at  all,  and,  as  they  are  de- 
veloped by  age,  the  number  of  segmental 
rings  and  feet  increases,  sometimes  miming 
beyond  hundreds.  Indeed,  it  requires  two 
years,  according  to  authors,  to  complete  their 
development,  so  far  as  to  enable  them  to  con- 
tinue their  species. 

The  Ist  order,  C'lirLoroDA,  which  is  fiom 
two  Greek  words  meaning  lip  and  foot,  because 
the  anterior  pair  of  feet  aiiproximate  to  iiUjji, 
and  perform  the  functions  of  those  organs, 
consists  of  four  families,  namely,  Uermatid(c, 
LUhohiidf.p.,  Scolopendridce,  and  Oeopjhiildai. 
The  subject  before  us  is  Scolopendra  herns, 
and  may  be  regarded  as  the  type  [of  that 
family.  The  term  "centipede,"  I  think, 
should  be  restricted  to  this  order,  not  because 
the  individuals  belonging  to  it  possess  one 
hundred  feet,  any  more  than  millipedes  pos- 
sess a  thousand  feet,  or  one  of  our  city 
squares  contains  one  hundred  houses.  But 
the  distinction  in  their  habits,  their  forms, 
and  in  their  organs  of  locomotion  are  so 
great  that,  in  common  parlance  as  well  as  in 
scientific  nomenclature,  there  is  room  for  a 
different  appellation. 

In  this  order — namely,  centipede— the  head 
aud  the  body  are  depressed  or  flattened,  aud 
there  is  but  one  pair  of  feet  attached  to  each 
segment.  The  Antenna  are  long  and  in 
some  instances  twenty-five  or  thirty  jointed  ; 
the  feet  are  five  jointed,  terminating  in  a 
sharp  bent  spine,  and  their  cursorial  powers 
are  extraordinary,  if  they  choose  to  exercise 
them,  which  they  generally  do  when  exposed 
to  the  light,  and  the  temperature  is  warm. 
When  interrupted,  they  instinctively  hide 
themselves,  seemingly  annoyed  by  light,  aud 
preferring  darkness. 

They  are  carnivorous  in  their  gastro- 
nomijal  habits,  and  I  have  on  several  occa- 
sions observed  them  with  wood-boring  larva 
in  their  possession,  which  they  refused  to  relin- 
quish, even  when  captured  themselves. 
There  is  a  specimen  in  our  collection  (or  was 
in  it),  which  refused  to  release  his  captive 
when  immersed  in  alcohol,  aud  in  its  death 
only  grasped  its  prey  the  closer.  I  do  not 
know  that  they  make  burrows  for  themselves 
in  decayed  wood,  but  I  know  that  they  are 
frequently  found  in  the  burrows  of  wood- 
boring  insects  of  the  smaller  'species,  espe- 
cially those  that  make  excavations  imme- 
diately under  the  bark.  The  larv:c  of  small 
Elatd-idir.  aud  of  Brenthus  I  have  seen  in 
their  jaws.  The  one  that  I  "  bottled  "  had  a 
small  specimen  of  the  larva  of  Passahis  cor- 
nutus  in  his  jaws.  These  animals,  therefore, 
may  be  classed  among  the  beneficial  kinds, 
especially  in  relation  to  forest  trees,  and  the 
destructive  iu.sects  that  bore  into  them. 

But  lest  too   much  credit  may  attach  to 


them  on  account  of  their  antagonism  to  the 
insect  world,  I  must  here  slate  that  I  am  ex- 
perimentally cognizant  of  another  fact  in  re- 
gard to  them,  and  that  is,  that  they  are  really 
|)oi.souous.  They  may  not  be  poisonous  to  all 
persons  aud  under  all  circumstances,  but  on 
one  occasion  they  were  very  poisonous  to  me. 
In  one  of^my  excursions  with  our  late  .Secre- 
tary, Mr.  Stautfer,  to  Maulieim  township,  I 
captured  a  specimen  of  Srolopcndra  about  two 
or  two  and  a  half  niches  in  length,  which  im- 
mediately inflicted  a  wound  on  the  middle 
finger  of  my  left  iiand,  from  which  I  had  some 
dilliculty  in  releasing  it  without  decapitation. 
When  it  withdrew  its  mandibles  two  small 
drops  of  blood  followed.  The  pain  at  first 
was  pungiiut,  but  I  sucked  the  wound  and  en- 
deavored to  forget  it,  but  "  it  would  not 
down."  I  had  nothing  to  apply  but  alcohol. 
This  only  gave  a  momentary  relief.  The 
pain  continued  up  the  finger  to  the  wrist, 
from  thence  to  the  elbow,  and  from  thence 
nearly  to  the  shoulder,  and  continued  half  a 
day.  Crossing  a  small  rivulet,  I  alighted  and 
applied  a  clay  poultice,  which  afforded  relief. 
After  the  first  twenty  minutes  the  paiu  was 
no  longer  acute,  but  a  continuous,  dull,  aching 
sensation,  seemingly  affecting  the  muscles 
and  the  nerves.  After  I  reached  home  I 
applied  ammonia,  and  in  half  an  hour  I  felt 
little  paiu,  but  the  hand  was  somewhat  be- 
nmnbed,  and  the  following  morning  this  feel- 
iug  was  also  removed,  but  a  hard  tubercle  re- 
mained for  a  fortnight.  I  have  often  reflected 
that  if  a  small,  scarcely  more  thau  two-inch 
centipede  can  inflict  so  much  paiu,  what 
might  be  expected  from  one  that  measures 
ten  or  fifteen  incles,  under  similar  circum- 
stances. 

The  second  order  includes  the  DirLorODA, 
and  means  twofold  in  allusion  to  the  double 
pair  of  feet  on  each  of  the  segmental  divisions 
of  the  body,  and  these  animals  may  be  em- 
braced under  the  common  name  of  "Mille- 
pedes," some  species  of  which  have  over  two 
hundred  feet,  although  none  that  have  a 
thousand.  This  order  includes  the  single 
family  Julid^,  composed  of  the  genera  S2)ir- 
oholus  and  Julus.  Hpirobolus  manjinatus  oc- 
curs in  Lancaster  county,  and  is  our  largest 
species,  measuring  from  two  to  three  inches  in 
length.  I,  on  several  occasions,  detected  this 
species  feeding  on  a  fungus  belonging  to  the 
genus  Aijaricus,  and  from  the  fact  that  smaller 
species  feed  upon  turnips,  radishes,  cabbages, 
strawberries,  potatoes,  and  other  vegetables 
aud  fruits,  we  may  infer  th  it  they  all  prey 
upon  vegetation.  The  bodies  of  these  are 
tubular  or  cylindrical,  the  antenna  short  and 
bent,  the  feet  .short,  and  two  pairs  attached 
to  each  segment  immediately  iu  the  centre  of 
the  body  beneath.  Their  locomotion  is  very 
slow,  and  when  disturbed  they  make  no  at- 
tempt to  escape,  but  merely  coil  themselves 
up  spirally'  and  turn  over  on  their  sides. 
Their  pedal  members,  their  locomotion,  their 
"astronomical  habits,  and  the  conformation  of 
their    bodies,  are  entirely  distinct  from  the 


178 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[DecRmber, 


other,  altliou^h  they  and  the  centipides  form 
one  class,  and  are  simihir  inorganic  stnicture 
and  development.  Between  the  Chilopods 
and  the  Diplopods,  however,  according  to 
80mesystemati»ts,is  a  sub-order  named  Chil- 
OGNATiiA,  a  name  derived  from  the  Greek 
words  signifying;  lip  and  jaic.  This  order  is 
composed  of  the  families  Lysioptalid  J.  and 
the  POLYDESMID.E.  They  have  the  flattened 
bodies  of  the  Chilopodo,  but  the  antennal 
and  pedal  arrangements  of  the  Diplopoda. 
Their  locomotion  is  more  rapid  than  the 
latter,  but  not  nearly  so  rapid  as  the  former. 
The  raember.s  of  this  sul)-order  are  presumably 
also  vegetarians,  and  at  least  one  species  of 
the  genus  Pohjdcsmus  is  known  to  have  been 
exceedingly  destructive  to  the  young  tobacco 
plnnts,  in  the  bed,  early  in  the  spring.  They 
have  also  been  detected  preying  on  other  spe- 
cies of  vegetation,  and  especially  on  small 
fruits,  when  near,  or  in  contact  with  the 
earth.  Their  bodies  are  shorter  and  propor- 
tionately broader  than  either  of  the  two  or 
ders,  to  which  they  are  mutually  i  elated,  and 
their  legs  are  articulated  at  the  sides.  Of 
course,  in  the  present  advanced  state  of  sci- 
ence, there  are  many  minor  divisions,  not 
essential  to  tlie  objects  of  this  brief  paper. 

Belonging  to  the  first  family  of  the  first 
order — namely,  Cematid.^,  is  a  species 
that  is  very  abundant  in  the  city  of  Lancaster, 
hut  I  have  no  recollection  of  ever  having  ob- 
served it  in  any  other  locality  in  the  county. 
This  is  Cenuntia  forcepx,  or  a  species  very 
nearly  related  to  it,  and  is  the  typical  genus 
of  the  family  to  which  it  belongs.  This  ani- 
mal is  endowed  with  the  most  remarkable 
cursorial  powers,  and  unlike  most  of  the 
chilopods,  its  locale  is  not  merely  or  mainly 
in  moist  places,  nor  yet  only  in  dark  places. 
I  have  observed  it  not  only  at  nearly  all  hours 
of  the  day,  but  also  at  nearly  all  hours  of  the 
night,  and  under  a  brilliant  gas  light  as  well 
as  in  dark  corners.  Intensely  shy  as  it  is,  it 
frequently  emerges  from  a  cover  of  pamphlets 
and  papers  on  ray  desk,  and  occupies  a  prom- 
inent position  within  twelve  or  fifteen  inches 
of  the  hand  with  which  Lam  writing,  manipu- 
lating its  long  filliforra  antennae,  seemingly 
canvassing  the  area  around  it,  in  .search  of 
prey,  or  guarding  against  possible  danger. 
The  body  of  this  animal,  in  proportion  to 
otlier  subjects  of  the  order,  may  be  called 
sliort,  and  the  feet  and  the  antennfe  very 
long  and  slender.  I  do  not  think  that  I  have 
noticed  one  more  than  two  inches  in  length, 
and  yet  with  the  anterior  and  posterior  feet 
extended,  some  individuals  seem  to  be  three 
or  four  inches  in  length.  When  quite  young 
and  small  they  are  nearly  colorless,  but  tlie 
adults  are  dorsally  tinged  with  blue  or  green, 
and  whitish  beneath,  the  feet  and  antenn;e 
being  also  whitish. 

When  Mr.  James  Thackara  was  express 
agent,  he  witnessed  a  deadly  conflict  between 
a  large  specimen  of  Cermntia  and  a  Blnlt/i,  or 
cockroach,  which  ended  in  the  death  of  the 
latter.  Indeed,  the  former  appeared  to  be  re- 
connoitering  and  deftly  approaching  the  lat- 
ter, whilst  the  roach  made  no  attempt  at 
odensc  or  defence,  being  solely  occupied  in 
avoiding  a  rear  or  lateral  attack.  The  roach 
raised  itself  up  on  its  feet  as  high  as  it  possi- 
bly could,  its  body  turning  around  as  if  on  a 
pivot,  with  its  head  towards  its  enemy.     Fin 


ally,  in  an  unguarded  moment,  Ccrmatia 
sprang  upon  it,  and  in  another  moment  the 
roach  was  on  his  back,  with  no  signs  of  life, 
save  in  his  trembling  limbs.  Then,  at  Mr. 
Thackara's  approach,  cermutia  fled. 

As  a  general  rule,  articulated  animals  pos- 
sessing swift  running  powers,  are  predaceous 
in  their  habits,  and  carnivorous  in  their  appe- 
tites. It  is  true,  some  carnivorous  insects  are 
slow  in  their  locomotion,  and  lie  in  wait  for 
their  prey— like  the  Maxtid.e  and  Eeduvi- 
IDJE— but  these  are  generally  provided  with  a 
largely  developed  pair  of  anterior  feet,  and 
are  raptorial  in  their  habits  ;  but  as  a  general 
thing,  swiftness  is  not  meaningless,  hut  is  to 
aid  the  possessor  of  it  in  capturing  its  prey. 

On  the  other  hand,  all,  or  nearly  all,  slow 
moving  insects  are  noxious,  and  feed  on  plant 
food,  or  bore  into  Uving  or  decaying  wood  ; 
and  this  is  especially  the  case  with  those  that 
are  mandibulated,  that  is,  possessing  jaws. 
Some  of  the  haustellated  species — those  that 
pierce  vegetation,  and  suck  out  its  sap — are 
very  nimble  and  quick  in  flight,  but  the 
larger  number  of  even  these  are  merely  a 
sort  of  "dodgers,"  and  do  not  rely  on  their 
running  .speed.  Slugs,  grubs,  caterpillars, 
maggots,  mites,  worms,  etc.,  etc..  are  slow  in 
their  locomotion,  and  do  not  seem  to  depend 
upon  it  to  secure  their  escape  from  danger. 
Some  of  them,  seemingly  conscious  of  an 
unfriendly  presence,  will  relax  their  hold,  fall 
to  the  earth  and  hide  therein  ;  but  the  larger 
number  manifest  no  consciousness  of  present 
danger,  and  hence  allow  themselves  to  be  de- 
stroyed with  impunity.  No  animals,  how- 
ever, are  more  conspicuous  for  this  charac- 
teristic trait  than  the  viillepedcs.  Occasion- 
ally we  may  find  a  caterpillar,  or  an  army  of 
them,  moving  with  about  as  much  haste  a.^ 
such  animals  are  capable  of  making,  but  it  is 
not  because  they  are  afraid  of  any  person  or 
thing,  but  because  they  may  be  in  search  of 
food  or  a  proper  place  to  undergo^their  meta- 
morphoses. 

As  a  general  rule  tlie  order  Orthoptera  may 
be  excluded  from  this  rule,  and  yet  there  at 
least  is  one  family  in  that  order  that  is  strictly 
predaceous,  but  it  does  not  depend  upon  its 
cursorial  powers,  but  on  its  raptorial  powers 
in  securing  its  prey.  The  genus  Blattn,  or 
cockroaches,  are  swift  runners,  but  they  are 
not  strictly  vegeterian  in  their  feeding  habits. 
Crickets,  gras.shoppers,  and  locusts,  can  get 
out  of  the  way  quick  enough  to  rank  with 
predaceous  insects,  but  they  depend  more 
upon  their  saltatoiial  than  their  cursorial 
powers.  If  they  were  predaceous  in  their 
habits  their  leaping  powers  would  be  of  no 
assistance  in  capturing  prey,  for  their  leaps 
are  most  heedless,  and  they  never  seem  to 
know  where  they  are  going  to  alight  ;  it  may 
be  against  a  fence  or  wall,  in  a  hole,  a  pond  fif 
water,  or  in  a  fire.  The  Ciciudelans  and  Car- 
abidans,  among  the  coleoptera,  are  all  preda- 
ceous and  all  swift  runners,  in  that  respect, 
possessing  the  characteristics  of  the  Centi- 
pedes. 

Crickets,  however,  are  not  purely  vegeta- 
rian ;  they  have  also  carnivorous  habits. 
Some  years  ago,  during  a  few  veiy  warm  days 
in  the  month  of  November,  T  found  on  the 
lacerated  carcass  of  a  calf  that  appeared  to 
have  been  recently  killed,  about  one  hundred 
field  crickets,  in  company  with  a  large  num- 


ber of  Necrophore  feeding  greedily  on  the  flesh 
of  the  calf.  So  stupidly  voracious  were  they  that 
they  made  no  attempt  to  escape,  but  allowed 
themselves  to  be  captured  with  seeming  indif- 
ference. This  characteristic  in  noxious  in- 
sests  is  very  fortunate  to  us,  but  not  to  them. 


THE  TARIFF  AND  FREE  TRADE.     _ 

It  would  be  a  great  pity  if  the  parly  that  I 
has  seemingly  been  .so  largely  triumphant 
throughout  the  country  in  the  late  elections 
should  so  far  misinterpret  its  mission  as  to 
unduly  and  mistakenly  tamper  with  the  tariff 
laws  when  it  comes  into  power.  It  is  true, 
there  may  be  occasion  for  a  partial  revision 
of  these  laws,  and  the  very  fact  that  a  con- 
gre.ssional  commission  had  been  previously 
appointed  to  elicit  testimony  on  the  subject 
seems  to  imply  that  there  is  room  for  such 
revision,  but  the  result  of  the  ballot  box  is 
by  no  means  an  intelligent  expression  of  the 
popular  sentiment,  so  far  as  to  commit  the 
country  against  either  unqualified  protection 
or  free  trade;  for  the  masses  of  the  people  in 
no  section  of  the  country  have  a  clear  and 
practical  understanding  of  the  questions  in- 
volved. We  have  only  to  follow  up  the  com- 
mission in  its  various  sittings  at  various 
points,  and  the  nature  of  the  testimony 
brought  before  it,  to  learn  that  the  manufac- 
turing and  producing  interest  of  the  entire 
country  are  larely  biased  by  sentiments  of 
self.  That  is,  each  particular  interest  would 
have  such  an  adjustment  of  the  tarift'  laws  as 
would  inure  to  its  own  pecuniary  benefit 
without  any  particular  regard  to  the  benefit 
of  others.  It  is  a  question  upon  which,  as  yet, 
there  cannot  possibly  be  either  a  national  or  a 
party  issue;  and  laws,  whether  friendly  or  un- 
friendly, must  necessarily  benefit  or  injure  both 
political  parties.  An  amicable  adjustment  can 
only  be  effected  through  mutual  concessions 
at  the  present  period,  and  it  may  take  years 
yet  before  the  country  will  be  ripe  for  a  radi- 
cal change.  We  are  not  yet  "out  of  the 
woods,"  contingent  upon  our  late  war  and 
our  great  national  debt,  and  the  affiiirs  of  the 
country  still  require  judicious  management; 
there  is  no  necessity  in  destroying  or  abolish- 
ing our  revenue  system,  although  it  may  need 
to  be  puiilied  or  purged. 

Tbe  following  from  the  columns  of  the 
Thoroughbred  Stock  Journal,  of  Philadelphia, 
Pa.,  may  be  added  in  further  illustration  of 
this  interesting  subject  : 

"There  is  no  political  enigma  as  puzzling 
to  the  brain  of  the  average  politician  as  that 
of  the  proper  distribution  of  tariff  and  free 
trade,  for  unless  these  national  economies  can 
be  so  adjusted  as  to  fit  the  necessities  of  the 
different  .sections  of  the  country,  they  fail  in 
tlieir  purpose,  and  the  statesman  who  allows 
himself  to  remain  in  the  old  ruts  of  a  worn- 
out  policy  will  find  himself  so  snugly  en- 
sconced in  his  selected  groove,  that  even  hia 
best  friends  cannot  extricate  him.  The  tariff 
question  of  to-day  is  not  that  of  a  decade  or  a 
(juarter  of  a  century  ago  ;  economical  posi- 
tions have  changed.  The  South,  whose  slogan 
in  ante  hcUum  days  was  free  trade,  has  re- 
versed her  economies.  She  is  to-day  in  her 
infancy,  perhaps,  but  on  the  way  to  a  full 
maturity  of  manufacturing  development. 
This  of  course  means  the  presentation  of  her 
claim  for  protection,  and  a  falling  into  line 


1882,] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


179 


with  siinihir  iiitcrc^sls  of  llie  XdiIIi  and  E;ist 
— lier  fiTiiuT  coinpctitoi-s  in  political  ethics, 
her  prestMit  rivals  in  economical  practice. 

"  The  South,  i.  e.  the  New  South,  will  soon 
be  clamorous  for  a  protective  tariff  as  of  yore 
she  was  belliiierently  clamorous  for  free  trade, 
and  knowing  the  South  as  well  as  we  do,  we 
can  safely  venture  the  opinion  that  she  will 
occupy  no  middle  ground  :  that  she  will  not 
accejit  any  sophism,  or  be  cajoled  by  the 
sopliislryof  a  "Revenue  Tariff,"  or  a  "Tariff 
for  Revenue,"  so  called,  because  they  will 
accept  as  readily  as  do  the  great  manufactu- 
rers of  the  Middle  and  Xew  England  States 
the  theory  of  proper  protection,  knowing  that 
a  failure  to  dc  so  places  them  iu  a  subordi- 
nate position  to  foreign  mamifacturing  inter- 
ests, no  matter  how  valual)le  her  natural 
resources  may  give  her  advantages  not  pos- 
sessed liv  the  North  and  East;  and  she  well 
knows  that  what  will  place  in  jeopardy  the 
interests  of  her  neighbors,  will  assail  with  as 
much  force  the  interests  involved  in  the  looms 
and  spindles  of  Georgia,  and  other  manufac- 
uring  centres  of  the  Southern  States. 

"It  were  well,  indeed,  that  the  political 
economist  study  these  facts,  and  remember 
in  connection  that  issues  and  occasions  present 
themselves  from  time  to  time  iu  tlie  national 
economy  tliat  puzzle  the  most  astute  econo- 
mist, and  of  all  the  questions,  none  require 
the  attention  of  wise,  profound,  and  skillful 
consideration  more  than  the  complex  theories 
of  tariff  and  free  trade.  Which  of  these  is  the 
more  important  factor  iu  the  economical  ad- 
ministration of  the  government  is  a  mooted 
question ;  but  that  one  must  yield  to  the 
other  is  as  irrepressible  a  fact  as  was  the  same 
theory  of  irrepressiori  presented  by  Mr.  Seward 
on  one  of  the  most  vital  questions  ever  pre- 
sented to  the  thought  and  action  of  the 
countr}'. 

"Tiiere  can  be  no  compromise — ever  an  evi- 
dence of  weakness— but  one  or  the  other  of 
tliese  issues  must  submit  to  the  power  of  the 
other;  which  will  yield,  it  is  not  in  the  jirov- 
ince  of  tliis  article  to  determine.  We  cast 
the  thought  upon  the  waters  of  public  opinion, 
and  will  be  pleased  to  answer  any  and  all 'Cor- 
respondents who  may  desire  our  views  as 
journalists,  not  as  partisans." 


THE  TURKEY. 

(ifetfagris  gallo-pavo. — Linn. » 

"  Man,  cursed  man,  on  turkeys  preys, 
And  Christmas  shortens  all  our  days. 
Sometimes  with  oysters  we  combine; 
Sometimes  assist  the  sav'ry  chine, 
From  the  low  peasant  tu  the  lord. 
The  tnrky  smokes  on  ev'ry  board." 

At  one  time  it  was  thought,  in  England  at 
lea.st,  that  the  turkey  had  its  origin  iu  the 
country  called  Turkey— the  land  of  the  Turks 
— but  this  was  a  grave  mistake,  the  nnturnl- 
iftx  of  England  knew  better.  In  a  "Perfect 
description  of  Virginia,"  written  two  hun- 
dred and  forty  years  ago,  it  is  recorded  tliat 
the  colonists  had  "  wilde  turkies"  weighing 
sixty  pounds,"  and  Ray  refers  to  America  as 
the  origin  of  the  siwcies  from  which  we  derive 
our  domestic  bird.  It  is  easy  enough  to  per- 
ceive how  the  name  Turkey  should  have  been 
applied  to  the  land  of  the  Turks  by  "outside 
barbarians,"  but  it  is  not  so  easy  to  perceive 


why,  or  how,  it  was  first  applied  to  an  Ameri- 
can fowl. 

The  Melewjris  of  the  ancients  was  not  a 
turkey  at  all:  it  was  a  "  Guinea  fowl."  Lin- 
nteus,  however,  has  given  tliis  as  the  generic 
name  of  our  turkey,  a  bird  which  was  alto- 
getlier  unknown  (o  the  ancients, and  ornitholo- 
gists have  continued  it  down  to  the  present 
time.  Kut  this  is  now  of  little  consequence  ; 
for  it  has  been  proven,  and  is  generally  con- 
ceded, that  the  Europeans  only  became  ac- 
quainted with  this  l)ir(l  after  the  discovery  of 
America,  and  from  vvhich  it  has  been  spread, 
in  a  domesticated  state,  over  the  greater  part 
of  the  civilized  world.  The  wild  turkey  at  one 
period  had  a  much  wilier  geographical  range 
than  it  has  now,  extending  from  the  north- 
western states  down  to  the  Isthnuis  of  Darien, 
but  civilization,  public  iniproveintiiils,  and 
general  progress  are  fast  circumscribing  that 
range,  and  probably  the  present  rising  genera- 
tion may  see  its  entire  extinction  as  a  wild 
bird.  ^loreover,  they  do  not  seem  to  increase 
as  rapidly  in  a  wild  state  as  they  do  in  a  do- 
mestic state.  The  adult  males  are  very  hostile 
toward  the  young,  and  kill  them  whenever 
they  can  get  an  opportunity,  and  that  opjior- 
tnnity  is  more  frequent  in  a  wild  state  than 
it  is  inuler  hinnan  intervention  iu  a  domestic 
state. 

In  the  wild  bird  there  is  a  general  uniform- 
ity of  coloration,  but  in  the  domestic  bird, 
there  is  great  variation,  from  pure  white  to 
almost  pure  black,  including  almost  as  many 
varieties  as  there  are  in  the  genus  GaUus, 
which  includes  our  common  "chickens." 
Attempts  have  been  made  to  demonstrate 
that  there  are  two  distinct  species  among  the 
wild  birds,  but  it  never  has  had  a  universal 
following.  It  is  supposed  the  Mexican  and 
farther  southern  bird  is  specitically  different 
from  that  which  inhabits  the  United  States. 
It  had  also  been  alleged  that  the  tailfeathers 
of  the  Mexican  bird  were  not  tipped  with 
white,  or  whitish,  presenting  the  lisht-colored 
margin  when  the  tail  is  expanded  ;  but  that 
distinction  can  certainly  mean  nothing.  In 
one  of  our  country  strolls  al)out  the  first  of 
October,  we  came  upon  a  family  of  turkeys 
containing  an  adult  "gobbler,"  two  adult 
hens,  and  nine  "  adolescents"  almost  as  large 
as  the  hens  aforesaid.  Among  these  were  two 
that  lacked  the  white  ti))s  of  the  tailfeathers  ; 
three  were  entirely  white  ;  one  was  buff,  aud 
the  remaining  three  dark  colored  with  the 
white  tips  very  conspicuous.  The  adult  gob- 
bler was  dark — almost  black — and  bronzed, 
and  the  females  were  brownish.  These 
were  probably  the  proizeny  of  the  two  hens, 
or  may  have  l)een  a  single  family,  and  we 
have  only  introduced  tha  phenomena  here  to 
illustrate  the  tendencies  in  the  bird  to  vary 
from  the  wild  type,  in  its  plumage. 

Of  course,  these  different  varieties  have 
their  different  designations,  but  still  they  all 
belong  1o  the  Linnajan  genus  Ilelcuyiis — 
"White  Holland,"  "Bronze,"  "Buff," 
"  Brown,"  "  Mottled,"  "  Grey,"  etc.,  etc. 

The  "Honduras  Turkey"  (Mdefif/ris  orr.l- 
/(1(a)  is  nearly  the  size  of  the  common  turkey, 
and  is  stijiposed — as  the  name  implies— to  be 
a  distinct  species.  The  distinction  is  based 
upon  the  less  developed  tail,  and  the  fact  that 
the  bird  has  never  been  known  to  spread  it. 
The  "Brush  Turkey"  is  an  Australian  spe- 


cies. It  is  the  Talegalla  Inthrtmi  of  Gould, 
and  inhabits  various  districts  in  New  South 
Wales,  where  it  is  found  in  large  flocks.  It  is, 
however,  not  a  true  Mckw/ris,  and  hence  was 
not  derived  from  our  aboriginal  stock.  Asbe- 
forestated,  the  "  I'intado  "  or  Guinea  Fowl, 
was  the  Mchayris  of  the  ancients,  but  is  now 
referred  to  the  genus  Niimida,  Mdcaf/ris  he'in^ 
retained  as  a  specific  name.  Both  the  turkey 
and  the  guinea-fowl  are  related  to  the  "  Pea- 
cock," and  this  is  reci>griized  not  only  in  phy- 
sical characteristics,  but  also  in  nomenclature. 
The  naked  heads,  the  horizontal  neck.s,  and 
the  convexed  backs  of  the  turkey  and  the 
guinea-fowl  show  a  relation.  The  character- 
istic strut,  and  the  erection  and  expansion  of 
the  tail  .show  a  relation  between  the  turkey 
and  the  peacock.  But  the  relation  is  still 
more  conspicuous  in  their  names.  The  generic 
and  specific  Melcatjris  of  the  turkey  and  the 
guinea-fowl  is  a  recognition  of  their  aninitie.s. 
The  Peacock  is  t  clinically  Pnro  cristattis — 
the  crested  pavo—nnd  the  turkey  is  specifi- 
cally (j'dlo  pavn,  which  is  about  equivalent  to 
"chicken-peacock,"  a  name  that  not  only 
implies  that  the  turkey  and  the  peacock  are 
related,  but  also  that  both  are  related  to  Gal- 
h(K,  or  the  common  fowl.  Systematically  con- 
sidered, they  all  biilong  to  the  Pha.siaxid^, 
or  pheasant  family. 

Perhaps  no  other  bird  in  the  civilized  world 
lias  attained  to  a  greater  popularity  as  a  "table 
bird, "  than  thet'urkey,and  none  suffer  agreater 
victimization  about  Thanksgiving  and  Christ- 
mas festivals;  and  the  abrogation  of  these 
birds  on  those  occasions  would  almost  be  an 
abrogation  of  those  festivals  them.selves.  If 
the  poor  man  can  only  afford  to  partake  of 
turkey  once  or  twice  in  a  whole  year,  it  will 
he  on  one  or  both  of  those  festivals,  in  nine 
cases  out  of  every  ten.  The  turkey  has, there- 
fore, a  most  fearful  gauntlet  to  run  in  its  mis- 
sion through  civilization. 

To  visit  the  poultry  markets  of  any  of  oi«r 
great  cities  during  the  week  preceding  either 
of  the  festivals  named,  a  most  formidable 
scene  would  be  revealed,  and  the  novice  not 
only  would  be  wrapped  in  wonder  as  to  where 
all  these  fowls  come  from,  but  also  as  to 
where  they  all  go  to.  True,  there  are  also 
duck.s,  jfeese,  and  the  common  fowl  in  goodly 
numbers,  but  none  of  them  garnish  the  festive 
board  to  the  extent  the  turkey  does  on  those 
annual  occasions,  and  the  paraphrastic  bard 
may  well  have  written  : 

"  Who  would  be  a  turkey  hen, 
Fed  aud  fattened  in  a  pen, 
Killed  and  eat  by  hungry  men, 
ITpou  a  Christmas-day." 


KITCHEN  GARDEN     FOR    DECEMBER. 

The  care  of  hot-beds,  etc.,  is  nearly  all  that 
demands  attention  ;  true,  other  things  may 
be  done,  hut  quite  tiswell  at  a  future  day,  un- 
less the  season  is  over.  The  annexed  hints 
may,  however,  prove  useful  :  Compost  pre- 
pare ;  dung  prepare  for  hot-beds  ;  hot-beds  at- 
tend to  ;  radishes  and  salad  .sow  in  frames  ; 
trench  and  drain  vacant  ground  ;  transplant- 
ing trees  may  still  be  done.— />aiif?rc(/i's  Rural 
RcqixUr. 

As  long  as  we  can  recollect  anything  about 
garden  seeds,  except  those  raised,  gathered, 
sewed  up  in  little  bags,  and  stowed  away  for 
futm'e  use  by  our  mother,  the  name  of  Lan- 
dreth  has  been  associated  in  our  memory  with 
this  business.     About  sixty  years  ago  a  party 


180 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[Decenber, 


visiting  Philadelpliia  (ou  foot)  brought  home 
some  seeds  called  by  them  "Chocolate 
corn,"  or  "Chinese  Chocolate"  used  as  a 
substitute  for  coffee,  and  we  have  a  faint  im- 
pression that  these  seeds  were  obtained  from 
Landreth.  Tlie  country  had  not  yet  recover- 
ed from  the  great  linancial  crisis  of  1817,  and 
coffee  was  so  dear  that  most  people  were  com- 
pelled to  use  "  browned  rye"  instead  of  coffee. 
Our  mother  obtained  some  of  these  seeds  and 
cultivated  the  corn  to  fruition.  It  grew  some, 
thing  like  "  broom  corn,"  but  the  head  was 
compact  and  .so  heavy  that  it  bent  over  and 
hung  with  the  apex  downward.  When  fully 
ripe  the  seeds  were  large,  and  had  a  purple 
color,  and  the  leaves  and  stalk  were  streaked 
with  purple.  It  was  roasted  the  same  as 
coffee,  and  to  our  juvenile  taste  it  was  as 
good,  and  tasted  like  chocolate— at  any  rate, 
far  superior  to  rye  coffee.  After  coffee 
"  came  down"  in  price,  chocolate  corn  "went 
under."  For  fifty  years  we  heard  nothing 
more  of  it,  but  within  the  last  five  years  we 
saw  several  varieties  of  it  sent  in  from  Cali- 
fornia, one  of  which  strongly  resembled  it.  It 
belongs  to  the  Sorghum  family. 

When  the  Landreth  seed  farm  was  first  es- 
tablished, there  were  "  only  thirteen  sparsely 
populated  States"  in  the  Union  (that  was 
about  17S9— 03  years  ago).  An  establishment 
which  has  sustained  itself  so  long  with  con- 
stantly increasing  facilities  and  reputation, 
must  surely  be  worthy  the  patronage  of  the 
country;  and  we  can  freely  allow  them  the  priv- 
ilege of  "blowing  their  own  trumpet,  "without 
subjecting  them  to  the  charge  of  egotism,  or 
self-laudation. 


EXCERPTS. 

Health  Hints. — Try  popcorn  for  nausea. 

Try  cranberries  for  malaria. 

Try  a  sun-bath  for  rheumatism. 

Try  ginger  ale  for  stomach  cramps. 

Try  clam  broth  for  a  weak  stomach. 

Try  cranberry  poultice  for  erysipelas. 

Try  eating  fresh  radishes  and  yellow  turnips 
for  gravel. 

Try  swallowing  saliva  when  troubled  with 
sour  stomach. 

Try  a  wet  towel  to  the  back  of  the  neck 
when  sleepless. 

Try  buttermilk  for  removal  of  freckles,  tan 
and  butternut  stains. 

Try  eating  onions  and  horseradish  to  re- 
lieve dropsical  swellings. 

Try  to  cultivate  an  equable  temper  and 
don't  borrow  trouble  ahead. 

Try  taking  your  codliver  oil  iu  tomato 
catsup,  if  you  want  to  make  it  palatable. 

Try  breathing  the  fumes  of  turpentine  or 
carbolic  acid  to  relieve  whooping  cough. 

Try  taking  a  nap  iu  the  afternoon  if  you 
are  going  to  be  out  late  in  the  evening. 

Try  a  cloth  wrung  out  from  cold  water  put 
about  the  neck  at  night  for  sore  throat. — Dr. 
look. 

Daniel  Murphy,  tiie  noted  pioneer  who 
went  to  California  in  1844,  died  recently 
at  San  Jose.  He  was  the  owner  of  immense 
herds  of  cattle  and  thousands  of  acres  of  land. 
He  owned  200,1  00  acres  in  Nevada,  some 
6,000,000  acres  in  Mexico  and  large  tracts  of 
land  in  Arizona. 

Much  of  the  sugar  sold  in  English  markets 


is  from  the  beet.  It  is  not  an  uncommon 
event  in  Europe  to  gain  a  yield  of  twelve 
tons  of  beets  from  an  acre  of  ground,  and 
from  twelve  tons  of  beets  about  one  and  a 
fifth  tons  of  sugar  is  extracted. 

The  French  Minister  of  Agriculture  has 
placed  aj:  M.  Pasteur's  disposal  a  further  sum 
of  $10,000  to  enable  him  to  continue  his 
investigations  into  the  nature,  cause,  and  pre- 
vention of  contagious  diseases  among  animals. 

In  England  and  Scotland  where  there 
are  many  steam  ploughs  at  work,  the  most 
popular  sorts  are  those  drawn  by  stationary 
engines  at  each  side  of  the  field. 

Extensive  lumber  fires  are  becoming 
alarmingly  numerous  of  late,  aud  a  large 
amount  of  lumber  has  been  destroyed  in  this 
manner. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  California  fruit  and 
vegetable  pack  this  year  will  amount  to  about 
20  per  cent,  more  than  that  of  1881. 

Pbof.  Beal  says  that  all  our  species  of 
bats  are  not  only  harmless,  but  positively 
useful,  as  they  are  great  insect  destroyers. 

SiiEEP-GROWEES  of  Los  Angcles  county, 
Cal.,  report  heavy  losses  from  a  poisonous 
weed  on  which  the  sheep  fed. 

The  quality  of  the  corn  crop  throughout 
the  South  is  superior,  and  most  of  the  South- 
ern States  report  large  yields. 

A  Missouri  sheep-grower,  after  some  years 
of  experience,  advises  breeding  from  polled 
rams. 

During  the  past  year  agricultural  imple- 
ments to  the  amount  of  .f68,C00,000  have 
been  made  in  this  country. 

We  are  informed  by  old  farmers,  and  they 
are  not  far  from  correct,  that  next  year's 
wheat  crop  will  be  more  than  double  that  of 
any  previous  year  in  Umatilla  county.  The 
increase  of  acreage  is  astonishing,  and  the 
amount  of  land  that  was  summer-fallowed  is 
immense. — Pendleton,  Oregon,  Tribune. 

The  oxygen  of  the  air  aids  and  facilitates 
the  germination  of  seeds,  and  seeds  buried  so 
deeply  in  the  ground  as  to  be  out  of  reach  of 
the  atmospheric  air  will  exhibit  no  signs  of 
life. 

Animals  when  first  confined,  and  supplied 
with  fattening  food,  always  increase  largely  in 
weight  during  the  first  few  weeks,  after 
which  the  rate  of  increase  diminishes  to  a 
considerable  extent. 

Texas  has  five  million  head  of  horned  cat- 
tle aud  a  superabundance  of  mast  and  corn, 
aud  thousands  thoroughly  educated  men  and 
women,  yet  she  imports  butter,  lard  and 
school  teachers  from  Kansas  City. 

D.  Briggs,  of  Davisville,  Tolo  Co.,  Cal., 
has  a  plantation  of  460  acres  of  graperies 
from  four  to  eight  years,  on  which  he  has 
raised  forty-six  car  loads  of  raisins,  most  of 
which  were  sent  East. 

If  those  farmers  whose  farms  are  soils  un- 
derlaid with  clay  would  sell  one-half  of  their 
land  and  put  the  proceeds  into  the  judicious 
tile  drainage  of  the  rest,  they  would  make 
more  money  from  the  one-half  of  the  farm 
under  improvement  than  they  now  do  from 
the  whole  area. 

Jute  Seed.— The  Florida  Tones  says  that 
about  a  year  ago  Mr.  Hamilton  Disston  sent 


to  India  for  a  supply  of  jute  seed,  but  the 
difficulties  attending  the  export  of  seed  pre- 
vented the  obtaining  of  a  larger  quantity  I 
than  1,200  pounds.  This  amount  of  seed  was 
distribulinl  throughout  the  State  by  Mr.  Dis- 
ston, with  the  offer  of  liberal  premiums  for 
the  best  exhibit  of  prepared  jute.  The  com- 
petition under  the  terms  of  this  offer  will 
shortly  take  place  at  Jacksonville,  and  the 
Times  says  that  the  planters  of  the  seed 
promise  some  choice  samples,  that  will  no 
doubt  attract  sutticient  attention  to  this  in- 
dustry to  warrant  the  business  being  taken 
hold  of  by  capitalists  on  a  large  scale. 

A  Queer  Industry.— One  of  the  queer  in- 
dustries of  New  York,  says  the  United  States 
culler,  is  gathering  the  stale  bread  from  large 
hotels  aud  restaurants,  and  grinding  it  up 
into  food  for  poultry  and  pigs.  The  Astor 
House  sells  its  stale  bread  for  .$800  annually. 
The  contractor  has  SI  00. 000  invested  iu  the 
business,  and  keeps  nine  teams  at  work.  We 
are  not  posted  on  the  system  of  reduction  em- 
ployed, whether  stones  or  rolls.  Certainly  a 
purifier  would  be  essential. 

Our  Varied  Industries.— According  to 
the  census  report  there  were  iu  the  United 
States,  in  1880,  2,686  wool  establishments, 
employing  161,489  hands,  and  bringing  out 
annually  products  to  the  value  of  $267, 182,914; 
1,005  cotton  establishments,  employing  185,- 
472  hands,  aud  turning  out  products  of  the 
value  of  $210,950,383 ;  1,005  iron  and  steel 
establishments,  employing  140,978  hands,  and 
turning  out  products  of  the  value  of  $296,- 
557,6H5. 

The  honey  market  is  assuming  greater  im- 
portance every  year.  Now  that  the  foreign 
trade  is  clearly  established,  the  demand  is 
almost  unlimited,  and  no  fears  are  entertained 
of  glutting  the  markets.  At  preseui  the 
home  markets  are  fully  supplied,  but  the  for- 
eign demand  will  soon  reduce  them  and 
increase  prices. 

Now  is  a  good  time  to  lay  in  a  stock  of 
vegetables  to  feed  fowls  during  the  winter 
months.  Such  food  promotes  their  health, 
and  will  induce  hens  to  lay  much  earlier  in 
the  spiing  than  when  grain  is  their  only  food. 
Cabbages,  turnips,  onions,  and  such  vegeta- 
bles, which  need  not  be  of  the  best  quality,  are 
the  best  for  this  purpose.  Do  not  forget  that 
bones  are  of  great  value  to  fowls,  especially  if 
the  poultry  is  kept  closely  confined. 

The  cellar  for  roots  and  apples  should  be 
kept  cool  and  rather  close  and  damp  to  pre- 
vent wilting ;  the  temperature  should  be  as 
near  freezing  as  may  be  without  actual  frost, 
and  in  warm  weather  the  cellar  should  be 
kept  close  to  prevent  it  from  getting  too 
warm.  These  conditions  are  more  easily  ob- 
tained in  a  cellar  under  the  barn  or  carriage- 
house  than  under  the  dwelling,  and  moreover 
the  disagreeable,  not  to  say  dangerous,  smells 
arising  from  neglect  of  the  vegetable  cellar 
in  spring,  and  summer  point  out  some  other 
spot  as  amore  proper  place  than  our  dwelling- 
house  cellar.  —  Concord  (New  Hampshire) 
Patriot. 

The  Canned  Fruits. — The  canned  fruit 
product  of  California  has  largely  increased 
within  the  last  decade.  The  i)roduct  of  1875 
aggregated  in  value  about  $500,000.  In  1878 
it  had  reached  $1,250,000.     In   1880  $1,500,- 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


181 


000,  and  in  1SS2  the  pindiict  is  set  down  witli 
!i  value  equal  to  82,000,000.  For  the  future 
we  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  rate 
of  increase  will  be  even  greater  than  for  the 
past.  And  there  is  no  question  but  that  Cali- 
fornia is  destined  to  become  the  largest  and 
linest  fruit-producing  country  in  the  world.— 
)Sa?i  Francisco,  California,  Patriot. 

Frozen  C'.\ne.— "  My  cane  tliat  was  frozen 
all  winter  1  worked  up  until  it  got  mouldy. 
It  did  not  sour  for  two  weeks  after  the  frost 
left  it,  but  it  began  to  liave  a  lieavy  coal 
of  mould  witbin  forty-eight  hours  after  the 
frost  was  all  out.  Some  that  was  cut  from 
the  field  a  day  or  two  before,  froze  up  and 
was  in  good  sliape  when  it  did  freeze  uji, 
soured  in  a  few  days  after  tiie  frost  left  it, 
while  tliat  which  was  iu  piles  in  the  yard 
for  three  weeks  did  not  sour  at  all.  I  think 
that  its  drying  out  kept  it  from  souring, 
for  when  I  worked  it  this  spring  it  tested 
i;!;^  B,  while  the  .same  cane  tested  11  to  I'i  B 
last  fall.  The  syrup  is  of  a  darker  color  than 
it  was  last  fall.  It  made  fair  syrup,  however. 
I  worked  part  with  lime  and  part  without.  1 
liked  that  the  lime  was  used  in  best. "— t/.  A. 
.ftmes,  FiUmore  cmmty,  Kcb. 

WiKE  WoKMS. — "  I  planted  my  corn  in  the 
usual  way,  but  in  one  row  I  put  wood  aslies, 
iu  a  second  sand  plaster,  and  in  the  third  com- 
mon salt.  There  was  little  difference,  if  any, 
iu  the  first  two  and  those  I  had  done  nothing 
with,  but  where  I  put  the  salt  about  nine- 
tenths  of  the  corn  came  up  well.  So  I  con- 
cluded to  doctor  the  whole  piece,  and  sowed 
a  good  coat  of  salt  and  stirred  the  ground 
well,  and  then  sowed  another  coat  not  quite 
so  heavy.  1  then  marked  out  and  planted 
my  corn,  and  it  gave  me  a  good  stand,  some- 
thing that  I  never  had  on  that  piece  before. 
I  made  an  average  yield  of  corn,  and  put  an 
end  to  the  wire  worms."  —  i.,  Miami 
county,  Ohio. 

A  SMALL  bantam  and  a  big  black  hen  both 
began  laying  eggs  together  in  the  same  nest. 
When  a  sufficient  number  h.ad  accumulated 
the  bantam  was  given  sole  possession  and 
began  to  set.  This  lasted  for  over  a  week, 
when  she  came  olV  and  the  brown  ben  took 
lier  turn,  staying  until  the  eggs  hatched,  the 
result  being  only  three  chicken.s.  Since  that 
time  the  partnership  has  been  continued,  both 
doing  equal  duty  in  obtaining  f<jod  for  the 
chickens,  which  can  be  seen  running  first  to 
the  one  and  then  to  the  other,  according  to 
their  success  in  scratching.  At  night  all  the 
little  ones  sometimes  stay  with  one  mother, 
sometimes  with  the  other,  and  sometimes 
they  are  divided.  Tliis  story  is  told  by  the 
Hartford  Evening  Mail. 

One  of  the  largest  silos  in  Europe  is  in 
France  on  the  property  of  M.  Vicompte  Ar- 
thur de  Clieselles,  in  the  Department  of  the 
Oise.  In  this  is  deposited  the  produce  of  170 
acres.  The  silo  is  described  as  an  oblong 
shed,  roofed  with  tiles  72  yards  in  length,  G| 
yards  wide  and  4i  yards  high,  forming  an 
admirable  Dutch  barn,  under  wliich  a  great 
portion  of  the  cereal  jiroduce  of  the  farm  is 
stored  at  time  of  harvest.  The  fioor,  instead 
of  being  level  with  the  ground,  is  sunk  about 
twelve  feet  and  is  paved  and  drained.  In 
this  great  pit  is  stored  tile  ensilage. 
Dr.  Mittendorf  read  a  paper  on  near- 


sightedness before  the  J^ew  York  County 
Medical  Society  a  few  evenings  ago,  in  the 
course  of  which  he  de.scrilicd  the  singular 
case  of  a  fine  horse  in  Berlin  that  had  become 
intractable  and  wliich  proved  on  examination 
to  lie  sudering  from  myopia.  The  owner  had 
a  pair  of  glasses  for  the  animal,  and  on  put- 
ting them  on  it  became  as  tractable  as  ever. 

The  cultivation  of  bamboo  in  the  Southern 
States  is  being  advised.  It  is  believed  that  it 
will  thrive  well  in  marsliy  regions  such  as 
fringe  the  South  Atlantic  and  Gulf  States. 

A  French  farmer  writes  that  he  has  run 
out  couch-grass  on  his  farm  by  the  cultivation 
of  buckwheat. 

Upland  ItiCB.— "First,  it  requires  close 
land  to  hold  the  moisture— black  gum  or  gaul- 
berry  lands  preferable.  Perfect  drainage  is 
necessary.  1  have  planted  both,  and  prefer 
the  gum  to  sandy  lands.  With  7.")  pounds  su- 
perphosphate to  the  acre  I  made  an  increase 
of  14  bushels  per  acre  on  a  field  of  twenty 
acres  over  four  acres  that  had  none  on  it.  The 
unfertilized  land  made  IS  bushels  and  the 
fertilized  :52  bushels  per  acre.  One  hundred 
pounds  is  the  outside  limit,  in  my  opinion, 
for  rice  ;  any  more  is  injurious— makes  too 
much  straw."— TF.  A.  Jones,  Liberty  County, 
Ga. 

Gas  Taii  ox  TinKoofs.— "My  experience 
is  that  while  gas  tar  is  a  first-rate  sort  of 
paint  for  many  things  its  place  is  not  on  a  tin 
roof.  I  painted  over  a  tin  roof  with  it.  The 
sun  and  rain  together  gradually  cracked  the 
paint,  rendering  it  worse  than  worthless,  for 
it  affected  the  rain  water  tliat  flowed  from 
the  roof  into  the  cistern.  I  also  thought  it  had 
the  effect  of  attracting  the  sun  more  than  a 
light-colored  paint  would  have  done,  for  the 
tin  curled  and  twisted  in  iilaces."- F.  M.  G., 
Cl<(rk  coimti/,  Ind. 

NiTKOGBN  ON  TUE  Faum. — "Nitrogen  ap- 
plied on  the  New  Hampshire  Agricultural 
College  farm  was  destructive  to  corn  in  suc- 
ces.sive  applications  ;  had  but  little  eftect  on 
potatoes,  and  increased  the  crop  of  Ijarley." — 
Professor  J.  W.  Sanhorn. 

CONTRIBUTIONS. 


Fmi  THK  Lancastek  Faumer. 
•'THE  FARMER'S  FRIEND." 

I  have  before  me  a  periodical  bearing  the 
above  title  published  in  Parkesburg,  Chester 
CO.,  Pa.,  and  dated  February,  18.38.  This 
little  Journal,  one  half  the  size  of  the  Lax- 
caster  Faioier,  but  containing  less  than 
one-half  the  reading  matter  in  the  Farnii;r, 
was  "  devoted  to  Horticulture,  Agriculture, 
]5otany  and  Rural  Economy."  It  was  edited 
and  published  by  one  Jason  M.  Mahan,  a 
"Yankee  Schoolmaster,"  who  is  still  re- 
membered by  some  of  the  older  inhabitants  of 
Salisbury,  who  attended  "  Baker's  School  " 
nearly  have  a  century  ago. 

This  impecunious  pedagogue,  who  taught 
.scliool  for  SIS  per  mouth, h.ad  for  the  motto  of 
his  paper,  "The  public  good  our  only  aim." 
More  than  half  the  ])aper  is  given  to  the 
mulberry  and  sugar  beet  business.  In  fact  the 
Farmers'  Friend  lived  its  brief  life  during  the 
great  Morus  Multicaulis  boom,  and  probably 
gave  up  the  ghost  when  the  mulberry  trees 
were  grubbed  and  piled  for  bonfires.      It  is  a 


curious  fact  that  the  silk-worm  and  the  sugar 
beet  craze  ran  their  course  together,  and  now, 
after  nearly  half  a  century,  are  brought  prom- 
ncntly  before  the  public  again  at  the  same 
time. 

Hear  what  Editor  Malian  says  about  the 
silk  business  :    "Having  been  about  ten  years 
engaged  in  the  culture  ot  the   mulberry  and 
silkworm,  we  Hatter  ourself  that  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  business  is  such  as  will  enable  U8 
to  furnish  the  necessary  information  to  enable 
the  farmer  to  raise  and  prepare  silk  for  mar- 
ket without  further  knowledge  or  assistance. 
»    »    »    »    ^Yy  gii^i]^  therefore,  sing  .speed 
to  the  plough,  wish  health  and  iirosperity  to 
the  farmer,  and  rejoice  that  he  is  entirely  free 
from  such  perplexities  as  disturb  the  printer." 
Of  the  Morus  Multicaulis  ho  says  :  "Of  all 
the  species  of  mulberry  yet  introduced   into 
this  country,  for  the  ))urpose  of  feeding  the 
silk-worm  the  Morus  Multicaulis  decidely  has 
the  preference,  and  will  speedily  be  substi- 
tuted in  place  of  all  others  in  every  region  of 
the  globe.     Wc  would  advise  all  fanners,  by 
all  means,  to  lose  no  time  in  supplying  them- 
selves  with   that  most  invaluable  species." 
Again  he  says :     "The  culture  of  silk  in 
America  succeeds  so  well  in  every  respect, 
there  is  no  longer  room  to  doubt  of  its  being 
eventually    very   extensively  and    profitably 
followed  as  a  pursuit.     Heretofore  the  greater 
portion  of  the  specimens  of  this  valuable  pro- 
duct have  been  the  result  of  experiments  by 
individuals,  on  a  small  scale,  but  at  present 
larger  quantities  prepared  in  factories  for  sale 
are  beginning  to   make  their  appearance  in 
market.     The  silk  thus  offered  has  everything 
to  recommend  it  in   point  of  lu.strc,   smooth- 
ness and  strength,  and  will,  it  is  .said,  stand  a 
comparison  with  the  Italian.     Then  why  be 
tributary  to  foreign  nations  for  this  article  ?" 
■Tason  Mahan  was  the  author  of  a  work  on 
arithmetic  called   Mahan's  Instructor,  hence, 
with  his  mathematical  turn  of  mind  we  need 
not  be  surprised  at  the  following  : 

"Mr.  I.  B.  Gray,  of  Fredericksburg,  Va., 
in  April,  183.5,  at  an  expense  of  only  !?17.50 
cost  and  labor,  set  out  7")  Chinese  mulberry 
trees.  In  October,  ls:!(J,  he  writes  to  the 
editor  of  the  Silk  Culturist  that  he  had  in  18 
months  multiplied  these  75  trees  into  5,000 
additional  trees,  and,  to  crowu  all,  the  editor 
of  the  Culturi.tt  asserts  those  5,000  trees  of  the 
size  and  height  described  by  Mr.  Gray,  would 
be  purchased  in  New  England  at  50  cents 
each  as  soon  as  offered  !  And  this  enormous 
profit  of  §2,.500  realized  out  of  an  investment 
of  S17.50  in  eighteen  months  required  only 
one-fourth  of  an  acre  of  ground." 

Think  of  that,  ye  tobacco  growers  who 
"rush  into  print  "  with  your  reports  of  $500 
or  SCOO  per  acre  for  tobacco.  Here  is  a  man 
who  makes  S10,000  per  acre  growing  mulberry 
trees  !  But  what  about  the  poor  fellows  who 
bought  the  trees':"  and  what  of  the  poor  fel- 
lows who  smoke  the  tobacco  V 

In  the  venerable  paper  before  me  there  are 
five  articles  on  the  culture  of  the  mulberry 
and  silk-worm  and  the  manufivcture  of  silk, 
and  a  long  and  exhaustive  essay  on  the  manu- 
facture of  bdet-root  sugar  ;  one  on  the  manage- 
ment of  horses,  and  an  excellent  report  of  the 
Silver  Spring  Farmers'  Lyceum.  Ihis  is  fol- 
lowed by  an  article  on  deep  ploughing  and  a 
nice  essay  on  "The  Importance  of  Cultivating 


182 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[December, 


Good  Fruit."    Lastly  we  have  the  following 
on  peach  trees : 

"Mr.  William  Phillips,  of  Pennsylvania, 
has  derived  great  benefit  from  the  application 
of  air  slaked,  old  effete  lime  to  peach  trees, 
the  effects  of  which,  according  to  his  own  ac- 
count, are  very  great.  He  puts  about  a  peck 
of  lime  to  each  tree  ;  he  thinks  it  useful  as  a 
preservative  against  the  insect  so  fatal  to 
these  trees.  "We  have  then  two  applications 
recommended,  unleached  ashes  and  lime,  and 
from  our  own  exi)erieuce  are  able  to  recom- 
mend both.  We  are  not  sure  which  has  the 
preference.  The  lime  and  ashes  should  both 
be  dug  up  every  spring.  "Washing  the  trunk 
with  soapsuds  will  also  be  serviceable  to  the 
tree."—/.  C.  L. 


For  The  Lancaster  Farmer. 
A    SURE    PREVENTIVE    OF    CHICKEN 
CHOLERA. 

Several  experiments  has  been  made  during 
the  past  five  years  by  different  parties  for  the 
purpose  of  preventing  the  spread  of  chicken 
cholera  by  inoculation  or  vaccination.  We 
have  during  the  past  two  years  vaccinated 
tlie  fowls  in  nineteen  different  yards  where 
the  cholera  was  prevailing  badly,  and  in  each 
yard  left  some  common  fowls  not  vaccinated 
and  they  all  died,  but  of  the  two  thousand 
vaccinated  only  eleven  died,  although  they 
were  in  the  same  yard  with  those  not  vac- 
cinated that  were  dying  daily  by  the  score. 
We  have  every  reason  to  believe  this  chicken 
vaccination  will  be  as  effective  in  preventing 
cholera  among  fowls  as  vaccination  is  in  pre- 
venting stnallpox  among  the  human  family. 
Vaccinate  a  hen  and  in  eight  days  her  system 
will  be  thoroughly  inoculated;  then  cut  off' her 
head  and  catch  all  the  blood  in  some  vessel, 
then  pour  the  blood  out  on  paper  to  dry;  a 
half  drop  of  this  dried  blood  is  sufficient  to 
vaccinate  a  fowl,  and  the  blood  of  one  hen 
will  vaccinate  your  whole  ffock.  Catch  the 
fowl  you  wish  to  vaccinate,  and  with  a  pin  or 
knife  make  a  little  scratch  on  the  thigh  (just 
enough  to  draw  blood),  then  moisten  a  little 
piece  of  the  paper  with  the  dried  blood  on  and 
stick  it  on  the  cliicken's  leg  where  you 
scratclicd  it,  then  let  the  fowl  run  and  yuu 
need  have  no  fear  of  chicken  cholera.  As  the 
result  of  my  many  experiments  I  now  have 
enough  dried  blood  to  vaccinate,  I  should 
suppose,  ten  thousand  fowls,  for  which  I  have 
no  use,  as  I  do  not  sell  patent  medicines.  If 
any  of  your  readers  are  enough  interested  in 
poultry  to  try  this  preventive,  by  writing  to 
me  I  will  send  them  them  free  of  any  charge 
enough  dried  blood  to  start  with;  all  I  ask  is 
that  they  send  immediately,  before  the  blood 
loses  its  strength,  and  report  the  result  of 
their  experiment  to  your  many  readers.— TF. 
H.  Griffith,  Zanesville,  Ohio. 


For  The  Lancaster  Farmer. 
THE  BALANCE  OF  TRADE  DELUSION. 
Editor  of  The  Farmer :  I  notice,  in  the  last 
number  of  your  journal,  that  a  correspondent, 
S.  P.,  of  Lincoln,  Del,  undertakes  to  discuss 
the  "Balance  of  Trade"  question,  and  appears 
particularly  desirous  of  a  controversy  with  me 
ou  the  subject.  According  to  him  my  commu- 
nications to  the  Faumer  have  been  "  fal.se  in 
statistics  "  and  only  deserving  of  "  ridicule." 


I  do  not  feel  under  obligation  to  enter  into 
discussion  witli  one  who  comes  at  me  in  tliat 
meat-axe  style  on  his  first  appearance  ;  but 
lest  some  of  your  readers  might  be  led  to  be 
lieve  from  his  confident  and  more  or  less 
plausible  assertions  that  they  cannot  be  an- 
swered, I  will  reply  to  one  or  two  of  the  most 
plausible  ;  but  I  am  not  going  here  to  repeat 
the  arguments  adduced  in  ray  former  com- 
munications ;  they  may  stand  or  fall 
on  their  own  strength  or  weakness,  and 
in  respect  to  them  I  will  only  now  say 
that,  in  my  opinion,  they  have  not  been  con- 
futed, and  cannot  be.  I  have  no  reason  to 
believe,  as  alleged,  that  there  was  an  im- 
portant error  in  the  figures  as  I  gave  them  in 
1879,  though,  in  adding  up  the  long  columns 
of  figures,  it  is  possible  tliat  I  made  a  mi.s- 
take.  (I  have  lost  the  Report  from  which  they 
were  derived.)  If  I  gave  truly  the  summary 
of  official  statistics  as  furnished  by  the  then 
Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics,  even  if  erro- 
neous, and  S.  P.  gives  figures  furnished  by 
Mr.  Niramo,  or  some  one  else,  and  the  two  do 
not  correspond,  does  that  give  him  a  warrant 
to  charge  falsification  of  statistics  y  Sound 
logic  and  good  manners  alike  will  answer, 
No. 

But  admitting,  for  argument's  sake,  that 
his  figures  are  the  right  ones,  and  that  our 
imports  were  greater  than  the  exports  after 
1860,  as  is  admitted  to  be  the  case  in  every 
decade  before  that  time,  and  how  does  the 
matter  then  stand  ?  It  proves  that  not  only 
part  of  the  time,  but  all  the  time,  ever  since 
the  United  States  was  a  nation,  we  have  been 
importing  enormously  greater  value  than  we 
have  exported — been  thus  losing  immensely 
by  our  foreign  trade — been  going  headlong 
down  the  road  to  commercial  ruin  uninter- 
ruptedly for  almost  a  hundred  years  ;  and 
most  "astounding"  fact  (to  balance-of-trade 
theorists)  we  are  not  yet  ruined,  but  even  more 
wealthy  and  prosperous  than  when  we  set 
out  I 

Another  fact  equally  astounding,  no  doubt, 
to  economists  who  think  it  is  ruinous  to  re- 
ceive more  value  than  we  part  with,  is  that 
England  and  other  European  countries  of 
which  we  have  the  statistics,  show  that  each 
one  of  them  imports  a  great  deal  more  than  it 
exports.  And  thus  it  has  been  going  on, 
decade  after  decade,  each  country  being  im- 
poverished by  its  foreign  commerce  in  the 
same  way  with  ours,  yet  their  governments, 
with  a  reckless  and  criminal  disregard  of  their 
country's  welfare,  making  no  effort  to  pro- 
hibit a  business  so  disastrous  to  their  people  ! 

Your  Delaware  correspondent  bases  his  ar- 
gument on  what  he  regards  as  an  "  axioma- 
tic "  proposition,  viz  :  "that  all  production 
is  gain,  and  all  consumption  is  loss,"  from 
which  he  argues  that  an  excess  of  imports 
over  exports  must  be  loss.  Elsewhere  in  his 
article  he  argues  that  it  is  because  so  many  of 
the  imports  are  useless  luxuries  that  we  are 
the  losers  by  foreign  commerce.  It  now 
appears  that  he  regards  all  imports,  except 
specie  perhaps,  no  matter  how  useful  and  val- 
uable, as  injurious,  and  a  loss,  if  in  excess  of 
our  exports.  Thus,  if  we  export  .flOO  worth 
of  corn  or  tobacco,  and  get  in  return  $120 
worth  of  cloth  or  salt,  then  the  balance  is 
against  us,  and  the  country  loses  $20  by  the 
trade,  because  the  cloth  and  salt  are  for  con- 


sumption, "  and  all  consumption  is  loss."     A 
ward  about  that. 

All  grain,  fruit,  &c.,  is  raised  for  the  very 
purpose  of  consumption,  and  in  fact  is  con- 
sumed, one  way  or  another.  Is  it  all  lostV  If 
consumed  by  fire  or  sunk  in  the  sea  by  ship- 
wreck it  is  lost  undoubtedly  ;  but  if  a  farmer 
feeds  corn  to  his  cattle  and  hogs,  though  the 
corn  is  consumed,  its  value  reappears  in  the 
form  of  beef  and  pork.  If  he  and  his  family 
eat  it,  its  value  is  restored  to  hi;n  and  them  by 
life  conserved  and  bodily  strength  imparted 
and  increased.  Is  not  that  as  valuable  as  the 
money  it  could  be  sold  for?  Is  not  the  very 
opposite  of  this  alleged  "axiomatic"  proposi- 
tion nearer  the  truth,  viz.:  All  the  produc- 
tions of  the  earth  are  or  will  be  lost  if  they 
are  not  consumed?  Were  it  not  for  the  bene- 
ficent effects  of  their  consumption,  they 
would  be  of  no  more  value  than  the  dirt  in 
the  road,  and  it  is  only  by  ana  through  con- 
sumption that  mankind  and  all  the  animal 
kingdom  are  kept  alive. 
'  Exports  represent  consumption,  the  same 
as  corn  fed  to  the  hogs.  We  get  back  the  value 
of  the  exports  by  our  imports  and  in  no  other 
way.  Were  it  not  that  in  place  of  the  ex- 
ports we  could  import  something  of  greater 
value,  we  would  never  export  anything,  for  it 
would  be  a  losing  business.  Were  it  not  for  the 
imports  the  exports  might  as  well  be  thrown 
in  the  fire  for  all  the  good  we  would  derive 
from  them. 

I  have  not  claimed,  as  iusinnated  by  S.  P., 
that  under  all  circumstances  exeess  of  imports 
must  be  a  gain,  but  that  such  excess  is  not  a 
proof  of  loss. 

A  few  words  about  luxuries,  of  which  S.  P. 
alleges  we  import  and  consume  hundreds  of 
millions  worth  every  year,  that  amount  to 
nothing  of  value.  When  a  former,  say,  has 
supplied  himself  and  family  with  the  essen- 
tials of  life — plain  food  and  clothing,  is  out  of 
debt,  and  has  a  surplus  of  grain  or  wool,  or 
tobacco,  and  he  thinks  proper  to  dispose  of 
part  of  the  surplus  in  exchange  for  unessentials 
or  luxuries,  such  for  instance  as  tea  or 
coffee  for  his  breakfast,  silk  dresses  or 
jewelry  for  his  ivife  and  daughters,  a  piano 
for  his  parlor,  pictures  for  his  rooms,  a  pleas- 
ure carriage  for  the  family,  toys  for  his  chil- 
dren, and  many  other  articles  of  luxury,  does 
the  satisfaction  derived  from  the  possession  of 
those  things  "amount  to  nothing"  of  value. 
If  he  prefers  them  to  the  money  they  cost,  is 
he  not  entitled  to  have  his  choice,  and  would 
it  would  not  be  a  great  impertinence  for  S.  P. 
to  come  and  tell  him — "/don't care  for  those 
things — 1  don't  value  them  a  cent,  and  if  you 
got  them  from  abroad  in  exchange  for  your 
grain,  you  are  a  foolish  man  and  a  bad  citi- 
zen, wasting  your  means  and  impoverishing 
your  country  !"  Is  nothing  )mt  coarse  food 
and  clothing  of  any  value  V  Is  all  decoration 
and  ornamentation  nothing  but  criminal 
waste  ?  Is  the  wild  Indian  whose  food  is 
only  corn-bread  and  bear  meat,  and  whose 
clothing  is  but  a  sini;le  blanket,  the  model 
we  should  pattern  after? 

It  is  said  tliat  instead  of  luxuries  we  should 
only  import  tilings  of  real  utility,  and  above 
all,  money.  Now,  we  do  not  buy  luxuries 
because  they  are  imported.  We  import  them 
because  we  want  them,  and  because  we  can 
procure   them  more   advantageously  abroad 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMEK. 


183 


than  at  home.  The  fault,  if  there  is  any,  is 
iu  otir  injudicious  wants  ;  for,  if  we  will  have 
luxuiies,  it  makes  no  (lillVix-iice  to  us  wliere 
tlioy  aie  luoducwl.  Our  only  concern  is  to  gut 
them  witli  as  little  (^xi)cndituru  of  our  means 
us  possible ;  for  whether  tliey  are  made  at 
home  or  abroad,  we  know  that  it  is  alike  tlie 
IM'oduct  of  our  own  labor  tliat  pays  fof  them, 
and  the  fact  that  they  are  imported  can  be 
no  good  ground  of  comi)laint.  Importing 
money  instead  of  them  would  not  help  the 
matter,  for  so  long  as  we  want  luxuries,  and 
so  long  as  there  is  no  prohibitory  law  en- 
forced against  them,  the  money  imiiorled 
will  surely  lie  jiarted  with  to  iirocnro  them. 
The  Jffli.DODjOOO  expended  for  imported  wines 
would  be  laid  out  iu  home-made  substitutes, 
or  perhaps  some  of  it  iu  cheap  whisky,  which 
would  not  be  much  improvement.  Besides, 
the  hard  money  itself  may  be,  and  a  large 
sliarc  of  it  daily  is,  melted  and  fashioned  into 
jewelry  and  other  gold  and  silver  ornaments, 
which  are  as  much  luxuries  as  anything  else. 
As  I  said  at  the  beginning,  I  will  not 
repeat  the  general  argument  in  proof  that 
the  Balance  of  Trade  theory  is  a  delusion,  but 
iu  order  to  show  that  the  views  I  entertain 
are  sustained  by  high  authority,  I  ask  you  to 
publish  the  following  extract  from  a  speech 
of  Daniel  Webster,  delivered  in  the  U.  S. 
House  of  Representatives,  April  "2,  1S24,  and 
which  was  pointed  out  to  me  by  a  friend  since 
my  former  communications  were  published  in 
the  Farjiek.  So  far  as  appears,  no  one  in 
^'  Congress  at  that  day  ventured  to  controvert 
his  argument,  and  hickily  for  him,  your  Dela- 
ware correspondent  was  not  there  to  set  him 
down  by  telling  him  that  "his  arguments 
were  not  dangerous,"  and  "only  needed  state- 
ment to  meet  with  ridicule." — J.  P.,  Lancas- 
ter, Dec.  6,  1S82. 

EXTRACT  FROM  D.  WEBSTER'S   SPEECH. 

*  *  "  Let  us  inquire,  then  sir,  what  is 
meant  by  an  unfavorable  balance  of  trade. 

*  *  By  an  unfavorable  balance  of  trade, 
I  understand  is  meant  the  slate  of  things  in 
which  importation  exceeds  exportation.  To 
apiily  it  to  our  owu  case,  if  the  value  of  the 
goods  imported  exceed  the  value  of  tliose  ex- 
ported, tlien  the  balance  of  trade  is  said  to  be 
against  us,  inasmuch  as  we  have  run  in  debt 
to  the  amount  of  the  difference.  Theiefore  it 
is  said  that  if  a  nation  continue  long  in  a  com- 
merce like  this,  it  uuist  be  rendered  alj.solutely 
bankrupt.  It  is  in  the  condition  of  a  man 
that  buys  more  than  he  sells,  and  how  can  such 
a  traffic  be  maintained  without  ruin  ?  Now, 
sir,  the  whole  fallacy  of  tins  argument  con- 
sists in  supposing  that  whenever  the  value  of 
imports  exceeds  that  of  exports,  a  debt  is 
necessarily  created  to  the  extent  of  the  dill'er- 
enee,  whereas  ordinarily,  the  import  is  no  more 
than  the  result  of  the  export,  augmented  iu 
value  by  the  labor  of  transportation.  The 
excess  of  imports  over  exports,  in  truth,  usu- 
ally shows  the  gains,  not  the  losses  of  trade. 
*  *  *  If  the  value  of  commodities  im- 
ported in  a  given  instance  did  not  exceed  the 
value  of  the  outward  cargo  with  which  they 
were  purchased,  then  it  would  be  clear  to 
every  man's  common  sense  that  the  voyage 
had  not  been  i)rolilable.  If  such  commodities 
fell  far  short  in  value  of  the  cost  of  the  out- 
ward cargo,  then  the  voyage  would  be  a  very 
losing  one  ;  and  yet  it  would  present  exactly 
that  state  of  things  which,  according  to  the 
notion  of  a  balance  of  trade  can  alone  indicate 
a  prosperous  commerce.  On  the  othei-  hand, 
if  the  return  cargo  were  found  to  be  worth 
much  more  than  the  outward  cargo,  while  the 
merchant  having  paid  for  the  goods  exported, 
and  all  the  expenses  of  the  voyage,  tiuds  a 
handsome  sum  yet  iu  his  hands,  which  he 


calls  profit,  the  balance  of  trade  is  still  against 
him,  and  whatever  he  may  think  of  it,  hi^  is 
in  a  Very  ba<l  way.  Altlidugh  one  individual 
or  all  individuals  gain,  the  nation  los('s. 
While  all  its  citizens  grow  rich,  tins  country 
grows  poor  I  This  is  the  doctrine  of  the 
balan(!e  of  trade." 

He  then  illustrates  by  instances,  and  in  the 
course  of  his  remarks  says:  "There  are  no 
shallower  reasoners  than  those  political  and 
commercial  writers  who  would  represent  it  to 
be  the  only  true  and  gainfui  end  of  com- 
merce 10  accumulate  the  precious  metals," 
and  says  that  a  country  at  oue"time  may  have 
too  much  money,  as  well  as  too  little  at  another 
time  ;  and  that  when  there  is  too  much  it  is  as 
advantageous  to  export  it  as  to  import  it  at 
another  tiinie,  adding  :  "We  need  no  more  re- 
pine when  the  dollars  which  have  been  brought 
here  from  South  America  are  despatched  to 
other  countries  than  when  coffee  and  sugar 
take  the  ^ame  direction." 


Selections. 


THE  VIRTUES  OF    COFFEE. 

It  is  getting  to  be  the  fashion  now  for  peo- 
ple to  say  that  coffee  is  injurious  to  health, 
and  many  persons  are  giving  it  up  regretfully. 
Perhaps  coll'ee  is  very  injurious  in  some  cases, 
but  of  all  beverages  it  is  contended  that  it  is 
the  least  injurious.  Coffee-drinkers  are 
generally  cheerful,  strong  and  persevering. 
The  eminent  Dr.  Bock,  of  Leipsic,  .says  : 
"  The  nervousness  and  peevishness  of  the 
times  are  chiefly  attributable  to  tea  and 
colTee."  He  says  that  "  the  digestive  organs 
of  confirmed  coQee-drinkers  are  in  a  state  of 
chronic  derangement,  which  reacts  on  the 
brain,  producing  fretful  and  lachrymose 
moods."  "I  cannot  agree,"  says  Dr.  Henry 
Segur,  of  Paris,  "  that  the  nervousness  and 
peevishness  of  the  present  time  are  to  be  at 
tributed  to  the  use  of  coffee.  If  people  are 
more  nervous  or  iu  worse  humor  now  than 
formerly,  we  may  find  other  causes  arising 
from  the  customs  and  habits  of  society  much 
more  likely  to  produce  a  state  of  things  than 
the  use  of  this  particular  article  of  diet." 

Let  us  examine  the  effects  of  coffee  on  the 
economy.  Taken  in  moderation  it  is  a  men- 
tal and  body  stimulant  of  a  most  agreeable 
nature,  and  followed  by  no  harmful  reaction, 
it  produces  contentment  of  mind,  allays  hun- 
ger and  Iwdily  weakness,  increa.ses  the  incen- 
tive and  capacity  for  work,  makes  man  forget 
his  misfortunes  and  enables  those  who  use  it 
to  remain  a  long  time  without  food  or  sleep, 
to  endure  uiuisui*!  fatigue  and  preserve  their 
cheerfulness  and  contentment.  Jomaud  says  : 
"  An  infusion  made  with  ten  ounces  of  cofiee 
enables  me  to  live  without  other  food  for  five 
consecutive  days  without  lessening  my  ordin- 
ary occupations  and  to  use  more  and  more 
prolonged  muscular  exercise  than  I  was  ac- 
customed to  without  any  other  physical  in- 
jury than  a  slight  degree  of  fatigue  and  a  lit- 
tle lossof  fiesh." 

The  mental  exhilaration,  physical  activity 
and  wakefulness  it  causes  explains  the  fond- 
ness for  it  which  has  been  shown  by  so  many 
men  of  science,  poets,  .scholars  and  others  de- 
voted to  thinking.  It  has,  indeed,  been  called 
the  intellectual  beverage.  It  supported  the 
old  age  of  Voltaire  and  enabled  Fontenelle  to 
pass  his  hundred  years. 


The  action  of  coffee  is  directed  chiefly  to 
the  nervous  system.  It  produces  a  warming, 
cordial  impression  on  the  stomach,  quickly 
followed  by  a  ditfused,  agreeable  and  nervous 
excitement,  which  extends  itself  to  the  cere- 
bral functions,  giving  rise  to  increased  vigor 
of  imagination  and  intellect,  without  any 
subsequent  confusion  or  stupor,  such  as  are 
chaiaclerislic  of  narcotics.  Coffee  contains 
essential  principles  of  nutrition  far  exceeding 
in  importance  its  exhilarating  properties,  and 
is  one  of  the  most  desirable  articles  for  sus- 
taining the  system  in  certain  prostrating  dis- 
ea.ses.  As  compared  with  the  nutrition  to  be 
derived  from  the  best  of  soups,  eotfee  has  de- 
cidedly the  advantage  and  is  lo  bo  preferred 
in  many  Instances.  The  medicinal  elVects  of 
coffee  are  very  great.  In  intermittent  fever 
it  has  been  used  by  eminent  physicians,  with 
the  happiest  ellect  in  cutting  short  the  attack, 
and  if  properly  managed  is  lietter  in  many 
cases  than  the  sulphate  of  quinine.  In  that 
low  state  of  intermittent,  as  found  on  the 
banks  of  the  Mississippi  river  and  other  mala- 
rial districts,  accompanied  with  enlarged 
spleen  and  torpid  liver,  when  judic^iously  ad- 
ministered it  is  one  of  the  surest  remedies. 
In  yellow  fever  it  has  been  used  by  physicians, 
and  with  some  it  is  their  main  reliance  after 
other  necessary  remedies  liave  been  adminis- 
tered ;  it  retains  tissue  change,  and  thus  be- 
comes a  conservator  of  force  in  that  state  in 
which  the  nervous  .system  tends  to  collapse, 
because  the  blood  has  become  impure  ;  it  sus- 
tains the  nervous  power  until  the  depuration 
and  reorganization  of  the  blood  are  accom- 
plished, and  has  the  advaut.age  over  other 
stimulants  in  inducing  no  injurious  secondary 
effects.  In  spasmodic  asthma  its  utility  is 
well  established,  as  in  whooping  cough,  stu- 
por, lethargy  and  such  troubles.  In  hysteri- 
cal attacks,  for  which  in  many  cases  a  physi- 
cian can  form  no  diagnosis,  coflee  is  a  great 
help. 

Coffee  is  opposed  to  malaria,  to  all  noxious 
vapors.  As  a  disinfectant  it  lias  wonderful 
powers.  As  an  instantaneous  deodorizer  it 
has  no  equal  for  the  sickroom,  as  all  exhala- 
tions are  immediately  neutralized  by  simply 
pa.ssing  a  chafing  dish  with  burning  coffee 
grains  through  the  room.  It  may  be  urged 
that  an  article  possessing  such  powers  and 
capacity  for  such  energetic  action  must  be 
injurious  as  an  article  of  diet  of  habitual 
employment,  and  not  without  deleterious  pro- 
perties ;  but  no  corresponding  nervous  disar- 
rangements liave  been  observed  after  its 
effects  liave  disappeared,  as  are  seen  in  nar- 
cotics and  other  stimulants.  Tha  action  im- 
parted to  the  nerves  is  natural  and  healthy. 
Habitual  coffee  drinkers  generally  enjoy  good 
health.  Some  of  the  oldest  people  have  used 
Coffee  from  earliest  infancy  without  feeling 
any  depressing  reaction,  such  as  is  produced 
by  alcoholic  stimulants. 


FEEuING  STOCK  IN  WINTER. 
As  the  season  draws  near  when  our  domes- 
tic animals  arc  to  be  fed  upon  artilicial  forms 
of  food  for  nearly  half  a  year,  it  may  not  be 
out  of  place  to  devote  a  little  thought  to  the 
subject  of  winter  feeding.  There  is  no  doubt 
whatever  that  in  years  gone  by,  if  not  at  the 
present  time,   many  cattle  have   been  kept 


184 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[December  ' 


through  the  winter  with  little  aim  on  the 
part  of  the  feeder,  beyond  barely  carrying  the 
animal  tlirougli  alive ;  and  where  sucli  a 
course  has  been  pursued,  there  has  always 
been  more  or  less  lo.ss  of  life  as  well  as  loss  of 
flesh,  and  an  absence  of  all  forms  of  profit 
whatever. 

When  the  country  was  first  settled,  and 
there  were  no  mowing  fields  of  good,  sweet 
hay  from  whicli  to  secure  a  winter  supply  ; 
when  the  only  winter  fodder  was  the  straw 
of  ripened  grain  and  the  interior  grasses  of 
our  wet  meadows,  and  when  the  profit  from 
stock  husbandry  was  necessarily  pretty  much 
confined  to  summer  pasturage,  there  was 
a  better  excuse  for  such  a  practice  as  was  tliis 
winter  system  of  partial  starvation. 

On  a  large  proportion  of  the  farms  of  New 
England  at  the  present  time,  the  cattle  are 
kept  in  quite  as  good  condition  in  winter 
as  during  the  summer  season.  This  is  par- 
ticularly true  of  tlie  herds  kept  upon  milk 
farms  where  there  is  a  daily  sale  of  milk  to  go 
to  the  cities  or  villages.  Farmers  who  are 
receiving  a  daily  income  from  their  stock  are 
less  fearful  of  daily  expenditure  for  good, 
nourishing  food.  Compared  with  the  past, 
there  is  now  little  to  complain  of  regarding 
the  treatment  of  most  of  the  cattle  in  the 
country.  Tbe  farmers  generally  feed  well,  as 
they  understand  that  term.  But  feeding  ani- 
mals well,  in  such  a  manner  that  they  will 
produce  abundantly  of  milk,  tlesh,  growth, 
work,  or  fat,  is  something  that  requires  a 
good  deal  of  thought,  study,  and  considerable 
practice. 

The  chemists  are  informing  us  something 
of  the  relative  proportions  iu  which  the  seve- 
ral food  elements  should  be  mixed,  how  much 
grain  it  will  be  found  most  profitable  to  feed 
with  certain  amounts  of  coarser  fodders,  and 
they  are  giving  us  tables  showing  the  relative 
chemical  and  food  values  of  most  of  the  com- 
mon forms  of  food  used,  but  they  cannot, with 
their  experiments  or  tables,  make  a  good 
feeder  of  one  who  has  no  more  idea  of  feed- 
ing than  to  merely  stuff  an  animal's  manger 
full  of  food  one  or  more  times  per  day.  We 
knew  of  a  barn  full  of  cattle  that  were  fed  al- 
most nothing  the  past  winter,  but  good,  mer- 
chantable upland  hay,  grown  by  high  cult-ire 
and  liberal  maniu-iug.  The  cattle  were  kept 
warm,  were  nicely  bedded,  the  stables  „were 
cleaned  often,  and  water  was  freely  provided, 
yet  the  cattle  came  out  thin  in  the  spring, 
and  made  but  little  growth.  The  ditticuUy 
in  tliis  case,  as  in  many  others  which  readers 
of  the  Farmer  may  be  familiar  with,  was, 
that  the  good  hay  was  given  far  too  freely,  or 
certainly  too  much  at  a  time.  There  was 
plenty  of  hay  in  the  barn,  and  the  attendant 
wanted  to  make  a  good  showing  of  bis  skill  in 
stock  feeding,  so  he  tilled  the  racks  and  man- 
gers full  at  each  feeding.  At  first  the  cattle 
coming  in  from  a  short  pasture  would  eat 
heartily,  but,  with  little  or  no  exercise  there 
was  less  food  called  for,  and  the  quantity 
given  was  greater  than  the  system  required. 
Of  course  a  portion  would  be  left  uneaten 
after  the  whole  had  been  picked  over,  and  the 
choicest  portions  taken  out.  The  rest  was 
breathed  over  till  nothing  nothing  would  eat 
it,  when  it  was  liauled  under  foot,  trodden 
upon  and  wasted.  The  fact  is,  good  English 
hay  used  as  bedding  for  idle  animals,  will  al 


most  surely  spoil  them  if  they  can   get  free 
access  to  it  with  their  mouths. 

"Under-feeding"  is  one  of  the  charges 
brought  by  the  agent  of  the  Society  for  the 
Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals,  against 
owners  or  attendants  of  animals,  but  there 
are  a  great  many  animals  seriously  injured, 
and  of  course  abused,  from  overfeeding,  or, 
at  least,  from  very  injudicious  feeding,  which 
the  agents  are  hardly  likely  to  note.  We 
have  always  found  it  more  necessary  to  cau- 
tion hired  help  against  over-feeding  than 
against  under-feeding.  Hired  help  do  not 
have  the  bills  to  pay,  and  so  have  no  pecuni- 
ary interest  in  an  economical  system  of  feed- 
ing. Then  it  is  less  labor  to  feed  bountifully 
two  or  three  times  a  day,  than  to  give  a  little 
at  a  time,  and  then  to  notice  how  the  animals 
seem  to  feel.  A  good  observer  will  know, 
the  moment  he  steps  inside  the  feeding-room, 
whether  his  animals  are  sufllcien:)ly  fed  or 
whether  they  are  still  hungry,  by  their  ap- 
pearance. Cattle  should  have  enough,  and 
should  then  be  lefc  by  themselves.  They 
should  have  regular  hours  for  feeding,  and 
then  they  well  know  what  to  depend  upon. 

Animals  that  are  fed  well,  and  at  regular 
intervals,  will  rarely  call  for  food  except  at 
usual  feeding  hours.  Animals  very  readily 
acquire  habits,  and  they  will  adapt  themselves 
in  a  considerable  degree  to  the  customs  of 
their  keepers.  It  would  be  ditlicult  to  deter- 
mine from  the  practice  of  different  feeders 
whether  cattle  will  do  better  upon  two  or 
three  regular  meals  per  day,  for  there  might 
be  many  herds  instanced  that  have  done  well 
by  either  system.  We  have  for  many  years 
made  it  a  practice  to  feed  cattle  but  two 
meals  per  day,  one  in  the  morning,  the  other 
in  the  afternoon,  aiming  to  divide'the  twenty- 
four,  hours  as  nearly  as  convenient,  into  two 
equal  periods,  though  the  time  between  night 
and  morning  is  usually  a  little  longer  than 
the  time  between  morning  and  evening.  A 
cow's  stomach  is  so  constructed  that  she  can 
easily  take  enough  good  food  into  it  to  last 
her  twelve  hours,  and  we  have  long  been  of 
the  opinion  that  food  is  more  thoroughly  di- 
gested when  but  two  meals  are  given. 

It  is  certainly  a  great  convenience  on  a 
dairy-farm,  especially  in  winter,  to  have  the 
feeding  all  done  at  the  two  ends  of  a  day,  so 
that  the  middle  of  the  day,  while  the  sun 
shines,  can  be  used  for  other  purposes.  Many 
families  in  the  country  have  but  two  regular 
meals  per  day  during  the  short  days  of  winter, 
and  cattle,  with  their  large  stomachs  de- 
signed specially  for  laying  away  large  quan- 
tities of  food  to  be  masticated  at  their  leisure, 
can  certainly  accommodate  themselves  to]  two 
meals  per  day  as  easily  as  can  human  beings 
with  their  relatively  smaller  digestive  organs. 
In  winter,  when  farm  teams  cannot  work 
much  more  than  six  or  seven  hours  per  day, 
they  can  be  changed  off  from  three  to  two 
meals  per  day,  and  will  do  quite  as  well  as  if 
fed  the  noon  mejil.  With  but  two  meals  per 
day  there  is  less  danger  from  over-feeding 
than  if  digestion  be  disturbed  by  a  midday 
feed  before  the  morning  meal  has  been  prop- 
erly disposed  of  by  the  digestive  organs. 

But  we  would  not  have  our  readers  under- 
stand that  we  recommend  the  practice  of 
giving  all  the  food  of  one  meal  at  a  single  feed- 
ing ;  on  the  contrary,  we  would  give  it  at 


three  or  four  different  times,  say  twenty 
minutes  or  half  an  hour  apart.  The  idea  is 
to  have  the  feeding  continuous,  till  the  meal 
is  finished,  then  give  no  more  till  the  next 
meal,  some  eight  or  ten  hours  later.  A  cow 
or  an  ox  will  occupy  from  one  to  tvv'o  hours  in 
eating  a  breakfast  or  supper  of  coarse,  dry 
fgdder.  Watering,  like  feeding,  may  become 
somewhat  a  matter  of  habit  as  to  the  number 
of  times  and  quautity  taken.  We  prefer 
watering  after  each  meal,  l)ut,  in  practice, 
find  that  many  cattle  will  drink  heartily  but 
once  per  day.  A  good  feeder  will  watch  his 
animals  and  learn  their  wants,  and  endeavor 
to  supply  them,  but  never  to  over-supply. — 
Boston  New  EriQland  Farmer. 


THE    RATIONAL    METHOD    OF  TREE- 
PRUNING. 

In  this  new  world  little  attention  has  been 
given  to  the  pruning  of  trees.  With  our  am- 
ple domain,  giving  space  for  all  the  trees,  we 
have  left  them  to  grow  as  they  might.  Our 
pruning,  where  it  has  not  been  of  that  heroic 
and  decisive  sort  which  lays  the  axe  at  the 
root  of  the  trees  and  cuts  them  to  the  ground, 
has  been  of  a  hap-liazard  kind,  based  upon  no 
system  and  directed  by  no  science.  Each  one 
-has  cut  and  trimmed  according  to  his  own 
notion  or  whim.  If  the  limb  of  a  tree  has 
been  in  the  way,  becomes  an  obstruction  to 
the  walk,  or  intercepted  some  desirable  look- 
out, it  has  been  lopped  oil",  usually  by  what- 
ever instrument  convenience  would  supply 
and  in  a  manner  to  require  the  least  exertion. 
Tree-growers  and  the  better  class  of  farmers 
have  been  somewhat  more  painstaking  in 
their  methods.  They  have  removed  or  short- 
ened limbs  with  some  study  of  after  effects, 
and  have  so  performed  their  work  as  to  se- 
cure, if  possible,  the  proper  healing  of  the 
wounds  which  they  have  made.  But  in  most 
cases  the  trees  have  been  left  to  themselves  or 
have  been  lopped  with  reckless  carelessness. 
It  seems  to  have  been  generally  thought  that 
they  would  bear  any  amount  of  mishap  and 
the  utmost  severity  of  treatment.  They  have 
been  regarded  rather  as  dead  than  living  mat- 
ter, and  their  delicate  and  sensitive  organiza- 
tions, instead  of  being  guarded  and  protected 
with  sympathizing  care,  have  been  left  to  be 
the  prey  of  neglect  and  violence. 

The  result  has  been  that  many  of  our  forest 
trees  have  fallen  victims  to  decay  when  proper 
pruning  would  have  insured  their  healthy 
growth  to  full  stature,  and  many  trees  planted 
by  the  roadside  or  the  dwelling  for  the  pur- 
pose of  shade  or  ornament,  have  become  de- 
formed and  short-lived  in  consequence  of 
improper  pruning. 

With  the  rising  interest  in  trees  and  tree- 
planting  in  America  the  importance  of  prun- 
ing and  its  proper  method  ought  to  receive 
attention  as  a  branch  of  forestry.  The  object 
of  pruning  trees,  forest  trees  especially,  is  to 
secure  the  largest  and  healthiest,  and,  there- 
fore, the  most  profitable  growth  of  timber 
upon  any  given  area  of  ground,  and  experi- 
ence has  shown  that  b}'  a  rational  system  of 
pruning  a  forest  may  be  made  to  yield  a  much 
larger  product  than  when  left  to  itself  as  is 
ordinarily  the  case  with  us. 

Hitherto  there  has  been  no  adequate  trea- 
tise on  the  subject  of  tree  pruning  in  the  Eng- 


18S2.J 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


i85 


lisli  language,  and  we  have  been  excusable  for 
onr  ignorance  of  the  subject.  Tlie  Germans 
and  IheFieiich  arc  in  advance  of  us  in  other 
departments  of  forestry,  and  also  in  this. 
The  advantages  of  pruning  forest  trees,  as 
promoting  an  increase  of  tim'.)er,  was  recog- 
nized in  (ierraany  Ivvo  hundred  and  (if ly  years 
ago.  But  the  practice  of  pruning  fell  into 
disuse  after  a  time,  until  it  was  revived  during 
the  present  century  by  the  writings  of  De 
Courval  and  Des  Cars,  who  recommend  a 
system  of  pruning  based  on  the  fundamental 
law  of  vegetable  [thysiology,  and  which  is  now 
adopted  in  all  the  continental  forests.  The 
work  of  Des  Cars,  entitled,  "A  Treatise  on 
Pruning  Forests  and  Ornamental  Trees,"  has 
recently  been  translated  from  the  French  of 
the  seventh  edition,  by  Professor  Sargent,  of 
Harvard  Univeisity,  and  published  by  the 
Massachusetts  Society  for  the  promotion  of 
Agriculture.  It  is  essentially  a  reproduction 
of  a  larger  treatise  of  De  Courval  in  a  brief 
and  more  popular  form,  it  being  a  duodecimo 
volume  of  less  than  one  hundred  pages. 

The  system  of  these  writers  is  based  on  the 
fact  that  "as  wood  is  alone  formed  by  de- 
scending, elaborated  sap,  a  wound  made  on  a 
tree  can  only  be  recovered  with  healthy,  new 
wood,  where  Its  entire  circumference  is 
brought  into  direct  connnunication  with  the 
leaves  by  means  of  the  layei-  of  young  and 
growing  cells  formed  between  the  wood  and 
the  Itark.  To  make  this  connection  it  is  ne- 
cessary to  prune  in  such  a  manner  that  no 
portion  of  an  ami)utated  or  dead  Itraneh  shall 
be  left  on  the  trunk.  The  cut  should  always 
be  made  close  to  and  perfectly  even  with  the 
outline  of  the  trunk,  without  regard  to  the 
size  of  the  wound  thus  made.  This  is  the  es- 
sential rule  in  all  pruning,  and  on  its  observ- 
ance the  success  of  the  operation  depends. 
"A  tree  left  entirely  to  itself,"  says  Des  Cars, 
"generally  develops  in  one  of  two  directions. 
It  does  not  grow  ujiwards,  but  assumes  the 
low  round  form  common  to  the  apple-tree  ; 
the  lower  branches  grow  disproportionately 
large  and  absorb  too  much  sap  to  the  detri- 
ment of  the  top  of  the  tree ;  and  these  long, 
heavy  branches  are  often  broken  by  the  wind, 
or  by  snow  and  ice,  leaving  hideous  stumps. 
Trees  of  this  form  are  very  common ;  they 
generally  decay  at  the  top  before  reaching 
maturity,  and  have  little  commercial  value. 

On  the  other  hand,  many  vigorous  trees 
grow  disproportionately  at  the  top,  the  lower 
branches  die  from  insufficient  nourishment, 
fall  off,  and  leave,  when  large,  bare  decayed 
spots,  which  gradually  penetrate  to  the  heart 
of  the  tree,  and  ruin  also  its  commercial 
value.  Wonnds  caused  by  the  breaking  off 
of  large  branches  by  wind  or  snow  produce 
the  same  results.  There  is  no  remedy  for  the 
dangerous  effects  of  such  accidents  except 
pruning  ;  it  is  a  simple  question  of  surgery. 
Without  pruning,  the  tree  must  sooner  or 
later  decay;  with  pruning,  its  value  may 
be  preserved.  The  secret  of  obtaining  a  com- 
plete cure  in  all  operations  requiring  the  re- 
moval of  a  branch,  either  living  or  dead,  con- 
sists in  cutting  close  to  and  perfectly  even 
with  the  trunk.  And  it  matters  not  liow 
large  the  cut  may  be.  This  is  a  universal  rule 
of  action  ;  and  it  is  ba^ed  on  the  fact  that 
new  wood  and  bark  are  formed  by  the  de- 
scending sap,  which  passes  down  between  the 


old  wood  and  the  bark  and  cannot  deposit 
the  new  woody  substance  ujion  the  scar  of  the 
pruned  branch  if  it  is  left  projecting  at  all 
from  thelineofthesap-vessclsinthetruuk;  but 
where  the  cut  is  made  even  with  the  trunk  it  is 
soon  covered  with  new  woody  fibre  and  bark, 
and  the  tree  grows  on  to  maturity  with  unim- 
paired vigor  and  soundness.  If  the  limb  am- 
putated is  large  the  wound  will  not  heal  over 
completely  in  a  single  season.  The  new  wood 
will  form  first  around  the  top  and  the  sides  of 
the  wound,  which  will  soon  be  completely 
surrounded  by  the  new  irrowth.  Meantime, 
to  prevent  decay  taking  hold  of  any  i)ortion 
of  the  woinid,  it  has  been  found  well  to  coyer 
the  wound  with  somelhing  which  will  protect 
it.  For  this  purpose  coal-tar,  a  waste  product 
of  gas-works,  has  been  found  superior  to  the 
many  other  preparations  which  have  been 
used.  It  has  remarkable  preservative  prop- 
erties, and  may  be  u.sed  with  equal  advan- 
tage on  living  and  dead  wood.  A  sin- 
gle application  forms  an  impervious  coat- 
ing to  the  wood-celLs.  It  produces  a  sort 
of  instantaneous  stoppage  of  decay,  which 
would  otherwise  be  the  case,  thus  adding  to 
their  value)  as  timber,  while  more  room  for 
a  rennmerativc  undergrowth  of  coppice  is 
thus  given,  and  the  total  product  of  the  forest 
greatly  increased.  In  the  practical  applica- 
tion of  the  system  it  is  held  that  the  class  of 
young  forest  trees,  that  is,  those  less  than 
forty  years  old,  should  be  so  pruned  of  their 
lower  branches  that  the  trunk  will  equal  one- 
third  of  the  entire  height  of  the  tree,  and  the 
head  should  be  elongated  ovoid  in  form,  the 
lower  branches  left  being  more  or  less  short- 
ened in  for  this  purpo.se.  Middle-aged  trees, 
or  those  between  forty  and  eighty  years 
of  age,  should  have  thin  trunks,  equal 
to  about  two-fifths  of  the  total  height,  and 
the  head  should  be  made  to  assume  a  some- 
what rounder  form  than  that  given  to  the 
younger  trees.  In  the  old  trees,  eightj'  years 
and  npwards,  the  trunk  should  be  nearly 
equal  to  one-half  the  total  height,  and  the 
head  be  still  more  rounded,  and  at  all  times 
decaying  and  dead  branches  should  be  care- 
fully removed. 

Such,  without  undertaking  to  go  into  the 
minute  details  of  operation,  is  the  system  of 
De  Courval  and  Des  Cars.  It  commends 
itself  at  once  as  a  rational  .system,  and  ample 
experience  in  Europe  proves  its  great  value. 
It  is  simple  and  intelligible,  and  may  be  put 
in  practice  successfully  by  any  one.  The  Mas- 
sachusetts society  has  made  a  very  important 
contribution  to  practical  forestry  in  securing 
the  translation  and  publication  of  Des  Cars' 
treatise. — Mr.  N.  H.  Eijla^lon,  WiUiamxtown, 
Mass. 

LETTER  FROM  THE  MOTHER  OF  BAY- 
ARD TAYLOR  TO  PROF.  E.  V.  RILEY. 
KeNXETT  SliUAHE,  Nov.  G,  1SS2. 

Pnor.  Rn>EY — Dear  Sir:  I  send  a  few  silk 
worm  eggs,  by  Mr.  Davis.  In  1S80,  a  friend 
brought  some  eggs  from  California  from  two 
or  three  of  his  friends.  I  got  about  100.  I 
enjoyed  feeding  and  taking  care  of  them  very 
much.  I  am  crippled  with  the  rheumatism, 
and  can  neither  sew  nor  knit,  but  could  feed 
and  tend  the  worms  when  the  leaves  were 
brought  to  me.  When  they  were  done  spin- 
ning I  missed  them  so  much  that  I  thought  of 


trying  to  raise  a  second  crop,  and  not  know- 
ing anything  about  their  nature,  Ijeyond  feed- 
inir  and  keeping  them  clean,  I  kept  some  of 
the  eggs  that  had  just  been  laid,  in  hoiie  that 
they  would  hatch,  but  after  w^alching  them 
for  about  four  weeks,  was  told  that  they  were 
annuals,  and  would  not  hatch  until  the  next 
snnnner.  In  issl  I  gave  many  eggs  to  all 
who  wished  to  have  them.  One  little  girl  let 
some  of  hors  lay  eggs,  and  p\it  them  in  the 
garret,  thinking  it  was  the  coldest  place  in 
the  house.  They  were  all  right,  for  the  win- 
ter, but  in  the  spring  they  commenced  hatcli- 
ing  before  the  mulberry  put  out,  and  she  fed 
them  on  lettuce  leaves,  and  kept  them  alive 
until  the  mulberry  came  ;  conse(iuently  they 
were  much  earlier  than  any  others.  The 
little  girl  got  tired  of  feeding  them,  as  she 
had  to  go  quite  a  distance  foi'  the  leaves, 
and  wanted  to  sell  them.  I  bought  a  few. 
They  spun  in  due  time,  and  as  I  knew 
they  were  the  same  as  my  own,  was  not 
in  a  hurry  to  put  them  in  a  cool  place,  never 
dreaming  they  would  hatch  ;  but  to  my  utter 
surprise,  in  about  four  or  five  weeks  they  com- 
menced hatching,  and  I  had  to  hurry  them  off 
into  the  vault.  I  took  particular  pains  with 
them,  and  they  grew  and  seemed  healthy  ; 
but  they  were  not.  There  did  not  appesir  to 
be  any  particular  disease  among  them,  but 
every  few  days  one  or  two  would  look  wilted, 
and  get  soft  and  die  in  a  few  hours.  There 
were  about  100  hatched,  and  only  :jO  lived  to 
spin.  The  cocoons  were  not  so  large  as  the  - 
others  I  had,  but  still  of  a  fair  size. 

I  have  been  intending  to  write  for  some 
time  and  ask  if  you  could  explain  why  annuals 
can  produce  two-crop  worms.  I  hope  you 
will  pardon  me  for  troubling  you  with  it,  but 
hearing  that  you  were  very  much  interested 
in  the  silk  culture,  I  thought  perhaps  you 
would  excuse  the  liberty  taken  by  an  old 
woman  in  her  84th  year,  and  who  is  very 
much  interested  in  the  same,  but  unable  to  do 
much. 

The  Japanese  eggs  didn't  hatch  well.  They 
were  gummed  so  tight  to  the  card  that  the 
poor  little  worms  had  a  hard  struggle  to  make 
their  way  out  of  the  shells.— iff'jfcca  Taiilor. 


SOILING   CATTLE. 

The  necessities  of  the  time  demand  a  modi- 
fication in  methods  of  husbandry  in  the  older 
settled  parts  of  the  country.  The  most 
prominent  and  obvious  of  these  at  the  present 
is  that  relating  to  the  subsistence  of  stock.  It 
is  necessary  that  more  be  kept  than  formerly, 
and,  to  do  this,  new  methods  of  sustaining 
the  animals  must  be  adopted.  The  people 
are  ready  for  a  new  departure,  and,  in  a  few 
short  papers,  it  will  be  the  aim  of  the  writer 
to  discuss  this  subject  under  the  general  head 
of  soiling  cattle.  The  careful  attention  of 
the  farmers  is  invited  to  the  points  presented, 
because  they  are  in  full  sympathy  with  the 
recognized  needs  of  intelligent  husbandmen. 

This  subject  is  often  referred  to  in  a  general 
way,  but,  so  far  as  the  writer  knows,  no  sys- 
tematic discussion  of  it  has  ajipeared  in  our 
local  press.  Eefereuces  to  soiling,  when  made, 
convey  no  well-defined  ideas  of  what  is  actu- 
ally meant  by  the  system  ;  nor  have  directions 
or  processes  by  which  the  method  is  or  can 
be  applied  in  practice,  been  stated.  Many 
farmers  cultivate  fodder-corn  for  their  cows. 


186 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[December, 


and  cut  and  deliver  it  to  them  in  the  pasture 
fields,  and  8iii)i)oso  they  are  tlius  practicing 
the  soiling  system.  At  best  this  is  bnt  par- 
tial soiling,  and  is  not  wliat  is  meant  by  the 
soiling  system  in  the  hands  of  those  who  prac- 
tice it  methodically. 

Mnch  of  what  I  may  say  on  this  subject 
will  api)e:u-  like  quite  elementary  teaching 
to  those  who  are  acquainted  with  it.  It  will 
be  that  sort  of  teaching,  because  that  is  the 
kind  needed.  Only  a  few  know  what  the 
soiling  system  is.  Systematically  applied,  it 
is  a  new  and  better  method  than  the  old,  and 
that  it  may  be  understood,  the  elementary 
principles  must  be  fu'st  taught,  as  in  develop- 
ing any  other  methodical  system. 

What  should  be  understood  by  soiling  cattle 
is  keeping  them  in  the  stable  all  the  year 
round,  with  short  daily  liberty  in  a  yard  simi- 
lar to  that  which  dairymen  in  our  vicinity 
give  the  cows  in  winter  when  not  allowed  the 
liberty  of  the  fields.  Soiling  cattle  does  not 
contemplate  or  allow  pasturage  in  the  fields 
at  any  season.  There  are  a  few  dairymen  in 
Bucks  county  who  practice  the  system  in  its 
strict  sense.  But  the  number  who  practice  it 
in  the  partial  way  alluded  to  is  large  in  this 
and  the  adjoining  counties. 

In  the  first  place  it  wtll  be  proper  to  state 
some  of  the  principal  attained  facts  developed 
in  the  experience  of  practical  dairymen  who 
have  tried  the  system,  a  few  of  which  are  as 
follows : 
.1.  It  saves  land. 

2.  It  saves  fencing. 

3.  It  economizes  food. 

4.  The  cattle  are  more  comfortable  and  in 
better  condition. 

5.  They  give  more  milk. 

6.  A  large  increase  of  manure. 

The  only  offset  to  these  and  other  advant- 
ages is  the  labor  of  raisin?  and  cutting  the 
food,  and  feeding  and  taking  care  of  the  stock. 

Tills  additional  labor  is  of  the  bugbear  that 
frightens  farmers,  and  contemplation  of  it 
makes  coward.s  of  us  all.  Farmers  generally 
admit  the  advantages  without  argument,  and 
are  deterred  from  giving  the  system  a  fair 
trial  through  fear  of  the  extra  labor  it  in- 
volves. But  if  the  f'ai'mer  can  be  reasonably 
assured  that  such  advantages  as  are  claimed 
can  be  realized,  the  enterprising  dairyman 
should  no  longer  hesitate. 

The  bare  statement  of  the  advantages  with- 
out argument  or  elaboration  will  not  convince 
doubters,  or  lead  even  those  who  admit  them 
to  put  them  in  practice.  Let  us  see,  then, 
what  can  be  said  to  substantiate  the  claims  of 
the  advocates  of  soiling. 

It  saves  land.  In  relation  to  this  claim  all 
experience  proves  it.  The  only  difference 
found  is  as  to  the  amount  of  saving  which 
results.  These  differences  probably  arise  from 
variations  in  the  quality  of  the  land  and  its 
ability  to  sustain  heavy  pasturage.  Again, 
lands  used  for  soiling  may  be  differently  culti- 
vated. It  is  evident  that  the  amount  of  food 
raised  on  an  acre  of  enriched  and  mowed  pas- 
ture, and  an  acre  devoted  to  cultivated  crops, 
must  be  quite  different,  and  will  account  for 
the  dilTerences  in  estimates  given  of  the  sav- 
ing of  land.  In  any  case  the  economy  is  suffi- 
ciently great  and  should  be  decisive  to  the 
mind  of  any  reasonable  man. 

Properly  enriched  and  cultivated  land  will 


produce  two  or  more  soiling  crops  in  a  year,and 
thus  greatly  increase  the  amount  of  food  it  will 
yield.  Those  who  practice  but  the  partial 
soiling  method  see  at  once  what  an  increased 
amount  of  food  can  be  raised  on  a  small  sur- 
face. Some  assert  that  the  saving  is  as  three 
to  one  ;  others  as  five  to  one,  and  some  go 
even  farther  and  assert  that  one  acre  kept  for 
soiling  will  go  as  far  as  three,  five,  or  more 
kept  for  pasture.  For  all  practical  purposes 
the  testimony  is  sufflcient  that  on  all  farms 
where  the  land  is  arable,  the  economy  of  sur- 
face gained  by  soiling  is  very  great. 

The  saving  of  land  will  allow  more  stock  to 
be  kept  or  more  feed  to  be  raised  and  less  to 
be  bought.  If  no  more  stock  be  kept,  they 
may  be  kept  on  half  the  ju-oduct  of  the  farm, 
and  the  other  half  may  be  sold.  The  farmer 
therefore  has  his  choice  to  increase  his  stock, 
or  sell  half  his  crops.  The  farmer  who  now 
keeps,  say  ten  cows,  and  pastures  his  land  to 
death,  can,  by  the  soiling  .system,  keep  the 
ten  cows  better  ou  ten  acres  than  he  now 
keeps  them  on-  his  whole  farm,  and  raise  bet- 
ter crops  on  the  remaining  land.  Farmers 
who  think  they  have  not  land  enough  would 
find  that  the  economy  of  land  secured  by  the 
soiling  system  would  practically  treble  or 
quadruple  the  size  of  their  holdings.  This  is 
the  experience  of  all  who  hiive  tried  the 
methods,  and  this  kind  of  experience  has 
been  so  uniform  that  it  cannot  be  doubted. 
The  average  farmer,  therefore,  has  it  in  hfs 
power  at  his  option  to  increase  the  area  and 
productiveness  of  his  farm  by  the  adoption  of 
the  soiling  system,  and  by  thus  ecQuomizing 
his  surface,  save  land. — A.  M.  B.,  Boyles- 
town,  Pa.,  in  Weekly  Press. 


SMOKE-HOUSE  AT    SMALL   EXPENSE. 

Every  farm  should  count  among  its  out- 
houses a  good  smoke-house.  The  necessity 
for  such  a  house  is  too  obvious  to  call  for  ar- 
gument in  its  favor.  When  the  farm  is  a 
small  one,  and  the  meat  produced  thereon  is 
for  home  consumption  only,  a  large  and  elab- 
orate smoke-house  is,  however,  not  required  ; 
in  fact,  a  cheap  one  serves  every  purpose,  and 
when  meats,  are  to  be  smoked  in  a  small  way 
an  expensive  building  is  a  needless  extrava- 
gance. 

The  object  in  smoking  meat  is  to  expose 
the  meats  to  the  action  of  creosote  and  the 
vapors  resulting  from  smouldering  wood. 
This  is  done  not  only  to  gain  sundry  flavors 
imparted  by  the  smoke,  but  to  gain  the  pre- 
servative principle  given  by  the  creosote.  All 
that  is  necessary  to  bring  this  about  is  space 
enough  in  which  to  hang  meat,  that  can  be 
filled  with  smoke  and  shut  up  tight,  with 
conveniences  for  suspending  the  pieces  to  be 
cured.  In  some  smoke-houses  the  fire  is 
made  in  the  centre  of  the  house  on  a  stone 
slab ;  in  others  the  fire  is  placed  in  a  pit  in 
the  ground  about  one  foot  deep ;  again  the 
fire  oven  is  built  outside  the  smoke-house. 

The  very  cheapest  form  of  smoke-house  is 
what  is  termed  the  hogshead  or  cask-house. 
This  is  made,  as  the  name  suggests,  of  a  hogs- 
head or  large  cask.  It  is  familiar  to  old  read- 
ers, but  is  again  described  for  the  benefit  of 
beginners  who  have  no  dollars  to  spend  on 
the  construction  of  a  regular  house.  First, 
dig  a  small  pit  ;  place  a  flat  stone  or  a  brick 
across  it,  upon  which  the  edge  of  the  cask  can 


rest.  This  pit  ought  to  be  aljout  one  foot 
deep  and  nearly  one  foot  wide,  and  say  three 
feet  long.  Ilemove  both  head  and  bottom  of 
the  cask.  Pass  two  cross-bars  through  holes 
bored  in  the  sides  of  the  cask  near  the  top  ; 
upon  these  rest  cross  sticks  from  which  the 
hams  are  suspended.  Then  replace  the  head 
of  the  cask  and  cover  with  sacks  to  confine 
the  smoke.  Set  the  cask  so  that  half  the 
pit  will  be  beneath  it  and  half  of  it  outside. 
Place  some  live  coals  in  that  portion  of  the  pit 
outside  of  the  cask  and  feed  this  fire  with 
damp  corn  cobs  or  hardwood  chips.  The  pit 
must  now  l)e  covered  with  a  flat  stone,  by 
which  the  fire  may  be  regulated  and  may  be 
removed  when  necessary  to  add  more  fuel. 
This  .ire  must,  of  course,  burn  slowly  so  as  to 
produce  smoke  and  not  flame. 

When  a  larger  house  is  required  then  a  cask 
affords,  this  may  be  constructed  of  wood  or 
bricks,  as  best  suits  the  convenience  of  the 
builder.  It  is  a  wise  plan  to  build  the  fire- 
place of  bricks,  then  there  is  no  danger  from 
fire.  A  favorite  plan  is  to  have  fire  ovens  of 
brick  built  on  each  side  of  the  house  ;  these 
are  constructed  upou  the  outside,  but  space 
left  between  the  bricks  on  the  inside,  through 
which  the  smoke  escapes.  The  outer  part  of 
the  oven  is  open  at  the  front,  but  may  be 
closed  by  an  iron  door  or  a  piece  of  flat  stone. 
When  the  fire  is  kindled  in  these  ovens 
the  doors  are  closed,  and  the  smoke  has 
no  means  of  escape  except  through  the  inside 
spaces.  Being  so  confined,  the  fire  of  neces- 
sity slowly  smoulders,  making  a  steady  smoke. 
Smoke-houses  with  these  outside  fire  ovens 
ai'e  very  clean,  there  being  no  ashes  inside. 
The  floors  to  such  a  house  may  be  of  cement 
or  of  hard  brick  laid  in  cement  or  mortar. 
These  outside  ovens,  by  the  way,  can  be  fitted 
to  any  kind  of  a  smoke-house  by  cutting  the 
necessary  openings  at  the  bottom  of  the  walls 
and  protecting  the  wood  work  with  strips  of 
sheet  iron  around  the  bricks. 

Meat,  to  be  perfectly  smoked,  must  be  con- 
tinually surrounded  by  smoke. produced  from 
material  that  imparts  a  pleasant  odor.  Corn 
cobs  and  good  hickory  wood  furnish  admirable 
material.  While  the  smoke  ought  to  be  con- 
tinuous the  smoking  process  should  not  be 
hastened  to  such  a  degree  as  to  raise  the  tem- 
perature sufliciently  to  make  the  fat  ooze  out 
of  the  meat  or  prevent  the  creosote  in  the 
smoke  from  thoroughly  permeating  it.  In  a 
word,  the  fire  must  neither  be  permitted  to 
die  out  nor  to  blaze  up.  It  is  the  slow  com- 
bustion of  the  wood  that  permits  the  escape 
of  most  of  the  wood  acids  which  impart  their 
flavor  and  antiseptic  properties  to  the  meat. 

Old  smoke-houses  should  be  thoroughly 
cleaned  previous  to  use,  and  the  contrivances 
from  which  meats  are  suspended  looked  after 
and  repaired  to  prevent  their  breaking  down 
and  bringing  the  meat  in  contact  with  the  fire 
and  ashes. 


THE   SUGAR-BEET. 

The  Department  of  Agriculture  at  Wash- 
ington appears  to  have  ascertained  that  the 
prizes  of  money  offered  by  the  Department  to 
stimulate  the  production  of  the  sugar-beet 
and  Chinese  sorghum  in  this  country  were 
made  without  authority  from  Congress,  and 
were  therefore  illegal.   Payments  have,  there- 


1882.J 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


187 


fore,  been  suspended  for  the  present,  iind  in 
all  prob;ibility  the  matter  will  be  acted  upon 
at  tile  ensuing  hession  of  Congress  and  favor- 
alily.  Wo  do  not  ourselves  entertain  any 
liigl\  expectations  of  valuable  results  being 
likely  to  be  reached  by  the  stimulants  of  that 
sort.  Still,  wc  always  regard  with  favor  any 
and  all  efforts  made  by  the  Department 
of  Agriculture  to  encom-agu  tiie  produc- 
tion of  saccharine  crops  in  the  United  Stales. 
^Vs  regards  the  sugar-beet,  it  is  ratjer  a 
reproach  upon  the  entei'prise  of  Xorthern  agri- 
culture that  tile  ]\[ormon  colony  in  the  territory 
of  Utah,  under  the  rigorous  despotism  of  Brig- 
ham  Young,  succeeded  in  producing  its  own 
supply  of  domestic  sugar  from  the  beet  20 
years  in  advance  of  any  successful  eflbrt  in 
the  same  way  in  any  of  the  Atlantic  Stales. 
This  was  done  before  the  opening  of  the 
Pacific  railroad,  and  at  a  time  when  the 
Mormon  prophet  was  despotically  bent  uiion 
making  the  Mormon  community  entirely  in- 
dependent and  self-sustaining.  The  exam- 
ple thus  set  has  since  been  slowly  imitated  by 
voluntary  enterprise  in  the  States  of  Dela- 
ware, New  Jersey,  Indiana,  Illinris  and 
Maine,  with  irregular  and  varying  results. 
Perhaps  the  case  would  have  been  ditfereut 
but  for  the  unfortunate  attempt  of  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  to  force  a  sudden 
development  of  the  sugar  production  on  an 
immense  scale  by  means  of  a  rapid  and 
widespread  cultivation  of  the  Chinese  sor- 
ghum, wliich  proved  a  lamentable  failure. 
Since  that  date  the  Department  has  given 
encouragement  to  efforts  at  sugar  making 
from  Indian  corn  and  other  crops,  the  general 
etiect  of  which  has  been  to  weaken  the  cul- 
ture of  the  sugar  beet  and  of  the  tropical 
sugar  cane,  respecting  tlie  saccharine  proper- 
ties of  which  staples  theie  has  never  been  any 
doubt  whatever.  Our  own  judgment  is  that 
if  the  attention  of  the  country  as  regards 
sugar  making  could  be  concentrated  upon 
those  two  crops — the  one  for  tlie  Gulf  States 
and  the  other  for  the  north  and  West — the  re- 
sult would  be  far  more  gratifying  than  could 
possibly  be  attained  in  any  other  way.  Tlie 
consumption  of  sugar  in  the  United  States  is 
enormous,  and  as  a  vast  majority  of  it  is  im- 
ported from  foreign  co  ntries,  which  take  but 
little  merchandise  from  us  in  return,  this  one 
article  has  mostly  to  be  paid  for  by  shipments 
in  American  gold  and  silver,  a  process  entire- 
ly too  one-sided  to  be  at  all  pleasant  (jr  profit- 
able.— Oermantown  Telegraph. 


Our  Local  Organizations. 


LANCASTERCOUNTY  AGRICULTURAL 
AND   HORTICULTURAL  SOCIETY. 

Tlie  regular  meeting  erf  the  Lancaster  County 
AsricuHiiral  and  Horiiiultural  Society  was  held  in 
their  room  on  Monday  afternoon,  December  4th, 
with  the  following  members  present  :  .Joseph  F. 
Witraer,  Paradise  ;  J.  C.  Linville,  Gap  ;  M.  D.  Ken 
dig,  Cieswell ;  Casper  Hiller,  Conesloga  ;  PI.  M. 
Engle,  Marietta  ;  J.  M.  Johnston,  city  ;  John  II. 
Landis,  Manor;  F.  R.  Difrt-ndfrlTer,  city  ;  C.  A.  Cast, 
city  ;  Johnson  Miller,  Warwick  ;  C.  L.  Ilunsecker, 
Manheim  ;  \V.  B.  Paxson,  Colerain  ;  James  Wood, 
Little  Britain;  Ephraim  S.  Hoover,  Warwick; 
Henry  Heir,  West  Hempfield  ;  Cyrus  Neff,  .Manor  ; 
Wm.T.  Clark,  Chestnut  Level:  S.  P.  Eby,  Esq., 
city. 

On  motion  the  reading  of  the  minutes  of  the  previ- 
ous meeting  was  dispensed  with. 


Crop    Reports. 

Casper  HiUfr  said  the  fruit  crop  had  been  a  very 
poor  one,  but  the  corn  crop  lias  been  very  good — one 
I'armcr  reporting  as  much  as  1(10  bushels  to  the  acre. 
Pstatoes  were  very  scarce,  uotwiihstandlng  a  good 
crop  had  been  reported.  Grain  looks  remarkably 
well. 

Mr.  Eogle  also  reported  a  scarcity  of  apples.  The 
grain  and  clover  jroes  Into  winter  nuarters  in  good 
conilitiou,  notwithsti.nding  the  lly  was  found  In  some 
localities.  He  thought  the  scarcity  of  potatoes  svas 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  usual  amount  was  not 
planted.  The  rainfall  for  November  was  three- 
fourths  of  an  Inch. 

.Mr.  Paxson  rejiorted  the  wheat  and  elov  t  in  good 
condition  to  stand  the  winter  season. 

Mr.  Landis  concurred  in  the  previous  remarks  In 
regard  to  the  wheat.  lie  said  he  did  not  know  when 
the  totiacco  market  was  so  dull  as  at  present — not  a 
single  crop  having  been  sold. 

Mr.  Huusecker  reported  the  wheat  and  clover  to 
be  in  good  condition.  No  tobacco  has  yet  been  sold. 
Potato  crop  was  good,  but  the  apple  crop  did  not 
amount  to  anything. 

Mr.  Wood  said  the  wheat  looked  well,  although 
in  some  parts  the  fly  was  to  tie  found,  lie  reported 
a  peculiar  fact  in  regard  to  the  grass — it  looking  as 
irreen  and  fresh  as  it  does  at  any  season  of  the  year. 

Mr.  Miller  was  another  former  who  did  not  know 
of  any  tobacco  being  sold.  He  concurred  in  the  re- 
marks of  the  other  gentlemen  in  regard  to  the  wheat 
and  clover. 

Mr.  Witmer  had  not  heard  of  any  sales  of  tobacco, 
but  he  knew  one  man  who  was  stripping.  He  had  a 
very  good  set  of  grass  this  fall. 

Experimenting  with  Fertilizers, 

Casper  Hiller  read  a  brief  paper  ou  the  subject  of 
some  experiments  with  fertilizers  on  potatoes,  which 
is  published  below  : 

April  21st.  planted  3  rows,  each  40  yards  long, 
with  White  p^lephant  potatoes. 

Fertilizers  used  on  row  No.  1  :  Equal  parts  of 
uitrate  of  soda,  dissolved  bone,  acid  S.  C.  rock  and 
sulph.ate  of  potash.  • 

Fertilizer  used  on  row  No.  2.  Two  parts  of  sul- 
phate of  potash.  1  part  dissolved  bone  and  1  part 
acid  rock. 

Fertilizer  used  on  row  No.  3.  A  good  dressing  of 
rich,  well  rotted  stable  manure. 

The  applications  of  the  special  fertilizers  was  lilieral 
—one  half  tun  to  the  acre;  cost  on  row  No.  1,  §'i5  );er 
acre;  ou  row  No.  2.  §1.5  per  acre;  stable  manure  no 
fixed  valuation.  The  weather  during  July  and  the 
early  part  of  August  was  too  dry  tor  a  promising 
crop,  but  by  frequent  and  thoroujfh  cultivation  the 
plants  were  kept  healthy.  By  the  time  the  rains 
liceame  freciueut  the  elephants  were  about  done 
growing. 

The  yield  of  No.  1  was  400  bushels  psr  acre. 
"  No.  e         ;K0     "  "      " 

No.  3         2S0      "  "      "       • 

This  ditlercnce  from  80  to  120  bushel  per  acre  is 
worthy  of  con  ideratiou.  The  value  of  special  fer- 
tililers  lor  potatoes  has  usually  been  attributed  to 
the  potash  contained  therein.  In  tliis  experiment  it 
appears  that  the  great  increase  was  owning  largely 
to  the  use  of  the  nitrates.  The  White  Elephant  is  a 
very  prolific  variety,  and  in  quality  it  comes  nearer 
to  the  old  Mercer  than  any  of  the  newer  varieties 
lately  introduced. 

Mr.  Linville  said  he  had  been  using  commercial 
fertilizers  for  the  past  few  years  on  potatoes  and 
found  them  to  produce  better  results  than  he  was 
able  to  obtain  from  from  stable  manure. 

On  motiou,  a  vote  of  thanks  was  tendered  Mr. 
Hiller  for  his  experiments. 

.Mr.  Engle  said  it  would  be  a  very  pood  plan  if 
more  of  the  members  of  the  society  would  experi- 
ment more  than  they  do  with  fertilizers.  The  ques- 
tion of  fertilizers  was  then  discussed  at  some  length 
by  several  of  tlie  members. 

Answering  Questions, 

At  what  age  should  stock  cattle  be  put  up  for 
feeders?  This  question  had  been  referred  to  Mr.  E. 
S.  Hoover,  who  answered  it  by  saying  that  you 
should  begin  to  feed  at  the  age  of  2' J  years.  His 
reason  lor  so  thinking  was  that  at  this  age,  you  have 
a  good,  hearty  bullock,  in  good  condition  to  grow 
and  increase  in  fat.  He  has  had  some  experience  in 
that  line,  and  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  this 
was  the  proper  age  at  which  to  begin  to  feed  cattle. 


Mr.  Linville  said  the  idea  now  prevailed  to  get 
cattle  that  would  mature  early,  and  he  thought 
that  the  cattle  nf  the  future  would  be  of  that  kind. 
He  agreed  with  Mr.  Hoover,  provided  we  have  good 
cattle.  In  order  to  net  a  great  weight  we  mu'^l  pro- 
cure cattle  which  will  grow  while  we  are  feeding. 

This  Impression  was  held  by  other  members  o( 
the  society— Mr.  Engle  staling  that  the  cattle  should 
be  fattened  eelentlfically  as  toon  as  they  will  com- 
mence to  cat. 

Mr.  F.  U.  Dlffenderll'er,  to  whom  had  been  referred 
the  question,  "  Do  I'arniers  eat  too  uiueli  I  "  reported 
progress. 

.Mr.  Paxson  read  a  paper  on  the  subject  of  the  pro- 
per treat  nient  of  milch  cows.  It  was  Important,  he 
held,  that  warm  and  comfortable  quarters  iluring 
the  winter  should  be  had.  This  is  the  great  secret 
of  success,  for  cows  thrive  best  the  lees  they  are  ex- 
posed to  the  cold  weather.  The  animals  should  uol 
be  allowed  to  gorge  themselves  with  water  almost  at 
the  freezing  point.  Kegular  hours  of  feeding  and  a 
frequent  change  of  nutritious  food  should  be  ob 
served.  Cotton  seed  meal  was  a  very  good  food  for 
cows,  and  this  might  be  fed  in  conjunction  with 
other  articles. 

The  article  was  discussed  by  H.  M.  Engle  and 
others,  all  of  whom  held  substantially  the  same 
views  as  those  put  forward  by  .Mr.  Paxson. 

The  president  said  he  hoped  that  members  would 
not  forget  that  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  society 
oflicers  would  be  elected  for  the  ensuing  year,  and 
he  would  like  to  see  a  large  attendance 

The  following  questions  were  referred  :  Is  it  ad- 
visable to  use  constantly  the  so-called  cattle  pow- 
ders ?  to  H.  M.  Engle.  Should  creameries  be  es- 
tablished in  Lancaster  county  I  to  Joseph  F.  Wit- 
mer. What  crop  would  be  most  profitable  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  oatsou  corn  stubbles?  to  Johnson  Miller. 
What  is  the  most  profitable  fertilizer,  clover,  home- 
made mauure  or  artificial  fertilizers  i  to  W.  B.  Pax- 
son. 

On  motion,  the  secretary  was  authorized  to  secure 
the  services  of  some  person  to  deliver  a  lecture  be- 
fore the  society. 

Adjourned  to  the  second  Monday  in  January,  1883. 

POULTRY   ASSOCIATION. 

The  Lancaster  Couuty  Poultry  Society  met  statedly, 
Monday  morning,  Dec.  4,  1S8:J,  in  their  room  over 
the  City  Hall,  with  the  following  members  present : 
George  A.  Geyer,  Florin ;  J.  B.  Liehty,  city  ;  John 
E.  Schuin,  city;  Charles  Lippold,  city;  Joseph  R. 
Trissler,  city  ;  F.  K.  DIHcnderlfer,  city;  C.  A.  Gast, 
ciy;  H.  H.  Tshudy,  Lititz ;  J.  B.  Sehultz,  Eliza- 
bethto.wn;  H  D.  Shultz,  Ellzabethtown ;  Isaac 
Brooks,  West  Willow;  Dr.  E.  H.  Witmer,  Nelfg- 
ville;  J.  M.  Johnston,  city;  Peter  Bruner,  Mount 
Joy;  J.  W.  Bruckhart,  Salnnga. 

The  minutes  of  the  preceding  meeting  were  read 
and  approved. 

J.  L.  Bruner,  of  Mount  Joy,  August  Lang,  of 
Pittsburg,  and  Simon  Tshudy,  of  West  Willow,  were 
nominated  and  elected  to  membership  of  the  society. 

The  following  persons  were  placiid  in  nomination 
for  officers  of, the  society  during  the  ensuing  year  : 
President,  H.  H.  Tshudy,  Lititz  ;  J.  B.  Long,  city  ; 
George  A.  Geyer,  Florin.  Vice  Presidents,  M.  L. 
Greidcr,  Mount  .Joy,  and  T.  Frank  Evans,  Lititz. 
Corresponding  Secretary,  Joseph  H.  Trissler,  city. 
Recording  Secretary,  J.  B.  Liehty,  city.  Treasurer, 
John  E.  Schum,  city.  Executive  Committee,  Peter 
Bruner,  Mount  Joy  ;  J.  A.  Stober,  Schujneck  ;  Chas. 
IJppold,  city;  Win.  A.  Schoenberger,  city;  Dr.  E.  H. 
Witmer,  Nefi'sville ;  A.  S.  Flowers,  Mount  Joy;  S. 
(i.  Engle,  Marietta.  The  nominations  closed,  and  the 
candidates  will  be  balloted  for  at  the  next  meeting. 

The  secretary  stated  that  he  had  secured  Excel- 
sior Hall  for  the  exhibition,  with  storage  room  for 
the  coops,  for  ■?i)0. 

Letters  had  been  received  from  Messrs.  BIckell 
and  Becker,  the  judges  elected  by  the  society, 
stating  that  they  would  accept,  and  be  in  Lancaster 
ou  time. 

The  secretary  also  stated  that  by  had  completed 


188 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER- 


[December, 


arraiiircmenls  with  the  Pennsylvauia  Kailroad  Com- 
pany for  excursion  rates  to  Lancaster  during  the 
exhibition. 

On  motion,  Joseph  R.  Trissler  was  appointed  su- 
perintendent of  the  exhibition,  lie  to  devote  his 
wliole  time  to  the  show  during  its  continuance. 

Adjourned. 


AGRICULTURE. 


LINNi^AN  SOCIETY. 

Th.T  Linnsan  Society  met  in  their  museum  room 
on  Saturday,  November  35,  at  2  P.  M.,  Prof.  J.  S. 
Stalir,  President,  in  Ihe'chair.  Prof.  Rathvoo,  Prof. 
Buehrle,  S.  M.  Sener,  Mrs.  Zell,  Miss  Lefevre  and 
two  visitors  present.  Minutes  of  previous  meeting 
were  read  and  dues  collected,  after  which  the  follow- 
ing donations  were  made  : 

Donations  to  the  Museum. 
A  pint  bottle  of  spirits,  containing  two  large  cen- 
tipedes (Scoloperadra  heros)  a  palraated  cricket 
(Sterropalmata  talpa)  and  a  "  Camel  cricket  (Man- 
tus  Carolina)  from  the  vicinity  of  Carson,  Mitchell 
county,  Texas,  and  donated  by  Mr.  H.  A.  Kathvon, 
of  Carson,  Texas.  These  centipedes  are  the  largest 
species  among  the  Mi-ri.ipoda,  although  occasion- 
ally larger  specimens  may  be  found.  In  their  pres- 
ent contracted  form,  they  measure  fully  eight  inches 
in  length,  but  if  living,  and  the  segments  naturally 
relaxed  and  expanded  they  would  measure  at  least 
ten  inches  in  length.  These  animals  are  no  doubt 
poisonous,  but  it  is  probable  that  many  of  the  stories 
published  abont  their  venomous  qualities  are  fabri. 
cations  or  exaggerations.  Each  foot  is  terminated 
by  a  sharp  bent  spine,  and  we  have  been  informed 
that  when  they  remove  any  expo.sed  part  of  the 
human  body,  they  leave  two  rows  of  dimpled  spots, 
which  soon  became  inflamed. 

The  Palmated  cricket,  as  its  name  implies,  is  rela- 
ted to  the  "  Mole  cricket,"  of  which  we  have  one  or 
two  species  in  Lancaster  county.  This  insect  in 
California  is  called  the  "  Potato  cricket,"  and  when 
numerous,  is  said  to  be  very  destructive  to  the  potato 
tubers  in  the  ground,  excavating  them  and  forming 
large  burrows  in  them  and  thus  depreciating  their 
culinary  values.  Some  years  ago  a  gentleman  in 
Sacramento  Valley  sent  a  number  for  identification 
and  represented  them  as  destroying  his  potato  crop. 
Their  semi-palmated  anterior  feel  seem  to  indicate 
tliat  they  are  burrowing  insects,  feeding  on  roots 
and  tubers.  They  belong  to  the  family  Gryllklie  in 
the  order  Orthoptera. 

The  Canal  cricket  Is  called  "  Devil's  horse"  in 
Texas.  Prof.  Townsend  (JJlover  named  it  "  Rear 
horse"  in  one  of  his  reports  belore  the  war.  In  Eu- 
rope it  is  called  the  "  Praying  mantes,"  but  if  an 
"  c"  was  substituted  for  the  "  a,"  it  would  more 
nearly  express  its  character,  for  it  ss  perhaps  the 
only  orthopterous  insect  that  preys  upon  other  in 
sects.  Its  large  and  stout  anterior  reptorial  legs  ex- 
plain its  character.  Specimen  of  the  mole  cricket 
by  Dr.  XI.  L.  Davis;  Steatite  by  Master  H.  Hala- 
baugh,  and  two  specimens  of  superannuated  curren- 
cy and  box  of  Indian  Darts  by  Mr.  Beates,  of  Mid- 
dletown,  Pa.  To  the  library  w-as  added,  Lancasteu 
Fakmeb  for  November  ;  Patent  Office  Gazette,  Nos 
17  and  20,  of  vol.  22  and  Index  of  Patentees  foj. 
1882;  Lancaster  Industries,  a  pamphlet,  in  refer 
ence  to  removal  of  duty  on  books  ;  package  of  Bi- 
centennial records  and  envelope  of  thirteen  news- 
paper cuttings.  Professor  S.  S.  Rathvon  read  a 
paper  on  "  Myriapoda."  Prof.  R.  K.  Buehrle  was 
present  and  paid  his  initiation  fee.  After  an  hour  or 
more  passed  in  science  gossip,  adjourned.  Before 
adjournment  it  was  resolved,  "  That  when  we  ad- 
journ, we  adjourn  to  meet  early  in  January,  instead 
of  December,  on  account  of  the  holidays  and  that 
said  meeting  be  called  by  the  secretary.  Our  next 
meeting  will  be  our  annual  one. 


Ivory  Wheat  and  Millo  Maize. 
J.  T.  Henderson,  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  of 
the  State  of  Georgia,  in  a  report  for  1!<S1  and  1882 
calls  attention  to  the  claims  of  "  Ivory  wheat  "  and 
"  Millo  maize"  to  a  place  on  the  list  of  profitable 
food  crops.  These  are  both  members  of  the  lai-ge 
family  of  sorghums,  of  the  class  that  have  for  many 
years  been  cultivated  in  Central  Africa  and  other 
tropical  countries  for  bread  purposes.  Analyses 
made  to  gain  the  relative  theoretical  value  of  these 
grains  as  compared  with  ordinai-y  standard  wheat 
show  that  there  is  scarcely  more  difference  in  the 
proximate  analyses  of  "Ivory  wheat,"  so  called, 
and  Dallas  or  Red  May  than  appeared  between  the 
analyses  of  the  latter  two  varieties  of  ordinary 
wheat.  The  Ivory  wheat  shows  a  larger  percentage 
of  albuminoids  (flesh  formers),  slightly  less  of 
starch  and  more  of  fats  (fat  and  heat  producers) 
than  either  of  the  true  wheats.  The  Millo  maize 
has  considerably  less  of  the  albuminoids  or  flesh 
forming  substances  than  either  of  the  others,  being 
about  equal  to  the  Indian  corn  in  this  respect. 

"  The  flour  made  from  the  Ivory  wheat,  when 
properly  ground  and  bolted,  is  rather  darker  than 
ordinary  '  family  '  flour,  but  possesses  the  property 
of  kneading  well,  and  is  therefore  adapted  to  the 
process  of  '  raising  '  with  yeast  or  by  similar  means. 
Bread  made  from  it,  though  not  equal  in  any  sensi- 
ble respect  to  that  from  fine  wheaten  flour,  is  by  no 
means  unpalatable,  and,  as  indicated  by  analysis,  is 
probably  fully  equal  in  nutritiveness  to  any. 
For  making  the  forms  of  bread  for  which 
buckwheat  flour,  rice  flour,  middlings  of 
wheat,  &c.,  are  usually  employed,  viz. :  waf- 
fles, griddle-cakas,  muflins,  &c.,  the  Ivory  fijur 
seems  to  be  well  adapted."  Mr.  Henderson  does 
not  speak  from  actual  experiment  of  the  bread  quali- 
ties of  the  Millo  maize,  but  is  of  the  opinion  that  in 
this  respect  it  will  be  found  to  resemble  Indian  corn 
meal.  It  is  claimed  that  both  of  the;e  plants  are 
enormously  productive,  rather  indifferent  as  to  soil 
and  culture,  and  almo.st  iudependeut  of  the  seasons 
after  the  soil  has  been  prepared  and  the  crop  started 
off.  Owing  to  the  extraordinary  seasons  of  this  year 
it  has  not  been  practical  to  test  their  capacity  to  re- 
sist drought,  and  a  sufficient  number  of  reports  of 
experimenters  has  not  yet  been  i-eceivod  to  form  any 
decided  conclusions  in  reference  to  productiveness 
under  ordinary  circumstances.  But  Mr.  Henderson 
is  of  the  opinion  that  the  reports  will  show  that 
both  are  .very  productive — far  more  so  than  any 
grain  crop  now  grown  in  this  State.  The  Millo 
maize  is  qjiile  late  in  maturing,  requiring  favorable 
culture  and  the  full  season  fi-om  planting  time 
(Api-il)  until  frost  to  mature  in  north  Georgia  ;  but 
this  difficulty  will  probably  soon  yield  to  the  accli- 
matizing effect  of  planting  home-grown  seed  a  few 
years.  This  plant  appears  to  be  unusually  produc- 
tive of  foliage,  will  bear  two  or  more  cuttings,  and 
promises  to  be  very  valuable  for  soiling  and  general 
forage  purposes. 


The  use  of  a  public  road  is  for  travel — not  to  pas- 
ture animals  upon  it.  The  old  barbarism  of  pasturing 
on  the  load  is  done  for  in  the  Northern  Slates,  and 
will  be  in  the  South  as  soon  as  the  south  "catches 
on  "  to  Northern  enterprise  and  judicious  tastes. 


Economy  on  the  Farm. 

On  the  farm,  and  in  all  the  various  details  uf  rural 
and  domestic  life,  prudence  and  a  just  economy  of 
lime  and  means  are  incumbent  in  an  eminent  de- 
gree. The  earth  itself  is  composed  of  atoms,  and  in 
the  mcst  gigantic  fortunes  consist  of  aggregated 
items,  insignificant  in  themselves  individually  con- 
sidered, but  majestic  when  contemplated  in  unity 
and  as  a  whole.  In  the  management  of  a  larm,  all 
needless  expenditure  should  be  systematically  ayoid 
ed,  and  the  income  made  to  exceed  the  outlay  as  far 
as  possible.  Pecuniary  embarrassment  should  al- 
ways be  regarded  as  a  contingency  of  evil  boding, 
and  if  contended  against  with  energy  and  persever- 
ing fortitude,  it  must  soon  be  overcome.  Debt,  with 
but  liftle  hope  of  its  removal,  is  a  millstone  drag- 
ging us  down  and  crushing  the  life-blood  out  of  us. 
Be  careful,  therefore,  in  incurring  any  pecuniary  re- 
sponsibility  which  does  not  present  a  clear  deliver- 


ance with   the  advantages    which  a   wise   use  of  it 
ought  always  to  insure. 

A  farmer  who  purchases  a  good  farm  and  can  pay 
down  one  third  of  the  price,  give  a  mortgage  for  the 
other  two  thirds,  and  possesses  the  heai-t  and  resolu- 
tion to  work  it  faithfully  and  well,  enters  upon  the 
true  path  to  success.  He  will  labor  with  the  en- 
couraging knowledge  that  each  day's  exertions  will 
lessen  his  indebtedness  and  bring  him  nearer  to  the 
gaol  when  he  shall  be  disenthralled  and  becomes  a 
freeholder  in  its  most  cheering  sense.  But  without 
due  economy  in  every  department,  in  the  dwelling, 
as  well  as  in  the  barns  and  in  the  fields,  this  gratify- 
ing achievement  may  not  be  reached  until  late  in 
life,  or  may  be  indefinitely  postponed.  A  prudent 
oversight,  therefore,  over  all  the  operations  of  the 
farm,  in  order  that  everything  may  be  done  that 
ought  to  be  done  and  nothing  be  wasted,  will  exert  a 
powerful  influence  in  placing  a  family  on  the  high 
road  to  an  early  independence. — Oermanlovm  Tele- 
graph. 


Rules  Adopted  by  the  Hay  Trade. 

Following  are  the  rules  adopted  by  the  Hay 
Trade  in  New  York,  Brooklyn,  and  Jersey  City  under 
the  leadership  of  the  Manhattan  Hay  and  Produce 
Exchange  : 

No.  1  Prime  //fi!/— Shall  be  pure  timothy,  properly 
cured,  bright,  natural  color,  sound  and  well  baled. 

No.  2,  or  Good  ifa?/— Shall  be  timothy,  not  more 
than  one  quarter  mixed  with  red  top  and  blue  grass, 
properly  cured,  bright  color,  sound  and  well  baled. 

No.  3,  or  Medium— 9,h3.\\  include  all  timothy  not 
good  enough  for  No.  2,  proportionately  mixed  with 
blue  grass,  red-top  and  clover,  sound  and  well 
baled. 

No.  4,  01-  Shipping  i/iij/— Shall  include  all  hay  not 
good  enough  for  other  grades,  and  may  be  natural 
meadow,  free  from  wild  or  bog,  and  must  not  con- 
tain over  one  third  clover,  sound  and  well  baled. 

Clover  i/ii?/— Shall  be  medium  grown,  properly 
cured,  good  color,  sound  and  well  baled. 

No  Grade,  or  Rejeeted  7/aj/— Shall  include  all  hay 
badly  cured,  musty,  stained  or  unsound  in  any  way. 

Mules  for  Impcotion— AW  certificates  of  inspection 
shall  give  the  number  of  bales  and  grade  of  each 
bale  inspected. 

The  expenses  for  inspection  shall  be  10  cents  per 
ton  for  grading,  and  20  cents  per  ton  for  grading, 
weighing,  and  unloading  cars  of  hay,  the  expenses 
to  be  paid  half  by  the  buyer  and  half  by  the  seller. 

All  hay  or  straw  shall  be  pressed  with  wood  not 
to  exceed  three  pounds  per  bale.  All  hay  or  straw 
wooded  in  excess  of  three  pounds  per  bale,  the  total 
weight  of>ood  will  be  deducted.  This  rule  will 
take  effect  January  1,  1883. 


Effects  of  Broom-Corn  on  the  Soil. 

Professor  Shelton,  of  the  Kansas  State  Agricul- 
tural College,  gives  his  views  concerning  the  con 
tinned  culture  of  broom-corn  on  the  fertility  of  the 
soil  in  the  college  paper,  the  Industrialist.    He  saye  : 

"  Ultimately,  the  effects  of  such  crops  as  broom- 
corn,  hemp,  flax  and  perhaps  castor-beans,  which 
furnish  no  stock  feed,  or  but  very  little,  will  be  seri- 
ously felt  in  Kansas  in  the  loss  of  fertility  sustained 
by  those  lands  upon  which  these  are  cultivated.  The 
fact  that  broom-corn  is  a  hoed  or  cultivated  crop 
makes  it  much  less  dangerous  than  is  flax,  which  re- 
ceives no  cultivation  during  the  period  of  its  growth. 
The  general  rule  for  every  farmer  who  has  a  higher 
aim  than  to  scourge  his  lands  and  then  seek  newer 
ones  is  to  grow  no  crop  upon  a  considerable  scale 
that  cannot  be  used  wholly  or  in  good  part  as  stock 
feed.  This  has  been  the  rule  of  really  successful 
farmers  the  world  over,  and  at  a  near  day  will  be 
the  rule  in  Kansas  also." 


The  Agricultural  Interests  of  the  Country. 

Washington,  November  23.— George  B.  Loring, 
Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  has  submitted  his  an- 
nual report  to  the  President.  Two  and  a  half  mil- 
lion packages  of  seeds  have  been  distributed  and 
260,000  copies  of  special   reports    printed    by   the 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


189 


Department.  The  statistical  division  estimates  the 
following  as  tlie  yield  of  1SS3:  Corn,  l,(!:i5,000,000 
busliels;  wheat,  41(),00U, 000  bushels;  onts,  470,- 
000,000  liushels;  barley,  45,000,000  bushels;  rye, 
20,000,000  bushels;  budiwhi-iit,  12,000,000  bushels. 
The  chemical  division  has  devoted  its  worli  largelj 
during  the  year  to  the  investigation  of  the  sugar- 
producing  qualities  of  sorghum  and  other  plants. 
The  work  of  the  division  was  submitted  to  the  Na- 
tional Academy  of  Science  for  investigation  liy  that 
body,  and  a  coinmltlee  was  appointed  for  that  pur- 
pose. The  report  of  this  committee  contains  a 
review  of  the  history  of  the  sorghum  industry  for 
twenty-live  years  and  will  be  issued  as  a  special 
publicali(pii.  Tha  report  of  the  veterinary  division 
shows  less  disease  among  domestic  animals  (Texas 
fever  excepted)  than  in  many  years.  Examinations 
into  ttie  fibres  of  wool  and  cotton  have  been  made, 
and  two  sites,  both  in  Colorado,  have  bceu  selected 
for  artesian  wells.  In  the  Ibrestry  division  increased 
activity  has  been  shown,  a  special  agent  having  bceu 
appointed  to  collect  information  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi.   His  report  will  soon  be  submitted. 

Small  Potatoes. 

At  a  recent  session  of  the  San  Francisco  (Cal.) 
Academy  of  Sciences,  Mr.  J.  G.  Lemmon,  who 
spent  six  months  in  the  mountains  on  the  Mexican 
frontier  among  Apaches  and  cowboys,  announced 
that  he  had  brought  up  five  boxes  of  new  plants, 
and  that  he  had  found  two  or  three  new  kinds  of 
native  potatoes,  some  of  which  were  growing  on  a 
peak  10,000  feet  high.  They  were  about  the  size  of 
walnuts.  This  was  regarded  as  an  important  liud 
that  might  throw  some  light  on  the  nativity  of  that 
potato,  as  the  real  home  of  the  "  Murphys,"  as  they 
are  familiarly  styled,  has  not  yet  been  established. 
They  were  reported  to  have  been  found  in  Peru  in 
1.500.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  found  some  and  sent  them 
to  England,  but  they  have  only  been  known  to  the 
poor  man  on  his  table  for  a  century. 

HORT3CL  -TURK. 


^A/inter  Flowers  in  the  Window. 

Tlie  man  or  woman  who  dislikes  to  see  even  a  sin- 
gle pot  or  stand  or  plants  or  flowers  in  the  window 
when  they  can  no  longer  be  grown  out-of  doors,  we 
would  not  care  to  be  acquainted  with.  When  we  see 
these  thoughtful,  modest  etl'orts  to  please  the  eye  of 
the  passers-by,  we  involuntarily  accord  to  that 
household  not  only  our  good  wishes,  but  a  due  share 
of  natural  accomplishment  that  it  did  not  even 
dream  of  evoking.  While  city  people  should  not 
omit  adorning  their  front  windows  in  this  way,  we 
think  that  country  people  beyond  all  others  can 
make  their  homes  beautiful  at  small  expense  in  such 
adornments,  and  would  suggest  that  the  material 
for  this  cheap  and  beautiful  arrangement  is  particu- 
larly abundant  at  this  time  of  the  year.  There  are 
not  only  living  plants  in  pots  lor  the  window  sill,  but 
colored  leaves,  dried  ferns  and  grasses,  and  skele- 
tonized plants,  out  of  which  innumerable  tasteful 
objects  may  be  made.  But  among  the  cheapest  and 
most  interesting  of  these  room  and  window  adorn- 
ments is  the  hanging  plants,  which  may  be  sus- 
pended from  hooks  and  brackets,  and  by  which  the 
whole  window  can  be  made  to  look  like  a  summer 
scene  in  the  woods,  although  we  are  in  the  midst  of 
winter.  In  the  closely-built  cities  some  such  window- 
gardening  attempts  are  made,  but  are  generally, 
with  rare,  beautiful  exceptions,  utter  failures.  Some 
highly  ornamental  China  work,  or  some  highly- 
painted  or  polished  "  rustic"  basket,  is  employed  to 
hold  the  plants,  but  always  evidently  to  the  plant's 
misery.  Plants  do  not  seem  to  admire  these  elabo 
rate  preparations  for  them.  They  seem  lo  under- 
stand that  with  them  they  only  occupy  a  very  infe- 
rior position  in  the  temple  of  honor,  and  hence  there 
is  no  wonder  they  fade  away  and  die.  In  most  of 
our  country  homes  we  find  them  in  common  pots, 
shells,  slumps,  boxes  or  anything  that  can  be  im 
provised,  and  always  with  success. 

We  remember  that  at  our  great  CenteDoial  exposi- 


tion an  exhibitor  made  for  hanging-plants  purposes 
the  husk  of  the  cocoanut,  And  we  noticed  and  ascer- 
tained in  fact  that  plants  thrived  wonderfully  in  this 
to  us  unique  arrangement.  It  reminded  us  of  what 
wc  had  often  read  in  the  English  horticultural 
periodicals,  that  cocoanut  refuse  is  an  exuellcnt  ma- 
terial for  the  growth  of  plants.  Wc  are  all  familiar 
with  the  cocoanut,  but  all  do  not  know  that  the  mit 
Is  enclosed  in  a  heavy,  spongy  covering  or  husk  of 
an  inch  or  more  in  thickness.  These  husks  are  cut 
across  in  tlie  middle  and  make  two  little  baskets, 
and  can  be  easily  suspended  with  wire.  As  we  have 
already  said,  there  is  a  great  fertility  power  in  this 
covering,  and  there  is  the  basket  at  the  same  time, 
thus  securing  two  desirable  things  wliereonly  one  to 
most  people  was  apparent. 

Many  beautiful  plants  and  llowers  can  he  had  all 
the  winter  through  in  lids  way  at  very  little  cost  In 
time  or  money — at  least,  so  little  as  not  to  be  worth 
mentioning  with  the  pleasure  and  satisfaction  afford 
ed  to  all,  alike  to  those  who  provide  these  most  de- 
sirable natural  ornaments  and  the  obliged  public 
who  cordially  welcome  the  heartfelt  treat  as  they 
pass  along.  Now,  too,  is  the  time,  and  none  to 
spare,  when  the  preparations  should  be  made  about 
securing  them. —  Oerinantown   Teleijraph. 


Preserving  Garden  Flowers. 

The  time  has  come  when  we  shall  have  to  part 
with  many  garden  pets  which  have  given  us  so  much 
pleasure  during  the  growing  season.  Such  partings 
always  bring  regret;  and  in  spite  of  "nowhere  to 
keep  them,"  people  will  try  if  something  cannot  be 
done  at  any  rate.  It  is  believed  that  it  is  not  so 
much  the  degree  of  cold  which  kills  usually  hardy 
plants,  as  it  is  the  drying  influences  of  a  very  cold 
atmosphere,  and  hence  many  find  a  very  little  cover- 
ing sufficient  to  save  plants,  if  the  covering  be  such 
as  to  ke?p  them  from  dying  out. 

We  know,  for  instance,  that  a  raspberry  or  a 
grape  vine,  which  would  probably  be  destroyed  if 
left  above  ground  in  its  natural  way,  can  be  safely 
preserved  by  being  buried  just  beneath  the  surface  ; 
and  it  is  tound  that  roses  bent  over  to  tlie  ground 
and  covered  with  earth,  so  shaped  as  to  throw  off 
the  water,  will  enable  rather  tender  kinds  to  get 
through  the  winter  unscathed.  A  friend  once  told 
us  that  verbenas  were  much  hardier  than  people 
supposed.  He  put  dry  leaves  over  the  bed  and  then 
covered  the  leaves  with  a  board,  and  they  did  not 
injure  by  the  hardest  frost. 

We  should  suppose,  however,  that  green  succulent 
matter  would  rot  by  confinement,  as  well  as  hard 
wood  get  injured  by  Irost ;  and  we  would  sugsrest  to 
all  who  may  be  disposed  to  preserve  anything  in  this 
way  the  importance  of  cutting  away  half  ripe  wood 
or  succulent  green  foliage  before  entombing  the 
plants  for  winter. 

Pampas  grasses,  the  ostrich  feather  like  spikes 
of  which  are  so  commonly  seen  in  gardens,  cause 
much  discussion  as  to  the  best  means  to  protect. 
Some  take  them  up  and  put  them  into  a  tub  of  earth 
and  keep  thorn  in  a  cool  cellar ;  but  those  who  suc- 
ceed in  keeping  them  over  winter  in  the  open  ground 
have  finer  plants  and  larger  and  more  numerous 
spikes.  Some  of  our  neighbors  turn  a  barrel  over 
the  stocks  to  keep  out  the  water,  tiling  in  dry  leaves 
all  about  the  plant  ;  and,  though  sometimes  the 
plants  will  be  lost  treated  in  this  way,  generally  it  is 
a  success.  The  "  rocket  "  plant  docs  well  on  either 
of  the  plans  named  for  the  pampas  grass. 

Dahlias,  tuberoses,  gladiolus  and  such  like  sum- 
mer flowering  roots,  there  is  no  trouble  with.  All 
they  require  is  to  be  taken  up  as  soon  as  the  lirst 
frost  has  injured  their  flowers  and  spoiled  their  blos- 
soming for  the  season,  and,  after  drying  a  little,  put 
them  iu  some  moderate  cool  and  dry  place  secure 
from  the  Irost. —  (Icrmanlown  Tchyraph. 


Household  Recipes. 

Roast  Tikkev,  (;aknisiikd  witu  Sausages.— 
Wash  out  the  turkey  carefully.  Stuft'  as  usual,  add- 
ing a  little  cooked  sausage  to  the  dressing.  (Salt 
the  giblets,  and    keep    for    to-morrow.)     Lay  the 


turkey  in  the  drlpplng-dan,  pour  a  great  cupful  of 
boiling  water  over  it,  and  roast  about  ten  mibutes 
per  pound — slowly  for  the  flrst  hour.  Baste  faith- 
fully and  often,  dredging  with  flour,  and  basting 
with  butter  at  the  last.  Dish  the  turkey,  laying 
boiled  sausages  around  It.  Pour  the  fat  from  the 
gravy  ;  thicken  with  browned  flour  ;  salt  and  pe|>- 
per.     Boil  once,  and  serve  In  a  boat. 

Mashed  Tuhnips. — Pare,  quarter,  and  cook 
tender  in  l)oiling  water,  a  little  salt.  Mash  and 
press  in  a  heated  colander  ;  work  in  butter,  pepper 
and  salt ;  heap  smoothly  In  a  deep  dish,  and  put 
"  dabs"  of  pepper  on  lop. 

Canned  Corn  Pudding. — Drain,  and  chop  the 
corn  flne,  add  a  lal)le8poonful  of  melted  butter,  four 
beaten  eggs;  a  large  cup  of  milk,  with  an  even  tea- 
spoonful  of  corn  starch  stirred  In  it,  with  salt  and 
pepper  to  taste.  Bake,  covered,  in  a  greased  pud- 
ding dish  one  hour  ;  tlicn  brown  quickly. 

CuANUEHHV  Sauce.— Cook  a  quart  of  cranberries 
with  a  very  little  water,  slowly,  in  a  porcelain  or 
tinned  saucepan.  Stir  often,  and  when  they  are 
broken  all  to  pieces,  and  thick  as  marmalade,  take 
off,  sweeten  liberally,  and  rub  through  a  colander, 
wet  a  mold  and  put  them  into  form. 

Orange  Snow  and  Snowdrift  Cake.— Four 
large  sweet  oranges,  juice  of  all,  and  grated  peel  of 
1  lemon  ;  1  package  of  gelatine  soaked  In  1  cup  of 
cold  water;  whites  of  4  eggs,  whipped  stilf;  1  large 
cup  of  powdered  sugar;  2  cups  of  boiling  water. 

Mix  the  juice  and  peel  of  the  fruit  with  the  soaked 
gelatine,  add  the  sugar,  stir  well,  and  leave  them  for 
one  hour.  Pour  on  boiling  water,  and  stir  until 
clear.  Strain  and  press  through  a  coarse  cloth. 
When  cold,  and  beginning  to  congeal,  whip  a  spoon- 
I'ul  at  a  time  into  the  frothed  whites.  Put  into  a 
wet  mold. 

Oyster  Soup. — Two  quarts  of  oysters  ;  1  quart 
of  milk;  2  tablespoon fuls  of  butter;  1  teacupful 
hot  water  ;  pepper,  salt  and  blade  of  mace. 

Strain  all  the  liquor  from  the  oysters ;  add  the 
water,  and  heat.  When  near  the  boil,  add  the  seas- 
oning, then  the  oysters.  Cook  about  Ave  minutes 
from  the  time  they  began  to  s  mmer,  until  they 
"ruffle."  Stir  in  the  butter,  cook  one  minute  and 
pour  into  the  tureen.  Stir  in  the  boiling  milk,  and 
send  to  table. 

Boused  Chkken. — Clean  and  truss  the  chickens, 
but  do  not  stuff  them.  Sew  up  each  in  a  piece  of 
mosquitonettiiig,  and  boil  in  plenty  of  hot  salted 
wat3r.  Allow  about  twelve  iniuntes  lo  tlie  pound. 
Undo  the  netting  ;  wipe  the  chickens,  and  rub  all 
over  with  butter.  Send  up  in  a  boat  a  cup  of  melted 
butter  iu  which  have  been  stirred  the  pounded  yolks 
of  two  hard  boiled  eggs,  and  some  pow.lered  or 
minced  parsley.  Pour  a  few  spoonsfuls  ov  r  the 
chickens. 

BuowNKD  Potatoes. — Boil  with  their  skin  on. 
Throw  off  the  water;  take  each  potato  iu  a  clean 
towel,  and  hold  it  while  you  strip  off  the  skin.  Lay 
them,  when  peeled,  in  a  greased  baking-pan,  and 
set  this  in  a  hot  oven.  Roast,  with  good  dripping, 
until  they  are  all  well  colored. 

Baked  Sweet  Potatoes.— Wash,  and  bake  soft 
in  a  moderate  oven.    Serve  in  their  "jackets." 

Scalloped  Squasu.— Pare,  slice,  and  mash. 
Stir  in  while  it  is  hot,  a  good  spoonful  of  butler, 
pepper  and  salt  to  taste,  and  two  beaten  eggs.  Pour 
into  a  buttered  dish  ;  strew  fine  crumbs  on  the  top, 
hiid  bake,  covered,  half  an  hour— then  brown 
slightly. 

Baked  Cu-stards.- One  quart  of  milk  ;  4  bealeu 
eggs  ;  a  tablespoonfuls  of  sugar,  beaten  with  the 
eggs;  nutmeg,  and  2  teaspoonfuls  of  flavoring  ex- 
tract. 

Scald  the  milk  ;  pour  upon  the  other  ingredients  ; 
stir  together  well  ;  flavor,  and  pour  into  stone  china 
cups.  Set  these  iu  a  pan  o(  hot  water;  grate  nut 
meg  upon  each,  and  bake  until  firm.  Eat  cold  from 
the  cups. 

Simple  Wuite  Soup.- Take  the  fat  from  the  top 
of  your  turkey  soup'Stock  ;  strain,  rubbing  the  dress- 


190 


THE  LANCASTER    FARMER. 


[December) 


infr  throuirh  the  colandor.  Simmer  one  hour,  with 
half  a  sliced  onion  and  four  tablespoonfuls  of  soaked 
rice  in  it,  or  until  the  rice  is  soft.  Be  careful  that  it 
docs  not  scorch.  Strain  throuijh  the  soup  siire  into 
the  tureen,  add  pepper  and  salt,  if  needed — finally  a 
cup  of  hot  milk  in  which  has  been  stirred  and  cooked 
for  one  minute  two  beaten  eggs. 

Stewei)  Fillet  op  V'EAL.^Lard  the  fillet  on  top 
with  strips  of  fat  salt  pork  ;  lay  a  few  slices  of  corned 
ham  in  the  bottom  of  a  saucepan ;  on  these  the  veal ; 
cover  with  sliced  ham  ;  season  with  pepper,  salt, 
and  a  pinch  of  mace;  pour  in  a  cup  of  yesterday's 
soup,  weakened  with  water.  Cover  closely  and  stew 
two  hours,  turiiiuy  the  meat  at  the  end  of  the  first 
hour;  take  up  and  keep  the  meat  hot  over  boiling 
water;  add  some  browned  flour  and  a  tablespoonful 
of  soaked  gelatine  to  the  gravy  when  you  Ijave 
strained  it,  boil  fast  and  liard  until  it  is  thick,  and  of 
a  glassy  brown.  Pour  on  the  veal,  set  in  the  oven, 
the  larJed  side  upward,  and  shut  the  door  for  a  few 
minutes  to  "glaze  "  it.  Garnish  with  light  and  dark 
green  celery  tops.     Lay  the  ham  about  it. 

Spinach. — Boil  in  plenty  of  salt  water  for  twenty- 
five  minntes.  Drain  chop  very  fine,  put  back  in  the 
saucepan  with  a  teaspoonful  of  sugar,  a  little  pep- 
per, salt,  and  mace,  and  a  few  sDOonfuIs  of  milk  or 
cream.  Beat  and  toss  until  it  is  like  a  thick  green 
custard,  and  pour  out  upon  slices  of  fried  bread. 

Boiled  Beans.— Soak  all  night.  In  the  morning, 
put  on  in  cold  water,  and  pour  over  them,  when 
dished,  a  little  good  drawn  butter. 

Ma.shed  Potatoes. — Prepare  as  usual,  without 
lirowning. 

Qi-EEX's  Toast.— Cut  thick  slices  of  stale  baker's 
bread  into  rounds  with  a  cake-cutter  and  fry  to  a 
nice  brown  in  hot  lard.  Dip  each  slice  into  boiling 
water  to  remove  the  grease;  sprinkle  with  a  mix- 
lure  of  powdered  sugar  and  cinnamon,  and  pile  one 
upon  the  other.  Serve  a  sauce  made  of  powdered 
sugar,  dissolved  in  the  strained  juice  of  a  lemon  and 
thinned  with  a  glass  of  wine.  Put  a  very  little  upon 
each  round.  Butter  sauces  are  too  rich  for  queen's 
toast. 

Brows  Oiblet  Soup.— Cut  each  giblet  into 
three  pieces,  and  put  on  to  boil  in  stock  made  of  the 
remnant  of  your  mock  turtle  soup,  diluted  with 
water  and  strained.  Simmerall  together  one  half  hour. 

Chop  the  gizzard  fine,  pound  the  liver.  .Make 
what  is  called  technically  a  roux,  by  putting  two 
tablesirfjonfuls  of  butter  into  a  saucepan,  and  when 
It  Imbbles,  stirring  in  a  tablespooufid  of  browned 
flour,  and  continuing  to  stir  until  they  are  well  mixed 
and  smooth.  Add,  spoonful  by  spoonful,  half  a  cup 
of  boiling  soup,  then  the  pounded  liver  ;  the  gizzard, 
juice  of  half  a  lemon,  and  a  half  glass  of  brown 
sherry.  Stir  all  this  info  the  soup,  and  boll  up  once. 
Have  in  the  tureen  the  yolks  of  four  hard  boiled  eggs 
each  quartered  with  a  keen  knife,  and  pour  the  soup 
over  them. 

Minced  TnrtKEr  and  Eggs.— Cut  all  the  meat 
from  the  skeleton  of  the  turkey.  Put  the  bones, 
sinews,  skin,  and  stuflfing  into  a  pot  with  three 
quarts  of  cold  water.  Set  at  the  back  of  the  ranse 
and  let  it  simmer  down  to  two  quarts.  Season,  and 
set  way  in  your  stock-pot. 

Divide  the  meat  Intended  for  to  day  into  inch-long 
pieces,  tearing  rather  than  cutting  it.  Heat  the 
skimmed  gravy  :  add  as  much  drawn  butter  ;  two 
beaten  eggs  ;  pepper  and  salt ;  put  in  the  minced 
turkey  ;  set  back  over  the  fire,  and  stir  until  very 
hot.  Cover  the  bottom  of  a  pudding  dish  with  fine 
crumbs  ;  pour  In  the  mixture  ;  strew  crumbs  on  top, 
and  bake  to  a  light  brown  in  a  quick  oven.  Serve  In 
the  bake  dish. 

Stewed  Potatoes.— Pare  and  cut  into  small 
squares.  Lay  in  cold  water  half  an  hour;  cook 
tender  in  hot  water  ;  a  little  salt.  When  done— or 
nearly— pour  this  off,  add  a  cup  of  cold  milk,  and 
when  this  begins  to  simmer,  a  tablespoonful  of  but- 
ler rolled  in  flonr,  pepper,  salt,  and  a  little  minced 
parsley.  Boil  gently  one  minute,  and  pour  into  a 
dish 

Celery.— Wash,  scrape,   and  cut  off  the  green 


leaves.  Arrange  the  best  stalks  in  a  celery-glass. 
Put  two  or  three  green  pieces  into  to-morrow's  soup- 
stock  while  boiling  ;  and  if  you  have  time  cut  up 
the  rest  into  short  bits,  and  put  in  a  jar  or  wide- 
mouthed  bottle  of  vinegar  to  keep  forsalad-dreBsing. 
A  Plain  Rice  Pudding.- One  large  cup  of  rice, 
1  quarts  of  milk,  8  tablespoonfuls  of  sugar,  1  tea- 
spoonful  of  salt,  1  great  spoonful  of  melted  butter ; 
nutmeg  and  cinnamon  to  taste.  Soak  the  rice  two 
hours  in  a  pint  of  milk.  Add,  then,  the  rest  of 
the  milk  and  the  other  ingredients.  Bake,  covered, 
two  hours;  brown,  and  eat  cold. 


Live  Stock. 


Cotton-Seed  Meal  as  Stock  Feed. 

The  Commissioner  of  Georgia  says  that  the  true 
policy  of  the  farmers  of  Georgia  is  to  encourage  the 
manufacture  of  cotton-seed  oil  by  exchanging  the 
whole  seed  for  cotton-seed  meal  at  such  rates  as 
may  be  satisfactory,  and  use  the  meal,  as  far  as 
practicable,  as  food  for  stock.  Chemical  analysis 
proves  that  the  meal  is  exceedingly  rich  in  both 
flesh-forming  and  f.at-forming  constituents.  The 
one  defect  to  be  overcome  is  the  fact  that  this  sub- 
stitute is  too  concentrated  and  must  therefore  be  fed 
in  comparatively  small  quantities  and  mixed  with 
less  concentrated  food.  The  meal  alone  is  more  nu 
tritious  than  either  corn  meal  or  wheat  flour  and  is 
actually  worth  more  as  a  stock  feed,  but  it  must  be 
fed  with  greater  caution. 

"  Cut  wheat  straw,  corn  forage,  or  any  coarse  and 
comparatively  cheap  and  unnutricious  forage  that 
stock  can  eat,  all  can  be  brought  up  to  the  requisite 
standard  of  nutrltiveness,"  says  the  Commissioner, 
"  by  mixing  with  due  proportion  of  cotton-seed  meal. 
English  feeders  very  early  discovered  the  immense 
feeding  value  of  the  meal,  and  for  a  long  time  con- 
sumed nearly  the  entire  product  of  our  mills.  They 
estimate  the  manure  resulting  from  a  ton  of  meal 
fed  to  cattle  at  a  higher  value  than  the  meal  brings 
in  our  markets.  Northern  cattle  feeders  are  now 
using  large  quantities,  and  its  use  Is  constantly  in- 
creasing ;  while  the  spectacle  is  presented  in  the 
South  of  using  this  valuable  food  inaterial  almost 
entirely  and  directly  for  fertilizing  purposes,  and 
this  too  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  manure  from 
cattle  feJ  on  the  meal  is  nearly  as  valuable  for  fer- 
tilizing purposes  as  the  meal  itself." 


Dry  Food  for  Hogs. 
Many  hogs  are  kept  comparatively  poor  by  the 
high  dilution  of  their  food.  They  take  in  so  much 
water  that  there  is  not  room  for  a  good  supply  of 
nutriment.  Hence  the  reason  that  those  farmers 
who  carefully  feed  undiluted  sour  milk  to  their  hogs 
have  so  much  finer  animals  than  those  who  give 
them  slop.  The  hog  has  not  room  fur  much  water  ; 
and  if  food  which  contains  much  is  fed  to  him,  it 
makes  him  big-bellier',  but  poor.  Hogs,  as  well  as 
all  other  animals,  should  be  allowed  all  the  water 
thty  will  drink ;  but  it  should  not  be  mixed  with 
their  food  in  excessive  quantity ;  the  hog  should  not 
be  obliged  to  take  more  water  than  he  wants  in  order 
to  the  food  he  requires. — S.  and  P.  Index. 


Lincoln   Sheep. 

The  Lincoln  sheep  are  comparatively  a  rare  breed 
in  the  United  States.  They  are  the  largest  breed 
known,  under  exceptional  circumstances  dressing  up 
to  ninety  pounds  per  quarter.  At  two  years  old 
they  are  recorded  to  have  dressed  one  hundred  and 
sixty  pounds.  They  require  good  care  and  plenty  of 
succulent  food.  They  have  been  introduced  in  some 
sections  of  the  West  and  into  Canada,  and  are  re 
ported  as  being  well  liked,  liut  further  time  Is  needed 
to  fully  establish  their  complete  adaptability  to  our 
Western  climate.  Other  long  wooled  sheep,  as  the 
Cotswold  and  the  larger  of  the  Downs,  are  giving 
good  satisfaction,  and  there  seems  no  good  reason 
why  these  will  not  on  our  flush  pastures  with  some 
succulent  food  in  winter  do  exceedingly  well. 

In  England  fourteen  pounds  of  wool  average  has 


been  sheared  as  a  first  clip  from  a  lot  of  thirty  year- 
ling wethers,  the  same  averaging  one  hundred  and 
forty  pounds  each,  live  weight,  at  fourteen  months 
old.  They  have  been  known  in  the  United  States 
since  1835,  and  their  long,  lustrous  fleeces,  raeasur- 
uring  nine  inches  in  length,  are  the  perfection  of 
combing  wool. 

The  Lincolns,  originally,  were  large,  coarse,  and 
with  ragged,  oily  fleeces  and  hard  feeders.  The  im- 
proved Lincolns  were  made  by  judicious  crosses  of 
Leicester  rams,  careful  selection  and  good  feeding, 
and  in  England  their  wool  has  now  a  separate  class 
at  the  fairs. 


Pasturing  and  Soiling  Hogs. 

The  hog  is  a  grass  eating  animal  by  nature,  and 
Its  health  is  therefore  promoted  by  the  use  of  grass 
as  a  part  of  its  food.  The  grass  gives  bulk  and 
porousness  to  the  contents  of  the  stomach,  and  thus 
aids  digestion.  If  the  hogs  are  to  be  pushed  in  fat- 
tening, finishing  them  off  in  the  fall,  then  they  may 
be  kept  in  a  dry  pen  or  yard,  and  the  green,  succu- 
lent grass  brought  to  them  each  day  and  given  In 
three  small  feeds,  in  small  racks  over  the  troughs. 
In  this  way  they  will  not  get  much  under  foot,  and 
what  lalls  out  of  the  rack  will  drop  into  the  trough. 

Some  years  since,  we  found  the  best  plan  in  feed- 
ing clover  to  hogs  in  a  pen,  was  to  run  it  through  a 
straw-cutter,  and  then  feed  two  quarts  of  the  cut 
clover,  mixed  with  its  ration  of  meal,  to  each  pig 
three  times  per  dav.  We  adopted  the  plan  of  cutting 
the  clover  in  the  morning,  and  mixing  the  propor- 
tion of  meal  with  it  that  we  desired  the  hogs  to  eat 
per  day,  and  letting  it  lie  in  bulk  through  the  day. 
It  would  then  become  so  mingled  that  the  grass  and 
meal  would  be  eaten  together.  It  would  warm 
up  some,  but  not  to  injure  its  quality.  The  hogs 
were  extremely  fond  of  it,  and  gained  in  weight  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  pounds  each  per  week.  We  were 
feeding  for  rapid  growth  through  the  summer,  and 
fed  six  pounds  of  co'-n-meal  to  each  pig,  with  the 
clover,  per  day,  and  the  result  was  quite  satisfac- 
tory. 

^ 

Growth  of  Colts. 

In  order  to  winter  a  colt  well,  and  have  him  come 
out  a  fine,  showy,  stU'dy  animal  in  the  spring,  par- 
ticular attention  must  be  paid  to  his  growth  during 
tlie  first  summer  and  autumn.  If  the  mare's  milk 
is  at  all  deficient  to  keep  the  colt  in  good  flesh  and 
thriving  steadily,  it  is  best  to  have  recourse  at  once 
to  cow's  milk.  Skimmed  milk  answers  very  well  for 
this  purpose,  especially  if  a  little  flax-seed  jelly,  oil 
or  cotton-seed  meal,  is  mixed  with  it.  A  heaped 
tablespoonful,  night  and  morning,  is  enough  to  begin 
with  when  the  colt  is  a  month  old.  This  can  be 
gradually  increased  to  a  pint  per  day,  by  the  time  it 
is  six  months  old,  or  double  this  If  the  colt  be  of  the 
large  farm  or  cart-horse  breed. 

Oats,  also,  may  be  given  as  soon  as  they  can  be 
eaten.  Begin  with  a  half-pint  night  and  morning, 
and  go  on  increasing,  according  to  the  age  and  size 
of  the  animal,  to  four  quarts  per  day.  These,  to- 
gether with  the  meal  above,  should  be  supplemented 
with  a  couple  of  quarts  of  wheat-bran,  night  and 
morning.  The  latter  is  excellent  to  prevent  worms, 
and  helps  to  keep  the  bowels  in  good  condition. 

Colts  should  not  be  permitted  to  stand  on  a  plank, 
cement,  paved,  or  any  hard  floor  the  first  year,  as 
these  are  liable  to  injuriously  affect  the  feet  and  legs. 
Unless  the  yard  wheie  colts  run  in  the  winter  has  a 
sandy,  or  fine,  dry,  gravelly  soil,  it  should  be  well 
littered,  so  as  to  keep  their  feet  dry.  Mud,  or  soft, 
wettlsh  ground,  is  apt  to  make  tender  hoofs,  no  mat- 
ter how  well  bred  the  coll  may  be.  One  reason  why 
the  horses  in  one  district  grow  up  superior  to  those 
iu  another  in  hoof,  bone,  muscle,  and  action,  is  bi- 
cause  It  has  a  dry  llir.estone  or  sillcious  soil.  When 
the  mare  is  at  work,  do  not  let  the  colt  run  with  her , 
and  if  she  comes  back  from  her  work  heated,  allow 
her  to  get  cool  before  suckling  the  colt,  as  her  over- 
heated milk  is  lial>le  to  give  the  foal  diarrhoea. — Na~ 
tional  Live  Utock  Journal, 


1882.] 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


191 


Sheep. 

American  slicpherds  have  nuuli  yet  to  learn  in  re 
eard  to  the  management  of  tlielr  flocke.  For  ex- 
ample, the  sheep  in  Siberia  arc  never  exposed  to 
much  rain.  Shelter  and  shade  are  provided  for 
them.  Nor  are  they  exposed  to  dust,  for  that  Is 
known  to  be  injurious  to  the  lleece.  The  greatest 
possible  care  is  taken  in  the  breedinfr.  Men  of  ex 
perience  are  employed  to  co  from  farm  to  farm  to 
examine  the  sheep  and  select  the  best  rams  that  can 
be  found.  The  rams  are  closely  examined  as  to 
their  lleeee-bearing  properties,  and  all  but  the  very 
tiest  are  siild  off.  The  whole  economy  of  the  sheep 
farm  is  af  perfect  as  intelligence  and  industry  can 
make  it.  A  ton  of  wool  is  worth  .?7.")0  at  :!.5  cents  a 
pound  or  $200  at  2.5  cents.  A  ton  of  wheat  is  worth 
about  ?:;■_',  and  of  corn  about  Slii.  The  freight  is 
about  the  same  for  each,  anil  is  thus  '2!>  times  more 
for  wheat  and  nearly  ■''I'  times  more  for  corn  than 
wool.  This  is  worth  considering,  and  shows  how 
much  better  it  is  to  turn  corn  into  wool  than  to  sell 
it. 


Cattle  Range  of  Wyoming 
The  great  cattle  range  of  Wyoming,  under  the 
military  protection  of  Fort  McKinney,  is  about  ROO 
miles  square.  In  this  area  are  now  grazing  .500,000 
head  of  cattle,  worth  S27  per  head,  amounting  to 
$].<,400,000,  to  which  can  be  added  the  value  of 
horses  and  ranches  of  the  cattle  men  farmers,  and 
the  stock  of  the  granger.',  making  at  least  Slo, 000, 
000  of  property  under  the  protection  of  this  post. — 
TtuUauapoIis  rrtcr  Current, 


Training  Horns 

If  it  is  desirable  to  straighten  a  horn,  you  may  fre- 
quently scrape  with  a  piece  of  glasfe,  or  a  knife,  the 
hollow  side,  which  will  cause  it  to  grow  faster  on 
that  side ;  but,  in  that  case,  it  must  not  be  scraped 
deeply,  for  then  it  becomes  weaker  on  that  side,  and 
will  be  turned  towards  the  weaker  side.  Some 
scrape  the  side  towards  which  they  wish  to  turn  the 
horn  qui'e  thin,  and  then  scrape  the  opposite  side 
just  enough  to  make  it  grow  faster,  and  that  will 
turn  it  towards  the  thinly  scraped  side.  If  you  wish 
ro  lurn  a  horn  up,  .scrape  on  the  under  side  just 
enough  to  make  it  grow  faster  on  that  side.  A  very 
barbarous  way  to  turn  a  horn  is  soineiimes  prac- 
ticed, by  searing  with  a  hot  iron  on  the  side  towards 
which  the  horn  is  to  be  turned.  This  prevents  the 
growth  of  horn  on  that  side,  and  the  growth  upon 
the  other  side  turns  the  horn. 

Tlie  horns  may  tie  polished  by  rubbing  them  with 
fine  sand  paper,  and  then  with  pumicestone,  and 
oiling  them.  But  this  artilicial  mani|iulation  of 
horns  is  seldom  necessary.  The  horns  of  well-fed 
cattle  will  generally  irrow  in  comely  shape  if  let 
alone. 

The  hair  is  sometimes  oiled  lo  give  it  a  glossy  ap- 
pearance, but  the  best  gloss  is  jiut  upon  the  hair  by 
rich  and  appropriate  feeding.  Nature,  under  proper 
conditions,  docs  this  work  best. — National  Live 
Stock  Jourtial. 


Poultry. 


Poultry  Nonsense. 
It  is  safe  to  say  that  more  silly  writing  finds  its 
way  into  print  on  the  subject  of  the  poultry  yard  and 
the  care  of  poultrj,  than  upon  any  other  that  can  be 
named.  As  a  rule  this  nonsense  is  uttered  by  ama- 
teurs who  have  lately  taken  up  the  business  of  poul- 
try growing  and  who  in  three  cases  out  of  four  are 
unable  to  distinguish  a  chicken  from  a  turkey.  But 
the  silliness  does  not  all  make  its  appearance  in  the 
country  newspapers.  Poultry  journals,  that  are 
suppo.sed  to  know  and  ought  lo  know  a  good  deal 
about  domestic  fowls  and  their  raising,  admit  arti- 
cles into  their  columns  that  are  simply  astounding  in 
their  ignorance.  We  remember,  f  r  instance,  one 
of  the  best  known  poultry  journals  contained  a  long 
article  which  was  intended  to  prove  that  corn  should 
not  be  fed  to  domestic  poultry.    He  neglected  to  say 


it  ought  to  be  fed  exclusively  to  donkeys  like  himself. 
The  editor  of  that  journal  expressed  no  op'nion  of 
his  own  about  the  matter,  prcit)ably  because  he  knew 
no  better  himself. 

In  a  well-known  agricultural  newspaper,  pub- 
llshed  in  a  neighboring  county,  the  BikI,-!i  Cuiiiiti/ 
TtiteUificnccr,  we  saw  this  :  "  The  best  way  to  pre- 
vent or  cure  gapes  in  chickens  is  to  commence  feed- 
ing them  whole  grains  of  corn  as  soon  as  they  are 
old  enougli  to  swallow  them — say  two  or  three  weeks 
•Id.  The  elfort  made  by  the  chick  to  swallow  the 
whole  grain  will  kill  the  little  red  worms  in  the 
throat,  wlueh  are  the  cause  of  the  gapes,  and  it  is 
easier  and  safer  to  kill  the  worms  in  that  way  than 
to  attempt  lo  take  them  from  the  throat  witli  a  bent 
horsehair,  as  is  sonietinies  done."  The  learned 
poultry  editor  of  the  above  journal  must  have  un- 
usual luck  in  growing  chicks  which  at  the  age  of 
two  or  three  weeks  are  capable  of  swallowing  whole 
grains  of  corn.  Bnt  even  if  he  ever  achieved  that 
feat  we  inform  him  be  might  pour  the  entire  corn 
crop  of  Illinois  down  the  throats  of  his  infected 
chicks  without  destroying  or  removing  a  single  one 
of  the  "  little  red  worms  which  are  the  cause  of  the 
gapes,"  and  for  the  very  simple  reason  that  none  of 
these  destructive  parisites  ever  find  their  way  into 
the  throat.  They  are  always  in  the  windpipe  and 
there  they  remain,  unless  removed  artificially,  until 
tlley  cause  sulTocation  and  death.  So  mueli  for  tliis 
learned  essay  on  gapes  in  chickens. 

The  riiiladclpliia  Record  in  its  agricultural  depart- 
ment had  an  article  on  the  management  of  young 
fowls,  in  which,  after  saying  "gapes  are  a  disgrace 
to  the  poultry  yard,  and  their  prevention  should  he 
sought  instead  of  their  cure,"  proceeds  to  tell  how 
this  can  be  done.  "  The  disease  can  be  avoided  alto- 
gether by  feeding  the  chicks  on  a  board  or  some 
other  hard,  clean  surface."  Chicks  find  a  portion  of 
their  food  themselves  on  the  ground,  where  the  dan- 
ger of  infection  is  always  present.  It  is  practically 
impossible  to  carry  out  the  suggested  pian,  and  ex' 
nerience  has  taught  us  the  evil  would  not  be  reme- 
died if  it  couhi  be.  The  same  article  says  "  young 
turkeys,  and  in  fact  all  young  fowls,  should  be  kept 
away  from  wet  grass  or  exposure  to  dampness  until 

well  under  feather The  omission  of  a  single  feed 

is  sometimes  fatal,  for  once  the  young  fowl  becomes 
debilitated,  its  progress  receives  a  check  from  which 
it  seldom  recovers."  The  only  way  young  turkeys 
can  always  be  kept  dry  that  we  know  of  is  to  keep 
them  under  roof.  That  plan  would  prove  more  fatal 
to  them  than  a  two  weeks  wet  spell.  How  do  the 
young  of  the  wild  turkey  manage  to  survive  ?  Are 
they  not  exposed  to  wet  grass  and  all  the  rain  and 
moisture  that  falls  ?  Does  not  the  dotnesticaled 
turkey  at  once  lead  her  young  brood  into  the  fields 
and  remain  there  for  the  most  part  until  they  are 
half  grown?  We  have  tried  the  plan  suggested 
above  year  after  year,  but  our  success  was  always 
better  when  we  turned  the  brood  adrift,  whether  the 
grass  was  dry  or  wet.  Of  course,  we  do  not  believe 
a  soaking  rain  will  benefit  young  turkeys;  what  we 
mean  to  s.iy  is  that  the  coddling  plan  is  unnatural 
and  unsatisfactory.  These  are  merely  a  few  speci- 
mens of  the  poultry  literature  with  which  poultry 
authorities  abound,  and  which  do  far  more  more 
harm  than  good,  to  say  nothing  of  their  irredeemable 
nonsense. — Xetx  Sra. 


Poultry. 

The  approach  of  Christmas  suggests  to  our  mind 
how  very  careless  the  major  portion  of  our  farmers 
and  suburban  poulterers  are,  when  they  have  every 
facility  to  raise  turkeys  every  year  for  market,  but, 
after  all,  fail  to  do  so.  Ducks  and  geese  of  the  im- 
proved breeds  are  profitably  raised  on  many  farms. 
If  a  supply  of  water  can  be  given  them,  all  the  bet 
ter.  Good  feed  Is  more  important  than  water  to 
swim  in  and  fish  for  bugs.  The  Kouen  duck  stands 
pre  eminent  among  ducks  where  size  is  the  con 
stderation  ;  the  Aylesbury  drake  sometimes  attains  I 
equal  size,  but  the  Aylesbury  or  any  other  duck 
seldom  does.  The  white  China  geese  have  their 
admirers,  for  they  have  merits  of  no  mean  order, 


though  for  size  the  Toulouse  geese  are  preferred  to 
the  former,  while  the  Enibdenor  Bremen  have  many 
enthusiastic  friends. —  Weslerti  Agrlcnllurisl. 

Womjn  as    Poultry  Raisers. 

The  custom  practiced  In  France  of  allowing  the 
wife  so  many  francs  a  mouth  or  year  as  pin  money, 
to  use  as  she  pleases,  is  one  that  should  be  generally 
adopted,  especially  in  the  United  .States.  On  the 
farm  the  care  and  profits  of  some,  if  not  all  the 
poultry,  could  be  very  properly  transferred  to  the 
woman  of  the  household.  The  care  of  poultry  Is  a 
business  naturally  ailapted  to  woman,  as  It  requires 
patience  and  attention,  and,  at  'he  same,  klndnees 
anil  gentleness,  traits  too  often  lacking  in  the  sterner 
sex.  There  is  no  event  in  connection  with  jKiultry 
raising,  during  the  whole  year,  which  has  not  Its  In- 
terest lor  those  who  care  for  the  innocent  creatures 
of  the  fariii  yard.  VVhelher  it  be  feeding  grateful 
bipeds,  gathering  egt's,  hatching  the  chickens,  or 
reducing  the  Hock  in  the  fall  to  suit  winter  quarters — 
all  have  their  charm,  and  excite  the  Interest  and 
8vmi)athy  of  their  faithful  attendants.  There  It 
much  complaint  among  physiologists  that  American 
l.idies  lose  health  and  beauty  earlier  than  they  ought 
lor  want  of  sufileient  out  of  door  air  and  exercise, 
and  this  occupation  has,  among  its  other  benefits, 
that  of  sending  them  daily  abroad  into  the  pure, 
outerair,  and  inciting  a  love  for  rural,  natural  beauty 
not  found  among  those  whom  no  such  beauty  tempts 
from  the  fireside. — Lufnijcltc,  fnd.,  .ruurnal. 

To  Fat  en  Fowls  or  Chickens  in  Four  or  Five 
Days. 

Set  rice  over  the  fire  with  skimmed  milk,  only  as 
much  as  will  serve  one  day.  Let  it  boil  till  the  rice 
is  quite  swelled  out ;  you  may  add  a  teaspoonful  or 
two  of  sugar,  but  it  will  do  well  without.  Feed 
them  three  times  a  day,  in  common  pans^  giving 
them  only  as  much  as  will  iiuite  fill  them  at  once. 
When  you  pui  in  fresh,  let  the  pans  he  set  in  water, 
that  no  sourness  may  be  conveyed  to  the  fowls,  as 
thai  (irevents  them  from  fattening.  Give  them  clean 
water,  or  the  milk  of  rice  to  drink  ;  but  the  less  wet 
the  lalter  is  when  perfectly  soaked,  the  better.  By 
this  method  the  flesh  will  give  a  clear  whiteness 
which  no  other  food  gives,  and  when  it  is  considered 
how  far  a  pound  of  rice  will  go,  and  how  much  time 
Is  saved  by  this  mode,  it  will  be  found  to  be  as  cheap 
as  barley  meal  or  more  so.  Th('  pen  should  be  dally 
cleaned,  and  no  food  given, foi  sixteen  hours  l>efore 
poultry  are  killed. — .<.  P.  Index. 


Winter  Rations  for  Hens. 

Fanny  Field,  who  is  famous  for  her  success  in 
making  her  hens  lay  in  winler,  tells  the  Prairie 
Fanner  how  she  feeds  them,  as  follows : 

"  .My  way  of  feeding  fowls  in  winter — and  It  works 
wonderfully  well — is  to  give  them  a  warm  break. 
fast  every  morning  just  as  soon  as  they  can  see  to  eat, 
a  few  handfuls  of  grain  at  noon,  and  a  full  feed  of 
grain  at  night.  The  warm  bre;ikfast  is  made  of  veg. 
etables,  turnips,  beets,  carrots  or  potatoes  boiled 
anil  mashed  up  with  wheat  bran,  or  oat  meal  scalded 
with  skim  milk;  or  refuse  from  the  kiteheu  boiled 
up  and  the  soup  thickened  with  bran;  and  when 
sweet  apples  are  plenty,  we  boil  them,  and  mix 
with  corn  meal — sometimes  one  thing  and  some 
times  another ;  we  don't  believe  in  feeding  one  thing 
all  the  time,  and  the  hens  don't  believe  in  it  either. 
I  don't  think  that  my  biddies  need  the  noon  feed  be. 
cause  they  are  hungry,  but  I  give  it  t.o  them  to  make 
them  scratch  for  exercise,  and  to  keep  them  out  of 
mischief.  1  scatter  it  around  among  the  titter  under 
the  shed  and  let  them  dig  it  out.  This  Munch'  Is 
generally  oats  or  buckwheat,  aud  once  In  a  while 
sunflower  seed.  At  night  I  generally  feed  corn,  but 
if  I  could  get  wheal  cheap  enough,  I  should  feed 
that  at  least  half  of  the  time.  .My  fowls  have 
water  or  milk  by  them  all  the  time  and  green  food 
is  supplied  by  fastening  cabbage  heads  up  where  the 
fowls  can  help  themse  ves.  Sometimes,  when  some 
body  has  time  to  attend  to  it,  we  give  them  a  change- 
of  green  food  in  the  shape  of  raw  turnips  or  sweet 
apples  chopped  fine. 


192 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER. 


[December,  1882. 


Two  winters  ago  I  took  a  uew  departure  ou  the 
meat  question,  aud  now,  intteail  of  fussing  to  coolc 
it  and  dealing  out  a  little  at  a  time,  I  just  hang  out 
a  piece  and  let  the  fowls  eat  all  they  want.  VVheu 
they  have  meat  within  their  reach  all  the  time  there 
is  not  the  slighest  danger  of  their  eating  too  much. 
I  get  cheap  meat  from  the  butcher  and  I  am  sure  I 
am  paid  twice  over  the  outlay.  Crushed  oyster 
shells,  gravel,  charcoal  and  crushed  raw  bones  are 
kept  in  the  houses  all  the  time.  The  raw  bone  is  an 
excellent  thing  for  fowls,  and  would  be  the  last  arti 
cle  of  food  that  I  would  think  of  dropping  from  my 
biddies'  bill  of  fare.  Where  the  crushed  oyster  shell 
cannot  be  obtained,  lime  in  some  other  shape  will 
do  just  as  well.  Oneof  my  nei^jhbors  had  twoof  his 
rooms  plastered  this  fall,  and  he  saved  all  the  old 
plaster  for  his  heus.  The  poultry  raisers  who  ne- 
glected to  get  a  supply  of  gravel  under  cover  before 
the  ground  froze  up,  must  do  the  next  beat  thing — 
feed  their  broken  dishes  to  their  fowls.  Break  them 
into  bits  of  a  suitable  size,  and  It  will  do  just  as  well 
as  gravel.  I  believe  iu  salting  all  the  soft  food,  and 
I  used  to  put  iu  a  dash  of  pepper,  sometimes  mus- 
tard or  ginger,  once  in  a  while,  and  I  honestly 
thought  the  fowls  were  benefited  thereby  ;  but 
doubts  are  creeping  in,  and  I  am  very  much  in- 
clined to  drop  everything  except  the  salt." 

!_,« 

Pekin  Ducks. 
There  are  according  to  the  American  standard  of 
excellence,  ten  varieties  of  domestic  ducks,  to  wit : 
The  Aylesbury,  Call  Gray,  Call  White,  Cayuga, 
Crested  White,  Black  East  Indian  Colored  Muscovy, 
White  .\fu6covy,  Pekin  and  Rouen.  Of  these  the 
Rouen  is  probably  the  most  common,  but  I  consider 
the  Pekin  as  the  most  profitable.  They  were  tirst 
imported  into  this  country  in  177.3,  since  which  time 
they  have  become  very  popular.  Their  color  is  a 
pure  snowy  white  which  makes  them  very  handsome 
and  attractive  for  small  bodies  of  water  or  the  lawn. 
Tiiey  should  have  rich  deep  yellow  colored  bills  and 
legs  and  perfectly  free  from  any  black  spots.  They 
can  be  raised  anywhere  that  chickens  can  and  do  uot 
require  much  water  until  they  are  several  months 
old,  and  then  they  will  thrive  and  do  well  with  but  a 
small  trough  of  water,  if  they  have  a  good  grass 
range.  It  is  a  very  beautiful  sight  to  see  them  di- 
ploy  in  long  lines  through  the  grass  in  search  of 
crickets  aud  other  animal  matter.  They  mature 
very  early  aud  can  be  marketed  in  July  and  August 
at  high  prices.  It  takes  in  warm  weather  about 
three  weeks  to  hatch  them  out,  at  birth  they  are 
larirer  and  stronger  than  other  varieties  and  when 
developed  will  weigh  about  eighteen  pounds  to  the 
pair.  They  lay  about  one  hundred  aud  fifty  eggs  per 
year.  During  the  summer  months  they  require  but 
very  little  food,  as  wheu  they  have  a  good  range 
they  will  pick  up  enough  to  keep  them  iu  good  cou- 
dition,  especially  if  they  have  access  to  the  chicken 
yard, as  they  will  eat  what  the  chickens  waste. —  The 
Afnericaii  StockrnaJi, 


Literary  and  Personal. 

Third  Quarterly  Report  of  the  Kansas 
State  Board  op  Aoriculture.— The  Quarterly 
Report  of  the  Kansas  State  Board  of  Agriculture, 
foi  the  quarter  ending  September  30,  has  just  been 
issued. 

The  report  contains  the  acres  and  product  of  prin- 
cipal crops,  by  counties,  accompanied  by  market 
quotations  of  the  Kansas  C  ty  market  for  each  month 
from  January,  1«77,  to  September,  18S3,  for  the  crops 
of  wheat  and  corn. 

In  connection  with  the  statistics  on  wheat  are  given 
instances  of  extraordinary  yields  grown  iu  each 
county  in  18^3,  and  the  names  of  the  varieties  that 
have  been  the  most  successful  this  year. 

Following  the  crop  tables,  is  an  article  from  the 
pen  of  Prof.  E.  A.  Popenoe,  entomologist  to  the 
Board,  and  Professor  of  Botany  and  Horticulture  in 
the  Kansas  State  Agricultural  College,  at  Manhat- 
tan, ou  the  subject,  of  "  The  chinch  bug  and  the 
season,"  giving  the  history  of  the  operations  of  these 


pests  during  the  past  season,  and  the  reasons  why 
they  were  less  destructive  than   was  anticipated. 

The  synopsis  of  the  reports  of  correspondents  on 
fruit  indicates  an  unusually  heavy  apple  crop,  but 
that  peaches,  plums,  pears  and  grapes  were  injured 
severely,  and  made  less  than  average  crops. 

The  second  division  of  the  volume  pertains  to  live 
stock.  Tables  by  counties,  showing  the  numbers  of 
each  kind  of  farm  animals  for  both  1881  and  1882, 
with  increase  and  decrease,  are  given  ;  also  quota- 
tions of  the  Kansas  City  market  on  cattle  and  hogs 
for  a  period  covering  six  years.  Mr.  J.  F.  True,  of 
Newman,  Jefferson  county,  contributes  an  article  on 
the  feeding  of  cattle  in  Kansas.  Mr.  True  Is  a  well- 
known  breeder  and  feeder  of  cattle,  and  is  also  a 
member  of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture. 

A  summary  by  counties  of  reports  of  correspon- 
dents as  to  the  condition  of  live  stock  follows  the  ar- 
ticle of  Mr.  True.  Among  the  valuable  points 
brought  out  iu  this  summary  are,  the  amount  of 
open  range  remaining,  cost  per  head  for  the  graziug 
of  cattle,  cost  per  ton  of  prairie  hay,  information  as 
to  whether  the  herd  law  is  iu  operation  or  not,  and 
facts  concerning  the  raising  of  sheep  and  swine. 

Statements  of  the  number  of  acres  of  public  lands 
yet  undisposed  of,  corrected  to  date,  follow  the  live 
stock  This  has  been  a  prominent  feature  of  the  last 
several  reports,  and  is  of  much  value  to  those  who 
are  seeking'  homes  in  the  State. 

The  population  of  the  State  for  1881  and  1S82,  as 
taken  by  township  assessors,  is  given  in  full,  by 
townships  and  cities,  followed  by  a  summary  by 
counties,  showing  the  increase  and  decrease  in  each 
county  during  the  year. 

Brief  reports  as  to  the  principal  features  of  the 
two  State  fairs  held  this  year  at  Topeka  and  Law- 
rence precede  the  meteorological  data  of  the  quar- 
ter, which  closes  the  volume. 

The  report  is  now  ready  for  distribution,  and  can 
be  obtained  by  addressing  the  Secretary,  Wm.  Sims, 
Topeka,  Kansas,  and  inclosing  the  necessary  postage, 
three  cents. 

Howe's  Lancaster  City  and  County  Direc- 
tory, containing  the  names  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Lancaster  City  aud  Columbia,  together  with  a  Busi- 
ness Directory  of  Lancaster  City  and  County,  to 
which  is  added  a  large  list  of  the  farmers  of  Lancas- 
ter county  and  an  appendix  of  useful  information. 
Compiled  and  published  by  C.  E.  Howe  &  Co., 
Philadelphia,  Pa.,  831,  Arch  street.  Price,  $3.00. 
This  is  the  legitimate  successor  of  "  Boyd's  Direc- 
tory," and,  if  not  thoroughly  perfect  iu  alljts  de- 
tails, it  certainly  is,  on  the  whole,  the  best  directory 
of  Lancaster  county  that  has  ever  been  placed  before 
the  public,  including  quality  of  material,  letter 
press,  and  general  arrangement.  The  paper,  type, 
aud  print  are  far  superior  to  auy  heretofore  used  for 
such  a  puri)06e:  5110  royal  octavo  pages,  20  pages  extra 
advertisements — indeed,  wherever  there  is  any  avail- 
able space  it  is  filled  by  one  or  more  advertisements. 
The  back,  the  sides,  the  edges,  and  the  face  margin^ 
of  every  page  contain  one  or  more  advertisements, 
illustrating  that,  whatever  else  it  may  be,  or  fail  to 
be,  it  certainly  is  entitled  to  the  distinction  of  being 
the  best  Lancaster  County  Directory  extant.  One 
of  the  most  interesting  and  useful  features  of  the 
work,  from  an  agricultural  aud  domestic  standpoint, 
is  its  list  of  the  names  and  post-office  address  of 
foul'  thouaaud  six  hundred  and  set'enty-four  farmers 
of  Lancaster  county,  alphabetically  arranged.  It 
also  includes  the  population  of  the  United  States 
according  to  the  tenth  census  (18.S0),  the  population 
of  Lancaster  county,  and  the  male  voting  population 
of  Pennsylvania,  as  A'ell  as  the  entire  population. 
Also  Lancaster  City  Street  Guide  :  the  otlicers  of  the 
General  Government  and  of  Pennsylvania,  Lancaster 
city  and  county  officers,  including  the  councils  and 
s'^nool  board,  the  new  fire  department,  the  public 
buildings,  the  churches,  cemeteries,  educational  in 
stitutions,  post  office  depattment,  stage  Hues, 
county  post  offices  and  postmasters,  distances  and 
rates  of  railroad  fare,  newspapers  and  periodicals, 
building  associations,  beneficial  and  secret  societies, 
literary,  scientiflc,  and   miscellaneous  societies,  to- 


gether with  the  latest  revised  lists  of  their  officers  ; 
all  brought  down  and  adapted  to  the  years  1882  and 
18S3,  in  fact,  appearing  to  be  all  that  is  necessary  in 
the  form  of  a  directory  for  the  territory  it  covers  at 
the  present  time. 

Lancaster  Real  Estate  Catalogue. — Allen 
A.  Herr  &  Co.,  No.  lOfi  East  King  street,  Lan- 
caster, Pa.,  issue  monthly  atid  scud  free  to  any 
address  40  pp.  8vo,  containing  properties  for  sale, 
and  prices  of  many  of  them,  numbering  from  10  to 
608.  A  capital  publication  for  those  who  desire  to 
invest  in  real  estate,  and  possess  the  wherewithal  to 
do  it. 

Early  German  Hy.mnologv  of  Pennsylvania. 
By  Rev.  J.  H.  Dubbs,  D.D. ;  37  pages,  octavo. — 
We  have  been  favored  with  a  complimentary  copy  of 
this  interesting  pamphlet  by  the  author,  for  which 
we  feel  exceedingly  grateful.  It  may  be  a  weakness 
in  us,  but  we  all  our  life  have  had  a  leaning  towards 
hymn  and  song  lore,  and,  at  "three  score  and  ten," 
we  often  catch  ourself  humming  over  those  that 
came  to  us  traditionally  in  the  days  of  our  early  boy- 
hood. We  read  this  little  work  with  more  than  ordi- 
nary interest,  and,  whilst  doing  so,  we  found  it  im- 
possible to  divest  our  mind  of  the  constantly  obtrud 
iug  thought  that  the  unwritten  hymmlogy  of  "  the 
sable  sons  of  Africa  "  inhabiting  our  country  would 
form  a  prolific  theme  for  a  similar  literary  contribu- 
tion. It  is  true  they  had  not  much  "rhyme"  in 
their  composition,  and  many  of  them  very  little 
"reaoon;"  but,  then,  this  may  only  have  been  an 
appearance  to  "  uncircumcised "  outsiders  blinded 
by  morbid  partialities.  Be  that  as  it  may,  they  sang 
their  hymns  and  songs  with  a  will  that  amply  com- 
pensated their  other  defects. 

Breeders'  Journal,  published  by  the  "Breeders' 
Live  Stock  Association,"  at  Beeclier,  III.;  $100  per 
year,  single  number  10  eents.  The  prolessed  specialty 
of  this  journal  is  to  stimulate  "  Economy  of  produc- 
tion, and  value  of  product."  Tliis  is  a  very  ably 
conducted  magazine,  of  G2  pp.  octavo,  in  tinted 
covers,  and  liberally  illustrated.  The  material  and 
typography  are  of  unexceptionable  quality,  aud  it 
seems  to  "  box  the  compass"  in  stock  breeding,  in- 
cluding all  that  legitimately  comes  within  the  sphere 
of  that  specialty. 

American  Poultry  Bureau,  devoted  to  the  va- 
rious interests  of  poultry,  pigeons  and  pet  stock. 
IG  pp.  quirto,  at  gl.OO  a  year.  Rossall  &  Gibson, 
editors  aud  publishers,  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  a  new 
candidate  [for  public  patronage,  which  it  certainly 
deserves. 

Spuing  Garden  Institute — Corner  of  Broad 
and  Spring  Garden  streets,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  This 
institute  has  been  organized  for  the  purpose  of  im 
parting  practical  mechanical  instruction  to  theyouths 
of  our  country:  and,  from  the  list  of  pupils  who 
have  attended  the  handiwork  schools  belonging  to  it, 
it  seems  to  have  been  successful.  The  terms  of 
tuition  seem  to  be  liberal,  §.5.00  for  a  term  of  o 
months  in  Vise  and  Lathe  leork — two  nights  each 
week.  The  same  for  Pattern  making,  with  the  ele- 
inenta  ofinouldiuy,  and  .$10.00  lor  Steam  Engineering. 
Lectures  will  be  delivered  to  the  mechanical  handi- 
work classes.  The  names  of  two  hundred  pupils, 
and  their  addresses  are  given,  as  having  attended 
this  experimental  school  in  mechanics,  during  the 
last  term.  Perhaps  the  greatest  obstacle  to  stu- 
dents from  a  distance  would  be  the  cxpeuse  of 
boarding,  but  to  those  from  Philadelphia  the  In- 
stitute furnishes  a  rare  opportunity  to  receive  in- 
struction iu  filing,  turning,  drilling,  forging,  and 
other  mechanical  handiwork. 

We  doubt  the  propriety  of  promulgating  the  effete 
atheistical  views  of  Robert  J.  IngersoU,  through  the 
medium  of  a  Thoroughbred  Stock  Journal,  as  well 
as  any  replies  to  theni.  It  involves  a  load  too  heavy 
to  successfully  carry,  by  any  journal  seeking  the  pa- 
tronage of  farmei's,  nicehauics  aud  stock  breeders  ; 
besides,  it  is  uot  honest  to  fulminate  or  diBuse  such  li 
rehash  of  exploded  sentiments,  under  cover  of  a 
jourual  ostensibly  devoted  to  the  diffusion  of  agri- 
cultural lore.  It  is  fifty  years  since  we  first  listened 
to  the  atheistical  ravings  of  those  of  Ingersoll's  faith, 
aud  to  us  at  that  time  they  seemed  to  be  more  able 
aud  unanswerable  than  anything  uttered  by  lugersoll 
at  the  present  period.  Neither  he  nor  Judge  Black 
have  discussed  the  true  theology  of  the  Bible,  for  it 
cannot  be  discussed  on  the  mere  plane  of  "  Buck- 
wheat cakes  aud  sausages."  There  is  a  line  of  ar- 
gument by  which  the  Bible  can  be  sustained,  but  it 
is  foolishness  to  the  carnal  mind,  and  must  be  "spir- 
itually discerned,"  distasteful  as  such  a  "  Paullne- 
isin"  may  be  to  .\Ir.  tngersoll.  A  theological  proposi 
tion  may  uot  be  false,  simply  because  it  cauuot  be 
proven  true  by  material  testimony,  or  legal  argu- 
ment. 


THE  LANCASTER  FARMER 


EvEIiY  lariy  slinuld  send  25  cents  to  Sirawliriilge  & 
Clotliier,  I'liiladclpliia,  ami  receive  tlicir  Funhion 
Quarterly  (or  Vtmos.  1,10(1  illustrations  and  4  paijes 
new  music  each  issue. 


A  Manual  op  Elocution  and  Reading,  em- 
bracini;  the  Priuciples  and  Practice  of  Elocution.  By 
Edward  Brooks,  I'll.  I).,  I'rincipal  of  tlii^  .State  Nor-" 
Dial  School,  Millcr.<villc,  I'a.  I'liiladclpliia:  Eldridgo 
&  Bro.  Price,  1.. 50.  To  teachers,  for  examination, 
gl.OO. 

PHILIP  SCHUM.  SON  &,  CO., 

38  and  40  "West  King  Street. 

We  lieep  on  hand  of  our  own  nuinufiicture, 

QUILTS,  COVEULKTS, 

COUMERPANES,  t'ABPETS, 

Bureau  and  Tidy  Covers.  LadieH'  Furuiehiug  Goods,  No- 
tious,  etc. 

Pariicular  attention  paid   to  customer  Rag  Carpet,  aud 
Bcowering  and  dyeine  of  iill  kinds. 

PHILIP  SCHUM,  SON  &  CO.. 

Nov-ly  LancaB'pr,  Pa. 


THE  PENN 

HARROW 

BEST  IN  THE  WORLD 

IT  HAS  NO  EQUAL 


Patented  April  13, 


The  above  cut  repreRentfl  the  Penn  Harrow 
complete,  \\itb  all  its  c<tniijin:itions  oi  l-'ive  Har- 
rows iiiirt  :i  kI«mI  tor  eacli  ilnrroiv;  anfl<'acU 
Puecte;iinMrcb;iDi-'eiHniadetrni!i  this  Harrow  without 
the  least  additional  expfuhe.  Bj  booking  the  team 
to  either  point.  li  or  C.  the  center  revolves  aud  jrivoa 
the  ^ound  Two  Strokes  and  Two  Cros^i^intrs  in 
pa.«Fihtr  over  it  once,  makintr  it  the  luotst  ell'cctivo 
pulverizer  in  tlie  market,  i 
THIS  HARROW  HAS  OIVLY  TO  BE 
r.SEI)  TO  RE  APPRECl.VTED. 
See  it  before  purchaeiiie  and  you  will  buy  no  other. 


The  Penn  Harrow 

CHANGED  TO  A    THREE-CORNER  ROTARY 
HARROW. 


Indippeneablo  forOrchards.astherevolvinjywhMl 
harrowrt  ri^rbt  up  to  aud  all  around  the  trees  witn- 
out  bartiuB-  them- 


The  Penn  Harrow 

CHANGED   TO   SINGLE   "A"    HARROW. 


DISSOLUTION  OF  PARTNERSHIP- 
llii-  r<.-p;ii-(iierMbip  ii)  Ihf  im-rcliiint  tailuriiiK  hnsi- 
bcretoforc  oxir-tiiiK  under  the  Ctrni  «>f  Kutiivon  A:  Fiftlier, 
is  this  day  di-solved  by  mirluiil  t()n.«fnt.  All  persoitH  in 
nuynmtnior  indebted  to  8iiid  linn,  are  respeetfiilly  m>- 
licitcil  to  niiike  immediate  payment  to  H.  .s.  Kalhvon. 
•wlu*  is  bm-by  aulborized  to  reeeivi*  t*^'e  Minn*,  and  those 
bavinff  claims  against  sn<)  Hrm,  will  pU>a:^e  present  tlieni 
f  r  Hcttlement. 

S.  S.  liATIIVOX. 
M.  KI.SIIKK, 
101  Xortli  Queen  Street,  I^neaBter,  4'u. 


I'ntil  fnrlbcr  luinomu'Cnicnt,  Ibe  buHsinew*.  without 
inlerrnptioii,  wil  bt-  fontbictcd  by  the  und-  rsijfnod,  who 
8*»IicilH  a  fontininmce  of  the  patronage  brrftoforo  be- 
stowed upon  tbt*   lirni,  and    which    iw   hereby  preat fully 

ncknowlcdtjrf'd. 

S   S.  RATHVON. 

PKAC'TIOALTAILOU, 

No.  lOl  Noi'th  Queen  Street, 

LANCASTER,  PA. 


By  removinjr  the  winpr  and  wheel  from  the  orlKiual 
you  huvo  a  complete  oue.hor&e  "A^'  Uorrow. 


The  Penn  Harrow 

CHANGED  TO  DOUBLE  "A"  HARROW. 


Remove  the  wheel  from  the  oritdnal,  reverse  thd 
■ftiutf.  aud  it  make**  the  moKt  complete  Double  "A'l 
Harrow  iu  the  market 


The  Penn  Harrow 

.CHANGED  TO  A  SQUARE  HARROW, 


By  rpmovin?  the  wheel  from  the  original  you  have 
a  Harrow  with  three  jioints  to  hook  to.  By  hookiut; 
to  B  orC  you  can  harrow  in  a  furrow,  aud  harrow 
the  bottom  aud  Ix-lb  eide^.  or  over  a  rMtre  and  bar- 
row the  ti>p  a'jd  bulb  t^idef*,  or  you  can  lilt  eilher 
point  :iiid  ba\o  tbr-u  i»i'iDt-' on  tho  ground— cumie- 
(hhii;  ihnb  eauiiot  be  clone  witb  any  •cU«' 
lliirrow. 


The  Penn  Harrow 


ON   ITS  SLED. 


It  hjw  always  been  a  irreat  inconvenience  to  get  the 
Harrow  to  aud  from  tlio  licld.  The  Penn  Harrow 
ob\iatos  thiw,  na  uo  matter  which  Harrow  you  wish 
to  u.^^c  in  tlie  combination,  St  liiu*  its  own  uleil 
to  buul  it  on. 


The  Penn  Harrow 

Is  made  oi'  the  hr.st  white  onk,  with  Htoel 
teethov4'll  pniiited,  in  **very  wnv  firHt-rliiNN. 
Formerly  a  Lai-row  waa  tlie  luo.-t  tmhaudy  Imj  lo. 
meut  on  the  farm;  with  our  improvcnu.'Ut  It  Is  the 
most  convenient,  will  <lo  double  Iho  work  of 
nny  other  barrow  and  save  the  larnier  half 
hi!4  lalxir,  and  in  wnrranteii  i»  4it»  fill  ^v*^ 
represent  or  money  refunded.  OUDKK  AT 
ONCE  AM>  Iti;  <'ONVIN(KU. 

Prica  f\f  ihr  >>-fht  tira/t  Combination  Penn  Harrotr, 
S3U*     HfnJ/'ora  Catafoijueau't  ie«  vhat  yarmtrt  tay. 

AGENTS  WANTED  IN  KVERY  COUNTV. 

PENN  HARROW  MANDFACTDRIBG  CO. 

CAMDEN,  N.  J. 


HEH 


Fruit,  Shade  and  Ornamental  Trees. 

Plant  TrccM  niiHcd  in  this  cnunly  !tii<l  ^.nlt.  ,l  in  Huk  cianale. 
Write  for  prlceH  to 

LOUIS  C.LYTE 

Bird-in-Hand  P.  C,  Lancaster  co.,  Pa. 

Numery  at  Sniulcetown,  hIx  iuiU'h  cant  of  l>uncaKtfr 
7a-l-12 

WIDMYER  &  RICKSECKER, 

UPHOLSTERERS, 

FURNITUReInd' CHAIRS. 

WARKKOO.M.S: 

102  East  King  St.,  Cor.  of  Duke  St. 

LANCASTER,  PA. 

79-1-1'.?) 

Special  Inducements  at  the 

NEW  FURNITURE   STORE 

NA/.  A.  HEINITSH, 

pro.    18    1-2    E.    ItlPTO     STMIUT 

(ovei-  Burnk'B  Grocery  .Store;,  LalicuHlor,  Pa. 
A  general  assor'ineul  of  lurnlturcof  all  kluds  constantly 
on  hand.    JJon't  forget  the  number. 

IS  1-2  JBAist  ZEing  Stx-oot, 

Nuv-ly]  (ovt-r  r.urf-k'M  (i.iieiry  Mf.if.) 

For  Good  and  Cheap  Work  go  to 
F.  VOLLMER'S 

FURNITUKH   WAR]:   ROOMS, 

No.  309  NORTH  QUEEN  ST., 

(OppOHite  Nortborn^Iarkct), 
AIho,  all  kinds  of  picture  fraiueH.  nov-ly 

GREAT  BARGAINS. 

A  large aBBOrtment  of  all  kiudB  of  Carpets  are  still  Bold  at 
lower  ratrp  than  ever  ai  tin- 

CARPET  HALL  OF  H.  S.  SHIRK, 

JSo.  20-4   West  Khif/  SK 

Call  and  examine  our  stock  aud  BatiBly  yourself  thai  we 
can  show  the  largest  assortment  of  these  Brueeele.  Ihroo 
plies  and  ingrain  at  all  prices— at  the  lowest  Philadelphia 
prices. 

Also  on  hand  a  large  and  oomplete  assurtoieut  of  Rag 
Carpet, 

Satisfaction  jj^Uaranteed  bath  as  to  price  and  quality. 

You  are  Invited  to  call  and  see  my  goods.  No  trouble  m 
showing  them^ven  if  you  do  not  want  to  purchase. 

Don't  forget  this  notice.  You  can  Bave  money  here  if  you 
want  to  buy. 

Particular  attention  given  to  customer  vork. 

AIbo  on  hand  a  full  assortment  of  Counterpanes,  Oil 
Cloths  aud  Blankets  of  every  vnriely.  ;nov-Iyr. 

C.  R.  KLINE, 

yVTTOF(NEY-AT-|jAW, 

OFFICE  :    15  NORTH  DUKE  STREET, 

LANCA.STKK,    PA.. 

Nov-ly 

SILK-WORM  EGGS. 

Amateur  Silk-growers  van  hv  supplit-d  with  superior 
silk-worm  eggt*^  on.rensonublc  terms,  by  applying  imme- 
diately to 

GEO.  O.  HEXHEI«, 
may-3ni]  N'o.  238  East  Orange  Street,  Loncnster,  Pa, 

LIGHT  BRAHMA  EGGS 

For  hateliing,   now  rea<Iy— from  the  best  Htruin  in  tbe 
comity — at  tlie  niotlorate  price  of 

$l,SO  fur  a  setting  of  13  X!g;esi. 

;,.  I!.\TIIVON, 
N'e.  9  North  Queen  Ht..  E.xaniiner  Ofliee,  LanciLstor,  Pa. 


WANTED.-*  ANV.\8SEH.K  for  the 
LANCASTER  WEEKLY  EXAMINER 
In  I'^very  Township  in  the  County.    Good  Wages  can  bo 
made.     Inquire  at 

THE  EXAMINER  OFFICE, 

No.  9  North  Queen  Street,  Lancaster,  Pa. 


IV. 


THH.  LANCASTER  FARMER 


[December  1.882' 


Where   To   Buy  Goods 


IN 


LANCASTER, 


BOOTS  AND   SHOES. 


MlKKIIAI.I.  «V  ««»>■.  Xo.  12  Centre . •Square,  Laii- 
<'!..st,>r,  Dealers  in  Hunts,  Shoes  and  Rubbers.     Re- 
pairing^ [)rnrn]>tly  attended  to. 

MI.KVY.  No.  3  East  King  street.     For  the  bes 
•     Dollar  .^hoes  in  Lanea.ster  go  to  M.  Levy,  No.  3 
East  Kiny:  street.  


BOOKS  AND   STATIONERY. 

J«M.\  IJ.lKK".S,««<»Si".S,  Nos.  1.5  and  17  North  tjueen 
Street,  have  tlic  largest  and  best  assorted  Book  and 
I'aper  Store  in  the  City. 

FURNITURE. 

HKIXIT.SII'.S.  No.  H'-j  Kast  Kinf;  St.,   (over   China 
Hall)  is  the  eheapest   plaee  in   Lancaster  to    buy 
Furniture.     l*ieture  Frames  a  specialty. 


CHINA  AND  GLASSWARE. 

HI«H  A  MAK'I'IST.  No.  In  East  King  St.,  dealers 
in  China,  tila.«s  and  Queensn-are,   Fancy  Goods, 
Lamps,  Burners,  Cliiinneys,  ete. 


CLOTHING. 


MVKhS  A-  K.VTIIJ'OX.  Centre  Hall,  No.  12  East 
King  .St.    I^argest  Clothing.House  in  Pennsylvania 
outside  of  I'hihulelphia ^^^ 


DRUGS  AND   MEDICINES. 

GW.  lll'I.lx  Dealer  in  Pure  Drugs  and  Medicines 
,    Chcniieals,   Patent  RIedieines,  Tru.sses,  Shoulde 
Braces,  Supporters,  &c.,  1.5  West  King  St.,  Lanca.ster,  Pa 

J«»HSi  K.  LON«  A  SOX.  Druggists,  No.  12  North 
Queen  .St.    Drugs,   Medicines,   Perfumery,    Spices, 
Dye  Stuffs,  Etc.    Pre-scriptions  carefully  compounded. 

DRY  GOODS. 

C'l  IVi^f.K,  BOWKIt.N  A   Hl'KST,  No.  2.5  E.  King 
X    St.,  Lanca.ster,  Pa.,  Dealers  in  Dry  Goods,  Carpets 
and  Merchant  Tailoring.    Prices  as  low  as  the  lowest. 


HATS  AND   CAPS. 


CII    .\.MI':K.  No.  3a  West  King  Street,  Dealer  in 
•     Hats,  Caps,  Furs,  Robes,  etc.    Assortment  Large. 
Prices  I^w. 

JEWELRY  AND  WATCHES. 

HX.  KHOAWS  A  BKO  ,    No.  4  West  King  St. 
•     Watches,   Clock  and  ftlusical  Boxes.      Watches 
an<l  Jewelry  Manufactured  to  order. 


PRINTING. 


JOII.M    A.    MIt.STASlI),  9  North  Queen  St.,  Sale 
Bills,   Cireulars,  Po.sters,  Cards,  Invitations,   Letter 
and  Bill  Headsand  Envelopesneatly  printed.    Prices  low. 


FARMING  FOR  PROFIT. 

It  is  conceded  that  this  large  and  comprehensive  book, 
(advertised  in  another  cohmin  by  J.  O.  I\IcCurdy  &  Co., 
of  Philadelphia,  the  well-known  publisliers  of  Standard 
works,)  i.s  not  only  the  newest  and  handsomest,  but  alto- 
gether the  BEST  work  of  the  kind  which  has  ever  been 
published.  Thoroughly  treating  the  great  subjects  of 
general  Agriculture,  Live-Stock,  Fvuit-Growing,  Busi- 
ness Principles,  and  Home  Life;  telling  just  what  the 
farmer  and  the  farmer's  l>oys  want  to  know,  combining 
Science  and  Prneticf,  stimulating  thought,  awakening 
inquiry,  and  interesting  every  member  of  the  family, 
this  !)ook  must  exert  u  mighty  intluence  for  good.  It  i.s 
highly  recunmendtd  by  the  best  agricultural  writers 
and  tile  leading  papers,  and  is  destined  to  have  an  ex- 
tensive sale.    Agents  are  wanted  everywhere.         jan-ll 


A  HOME  ORGAN  FOR  FARMERS. 


79 


GLOVES,  SHIRTS,  UNDERWEAR. 
SHIRTS  MADE"tO  ORDER, 

AND  WAltU.\XTED  TO  i  IT. 

E.  J.  ERISMAN, 

5G  North  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 

1-12] 


Thirty-Six  Varieties  of  Caljbage;  2G  of  Corn;  28  of  Cu- 
umber;  41  of  Melon:  33  of  Peas;  28  of  Beans;  17  of 
Squash;  23  of  Beetand  40  of  Tomato,  with  other  varieties 
in  proportion,  a  large  portion  of  which  were  grown  on 
my  five  seed  farms,  will  be  found  in  my  Vegetable 
aiKl  Flower  See«I  DHtalogiie  for  1HM2.  Sent  free 
to  all  who  apply.  Customers  of  last  Season  need  not 
write  for  it.  All  Seed  sold  from  my  establishment  war- 
ranted to  be  fresh  and  true  to  name,  so  far.  that  should 
it  prove  otherwise,  I  will  refill  the  order  gratis.  The 
ori;;iiiai  intmcluoer  of  Early  Ohio  and 
Biirbank  Potatoes.  Marblehead,  Early  Corn, 
the  Hiibbaril  Squash,  Marbleheatl  Oabbagre, 
t*hinney'8  Melon,  and  a  score  of  other  New  Vegeta- 
bles, I  invite  the  patronage  of  the  public.  New  Vegeta- 
bles a  specialty. 

JAMEIS  J.  U.  OREOORY, 
Marblehead,  Mass. 
1^  Nov-i>nioJ 

EVAPORATE  YOUR  FRUIT. 

ILLUSTRATED    CATALOGUE 

FREE  TO  ALL. 

AMERICAN  DRIER  COMPANY, 

riianibersburs:,  P,a, 

Apl-tf 


THE  COOLEY  CREAMER 

liaises  all  the  cream  between  the  inilkmgs.  Saves  two-thirds  the  labor. 
Increases  yield  of  butter.  Improves  the  quality.  Quadruples  the  value 
of  skim  milk.  Will  pay  for  itself  twice  or  more  every  season.  The 
Cooley  System  is  the  only  uniform  dairy  method  in  existence.  Eequires 
no  spring  house,  or  milk  room.  May  be  placed  in  a  shed,  cellar,  or  any 
place  that  cold  water  is  handy. 


The  Best  Hired  Girl. 

In  the  fall  of  1879  I  bought  a  Cooley  Creamer.  I  have  used  it  ever  since  with  entire 
satisfiiction.  It  makes  more  butter,  of  better  quality,  without  ice,  and  half  the  labor,  than 
the  old  process.  A  lady  friend  who  has  used  one  for  about  six  months  says  it  is  "  the  best 
hired  girl  "  she  ever  had.  I  have  also  used  the  Davis  Swing  Churn  for  the  last  16  months 
and  am  highly  pleased  with  it.  It  churns  the  cream  at  a  higher  temperature  and  bring.s  the 
butter  in  a  better  condition  than  any  other  churn.  I  have  given  the  Eureka  Butter  Worker 
a  fair  trial,  and  am  liai)py  to  recommend  it  to  others.  I  can  work  twenty  pounds  of  butter 
with  it  in  five  minutes,  and  thus  save  a  half  hour's  work. 


Yours  truly, 

Mt.  Holley,  Burlington  County,  N.  J.,  August  22,  1881. 
^■Send  for  Circular  free  to 


SAMUEL  S.  OCLKITT. 


D.  LANDEETH  &  SONS, 

Sole  Agents,  Philadelphia  Pa. 


a, 


A  MONTHLY  JOURNAL, 

Devofed  to  Agriculture,  Horticulture.  Do- 
mestic Economy  and  Miscellany. 


Founded  Under  the  Auspices  of  the   Lancas 
ter  County  Agricultural  and  Horti- 
cultural Society. 


EDITED  BY  DR.  S.  S.  RATHVON. 


TERMS  OF  SUBSCRIPTION  ; 


ONE  DOLLAR  PER  ANNUHf, 

POSTAGE  PREPAID  BY  THE  PROPRIETOR. 

All    subscriptions    will    commence    with    the 
January  number,  unless  otherwise  ordered. 


Dr.  S,  S.  Rathvon,  who  has  so  ably  managed  the  editorial 
department  iu  the  vaet,  will  continue  in  the  position  of 
editor.  His  coutributions  on  subjects  connected  with  the 
science  of  farming,  and  particularly  that  specialty  of  which 
he  is  so  thorouhly  a  master — entomological  science — some 
knowledge  of  whicti  has  become  a  necessity  to  the  success- 
ful farmer,  are  alone  worth  much  more  than  the  price  of 
this  publication.  He  la  determined  to  make  *'The  Farmer' 
a  necessity  to  all  households. 

A  couaty  that  has  so  wide  a  reputation  as  Lancaster 
county  for  its  agricultural  products  should  certainly  be 
able  to  support  an  agricultural  paper  of  its  own,  for  the 
exchange  of  the  opiniouB  of  farmers  interested  In  this  mat- 
oter.  We  ask  the  co-oporatiou  of  all  farmers  iuierested  in 
this  matter.  Work  among  your  friends.  The  "Farmer"  i 
only  one  dollar  per  year.  Show  them  your  copy.  Try  and 
induce  them  to  subscribe.  It  is  not  much  for  each  eub- 
Hcrjber  to  do  but  it  will  greatly  assist  ua. 

All  communications  iu  regard  to  the  editorial  management 
should  bo  addressed  to  Dr.  S.  S.  Rathvon,  Lancaster,  Pa., 
and  all  business  letters  in  regard  to  subscriptions  and  ad- 
vertising sliouH  be  addressed  to  the  publisher.  Rates  of 
advertising  can  be  had  on  application  at  the  of&ce. 


lOHN  A.  HIESTAND, 

No.  g  North  Queen  St.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 


$72 


A  WEEK.    $12  a  dsiy  at  home  easily  made.    Costly 
Outfit  free.  Address  Tens  k.  Co.,  Augusta.  Maine 


;)j|^-a'"'       '^^^^ 


■*'SWS'^^**% 


% 

f. 


•'^mmt'i.f'.i'^  ». 


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